Fabricate: 17 Innovative Sewing Projects that Make Fabric the Star (Paperback)

If you want the designer look but find your bank manager is not in agreement with you then perhaps this book might be of use. In here are seventeen projects that show how to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary and add that touch of uniqueness to your sewing. This is basically all about taking plain fabrics (or old items) and making them into something innovative and different. If, like this reviewer, you are stuck with a limited assortment of stores selling a tiny range of fabrics then this will have plenty of appeal. Learn how to pleat, gather, applique, fray, tuft and ruffle fabrics to create shag pile rugs, fabric flower bedecked purses, recycled plastic bag tote bags and give the appearance of embroidery without stitching. Many of these projects have a distinct retro appearance that make me think of the 60s and Habitat stores, but even if this is not to your taste this is an empowering sort of book. Projects are described in detail with plenty of photographed stages and patterns, and it is easy to adapt the techniques to suit your own ideas. Certainly I was left thinking that even the dullest fabric does not need to be painted or embroidered over to look interesting, and I particularly loved the ideas for fun and creative recycling. A useful book that will be opened again and again, and which is sure to appeal to anybody with a sewing machine and some experience of both working with patterns and "going it alone".-Myshelf.com Do you ever find a fantastic piece of fabric and then not know what to do with it? Have you ever coloured or created a fabric and wished there was some way to show it off to its best advantage? Susan Wasinger could well have the answer for you with this book which offers seventeen designs where the fabric is undoubtedly the star of the show. Ideas vary from an evening bag to a laptop case, an elegant wrap to a little skirt. In each case, the fabric takes centre stage and has been transformed through texture, substance, adornment and embellishment. As well as full instructions, the book offers templates where needed and the photography shows each piece. Whether you want to create using a new piece of fabric or recycle a favourite vintage piece, there is an idea to suit you here.-Classic Stitches Suddenly, fabric is not just fabric - ruffled, puffed, pleated, nipped and tucked, it takes on a whole new identity. The 17 projects are all very do-able and the looks are stylish and modern. Even the descriptions sound tempting: ruffled flowers (the bag shown on the cover); crinkled pleats (folded and twisted iridescent silk); puffed tufts (gorgeous flirty skirt). Other techniques include trapping fibres between layers (for 'stitchless embroidery'!), laminating felt, fusing plastic and cutting and fraying. If you want to give your textiles a contemporary twist, you'll find the ideas excitingly inspirational - all you need is your imagination.-Stitch