Summary

• Comprehensive lists of tools, materials and techniques for four types of shibori
• Very good step-by-step instructions accompanied by clear photos and illustrations
• Exciting projects designed to show practical and creative applications for garments and household accessories

For those who don’t know, Shibori is the ancient Japanese art of dyeing cloth using various methods of manipulating fabric to create areas that will resist the dye bath, producing an exciting variation of patterns and textures, in other words, Japanese tie-dye.

This book deals with four different shibori methods: folding and clamping, arashi – pole-wrapping, bound resists and stitching and gathering. These four methods provide an endless variety of patterns and textures, limited only by the artist’s imagination. It is almost magical to unfold the fabric and discover the exciting and beautiful textures, resulting in designer fabrics that can be used in countless projects of textile design.

The author provides an introduction to the types of dyes and fabrics used, and comprehensive lists of inexpensive and easily obtained tools and materials to create unique designs in fabric. An introduction to each of the shibori methods outlines the procedure and illustrates the effect, then is followed by step-by-step instructions accompanied with clear and concise how-to illustrations and photos of finished examples.

The possibilities in patterns and color combinations in shibori are unlimited and this book offers many, including combinations of the techniques, finishing instructions and project suggestions. The manipulation of fabric and dyes in the shibori methods is unpredictable, exciting and rewarding, and addicting once you have started to experiment.

This book is a fabulous resource for artists who wish to learn the basics of shibori and advance to intermediate techniques and projects.

PROS: Rich in material to start any artist into the magical art of shibori.

CONS: The realm of dyes, dyeing procedures is complex in itself and the beginning dyer may need additional reference to learn the dye/fabric combinations best suiting the artist’s ideas. However, the sources of information on this subject are plentiful, including information from the supplier sources listed in the book.

As a working textile artist, I highly recommend this book as an efficient learning tool and reference book to keep on the shelf.

Shibori: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Color & Texture on Fabric (Diy Network)
Price: USD 14.36

39 used & new available from USD 8.48

Summary

• Short history of traditional batik
• Detailed chapters explaining materials and tools
• Easy to follow step-by-step projects, accompanied with beautiful colored photos

Modern batik methods make this art form accessible to any person interested in creating exciting art cloth and garments.

Batik is an ancient Javanese art form and in its traditional practice required many steps of dyeing and waxing, dyeing traditionally done with repeated dip dyeing in natural indigo (blues) and soga (browns). Included in a brief history of batik, its origin and practice, are color photos showing beautiful examples of traditional batik cloth.

Traditional batik involves repeated waxing, dip dyeing and boiling the wax out of the cloth, however this book illustrates simpler methods of applying wax and dye and removing the wax with everyday household tools and materials.

You will learn six different techniques used in modern batik: using hard wax, stamps, brushes, etching and cracking, discharging and drawing with wax using traditional canting tools.

Projects include step-by-step easy-to-follow instructions, materials and tools lists illustrated by clear colored photos. The variety of projects – scarves, art cloth, lampshades – will start you well on your way to creating beautiful art-to-wear, wall hangings and designer household accessories. The possibilities are endless! As extra eye-candy and inspiration there is a gallery of beautiful photos of finished batik pieces.

Batik is a fun, exciting art form and the use of modern materials and methods makes this art technique available to anyone. Keep this book on the shelf for reference and inspiration for future textile projects.

Great Directions!  I am not a direction reader… My bookshelves are full of wonderful how-to books that are dripping with rich and juicy directions upon which my eyeballs have never rested! BUT those same eyeballs have experienced pure joy while pursing the pictures… and figuring out for myself how to do the projects.

Patti’s book was no exception at the start; I just looked at the pictures and went for it.

Now, I have to put a giant disclaimer in here as I was looking at those pictures before most people. I am IN THE BOOK.

Even so, was I following the directions? Of Course not!  But when I finally got the book, I tried several of the techniques first without the directions and then with them.  WOW!  Her directions are clear, concise and lead you step-by-step down a path at the end of which sits a delightful doll, guaranteed.

Beautiful, Inspiring Photography! The book is FULL of beautiful photography of dolls by many well-known and skilled artists for your inspiration.  Arley Barryhill, Sherry Goshon, Anne Mayer Hesse, and Angela Jarecki are among the inspiriting artists with dolls in the galleries

Helpful “Author’s Suggestions”!  Little boxes are scattered throughout the book full of tricks and hints.  (These alone are worth getting the book.  You can reference them when sewing almost anything!)  Techniques ranging from creating intricate beaded stars to using oil pastels for face painting and everything in between!  Bravo!

Three Patterns! All three of the dolls beginner, intermediate, and advanced are appropriate for their rank  This is not always so in doll books and I appreciate the diversity.  The easiest doll is a basic pancake doll while the advanced is much more complex and even includes a nice pair of shoes.

Artistic and Easy! Patti was a portrait artist in an earlier incarnation and it shows in her skilled rendering of the faces and her understanding of the nuances of personality.  Each doll comes with detailed directions on making that exact face and the gallery dolls show that you can take off from there and go somewhere else.

This book will be a great addition to any doll artists library.

Learn more about this book and read others’ reviews at

Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

“Fixed on the Scent of Light”

This is one of the dolls I made for Patti’s book and to my delight it won a blue ribbon at Dimensions in Dollmaking!  She is based on a poem by the mystical Persian poet, Hafiz.

THE SCENT OF LIGHT

Like a great starving beast
My body is quivering
Fixed
On the scent
Of
Light.

She was created in cloth and then I painted, stamped, and embossed a sheet of J.Jill tissue that had a nice shiny surface and collaged it onto the doll.  That created the basic background.  Then I  printed the poem in several different fonts and sizes, painted and stamped the page, cut out bits and pieces and collaged them on to the doll.

Creative Cloth Doll Faces: Using Paints, Pastels, Fibers, Beading, Collage, and Sculpting Techniques
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16 used & new available from USD 42.28

Art Doll Adventures: Exploring Projects and Processes through Cultural Traditions by Lisa Li Hertzi

First, a disclaimer: I know Li (she’s one of our expert reviewers) and she’s a very good friend. That said, I’d rave about her book even if I didn’t know her.

See, I’ve been making art dolls since childhood, and selling them since the early 1970s, so I’m always interested in books about creating dolls of all kinds. I’m also bored out of my mind by vapid, cookie-cutter dolls.

Since I’m venting… the other problem that I have with many dollmaking books is that they’re either too much by-the-numbers, or they’re so advanced, even experts gasp in awe when they see some of the projects.

So, I opened the package with Li’s book and held my breath as I opened the cover. I mean, I hate to write a negative review about a friend’s book, but I also need to be honest.

Whew! (That exclamation should be in neon lights.)

I love this book. Really, it’s one of the few dollmaking books that I can recommend to absolutely anyone with any level of experience, even a total beginner.

Well… okay… If you’re looking for dolls with sweet, realistic faces made from skin-toned fabric, with the correct number of fingers and toes, this probably isn’t the book for you.

For anyone else: Get this book. I mean it. Skip the rest of this review and order it right now. (That’s an Amazon.com link, btw.)

Need more info?

Okay, here it is: Li features all kinds of wild & wonderful cloth dolls, including lots of designs inspired by tribal and primitive art and archaeology. The colors (and sometimes beading) are vivid and juicy.

Li has provided lots of detailed instructions, not just about the dolls, but about the techniques of making them. She doesn’t just say, “Rub ivory black into the crevices,” she has a photo showing exactly how to do it.

This book isn’t just about dolls, either. There are many very cool, fabric art projects.

One of them is a fabric color wheel… unlike any color wheel you’ve ever seen. Then, there’s the Agreements Book Screen, which is a paneled fabric book that’s also a backdrop for displaying your handmade dolls & figures. And, an Etched Petroglyph ATC made from fabric and acrylic artist’s supplies, as well as instructions for a simple, layered-fabric ATC.

If you’re interested in making contemporary cloth dolls and figures, this book belongs in your collection.

If you’re a total beginner and you can buy only one book, this is an ideal choice. It includes full-size pattern pieces, and detailed, illustrated step-by-step directions.

Or, if you’re a professional dollmaker and you’re looking for inspiration, this is one of those books that you’ll consult again and again. Even the step-by-step instructions feature illustrations and tips that make me say, “Ooh, what a great idea!”

I especially like that the basic designs are really simple.

You won’t get bogged down with teensy little sewing details. You won’t spend 20 minutes trying to figure how to attach pieces A and B to piece C.

And, you’ll have plenty of energy left for creative embellishments that will make the figure uniquely yours.

I don’t usually write such long reviews, or rave this much about a book unless it’s truly one of the best in the field. Art Doll Adventures gets my 100% enthusiastic recommendation as a must-own book for dollmakers at all levels.

SUMMARY

• Fun, innovative, highly original cloth doll projects.
• Great for beginners and advanced fiber artists alike.
• Nothing insipid! Dolls, ATCs, fabric books & more.

Doll artists with figures in this book include: Inez Brasch, Patti Medaris Culea, Sue Farmer, Cody Goodwin, Linda Hansen, Jan Hayman, Judith Harmon Hertzi, Barb & Doug Keeling, Kathy Kenny, Elizabeth McGrath, Leslie Molen, John Murphy, Rosie Rojas, Rivkah Rosenfeld, and Isabella Zambezi.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Order a copy or read others’ reviews at
Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Art Doll Adventures: Exploring Projects and Processes through Cultural Traditions
Price: USD 21.36

33 used & new available from USD 4.98

Colourwash Quilts by Deirdre Amsden is a superb and inspiring book for advanced quilters.

If you enjoyed Strip Pieced Watercolor Magic, but you are ready to try more complex, innovative or original designs, this is an ideal book.

In this book, author Deirdre Amsden spends far more time explaining how to design your quilt than the details of constructing it.

Although she gives many examples that you can copy by following her directions, this is not a book offering by-the-numbers instructions. In fact, many of the quilts that you make from this book will be one-of-a-kind, and designed on graph paper, or an enlarged grid.

One of the reasons that I like this book so much, is because the author uses wide range of fabrics in modern and historical inspired patterns. She talks about her pattern, color and value choices as part of the design process.

She also is a daring with colors. On the cover of the book, you’ll see color opposites — such as blue and brown — placed next to each other. You’ll see other similar, startling combinations inside this very exciting book.

This is a visually dazzling book if you love color.

There are books that talk you through projects so that you can create the quilt that you see in the photograph. This is not one of those books.

Instead, this is a book that you will browse for inspiration when you want to create an award-winning quilt that is innovative as well as a unique art statement.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Colourwash Quilts: A Personal Approach to Design & Technique
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44 used & new available from USD 3.35

Embroidery from Sketch to Stitch by Pat Langford is a great book to read if you are interested in crossing over from drawing and painting to fabric art.

That said, this book assumes that you already know how to use a sewing machine and have some skill with machine embroidery, or that you can embroider by hand.

This hardcover book is largely a series of illustrations showing embroidered work that relies on varying levels of painting as well.  Generally, there isn’t much instructional material with the art; you’ll be reading this for inspiration, not instruction.

It is rich with full-color illustrations and wonderful ideas.  If you’ve been staring at your sewing supplies, wondering what to do next, this book might be exactly what you need.

The author has provided examples of the sketches that she used to create some of this work. The photography also captures important elements in the art, including the dimensional embroidery.

I think that this is an excellent companion volume to the book Stitch Magic.

Since this book is out of print as I’m writing this in 2008, you’ll probably be buying a used copy. If the price is low enough, this is a book that is worth owning.

Otherwise, see if your public library has a copy, or if they can get it on inter-library loan.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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Embroidery from Sketch to Stitch
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3 used & new available from USD 11.50

The Art of the Needle, Design in fabric in thread, by Jan Beaney is a beautiful book. It covers far more ground than her other book, Stitch Magic.

However, while this is a more accessible book for less experienced sewers, it’s also far more dated than Stitch Magic. Though this book was first published in 1988, to me it has a very 1970s style.

Many of of the topics will look familiar to experienced fabric artists. From log cabin patchwork, to darning, shadow quilting, and hand and machine embroidery, the author displays techniques that will appeal to intermediate and advanced sewers.  It’s rich with examples but light on instruction.

I guess that I’m saying this:  If you already know how to sew by hand and machine, but you don’t know what to do next with your work, this is a good book.

Because so many of the projects have a “hippie” look, in a way, this book is ideal if you are working with retro styling.  (I’m not talking about tie-dyed and primitive art from the late 1960s, but the more upscale, intricate fabric art of that era.)

This book is a fine introduction to the kinds of surface treatments that can turn any fabric art into gallery quality work.

Though I personally prefer per other book, Stitch Magic, I keep this one in my bookcase because there are times when it sparks ideas because the techniques are familiar but the author’s approaches are opulent.

If your primary focus is surface embellishment with dimensional embroidery, select Stitch Magic instead.

However, if surface treatments are a new subject for you, this book is an excellent introduction that will keep you busy — and learning — for many months… if not years.  Generally, it costs far less than Stitch Magic does.  If it’s less than $10, I’d recommend it in a second; it contains at least as many good, inspiring ideas as any magazine.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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The Art of the Needle
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41 used & new available from USD 1.65

Stitch Magic by Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn is a glorious book about rich, dimensional embroidery techniques. It also addresses several other kinds of surface treatments for fabric, mostly related to embroidery.

This hardcover book includes a variety of amazing techniques whether you are working with geometrics, abstracts, or realistic imagery in your embroidery and surface design.

The book begins with several historical references for a better understanding of the kinds of dimensional embroidery that have been used in the past.

From there, you’re shown several samples to practice on at home. This not only gives you an opportunity to build confidence, it also helps you understand your personal style of embroidery.

Chapter 2 talks about backgrounds. The first illustration in this chapter really excites me. The artist used a photo transfer from acrylic painting on cotton, and then embellished it with a variety of threads and copper wire. Without any further work, this piece could be displayed as fine art or used as a cover on an artist’s journal.

In Chapter 3, you’ll learn how to use a variety of stitches to add strength, describe atmospheric images, and create bold as well as subtle effects. The examples of innovative couching techniques make this book a must-own for anyone interested in embroidery as an extraordinary art form.

This book continues for many more chapters covering both hand and machine stitching.

Whether you are embellishing a quilt, a wall hanging, or wearable art, you’ll be inspired by this book.

As of 2008, this book is out of print. If you are attracted to surface design and embroidery, it is worth finding an affordable copy of this book and buying it.  You’ll re-read it often.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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Stitch Magic: Ideas and Interpretation
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1 used & new available from USD 999.98

Strip-pieced Watercolor Magic by Deanna Spingola is one of the best book I have ever seen for creating elegant and impressive quilts using strip piecing.

You may have seen the quilts that I’ve made with tiny one-inch squares in them. This is the book that I used to put them together quickly and beautifully. They aren’t necessary fast to create, but they are simple enough for most intermediate sewers… or even a dedicated beginner.

What transforms this from a three-month project to something you can complete in a weekend is the strip piecing. (That’s for smaller quilts, or very large strips. A quilt for a king-size bed would probably take several weekends.)

This book starts by recommending fabric choices, and shows how to combine patterns. The author then shows how to sew, press, cut and assemble the strip sets that form the completed quilt.

The patterns range in size from baby quilts and wall hangings, starting around 32″ x 32″, all the way up to a huge bed quilt that’s 79 1/2″ x 79 1/2″. However, you can easily adapt any pattern in the book to fit your own beds.

The photographs in this book will inspire you. The directions are clear with lots of drawings to show you exactly how to create unique, gallery-quality quilts to show or use every day.

It’s a great book. I highly recommend owning a copy (if you can find one for sale)

This book is an essential part of my own quilt library.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Strip-Pieced Watercolor Magic: A Faster, New Approach to Creating 30 Watercolor Quilts
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35 used & new available from USD 1.32