Books

BOOKS
Here is an opportunity to see, read about and purchase some of our favorite books on sewing, fabric manipulation, fitting, patternmaking and anything else we think worth mentioning. Below are a variety of topics that we've found to be creatively inspiring.

Order Direct from Purrfection
click on the book cover to order your copy

$8.95
Design Booklet

Full Color Step by Step Instructions and Photo Gallery

$29.95

The Surface Designer's Handbook:
Dyeing, Printing, Painting, and Creating Resists on Fabric

by Holly Brackmann

Learn to create richly patterned fabrics with The Surface Designer’s Handbook, the most comprehensive book for learning how dyes work and using them with surface design techniques. Author Holly Brackmann draws on more than 30 years of experience with studio dyeing techniques, providing a wealth of information on dyeing and surface design not found in any book currently in print.

The Surface Designer’s Handbook will help crafters understand which dyes work best with which fibers, and how to apply this knowledge to create unique, original fabrics.

Begin by learning the basics of studio practices and safety measures, appropriate fibers and fabrics, and then move into all aspects of the major dye groups most accessible to studio dyers: fiber reactive, acid, vat, and disperse. The dyes are then used to alter and change surfaces by discharging, screen printing, monoprinting, stamping, stenciling, resist dyeing, dévoré, and painting. Then learn how to embellish your fabric with foiling, embroidery, beadwork, or collage.

Recipes for dyes and techniques covered in the book are accompanied by step-by-step instructions and process photographs, making them clear and easy to follow. Brackmann shares tips and tricks gleaned from her three decades of experience in studio dyeing and helps you identify your personal approach to dyeing—are you a creative free spirit, or do you prefer to follow precise rules?

The hardback format with concealed spiral binding makes The Surface Designer’s Handbook easy to use, as the book can lie flat while you’re consulting a recipe. The dye worksheet can be used to calculate and record dyes, chemicals, procedures, and costs for all dye projects. Color photos of works from some of the top fiber artists today that are included throughout the book are certain to inspire artists of any background.

The Surface Designer’s Handbook will appeal to a wide audience of students, teachers, hobbyists, or beginner surface design artists. Whether you’re an experienced dyer or surface designer or you’re just starting out, this book is certain to become your essential reference tool!

Hardback with concealed wire-o, 8½ x 11, 144 pages, 240 Photographs and 5 illustrations, ISBN 10: 1-931499-90-X, ISBN 13: 978-1-931499-90-3

	$21.95 Beading on Fabric is the ideal teaching tool and reference guide to get you started! Whether your medium is quilts, wearable arts, beaded jewelry, or woven or felted material, this must-have book will help you add sparkle, texture, and dimension to your work. Whether your medium is quilts, wearable arts, beaded jewelry, or woven or felted material, this must-have book will help you add sparkle, texture, and dimension to your work. Start with a comprehensive look at tools and materials that covers all types of fabrics, threads, needles, glues, and stablilizers. Then get the lowdown on beads commonly used in embroidery, and tips for wearability, washability, and caring for beaded fabrics. Move on to learning the basic stitches, incorporating beads into your stitches, creating edges and fringe, and how to bead around cabochons. The author carefully helps you choose how many beads to use in your work and select a color scheme, and a section on finishing techniques lets you wrap up your projects with style. You’ll even learn insider tricks for making your work easier! Illustrations, photographs of stitched samples, and examples of completed work scattered throughout the book will instruct and inspire. This practical approach to beading on fabric will give you all the tools you need to start bead embroidery—use the skills you’ve just learned, and let your imagination run wild! Whether you’re a doll maker seeking how to secure beads to your doll, a garment maker wanting to glitz up your latest creation, or a quilter venturing away from the traditional techniques, Beading on Fabric is your ultimate reference tool. Hardback with concealed wire-o, 7 x 9¼, 120 pages, 70 Photographs and 75 illustrations, ISBN 10: 1-59668-004-0, ISBN 13: 978-1-59668-004-3 Well-known artist, lecturer and teacher Larkin Jean Van Horn shares many inspiring renditions of her beaded work.


	$19.95 Fantastic Fabric Textures is a project book for dimensional fabric embellishment. Indulge in fabric manipulation techniques like pleating, scrunching, and curved piecing to surface texture created by painting, stamping, and stitching. Produce your own truly incredible fabrics! Soft Cover - Over 150 black and white photos and illustrations, Color Gallery and Step By Step instructions. Order your autographed copy today!
sheer pleats	curve piecing
leaf painting	creative stamping!

$21.95

$14.95

$28.00

$22.50

Fleece wizardry from the award winning author of the Adventures With Polar Fleece series!

Special Guest Chapter by Dana Bontrager, lead designer for Purrfection Artistic Wearables!

Order from our website and receive your own copy, autographed by Dana in her chapter "Embossing Stamping and Embellishing Fleece", plus a free "swirl" stamp to get you started with fleece embellishment!

Don't forget the fleece!

Welcome to Rita Farro's world, where fashion and style have never been more accessible, more fun, or more important. Rita takes women through the steps of developing a personal style, choosing clothes that best suit their body type, and living each day as fully as they possibly can. This is an inspirational and practical book that will make you think about weight and dressing in an entirely new way.

The cover is black, with a red pair of lips that once was a button used by the NY designer Patrick Kelly.
The closure is created by making a faced buttonhole in the shape of lips.

This is just one of the closures that will pique your interest as you turn the pages of Opening & Closing.

There are more than 100 samples of fasteners with clear black & white photos and wonderful art work by Anne Charles.
24 pages of color to make the fabrics and closures come alive!

This book is a great addition to every creative person's library!

Lois Ericson, 128 pages, illustrated, soft cover.

Lois started with many of the options from the Design & Sew Pattern collection and some of the ideas from her Good News Rag (newsletter) -- then moved on from there.

The 7 1/2" x 9" format is different from the other 14 books she's written. This one is wire bound so it will open flat, has a frosted looking plastic cover with red/white/black cover that shows through. The colored cover is a photo of a collage that repeats the colors that are the scheme carried throughout the 128 page book.

Simply click on the "book" cover or text link there and it will take you to the full description and review on Amazon.com. Then read more about the book and simply order online! This couldn't be any easier, and you can be sure of great service from Amazon.com!

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