Art Instruction
HEATHER HALLIDAY, American Jewish Historical Soc., New York
Krahula, Beckah. Tangle Journey: Exploring the Far Reaches of Tangle Drawing, from Simple Strokes to Color and Mixed Media. Quarry: Quarto. 2016. 144p. illus. index. ISBN 9781631590559. pap. $22.99. ART INSTRUCTION
Tangle is a specific type of structured and meditatively made doodle. The size of the drawings and the steps involved in making them are the hallmark of the technique, within which many styles and subjects can be explored. Practitioners of tangle drawing often discover added benefits beyond creativity, such as regaining focus and reducing stress. Krahula’s (One Zentangle a Day) book opens with an introductory section that reviews the steps of the tangle process. Chapters that follow address line, using shading and midtones, introducing color, creating more complex artworks by combining multiple drawings, and using mixed media. A major bonus is the inclusion of simple instructions for making one’s own sketchbook or journal. This guide is an excellent next step for anyone who has already tried and enjoyed this type of illustration. VERDICT A welcome addition to all art instruction collections, especially those that already hold a basic tangle title or two.
Crafts
NANETTE DONOHUE, Champaign P.L., IL
Pester, Sophie & Catharina Bruns. Supercraft: Easy Projects for Every Weekend. DK. 2016. 176p. tr. from German by Alison Tunley. illus. ISBN 9781465449207. pap. $14.95. CRAFTS
Coauthors Pester and Bruns believe in the power of handcraft—so much that they’ve built their careers around encouraging people to take time to create. The first of their books available in English presents 52 projects, one for each week of the year, intended to encourage experimentation with new techniques and materials and to take advantage of what each season has to offer. Each design starts with a brief overview of the difficulty level, supplies needed, and time required—allowing crafters to select a project that suits their interest and their schedule. The aesthetic is fresh and contemporary, with lots of bright colors and modern art–inspired style. Numerous techniques are covered, including paper craft, painting, crochet, embroidery, weaving, origami, and sewing, making this a veritable buffet of ideas. However, this means that no one technique is covered in depth, so if your interest is piqued by a printmaking project, you’ll need to go elsewhere for further information. An overview of basic knitting, crochet, and embroidery skills is provided, but some knowledge of crafting basics (including sewing) is assumed. VERDICT Crafters with varied interests, or beginners who seeking their niche and want to try out a lot of different techniques, will gain the most from this collection.
Power, Jean. Beading: Techniques and Projects To Build a Lifelong Passion for Beginners Up. Barron’s. (Learn It. Love It.). 2016. 160p. illus. index. ISBN 9781438007588. pap. $18.99. CRAFTS
Power (Small Beads Big Jewelry) focuses on building jewelrymakers’ foundational skills in this tutorial-based guide to beadwork techniques. Rather than looking at a single method or group of principles, Power provides broad coverage of three general topics within beading: stringing, wirework, and beadwork. The chapter on stringing focuses less on design and more on working with tools, cord, and findings—skills that are relevant to any type of jewelrymaking, not just stringing. The wirework section covers a variety of techniques including making loops, tubes, coils, and findings; hammering wire; and working with chain. The beadwork segment gives a brief overview of different off-loom techniques, including right-angle weave, ladder stitch, peyote, and herringbone stitch, as well as using a loom for bead weaving. Power includes her own work as “quick-start” projects, and two activities from guest designers complete each chapter. The presentation is highly visual, with full-color photographs and illustrations throughout to complement the instructions. VERDICT Novice jewelrymakers in need of a visual guide to basic beadwork techniques will be drawn to this work.
Wedding Papercrafts: Add Handmade Charm to Your Celebration. Lark: Sterling. Apr. 2016. 128p. illus. index. ISBN 9781454709220. pap. $19.95. CRAFTS
Handmade wedding decor adds a personalized touch to a festive occasion. This collection of projects demonstrates that wedding crafts can be sophisticated and easy to make. The emphasis is on florals and nature-inspired decor, including leaves, butterflies, wisteria, roses, and daisies constructed from an assortment of materials (tissue paper, coffee filters, recycled books), and incorporated into everything from table toppers to a groom’s boutonniere to a bridal bouquet. While most are nature-themed, there are a few outlier projects, including a midcentury modern-style paper ball backdrop, a music-themed centerpiece, and a starburst wedding cake topper cut from white cardstock and embellished with a touch of glitter. The directions are easy to follow, with line drawings illustrating key steps and a host of crafting tips for additional insight into the process. Few, if any, specialized tools are needed, and basic scissors-and-glue-gun skills will suffice for most of the projects, making them beginner friendly. VERDICT Wedding crafts are a consistently popular category, and the projects here will draw in couples who delight in handmade floral decor.
DIY
KAREN ELLIS, Taylor P.L., TX
Blondel, Rachelle. Forgotten Ways for Modern Days: Kitchen Cures and Household Lore for a Natural Home and Garden. Perigee. Jun. 2016. 144p. illus. index. ISBN 9780143110583. $25. DIY
There is appeal in a simpler lifestyle, one that is organic and free from harsh cleaning products. Blondel (coauthor, Granny Chic) offers a sampling of adapted projects and recipes to make daily tasks more natural. Projects are arranged by section, covering cleaning, gardening, health, and beauty. While a lovely photo accompanies each project, only sewing and assembly of some arrangements are illustrated. Interesting lists and tips are interspersed among the demonstrations—the wonders of egg shells, uses for honey, and matching stains to types of homemade removers. Careful explanations are provided, and some of the offerings are real winners: DIY pine-scented cleaner, waxed cloth to cover leftovers, herbal hair rinses, and syrups for a sore throat. The range of ideas lends itself to diversity, but some sections lack insight. Pair this with Georgia Pellegrini’s Modern Pioneering, which has better coverage of organic gardening. VERDICT Recommended for those who want easy projects for homemade products to use in everyday life.
Faiola, Anne-Marie. Pure Soapmaking: How To Create Nourishing, Natural Skin Care Soaps. Storey. 2016. 240p. illus. index. ISBN 9781612125336. spiral. $19.95; ebk. ISBN 9781612125343. DIY
There is a science to soapmaking, a chemical process of balancing ingredients to create a variety of different soaps. Faiola is a professional soapmaker and author of a previous manual, Soap Crafting. This volume appears to be a revision and update of that book, but nevertheless it is a lovely collection of soap recipes, with stylish illustrations and great step-by-step instructions. The author’s skill and expertise is clearly on display. The principles of cold-process soapmaking are introduced, including a glossary of terms and safety requirements. Ingredients from oils to additives are covered in detail. The bulk of the book is composed of 32 different recipes grouped by type—simple soaps, beauty and skin care, and more sophisticated soaps. Readers should be aware that soapmaking requires an investment of time, space, and ingredients. VERDICT Great for the serious crafter or those in search of captivating soap recipes.
Fiber Crafts
NANETTE DONOHUE, Champaign P.L., IL
Budd, Ann. New Directions in Sock Knitting: 18 Innovative Designs Knitted From Every Which Way. Interweave. 2016. 168p. illus. index. ISBN 9781620339435. pap. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9781620339459. FIBER CRAFTS
Sock knitters know Budd as a knitter with extensive knowledge of sock construction and technique, as seen in her earlier books, including Sock Knitting Master Class. The patterns, from well-known sock designers, are organized into three sections based on the item’s construction—top-down, toe-up, and “other”—allowing knitters to choose their favorite and proceed from there. However, even though top-down and toe-up are familiar, these designers switch up familiar forms. Kate Atherley’s “mirror socks” look deceptively simple—a plain-vanilla sock worked from the top down—but they’re knit at the same time using double knitting. Carissa Browning’s “cumulus” socks are knit from the toe up, but they’re constructed from a series of scallop shapes that build from one another. The really mind-bending designs are in the “other types of construction” chapter, which features socks started from a diamond-shaped instep, a pair knit in a boomerang form, and socks started from the sole. If you don’t have a mind for geometry, it’s tough to figure out how these socks are constructed—but the finished products are undeniably cool. Many of these patterns require careful attention to the directions and a certain amount of trust in the designer, because these aren’t your everyday knitted socks. Most of the patterns are extremely detailed, but patient knitters will find the process rewarding, and the finished results are gorgeous. VERDICT Experienced sock knitters who relish a challenge will want to pick this one up, as will knitters weary of traditional patterns.
Nico, Brooke. More Lovely Knitted Lace: Contemporary Patterns in Geometric Shapes. Lark: Sterling. Apr. 2016. 128p. illus. index. ISBN 9781454709183. pap. $19.95. FIBER CRAFTS
Nico (Lovely Knitted Lace) returns with 16 more lace knitwear patterns in an array of shapes and styles. As in the author’s first book, the patterns are organized by geometric shape: circle, triangle, square, or rectangle, and within each shape are several types of garment or accessory. Each of the shapes includes a shawl or wrap—the traditional showcase for lace knitting—but Nico also incorporates lace motifs into sweaters and tunics, a tam, and gauntlets. Knitters who enjoy the look of knitted lace but not the fussiness of working with very fine yarn will appreciate that a number of the designs are knitted with DK, sport, and worsted-weight yarns. Two use bulky weight yarn, demonstrating the different looks knitters can achieve by employing heavier-weight yarns to knit a fabric traditionally considered delicate and light. Written and charted instructions are included, and the charts are clear and simple to follow. The introduction provides handy tips for making yarn overs around reverse stockinette columns more even and working short rows, cluster stitches, and nupps, but basic lace-knitting and chart-reading skills are assumed. VERDICT Knitters interested in exploring the possibilities of lace beyond conventional shawls knit in lace-weight yarn will appreciate Nico’s attractive, chic designs.
Scheidig, Hannah. Fascinators: 25 Stylish Accessories To Top Off Your Look. Running Pr. Apr. 2016. 224p. illus. index. ISBN 9780762459674. pap. $20; ebk. ISBN 9780762459681. FIBER CRAFTS
Fascinators—the festive, frivolous headgear brought into the public eye by the fashionable British royals and their milieu—are most commonly worn for weddings and other jubilant occasions. After several years as a milliner, Scheidig started teaching the art of designing and constructing fascinators to an eager audience, and this collection of 25 millinery projects brings her workshops to a wider audience. Millinery requires specialized tools, fabrics, and techniques, and Scheidig opens this book with a thorough overview of the basics, including construction of hat bases and techniques for working with common embellishments such as feathers and flowers. Each project includes written instructions with photographs of key steps, as well as a fashion photograph of the fascinator worn by a model. A selection of floral crowns, dainty wire-and-bead tiaras, and bridal fascinators round out the projects. There’s a certain wow factor to Scheidig’s designs—but most of us have few occasions appropriate for a fascinator. VERDICT Women who attend the type of events where showpiece hats are de rigueur, as well as fashionable brides, may enjoy this guide to DIY millinery.
Watson, Sarah. Pen to Thread: 750+ Hand-Drawn Embroidery Designs To Inspire Your Stitches. Interweave. 2016. 160p. illus. index. ISBN 
. pap. $26.99. w/CD. FIBER CRAFTS
Illustrator and fabric designer Watson brings her whimsical, hand-drawn designs to embroiderers in this collection of small and medium motifs. A “getting started” chapter introduces the fundamentals of embroidery, including a useful comparison of the same stitches in a number of fibers, and an overview of transfer methods. A basic stitch guide, with illustrations of stitch formation, common applications for each stitch, and close-up photos of the stitches in use on one of the motifs, follows. The heart of the book is the motifs themselves—more than 750 line drawings that can be traced directly on the surface to be embroidered or printed from the enclosed CD. There’s a cute, wonky aesthetic to Watson’s sketches—these aren’t Jacobean themes or realistic florals—and they have a youthful, informal feel. The designs are organized by theme (e.g., craft room, by the sea, animals), which provides an easy way to mix and match. Color palettes and stitches to employ aren’t specified, leaving much up to the stitcher. VERDICT Fans of Aimee Ray’s “Doodle Stitching” series are a natural audience for Watson’s fun, funky embroidery motifs.
