Surface Design Bookshelf from Susan Niner Janes {part 5}

Here is part five our five part feature on some lovely Surface Design books by Susan Niner Janes.

Please pop over here to read part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4

How to Decorate & Embellish Your Fabrics:
Beading, Buttons, Sequins, Dyeing, Printing, Embroidery… and More!
By Laurie Wisbrun
Search Press 2013
ISBN 978 1 84448 833 9
Paperback £14.99

Laurie Wisbrun is back – repeat of a winning formula catering to a craft textile readership. This title concentrates more on dealing with the actual textiles – hands-on decoration, fabric manipulation. Think transformation.

The subjects of Dyeing and Bleaching, Batik; and a photographic process called Cyanotype that uses sunlight to print from a negative. Like the previous title, contributors are called upon to provide specialist tutorials.

There is a section on Designing Patterns by Heather Dutton. This covers repeat generation and some Photoshop computer tutorials, but not in as great a depth or variety as the previous title.

If you have any sewing experience, you will find the sewn embellishment section a little Mickey Mouse. But the gallery pics are pretty.

You will also find a section on Going Pro, by Laurie Wisbrun. Here, you will find tips for finding the right marketplace. For example, Etsy is not the only fish in the sea. There’s also Dawanda, Envelop, and Zazzle. There are also interviews with textile embellishment success stories, to spark your enthusiasm, offer advice, and enthusiasm.

A Field Guide to Fabric Design:
Design, Print & Sell Your Own Fabric* Traditional & Digital Techniques
By Kimberly Knight
Stash Books 2011
ISBN 978 1 60705 355 2
Paperback $24.95 (don’t know the UK retail price, but it is £24.99 on Amazon)

You can tell this book was a labour of love. It is divided into three sections: Design and Color, Printing, and The World of Fabric Design. So – it sets you on a pathway. Design fundamentals, techie tutorials, and practical applications.

In the first section, the Design Parameters section is notable. There’s a section on directionality and orientation, and an excellent section on types of prints (railroad prints, border prints, craft panels, engineered prints, all-in-one prints, and cheater prints). Nicely done: the section on print categories. Geometrics, Florals, and Novelty prints. Great range of samples to illustrate the types.
Instructions are included for designing square repeats and half-drop by hand and computer. Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop methods are covered, too. The tutorials are excellent – very specific how-tos.

The section on use of colour is very strong. Including how to use digital colour swatches.
Good advice on “Designing Your First Collection”, with design considerations listed for fashion and home decor.

Hand-printing methods – block printing and screen- printing are also covered with tutorials, for those with a hobbyist textile design outlook.

There’s the obligatory successful “talking heads” section at the back. This is handled well here, with a “roundtable discussion” rather than capsule bios and mini-sketches. A refreshing change.

This book does a pretty good job of being all things to all people in the textile design world. Well worth the investment.

Finally, some book-trawling advice: cast your net further. Useful design knowledge is available in titles related to textile design. Try digital scrapbooking, packaging design (recommended: Paul Jackson’s books for Laurence King), popular craft titles on subjects such as lino block printing, rubber stamping. You are sure to make some serendipitous discoveries.

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Susan Niner Janes is a craft designer, author, and blogger.