Crafts Hobbies Books

I admit I've only skimmed through this. It'll be more of a reference guide for me to use as I start to make my own patterns and sew my apparel. However, during my several times of looking through it, I noticed that it's well organized, formatted and illustrated. It's also a good resource because it's got basic patterns to photocopy (to be enlarged) to use, and even got some worksheets and stuff. It also explains the terminology. I'm not a fashion design student or expert. Just a complete beginner (unless you count my high school sewing class as some experience), so it'll take me a bit to learn all the terms and concepts but even so, I'm sure it won't be too hard as it's formatted in a way so that it can be read quite easily, i.e. not too wordy or narrative. Good text material. I was hesitant to buy this at first with so many different reviews about it but I figured most of the ones I read were of the 3rd edition and I bought the 4th one and I figured they'll do some revision. There are still some editing errors but it's minor and won't affect your understanding of the material. The only other thing is that I wish they'll include a section on men's wear patterns. They did for children and juniors but not men's. Based on what I've read so far, this seems pretty satisfactory and definitely worth the purchase, though I do admit it's rather pricey. But I guess if I think about the satisfaction I'll get from making my own clothes, it's well worth it then.

If you're interested in pattern making this book contains everything you need to know to start to make your own patterns.

I am so grateful to whom wrote the first rewiew of this book! She was so right! This book covers it all! Women, men and children's clothig... but I mean everything! You won't ever need to purchase any more patterns, specially if you don't fall in to the normal sizes like me... when pattern alteration is in reality a complete re-due... This is like a patermaking bible... you won't ever regrete this purchase, although you will find that a lot of your other pattern making books won't serve you any more...

Whether you are a beginner, or an experienced seamstress, and you would like to draft your own patterns, buy this book! A very comprehensive publication, with instructions that are also easy to understand and follow. The organisation of this book is excellent. Helen begins with basic patterns for the various foundation garments (ie, shift dress, pencil skirt, etc), giving you easy to follow instructions on how to draft these patterns. Subsequently, she offers a good variety of variations on these basic garments, with comprehsive instructions. From this book alone, you will be able to draft and sew your own fashion range, or just a very good wardrobe for yourself.

Patternmaking for Fashion Design and DVD Package (4th Edition)

I'm an intermediate level sewer and haven't had a course in patternmaking. However I have found this book invaluable even though it is written as a textbook. I haven't read it cover to cover because I regard it as a reference book. However, after having reviewed the sections that relate to the sewing I do, I have found it very enlightening. There are certain principles that I didn't understand until I read it, such as dart rotation. This, for instance, will be very helpful to me in altering commercial patterns to make them fit better. I plan to do some pattern drafting, but will probably use it mostly in altering commercial patterns. For instance, I was recently altering a pants pattern and wondered if I was changing the ratio of the width of the front leg to the back. The book answered my question while books on pattern alterations didn't address this issue. The layout of the book has been thoroughly explained in other reviews, so I won't go into describing it. I will say, however, that I highly recommend this book for anyone who sews as a hobby because it answers a lot of questions one would have when it comes to altering commercial patterns or drafting simple patterns. It's expensive, but money well spent. This book should be in the library of any serious sewer.

I've been knitting for years, but some of the hints in this book are new to me and are great for making the finished product look really good. The section on joining pieces was particularly valuable for me. I also like the spiral binding, which allows you to refer to it while both hands are busy holding knitting needles. The illustrations are also very clear.

Great book for every ability level. Useful suggestions, easy to understand, covers anything I have ever needed help with so far. Spiral bound so it lays flat & is small enough to carry in your knitting bag.

Just as the title says..this little book is a constant source of reference for the knitter..the size is perfect for stashing in the knitting bag..I even bought another one for my daughter!

This is a very compact, easy to read and complete resource for knitters everywhere. I like having this information at hand - keep it in my knitting bag at all times. Would recommend it to all knitters.

This is a great little book for quick and easy ways to identify stitches and methods that you might not use on a regular basis. I have only been knitting about a year and half and found it easy to follow. I would recommend it in a heartbeat.
Linda

The Art of Floral Design

I am curently a student of floral design and i have to say that this book is my bible. It has helped me so much i love it and so do all of my friends even thoughs whom dont attend my class. They have learned so much from it i have a cupple friends that purchesed the book and next year are going to attened the class. the book is simple enough for everyone and yet difficult enough so you dont get bored if it. i love this book, if you want to learn more about floral design i strongly suggest you bye it. thanks for your time and you have my best wishes.

The content of the book was in good condition, but the cover of the book was split in half and not in A1 condition. I was disappointed in that.

I teach floral design and use this book in my classroom. It's great. The students like it and it is very helpful for them

Used this book for a college class I was taking. I found this book to very easy to understand and helpful in making floral designs. The illustrations pictured, captured exactly what was being taught. A great book for beginners.

this was a required book for a class I took in floral design. The book covers most aspects of floral design from arranging to marketing. If you are looking to learn how to design arrange flowers this is a good reference book.

I have enjoyed this book for the past 18 years, and have figured out about three quarters of the full content. But I have been frustrated for the past 18 years, too... I have never been able to go past the 32nd step of the grand piano figure... and I wonder if anybody has ever been able to figure out how to finish the whole model!!! I wish Mr. Lang would demonstrate how he does it himself in one of his videos... and then I would be so much happier!!!

This book has some of the most original models I've seen among origami books (including a particularly impressive clock). However, many of the instructions are vague or extremely difficult to fold as described. Some of the more advanced models will take lots of experimentation to figure out what the intended fold is.

An excellent book for beginners and continuing students of origami. Many color photo step-by-step illustrations of simple and more complicated models. Well worth buying.

this book would fit nicely on a shelf in bill gates mansion. If you're a hardcore nerd and grew up within the 80s and 70s, played with erector sets and studied quantum physics at the age of 2 then you may be able to decode the rocket science behind the drawings and instructions given in this book. nay on the origamay

I agree with several of the reviewers here. As a "purist" I object to models that don't start with a square, of which there are many here. I am also bothered by measurements that do not arise from the creases themselves (eg "fold into thirds".) Finally, Lang jumps from very easy to very advanced, with virtually nothing in-between (and uses harder folding sequences than neccessary IMO, Montroll achieves similar complexity in his finished models with far less difficulty.)
If you are willing to look past these objections, the finished models themselves are frequently amazing.

This book is a supreme example of the old adage "don't judge a book by it's cover." I found the cover quilt extremely boring to the point I couldn't imagine why in the world the book had so many good reviews. When I got the book I didn't even like the quilting design on the cover. I didn't like and wouldn't make any of the quilts in the book, either. They were way too basic for me. However, forget all that! The bland quilts in the book were just a quick way for the author to show her quilting designs, and I get it! The free-flowing designs are wonderful, and doable by all! There is no marking involved, no stencils, nothing to stop you! I suspect long-armers have known how to do designs like this for many years, but they just haven't been available to domestic machine quilters. I am grateful that I bought this book, and I think both beginning, intermediate, and advanced domestic machine quilters will love it.

I have a number of books pertaining to machine quilting, including the McTavishing book. That one is good, but this one is better. The ideas and instructions are superior. I've already put some of it to use and the improvement in my free-motion is very satisfying.

This is so much more than patterns. It gives you ideas on how to look at your quilt and then decide what to do. The hints it gives you on how to make your free motion work is well worth the price.

Looking for a book that goes into detail of free motion quilting after you already have the basics down? Then this is the book for you. Builds up skills and gives detailed instructions on how to design the quilt and map out designs. Step by step on how to practice the patterns so no marking is needed. Love this book!

This is one of the best books (and I have dozens)I have purchased regarding quilting the quilts. Actually, only one other author impressed me as much, and that was Karen McTavish. Great pictures, easy and fun to read. Read the whole thing twice and will again as soon as I get time. Have a pen and pad ready to draw. Great fun! Hope Christine is writing more books real soon!

I'm a Latina, married to a Japanese man, and have a Navajo sister-in-law. There is a Spanish Christening Shawl, a Mexican Ribozo shawl, a Kimono Shawl, and a Native American shawl in this book. Not to mention many many other types of shawls from around the world. I also love the sampler shawl, it is beautiful. I basically want to make every single shawl right now. I don't wear shawls. That's how inviting this book is. The photos are exquisite. It is the first book I bought on the spot in a book store in a long time, rather than waiting to get it shipped from Amazon. Something about having my cultures included makes it a very special book for me. Plus, the author lives in my neck of the woods:)

A friend of mine loaned me a copy of her book when she found out that I was looking for something new and different from the afghans I had been knitting with old left over yarns. After looking thru the book and trying one of the patterns, I realized that I want to try ALL of the patterns in this book. If your looking at this book and thinking about getting it, I recommend getting the book, if your new to these kinds of things, like me, you can always start using scrap yarns and then move up to the more sophisticated yarns if you are comfortable with reading the pattern. There are patterns here that are easy to do and some that are a bit more challenging but all worth the time and effort. I'm still working up the courage to try a couple of these but I will get there eventually.

I am a fan of the "Folk" books and have several. The Folk Shawl book is easy to read, easy to understand, and gave me my first introduction to lace knitting. I was instantly hooked. I've knitted several of the shawls from this book and highly recommend it to anyone exploring lace knitting for the first time and as a tool to introduce newer knitters to this art. I've had great fun with Folk Shawls and have become a wearer of my shawls preferring them to sweaters.....they easily slip on and off and are a comfort in the cold weather. I even knitted a heavier version of the larger Stora shawl out of worsted weight wool and wore it as a substitute for a coat over an alpaca sweater!

Thank you Cheryl Oberle for a wonderful book!

This was the first shawl book I ever bought. I read it cover to cover a few times before ever picking up yarn and needles. The shawls are diverse, beautiful and the stories are captivating.

Kristin Omdahl
www.StyledByKristin.com

25 Knitting patterns and tales from around the world will educate and entertain you for years to come. The shawls here are gorgeous and inspired by traditions and designs from around the world.

You will find a shawl here for every occasion and every one is spectacular. They originate from Ireland, Japan, Iceland, Victorian England, Russia, Scotland, Mexico, Norway and more. Each design will teach you more to enhance your skills and an average knitter should be able to create most of them. The instructions are both written and charted.

This is an amazingly creative book for knitters or anyone who loves fashion and fashion history. For me, this would even be worth purchasing if I didn't know how to knit. The pictures are gorgeous, the designs are fabulous and the concept of this book is so wonderful it absolutely puts me over the moon!

LOVE this book!

This book was very helpful, I have done a lot of sewing, but no upholstering, so I made a sample boxed, zippered, cushion with welting, and learned from my (minor) mistakes before using expensive special order fabrics.

I have taken an upholstery class before, but have never tried to do a large sofa. I found this book gave me just enough information following the directions for an overstuffed chair to tackle the project. If I were a beginner, I don't think I would have been as confident using this book, but would have wanted something a bit more detailed.

This book has great pictures and illustrations and the instructions are easy to follow. I checked it out at the library and loved it so much, I added a copy to my own personal library. It is a great reference book and well written.

I bought this book because I couldn't afford to buy new living room furniture and wanted to at least recover the cushions. However, the instructions and illustrations were clear enough that I was able to reupholster both the couch and chair. And they look amazingly good--which, I confess, amazes me!

This book is very helpful. The pictures are large enough to see essential details and the instructions are clear and allow a complete beginner to obtain professional results.

One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit or Crochet

This book has a wonderful look with many full color pictures. As I am a crochet person, rather than a knit person, I was a bit disappointed with the book as out of the 30 projects only 8 or 9 are crochet projects, the rest are all knitting.
It should, in the description show that it is predominately a knitters book. That way crochetters will not purchase it. For the price, I would not have bought this book if I had but known that the patterns weren't even crochet to knitting.
Over all a good resourse, but I will probably give it to a friend that knits.

this book is great to have lying around for if you can't think of what to make a loved one (or yourself!) for birthdays, christmas or "just because". it is full of great, quick patterns and i have used it many a time over the last two years.

I've had my eye on this book for some time and was thrilled when I bought it.
Some of the patterns are relatively basic, but still interesting. The legwarmers are great for someone who wants to try tatting but doesn't want to commit to a large lace project. The petal bib is absolutely adorable and is what told me I had to get this book. And the labyrinth circle rug is gorgeous.
I only give the book 4 out of 5 because the title is a bit misleading when it says "project to knit & crochet." There are a lot of knitting patterns and only a few for crochet.

I bought this book whithout carefully looking inside and of course hoping to find some patterns for a single skein (everyone probably has a few single skeins of different pricey yarns they bought to try but couldn't afford more than that). I was so dissapointed! It seems that author doesn't really know what is average single skein is. One of the projects calls for 1250 yards skein of wool! That is very average skein size! Except for using single pattern for my own project I haven't knitted a single project out of that book. A lot of useless items and not enough of variety. Very dissapointed.

This is a good book for using up single skeins of yarn. Most of the patterns are for knitting. If you crochet, don't bother with this book.

As with most books, there are a few useful projects and the rest are too basic or too goofy for words. In this one, I love the cable footies, petal bib, and felted bowls.

The Cable Footies knit up fast and are a wonderful gift for someone who needs cozy comfort. Knitted in soft cotton or silk, they are a perfect luxury for someone facing chemo therapy.

The Petal Bib is a fast knit for a unique, baby shower gift. If I have time, I'll knit it as part of a cap, bib, bootie set.

Just for the heck of it, I knitted and felted a couple of bowls to use up leftover wool. They quickly became cat beds instead of bowls.

The baby bolero in this book is okay, but I'd never knit it again. I'd rather use the 5-hour baby sweater to knock out a fast, one-skein gift.

Also, BEFORE KNITTING OR CROCHETING, be sure to check Radford's site for corrections to the single cable scarf, the crochet cap, the petal bib, and the baby bolero.

I started out working with leather on my own with some help from my local leatherworking supplier. Unhappy with the results I was getting I decided on buying this book and I was not disappointed. The quality of my work is far better now than I could have hoped for. A must read for beginners.

I found this handbook disappointingly superficial.It makes to many assumptions that the reader is an experienced leather-worker, and is very short on instruction.
This writer has had some expert tutelage from master craftsmen, but I still found a considerable deficit in detail.A pity, as the projests are interesting, but, in most instances, too complex for a beginner.
I could not recommend this book!

If you thought leather craft was just had tooling on saddles and belt straps...this book will show you how elegant and sophistcated great leather work can be. This book covers all the details and tools necessary to learn all the skills. Well written and well illustrated..highly recommended

I have been very interesting in making purses and other items where building a case is critical. I found this book to be excellent in answering many of my questions. I have found no one book can answer all your questions. A lot depends on reading and working to develop more understanding. This book attracted me because it uses molds to shape form leather into cases. I found the other information in the book very helpful with my projects and developing my skills and ideas.

This book stands out from the general run of leathercraft books by not being "crafty" (i.e., about making junk) and presenting truly fine workmanship - not the equal of commercial products, but better. It is superbly illustrated and very much to the point. It presents tools, techniques, and projects in order of difficulty. The project items are worthwhile, beautiful, even elegant. No digressions on philosophy or history, no segues into other crafts, no lists of out-of-date websites and suppliers, etc. Buy it. It will elevate your vision as to what's possible.

Opens the door to endless possabilities, limitied only by the mind. With a few basic procedures of building, anything is possable.

This is a great book for ideas for unusual and creative items to build. Is is NOT a great book for techniques for the average beginner. There is not enough detail as to the actual techiniques. It is a better book for an experienced artisan than for beginners.

Joaquim Chavarria has produced a well presented book with clear instructions for hand building techniques.The robust hard back cover makes is particularly suitable to a craft envirnoment. The projects suggested and examples shown are inspirational. I bought the book to use with a beginners class but feel that it is more suited for people with a basic familiarity with clay. I wouldn't recommend it to an absolute beginner or hobbiest, but have found it suitable for intermiediate classes and for my own use.

Hi
I got this book to help me to refresh my clay work. I have done work for yours and have been away from it for a long time now. With grand kids wanting to do the clay now I wanted a book help with the small things I have forgot. It is a great book for that and lot more. All of my tips I knew came rushing back after going though it. I even plan on getting all of his books on Clay.
They really well done and full of great info on clay work. Some I did not even know from back years ago when I was doing clay a lot.
I would say if you want to work with clay this would be the book for you.

I am just beginning to explore clay and so I got this book for myself and for the students in my store who take classes. The techniques are illustrated very well. The directions very clear and photos are great. The only complaint I have is that the projects are a bit out there for me. I mean I'd like to build a great mug, a plate, maybe some platters or something, but some of the wild sculptures are not for me.