American Quilt Retailer
Jan 12
Who hasn't dreamed of being a fabric designer? Even with the wealth of beautiful fabrics on the market today, I'd bet anyone who enjoys the visually creative process of arranging bits of cloth into quilt art would be equally as interested in creating said fabric in the first place. With A Field Guide to Fabric Design by Kimberly Knights (Stash Books) anyone can dabble in custom fabric design and production to their heart's content. Kimberly covers an analysis of the structure of pattern design, color know-how, as well as hand-printing and digital-printing techniques. If you've ever wanted to offer block-printing or a chance to play with paints and dyes, here's the book to get you and your customers going.
Australian Homespun
Sept 12
If youve ever dreamed of having a go at designing your own fabrics, you simply must, must, must get yourself a copy of this book. ITs a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know and everything you need to think about when it comes to developing and producing a printed fabric. Design and colour basics are explained, with step-by-step tutorials for creating repeat patterns by hand or computer. Then you can explore the myriad ways of transferring your design to cloth, from stamping and screen printing to digital printing with short-run fabric printers such as Spoonflower through to how to go about getting a contract with one of the large fabric companies to produce a range that youve designed. This book will be valuable to those who would just like to play with the occasional designs as well as those who aspire to be the next Amy Butler. If you have good ideas and some design flair, theres now nothing stopping you. Go for it.
Library Journal, USA
Dec 11
Kight, a self-taught fabric designer and blogger (www.trueup.net), introduces novices to the processes and artistry behind creating patterned fabric. After covering the nuts and bolts of design, including color theory, directional patterns, and types of fabric, Kight describes the process of creating one's own fabrics using both pen-an paper and computer-based design and print the finished design (or hiring someone to print the fabric for you.) Though the audience for the design sections of the book is limited to crafters with an artistic bent, much of the other content will help quilters and sewers make the best possible use of the fabrics in their collections.
Quilting Arts
Dec 11
Filled with page after page of gorgeous fabrics and sections on color, printing, and the world of fabric design, this is a must-have resource for the serious fabric lover. In-depth tutorials cover topics such as fabric repeats created both by hand and computer and how to develop effective color palettes, as well as information on branding your work, digital printing services, and fabric construction. Designer round tables with quotes by leading fabric designers are peppered throughout, providing a nice variety of perspectives and personal insight. This will certainly be a title you return to again and again for inspiration and reference.
