Embroidery, Crafts & Other Books

by Flora Roberts. Country looks in vintage fabrics are back in fashion for many contemporary interiors. Talented designer Flora explains how to recycle old fabric scraps and choose new materials to create authentically styled, vintage pieces, as well as discussing the use of colour and pattern for maximum impact. For fast selection, the 25 step-by-step projects are categorised for quick selection into cushions & covers, household linen, gifts & decorations, quilts and throws.

by Luise Roberts. As expert Luise Roberts explains "..one of the most effective ways to find an ideal design is to look at finished quilts and decide what you like". Covering ideas for quilting by machine, hand, or both, she reveals key techniques for translating designs to fabric, either by drawing round a card template, stitching through a trace outline, or cutting templates from stencil plastic. Her wealth of skillfully drafted and widely varied traditional, contemporary, heirloom, geometric designs, patterns and fillers are themed for quick selection to suit every style of quilt. She shows how to position figurative designs for best effect, also how to repeat and increase examples to enlarge patterns.

An expert herself, Katharine Guerrier heads an impressive group of contributors in this definitive guide to hand and machine quilting both traditional and cutting edge designs. It details necessary information on fabrics, equipment, design, cutting and stitching, patchwork and piecing, applique, sashing and borders, embellishment, and finishings, as well as advice on the display and care of quilts. Hundreds of close-up photographs, graphs and templates complement the step-by-step instructions for basic and advanced techniques. Projects for sampler, log cabin and crib quilts, contemporary piecing and hand quilted wall hangings are included to practise new found skills.

Edited by Suzanne J.E. Tourtillott. Five talented artists demonstrate the techniques for turning glass, metal, polymer clay, and fibre beads into an eclectic collection of projects. Try your hand at colourful necklaces by encasing beads in a bamboo or sushi mat and rolling into a crescent shape, or dipping into dye resist medium for random patterns. Craft one-of-a-kind beads using sculptural papermaking and papier-mache. For unusual effects, paint tiny, spherical plaster beads in bright hues, or decorate wooden beads with Asian rice papers. Use polymer clay to imitate eye-catching stones. For exotic appeal, incise Mayan motifs into luminious pieces. Shimmering brass, copper and silver are ideal for metal beadmaking. Turn lampworking glass into frosted, marbled, grooved and silver-leafed beads.

Each of these informative paperbacks carries an accompanying CD of embroidery designs.
Basic Techniques: 20 exclusive embroideries illustrate Jeanine's innovative way of looking beyond the face value of decorative designs. Chapters cover embroidery essentials; applique; quilting; cutwork; creating dimension and texture; combining and editing designs using embroidery machines and software; culminating with a gallery of project ideas.

Each of these informative paperbacks carries an accompanying CD of embroidery designs.
More Embroidery Machine Essentials: Jeanine utilises an embroidery machine and software to customise, edit and create 10 exclusive designs suitable for all major models. In addition, there are graphic images to use when experimenting with digitizing, a comprehensive glossary of terms, an imperial/metric conversion chart, a collection of sayings to practise combining letters and designs, also software exercises to enhance skills. Industry experts provide tips throughout, as well as creative embroidery projects in an inspirational showcase.

by Phyllis Dobbs
Suitable for all skill levels, Phyllis reveals her new dimensional technique for adding depth to flat quilts and giving finished projects a contemporary edge, illustrated by 30 projects to decorate walls and rooms throughout the house. Special looks for baby include a love memory album, lucky duck chairback, on the farm wallhanging, and stripes crib quilt. For Christmas there's a tree skirt and wallhanging, also a stars table runner. Templates and an embroidery stitch tutorial complete this comprehensive guide.

by Christine Porter
Christine drew inspiration from the decorative floor tiles and patterns of medieval and Victorian churches, today often seen in porches and entrances to older shops, banks, and town halls. From simple progressing to the more complex, small wall hangings to large quilts, she shows how, by careful fabric selection and following her step-by-step instructions, you can replicate these wonderful designs. She finishes with a inspirational gallery from other quilt artists.

by Dorothy Wood
Dorothy's 18 step-by-step projects cover ideas for the home, jewellery, and trimming personal items to make them unique. A bracelet takes just a few hours. Decorate rose scented sachets with pretty beads. Add a fringe to a devore scarf. Create a tiny amulet purse, a beaded card, or a gift bag adorned with wire flowers. Embellish your home with a sparkly fringed lampshade, wrap a beaded wire around plain candlesticks, or trim a trinket box with iridescent beads. Hang a bead tassel from a wardrobe key. Make a beaded photograph frame, coiled wire coasters, notebook with bead embroidered covers, a beaded rucksack, or a pair of silk mules decorated with exquisite paisley motifs.