Textile Arts Books

Friendship Bracelets (Klutz)

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 By: Klutz - Model: 08875 Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $5.98

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Arts & Music -> Crafts & Hobbies

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Friendship Bracelets Klutz Book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is our 2nd Klutz book we have purchased. (we have the Cootie Catcher) AND WE LOVE THEM!
My daughter, age 9 is a big fan, especially on the rainy days. It will remind you of those bracelets I think we all learned to make as a kid PLUS some really different versions of them. Not a whole lot of string comes with it, so if you are giving it as a gift (which we did- her best friend, age 10), Make sure you pick up some extra string. I was able to find them at pretty much any craft store for 25 cents a color. (Not bad- eh?)
It comes with a handy clip and a measuring area on the book to make things a lot easier then when I was a kid! No more putting the string under a heavy book and working that way :o)
WOrTh EvEry PennY!

Klutz craft 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

KLUTZ is the place to start for creativity for the beginner. Easy with step-by-step instructions. Bracelets can be created in team colors, flowers, hearts and other designs. Fun to make with a great product to wear or share at end learning process. Book to be returned to over and over for new designs and colors.

Editorial Review:

Super-clear directions for ten different kinds of bracelets, with all the colorful floss and beads you need to make all of them. A built-in clipboard provides the ideal work surface for this coolest of crafts.

Simply Sewing (Kids Can Do It)

Judy Sadler

Amazon Price: $6.95 List Price: $6.95 By: Kids Can Press, Ltd. Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $4.81

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Sewing for Kids 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

My 8 year-old granddaughter asked if I would teach her to sew. I am not gifted with natural teaching abilities, but I told her I would have a go at it this summer once school was out. I needed a book with simple but fun projects that a young girl would want to make. Making something she would have no use for or that was so difficult as to frustrate would only discourage her. The book Simply Sewing is full of easy fun projects that most kids will enjoy doing. A Beach Bag, a simple skirt are a couple of the projects in the book.
My granddaughter is excited to start sewing.

Simply Sewing (kids Can Do It) 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I brought this book for my 10 year old grand daughter. She found it easy to understand.

Editorial Review:

This book in the Kids Can Do It series features breezy wraps and terrific tote bags for the beach, neat trims for plain clothes or a skirt made from worn-out jeans -- Simply Sewing has these and many other projects all stitched up! Includes sewing-machine basics, hand-sewing stitches and fabric facts. Step-by-step instructions with full-color illustrations and photos make it "sew" simple!

The Lost Art of Towel Origami

Ivy Press, Alison Jenkins

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Andrews McMeel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $8.78

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Origami
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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great for a gift 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book contains many fun ways of shaping towels to give as gifts, or to decorate the towels you leave out for guests. While I agree that it's not really origami, it's still a lot of fun and a very cute idea.

All of the projects that I've tried have worked out.

The book itself would make a good gift for any quirky people that you know.

Editorial Review:

From the lost ancient art of towel folding (yes, there is one, and it does stem from ancient times) comes the newly revived and hot trend The Lost Art of Towel Origami.

Filled with hilarious completed-project photographs and step-by-step instructions and illustrations, this book will provide hours of entertainment. Stun your company by skillfully creasing and crinkling your linen into works of art. You've got everything you need, right in your own bathroom.

Creations include:

" Elephant

" Monkey

" Luscious Lips

" Skyscraper

" Ladybug

" Palm Tree

You'll never look at laundry the same again with The Lost Art of Towel Origami. The absolute perfect coffee table (or, ahem, bathroom) book is bound to get you and your guests folding masterpieces.

Napkin Origami: 25 Creative and Fun Ideas for Napkin Folding

Amazon Price: $9.95 List Price: $9.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sterling/Hollan Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $6.21

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Special Occasions -> Tablesetting
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Puzzles & Games -> General
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Puzzles & Games -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Easy to follow 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Well-written with clear instructions and good step-by-step. I liked that there are a variety of shapes included. Many of them are quite challenging. Overall, think this book has the proverbial "something for everyone." If you're looking to dress up your table, this book is a good choice.

Editorial Review:

Why fold a napkin into an ordinary square when it can become a swan, bread holder, or pirate’s ship? Like magic, these amazing origami projects turn humble paper or fabric napkins into restaurant-worthy centerpieces that transform the table. There’s a napkin sculpture for any and every occasion: simple patterns, such as a leaf, fish, or heart; designs for those special moments, including a baby bootie for a shower or a bunny for Easter dinner; innovative creations like a peacock, dessert server, and carousel; and complex shells, rosettes, and pleated wraps for formal dining. All the traditional origami techniques, tips, and symbols are beautifully explained; elegant photography throughout makes the process easy to follow and showcases the remarkable results.

Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt

Megan Nicolay

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 By: Workman Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 64 new & used starting at $7.49

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Commercial -> Fashion Design

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 139 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Fun, Hip, Cool Book....but not for younger teens & pre-teens 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I got this book this summer for my daughter, age 12, and her friend. Both girls are crafty, creative (they take art classes together), and have used a sewing machine independently. My daughter's friend even makes tailored clothes for herself! I thought the book would give them some fun & funky ideas. They did enjoy paging through it and both did manage to find a pattern to make. But I'm not sure they'll come back to this much because they felt the styles were too skimpy for them. Neither one is more modest than an average 12 year old, but they still didn't feel comfortable wearing most of the shirts out of the house. They were really amazed by the whole chapter of tube tops. (They asked me "Who would wear these things?")

Too bad...These girls are a perfect market for something like this. I guess I'll have to keep looking.

Editorial Review:

Make it yours. This inspirational guide with DIY attitude has everything you need to know about the world’s great T-shirt: how to cut it, sew it, deconstruct it, reconstruct it, and best of all, transform it. • Features more than 100 projects (plus 200 variations) for customized tees, tank tops, tube tops, T-skirts—even handbags, a patchwork blanket, iPod cozies, leg warmers, and more. • Not a DIY expert? Not to worry. More than one third of the projects are no sew, meaning anyone who can wield a pair of scissors can put a personal stamp on her wardrobe. But the sewing basics are here too: backstitch and whipstitch, gather and ruche, appliqué and drawstrings. • And the mission statement for Generation T: Ask not what your T-shirt can do for you; ask what you can do for your T-shirt. And then Do-It-Yourself!

Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing

Anna Maria Horner

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $11.24

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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Puzzles & Games -> General
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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Sewing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Admired fabric designer Anna Maria Horner draws on her passion for art, sewing, and textiles to inspire one-of-a-kind projects

Anna Maria Horner's signature style combines the techniques of a seasoned sewer with the vision of an artist. In Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing, she walks you through the fundamentals, offering practical advice on everything from fabric selection to color choices to choosing and buying a sewing machine. Simple step-by-step instructions show you how to turn her designs into fanciful creations:

• Sideways Squares Skirt
• Prairie Blouse
• Full Contact Cooking Apron
• PlayingAlong Quilt
• Doggie Dreams Bed
• And so much more!

Vivid full-color photographs and designs will invite you into the creative process. Whether you're a beginner or a veteran, the twenty-four projects in this beautiful book will transform your home and wardrobe into a collection of unique treasures.

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac

Elizabeth Zimmermann

Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $7.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $4.34

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Knitting
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Needlework
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Textile Arts

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Knitting Mania 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

In this great little book, elizabeth Zimmerman, that great knitting guru who is no longer with us, has given us a ton of great ideas to keep us busy much more than the 12 months of the almanac. She has included some of her true classics in a chatty format, so we learn not just how to make an item, but how she went about creating it in the first place. Then, for those that need a quick read for a pattern, at the end of each chatty pattern, she gives the pithy, no-nonsense version.

This is a book that will be used over and over many times, so it might be a wise ides, when using a patterns, to xerox the pithy version and keep that in your knitting bag.

But don't ignore the chatty parts of the book. You learn how her mind worked in the creative process, and you might decide that there are some techniques that don't suit you for this pattern. If so, just drop that part and use the rest as a springboard for your own techniques. After all, as Elizabeth said, you are the boss of your knitting.
Priscilla Bouic

Editorial Review:

A year’s worth of knitting projects from the "Busy Knitter," called "one of America’s most ingenious and creative knitters." Classic patterns for Aran sweaters, baby items, blankets, mittens, moccasins and other seasonal needs may be followed by intermediate to advanced knitters, or may be adapted into original works. Charming, delightful informal and opinionated, very instructive. 35 illustrations.

Doodle Stitching: Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners

Aimee Ray

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Lark Books Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $8.81

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Arts & Music -> Crafts & Hobbies
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

VERY Disappointing! 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book was SO disappointing!

I'm a big fan of Aimee Ray on etsy... but it feels like she saved all of the good embroidery for herself. Her work online is a million times better than the work in this book. Don't let the cover fool you.

This book has very generic, boring projects. It has no creative flair and wasn't worth the money. The model consistently through the book is kind of annoying, too. I thought it was Aimee at first (since the model is pictured on the side of the book under the author's name), but, alas, Miss Ray is pictured in the back.

If you know how to embroider, I wouldn't recommend this book. If you like boring, old-fashioned and uncreative patterns, then buy! buy! buy!!!

Editorial Review:

Asian-inspired lampshades embellished with flying fish. Canvas sneakers decorated with pink and white swirls. A pretty pillow adorned with a sleeping bunny, sweetly curled up. All it takes to create these appealing projects—or add charming embroidered touches in no time at all—are a few simple stitches, some easy techniques, and the nearly 30 projects in this book. Begin by learning several styles for outlining, filling, decorating, and appliqué. Find out about floss, fancy threads, fabrics, and needles. Get the scoop on hoops, and the lowdown on transferring your very own designs onto every type of fabric. The fresh ideas, witty patterns, and clever color illustrations take stitchers from novice to accomplished in a blink of the eye!

Simply Amazing Spiral Quilts

Ranae Merrill

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Krause Publications Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $18.80

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Quilts & Quilting
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Holy Cow Girlfriend! That's one fantabulous book! 5 out of 5 stars.
36 of 37 people found this review helpful.

I received my copy in the mail yesterday. I put it down just long enough to sleep and go to work. My head is still spinning! Rarely do craft books come packed with so much information. I know, because I have lots and lots of them. Rarely are they so detailed and clear. This is not merely a "make this project" kind of book. This is a "here is a new concept and how to use it" book. I love those kind of books!

The book shows you how to make curves using only straight lines. Spirals swirl in, out and around, point to point, and nest inside one another. The quilts in the gazillion and one photos are original works by RaNae and the group of Spiromaniacs who worked alongside her, tested her theories, and put her techniques into practice. All there for you to drool over, then jump up and run to your sewing machine!

The quilts (66 of them!) and their designers/creators truly are Simply Amazing. No pun, no exaggeration. The quilts are individual, inspiring, challenging, and just plain ole' gorgeous. [...]

The book is divided into four sections: Meet the Spirals (20 pgs), Designing with Spirals (52 pgs), Sewing Spirals (26 pgs), and Projects (22 pgs). Each section is lavishly illustrated, making the exciting concepts easier to understand and sink your teeth into. RaNae hands you concepts and tools, then sets you free to express your creative instincts in a totally unexpected and new direction.

There are numerous side-bars of "extra" information that magically answer the question you're just about to ask. The page layout and format is eye-friendly, and sucks you into reading all the juicy bits. My only complaint is that I wanted to read everything all at the same time! My favorite line from a troubleshooting section on p 102 is "Solution: First, scream! Next, take a deep breath." and then calmly walks you through fixing the problem.

Many of the quilts have a very contemporary feel. I personally love very traditional quilts. RaNae has managed to design several that fill my love for traditional and at the same time put me squarely in the 21st century! Some are vibrantly alive with color, a few are calming and comforting. I can't even start to point out my favorites, because I might miss one, there's so many!

To describe this book in just a few words: exciting, innovative, breath-taking, creative, mind-expanding! A must have for the quilter who loves to design and wants to take his or her work to the next level.

Editorial Review:

Learn to create six foundation-pieced spiral-based quilts--with no math! This one-of-a-kind technique for spiral quilt design allows you to create fascinating and beautiful art quilts. The bonus CD includes the basic shapes for the spiral patterns and the pattern insert helps you set up the perimeter shape, or draw free-hand irregular shapes without a template.

Choose your technique from any of three methods:

• By hand, completely freehand, using only a straight
• By hand, precisely, using a ruler to measure increments in each spoke
• On the computer -- Electric Quilt works great for all types of spirals

No matter the technique, the results will be simply amazing!

Jelly Roll Quilts

Pam Lintott, Nicky Lintott

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: David & Charles Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $14.98

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Quilts & Quilting
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Textile Arts
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A great go-to book! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I recently was going on a weekend quilting retreat, and hadn't gotten my project cut out that I wanted to work on. So I grabbed this book and two of my unopened Jelly Rolls, and I was set! I got the blocks for two tops together, and one set of blocks set together and ready for borders. This book really makes good use of the 40-strip Jelly Roll -- all but two quilts will use the whole Jelly Roll, and some may require the addition of a background fabric or borders. Many of these are traditional designs, or variations on traditional designs, but the authors have done all the arithmetic to know how many blocks you can get, and what size quilt you can make, from one Jelly Roll's worth of strips. They also tell you how to figure out how to make a larger quilt, if you'd like to do that. These designs would also easily translate to strips that you cut from your stash, or to scrap strips, if you're like me and have a collection of those as well. I've been quilting for about 20 years, but I still really enjoy projects that go together quickly and simply, but don't look like they're "quick and easy" quilts. The patterns in this book give me that. I'll definitely be making more of the quilts in this book, whether with Jelly Rolls or with strips I cut myself. Enjoy!

Editorial Review:

Jelly rolls are the new fat quarter bundle! They consist of 2 ½ inch strips of color-coordinated fabric, rolled up to create a solid disk and tied with a ribbon. Jelly Roll Quilts is the first book to show quilters the best ways to use these desirable, laborsaving fabric packs. The author shows how to make 15 quilts; each perfectly suited to the color-coordinated jelly rolls and includes variations in color, style and size for each project. Jelly roll quilts are suitable for quilters of all skill levels, especially those quilters with a passion for a variety of fabrics. With names like Bars of Gold and Blue Lagoon, the quilts demonstrated in Jelly Roll Quilts are on the cutting edge of the craft.