Craft Center : Textile Arts

Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism calls upon craft, during an era of political disruption, as a creative force to voice dissent, express hope, critique the curtailment of civil rights, and to restore dignity to the human experience. The essays and artwork featured in this exhibition catalogue are framed within the context of American democracy and disclose how we, as individuals and as a culture, "craft democracy" and ultimately question what democracy means today.

Create gorgeous one-of-a-kind handmade fabrics and transform them into fun and useful projects with this guide to distinctive cloth-making techniques. This innovative how-to resource uses classic and modern techniques to create interesting custom fabrics that are used in a dazzling array of fresh, stylish yet practical must-have items for one's wardrobe or home. From laptop cases to evening bags, elegant wraps to flirty skirts, floor pillows to whimsical curtains, this tutorial uses a variety of easy fiber-art and fabric-manipulation techniques to create original fabric projects from wearable designs and touching gifts to home decor.

In honor of The Fabric Workshop and Museum's 40th Anniversary, Process and Practice tells a story of contemporary art at FWM that highlights process along with product. It documents FWM's history of collaboration with established and emerging artists-in-residence since the 2002 publication of New Materials as New Media.

Textile artist and surface designer Mandy Pattullo marries fabric with collage techniques to produce beautiful pieces of art. In Textile Collage she shows a fresh way to use scraps and oddments of fabrics to create something unique and personal, while also being economical - perfect for those who have hoarded bits of fabric, trim and memory-filled domestic textiles over the years. This is a wonderful resource for all textilers looking to make the most of the found fabrics they love and fully explore the technique of collage with textiles.

A global survey of more than 100 artists, chosen by art-world professionals for their work with threads, stitching, and textiles Celebrating tapestry, embroidery, stitching, textiles, knitting, and knotting as used by visual artists worldwide, Vitamin Tis the latest in the celebrated series in which leading curators, critics, and art professionals nominate living artists for inclusion. As boundaries between art and craft have blurred, artists have increasingly embraced these materials and methods, with the resulting works being coveted by collectors and exhibited in museums worldwide.

Shibori--or Japanese tie-dye--is a patterned three-dimensional form created by a unique process of folding, crumpling, stitching, plaiting, plucking, and twisting material. The result is gorgeous, soft-edged patterns that will delight sewers and fabric lovers alike. This appealing, modern take on a traditional art takes the intimidation out of a versatile craft and allows anyone to create beautiful items. Eighteen exquisite projects include purses, napkins, silk scarves, and more.

Shibori is the name for a range of dyeing techniques that have been practiced in Japan for centuries. Using just plain white cloth and indigo dye, you can create a huge range of patterns that will each be unique. Full photographic step-by-step instructions are given for preparing the vat and plain dyeing, so you can master these steps before you move on to the different types of shibori. Each chapter then starts with a photographic step-by-step explanation of a different shibori technique.