Leading watercolour artist Michelle Scragg uses the popular medium of watercolour to produce paintings that have a strong sense of colour, in both her figurative and abstract work. But her work is also well designed and she shows how watercolour can translate very effectively into design for fabrics, furnishings, illustrations and other applications. The book comprises the following chapters: 1. Exploring Watercolour's Strengths: with skills, techniques and practical considerations 2. Bold Colour: from selecting colours to colour and composition 3. Expression and Design: Drawing and sketchbook work plus Effective Design, Fabric Design and Watercolour illustration. 4. Interpretation: from feeling and response to observation and imagination 5. Studio practice: how to adjust your work depending on the aims of the painting and the various practical issues, particularly when designing for fabric or furnishings.

Sewing secrets for getting the most from your serger. If you own a serger, or are contemplating getting one, then you'll want to learn all the techniques, tips, and tricks for mastering this specialized sewing machine. Sewing Essentials: Serger Techniques, an instructional guidebook and DVD workshop combo, is about to take your skill to the max. Thoroughly covered in a book and DVD package. Read the informative guidebook for detailed yet easy-to-follow written steps, accompanied by over 200 vivid photographs. Watch the DVD as popular instructor and sewing expert Pamela Leggett demystifies the serger, making it more fun to use. And then see what you'll create! In no time, this double-whammy approach will have you navigating your serger like a pro. Go way beyond basic raw-edge clean ups Learn spool-threading secrets - the elixir for successful serger use! Adjust tension and control the fabric feed Sew basic stitches and seams, lickety-split Use flatlock stitching to secure heavy fabric Embellish with decorative stitching Create heirloom-quality pintucks and ruffles And more! Build or hone this impressive sewing skill and put it to use right away. Basically, a serger trims the seam and encloses the seam allowance or edge of the fabric, inside a thread casing, all in one step. Once you get the hang of it, you'll marvel that you ever sewed without the multi-tasking capabilities of this machine! Whether you're a beginner or have sewing experience, Sewing Essentials: Serger Techniques will give you the confidence to do more with the serger than you ever thought possible. Even experienced sewers will love the professional techniques, shortcut tips, and insider tricks packed into this must-have reference.

One of the world’s most revered costume suppliers and creators, Cosprop was founded by John Bright, an Oscar-and BAFTA-winning costume designer, collector, and philanthropist. The Costume House explores some of the most celebrated film and television series in history, from Merchant Ivory to Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and Peaky Blinders. Featuring interviews with leading costume designers, directors, and actors, and never-before-seen costume designs and photographs, this book is an unprecedented firsthand insight into costume design and making, and their significance to stage and screen worldwide. “We entered Cosprop as ourselves and walked out as the person we were playing.”―Helena Bonham Carter CBE “Cosprop is a magical place that is an important part of the nation’s rich cultural heritage. This book should be essential reading for lovers of costume drama and for aspiring costume designers and makers. The industry as a whole should value this document as a glimpse into what excellence can be achieved in one lifetime, with the right balance of vision and modest ambition.”―Dame Judi Dench Distributed for Cosprop

Design one-of-a-kind art cloth for your favorite quilting, sewing, home decor, and garment projects! This comprehensive guide to water-based resist dyeing techniques makes the process easy to learn (and even more fun to play with) using textile artist Lisa Kerpoe's test-driven instructions for creating depth on a flat surface. Create dimensional effects with ingredients like oatmeal, sugar, and soy wax-mix and match 8 resists with 7 application techniques for endless possibilities. Paint, stamp, stencil, splatter, layer...and come away with soft, touchable fabric. Materials for non-toxic resists are easy to find, starting with your kitchen cupboards!

Become a skillful sewer, even if you've never sewn a stitch before! Choose from over 20 projects for you and your home and quickly go from beginner to expert. Clear photography guides you through all the basic techniques before delving into the beautiful projects. Become a skillful sewer, even if you've never sewn a stitch before! Choose from over 20 projects for you and your home and quickly go from beginner to expert. Clear photography guides you through all the basic techniques before delving into the beautiful projects. Complete novice? Start with the simple shopper or pretty lace bow top. Ready for something a bit more challenging? Try your hand at curtains or even a tunic dress. Watch your confidence soar as you work your way through this brilliant book. Other titles in this series include: First Beading (9781843406136), First Crochet (9781843406129), First Card Making (9781843406143) and First Knits (9781843406112). Also available in 2014: First Cake Decorating Word count: 20,000

This book is packed with a selection of beautifully designed cross stitch patterns to suit all skill levels. The themes include flowers, cupcakes, summer days, wedding and baby samplers, afternoon tea, butterflies, and floral garlands. Many of the designs can be easily personalized by adding names and dates using the alphabet charts available. The author's love of nature and her sense of color have been lovingly captured within its pages. Inspired by her home and garden, the pretty cross stitch projects within this book are designed to fill a home with delightful stitching.

Home sewing is booming again. Inspired by sites like Etsy, Craftsy, Pinterest, and CreativeBug, by the continuing popularity of Project Runway and other fashion shows, and by the ever-growing DIY movement, there are more than 35 million sewists in America. Now, for this new generation that wants to make their own clothes, express their fashion sense, look great, be creative and save money, to boot comes Amy Barickman s The Magic Pattern Book, an illustrated guide to creating a one-of-a-kind wardrobe from six magic patterns. What makes a sewing pattern magic? It s a simple equation: One magic pattern can be transformed into six different looks for example, The Skirt (pattern B) yields an A-line skirt, a maxi skirt, a pleated hem skirt, a pencil wrap skirt, a flared bias skirt, and a ruffled mini. Then comes even more magic there are six magic patterns in The Magic Pattern Book, resulting in thirty-six different looks. Following each look are suggestions for specific fabrics, many of them repurposed items, for a total of 216 garments and accessories. The skill level is basic, and patterns are bundled onto a CD in an envelope in the back of the book, and also found online (to be downloaded and printed out on 81 2" x 11" paper). What makes a book magic? Another simple equation: great value, a great promise, a great package, and a great author."

Fill your home with small works of art that embody the simple life. Start with 16 useful handmade gifts in the popular Zakka design style, then add adorable motifs pulled from everyday life. 35 charming designs are printed on iron-on transfer paper-have fun sketching them with bits of fabric and free-motion stitching. Customize a variety of bags, a fabric basket, a makeup roll, coasters, and more. You can even use images pulled from a photograph, a rubberstamp, or a child's drawing.

Sweet & Simple Needle Felted Animals provides detailed instructions to create your own cute and cuddly collection of needle felted pets, barnyard buddies and mascots. These adorable furry figurines make beautiful gifts and accessories that you can carry around or wear. This DIY needle felting book includes step-by-step instructional color photos and texts that couldn't be easier to follow. It shows you how to make the central shape, attach the components, add the details and then attach the finding. And voila! Your accessory is ready to be worn and appreciated! The animals you can make include: A playful Kitten A sweet miniature Dachshund Puppy A mommy Pig and her Baby Piglet A downy Duck and Ducklings A saucy Squirrel A friendly Chipmunk A pair of adorable White Bunnies A trio of brightly-colored Parakeets A fairytale Bear And a host of other miniature animals and charms With over 20 charming projects, great techniques and helpful tips, this is a craft book that felting beginners and experts alike will enjoy and treasure. Grab some wool roving and your felting needle and get crafting!

Bracelets, buckles, buttons, and beads. Clasps, combs, and chains. Items of personal adornment fill museum collections and are regularly uncovered in historical period archaeological excavations. But until the publication of this comprehensive volume, there has been no basic guide to help curators, registrars, historians, archaeologists, or collectors identify this class of objects from colonial and early republican America. Carolyn L. White helps the reader understand and interpret these artifacts, discussing their source, manufacture, materials, function, and value in early American life. She uses them as a window on personal identity, showing how gender, age, ethnicity, and class were often displayed through the objects worn. White draws not only on the items themselves, but uses their portrayal in art, contemporary writings, advertisements, and business records to assess their meaning to their owners. A reference volume for the shelf of anyone interested in early American material culture. Over 100 illustrations and tables.

Sew your own capsule wardrobe to see you through the week to the weekend! Revitalise your wardrobe with this capsule collection from sewing expert Rachel from the House of Pinheiro. The collection includes the perfect separates to take you through the working week to the weekend including a jumpsuit, day dress, trench two piece, kimono dress and versatile shirt dress. Rachel includes a main pattern for every day of week and then offers variations for how to dress it up for a meeting or down for the weekend. There is advice on how to change the look of the pieces through fabric choices and styling tips, as well as a techniques section featuring Rachel's tips on how to get the best fit for your body type and how to measure yourself correctly to ensure you get the perfect fit every time. Garments include on trend staples and reinvented basics to create an exciting collection of 7 patterns, which can be used to create numerous different outfits.

A selection of over 25 carpets and rugs to make for the dolls' house in a variety of classic styles. This book is all you need to create beautiful carpets and rugs of all shapes, sizes and designs, whatever the size or period of the house. The historical and style details of each piece are given, with suggestions for where each one could go in the dolls' house. There are 25 stitched projects, with several variations based on the originals. Each project has a short introduction explaining the techniques used, and ways of adapting the design. There is a wide selection of canvas sizes and fabrics, with stitches including tent stitch, cross stitch and a variety of other stitches to cater for all abilities. Charts for alternative colour ways or designs are regularly included. All the designs have symbol-on-colour stitching charts, and materials, tools and techniques are fully explained, accompanied by step-by-step diagrams and photographs.

Trish has always been fascinated by miniature art and for years has had a yen to try and embroider smaller pieces, there is something so endearing about little paintings with all the detail and form of a larger piece, not to mention the fact that they are much quicker to stitch! When Trish sat down to consider ideas for this book, she wanted not only something that provided a good choice, with lots of projects, but also to ensure that each project was worthy of stitching. The designs needed to be fresh and appealing, to depict the pretty, romantic illustrations typical of the Victorian and post-Victorian eras. Teaching embroidery has helped Trish to understand the need for clarity in both the technique and project instructions, so instructions on everything about long and short stitch and how to adapt it to fit different situations and projects have been provided. Each project is accompanied by a detailed thread diagram which shows exactly which colour should be used and where. The small size of the designs allows for great flexibility in their final use-such as group framing, making up into cushions, book covers, quilt squares, needle cases, box lids, tote bags, pockets on clothing and so on. Following the portraits, birds and flowers, a section with much smaller Victorian pansies and buds, again with thread diagrams has been added. These projects are mini designs that could be useful for quick gift ideas, as trade cards to swap, stitched onto name cards or grouped in a frame. They would also look lovely on little needlework items such as a needle case, pincushion or the cover of an embroidery notebook. The pansy flowers could be used on the front of the needle case and the bud on the back. A 'shopping list' of all the threads needed for each project appears as a thread chart with each project. Charts for equating Anchor and DMC colours appear near the end of the book, and Anchor and DMC thread suppliers are listed under Suppliers at the end.

"Haute homespun out of the Deep South." That's how Vogue magazine has described the fashion of Natalie Chanin. Alabama Stitch Book brings us a collection of projects and stories from her clothing and lifestyle company, Alabama Chanin, known for the cutting-edge twist it puts on tried-and-true sewing, quilting, and embroidery techniques, applied mostly by hand to recycled cotton jersey.This long-awaited book from Chanin begins with her story. After living in New York and Vienna for over 20 years, she began to transform cotton T-shirts into high fashion using the needlework skills she learned as a child in Florence, Alabama. When she moved home, Chanin hired local women (many of whom had worked in the state's now defunct textile factories) to stitch her couture collections with her.What follows is a step-by-step guide to the stitching, stenciling, and beading techniques used in the 20 projects showcased in the book: T-shirts, skirts, and corsets that are sold at chic shops around the world, plus a journal cover, sampler quilt, and tablecloth, among others. Also included are a pullout stencil, perforated postcard for bead-embroidery, and reusable patterns. Throughout are Robert Rausch's beautiful photographs set against the back roads, farms, and homesteads of the rural South.