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Description
The possibilities for three-dimensional manipulation of fabric - gathering, pleating, tucking, shirring, and quilting woven materials - are seemingly endless. To describe them all would be to describe the entire history of sewing. In The Art of manipulating Fabric, Colette Wolff has set herself just this task, and she succeeds brilliantly. Working from the simplest possible form - a flat piece of cloth and a threaded needle - she categorizes all major dimensional techniques, show how they are related, and give examples of variations both traditional and modern. The result is an encyclopedia of techniques that resurface, reshape, restructure and reconstruct fabric. • More than 350 diagrams support the extensive how-tos, organized into broad general categories, then specific sub-techniques • Handsome photos galleries showcase the breathtaking possibilities in each technique and aid visual understanding by emphasizing the sculptured fabric surface with light and shadow • Textile artists and quilters, as well as garment and home decor sewers, will expand their design horizons with the almost limitless effects that can be achieved. Read more
Publisher : Krause Craft
Publication date : October 1, 1996
Edition : First Edition
Language : English
Print length : 312 pages
ISBN-10 : 0801984963
ISBN-13 : 69
Item Weight : 2.26 pounds
Dimensions : 8.39 x 0.67 x 10.91 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #55,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #64 in Sewing (Books) #73 in Fashion Craft #90 in Fiber Arts & Textiles
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Paperback
This really is a book about how to perform miracles with fabric! I disagree with Gingercook that this is not a book for novices or beginning seamstresses. I am just learning to use my Viking Topaz 30, taking lessons at the best sewing shop in Las Vegas, but I LOVE this book and, as others have said, cannot put it down! I have found ANSWERS to every question you could possibly have concerning getting fabric to do what you want it to do. I want to make a ruffle skirt for my 4 year old grand-daughter, but I want to make one with ruffles that stand out and "float" - not just hang there. Maybe other people know about Circular Flounce and cutting the ruffle pieces (as it shows on page 67) from a CIRCLE OF FABRIC - the strip closest to the center of the circle has tremendous flare, the next strip not so much and the third strip (which is cut farthest from the center of the circle has very little flare. The diagrams in this book are the best I have ever seen and they are on every page, helping you to understand, totally, how to do each step. It explains GRAINLINE BALANCE ON PAGE 70, with diagrams. Sorry but I had never heard of grainline balance, but I will never forget it now! I had never heard of a GODET, now I can't wait to try to make one and the SQUARE GODET shown on page 84 is one of the most beautiful things I have seen. Just take a large hankerchief (or large square of fabric) hold it by one of the 4 corners and let the fabric drape by itself. The drawing on page 84 shows this with 4 folds ending in a handkerchief edge. I can't wait to try to make one. I am taking this book to my instructors so they can teach me how to make a godet (go-day). I have never seen so many different drapery pleats. I especially like the CARTRIDGE PLEAT. Colette not only shows you all the different pleats, but she also shows you how to change them and make them look completely different. This book is an INSPIRATION, but it is not a book about which fabric to choose to make the miracles happen. It is about being able to make these miracles happen with ALL KINDS OF FABRIC. I'm taking classes in Heirloom sewing and this book shows how to do many of the Heirloom techniques and shows it with diagrams, making it easy to understand how to do all those intricate, gorgeous Shark's Teeth, Slashed Tucks, Keyhole Tucks, etc. The book also includes a chapter on Quilting and one on Stuffed Quilting & Applique, teaching you things that almost make you drool - because they are pieces of art and belong in a museum. I purchased this book on a whim while I was deciding whether or not to purchase the Colette Sewing Handbook by Sarai Mitnick and I ended up buying both of them. EVERY PERSON WHO SEWS OR WHO IS THINKING OF SEWING SHOULD OWN THIS BOOK. It is an inspirational book and a book of HOW TO PERFORM MIRACLES with fabric!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2013 by Pauline Eikel
Format: Paperback
Amazing book for sewing clothing, tapestry makers. So many ideas to try. Lots about smocking. It is inspirational, and the you can go onlilne and see videos of these techniques.
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2026 by Andrea Jacobsen
Format: Paperback
This is a really interesting and informative book for anyone interested in fabric art. Very helpful.
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2026 by printzy
Format: Paperback
Originally written in 1996 and still the best reference or fabric as art. Whether you are a sewer and want to make your garments stand out or you are an artist and want to make fabric do what you want it to. this book will help. 300 pages of techniques that are simply explained and shown with B&W examples and drawings.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2014 by Bodicia
Format: Paperback
Great seller, fast service, book is great condition. The book as I have thumbed through and read some parts of it, am ready to sit down for a very in-depth read. I recommend anyone who really wants to understand fabric manipulation, this looks like the right book to have. It will be a great reference book for me to return to over and over. It covers many variations of methods to manipulate fabric; is broken up onto topics, then sub-topic sections. Organized well. The author has done the real research and work. A great toolbelt book.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2026 by RKathie Mc
Format: Paperback
Firstly, it should be said that Wolff tackles fabric with an artist's approach, with a strong sculptural bent, with the intention of transforming a usually flat medium into something expressive, three-dimensional, voluminous, and with physical presence. Also let me express shock and awe at the sheer density of information in this book. Excluding the title and content pages, and the index located at the back of the book, I can vouch that LITERALLY every page of this magnificent publication is completely full of hand-drawn illustrations and black & white photographs, accompanied by detailed descriptions of the technique/method. I mean it--every single page has at least one if not five or six fantastically detailed images. This is not one of those trendy books with cutesy inset "pro tips," chapter headings with punny names, blank pages and full-page photos in between everything, and tons of semi-relevant and not-very-useful anecdata. This book immediately gets down to business, in the most pleasurable way. It's so solidly jam-packed with ideas and techniques that it blows my mind. This book is such a rare gem especially because it can function as a sourcebook for me as well as a how-to manual--the images are of textured abstract samples, not of chintzy finished-product curtains or pants, which allows me to imagine dozens of ways I could use that particular manipulation in my artwork. The samples are all in creamy blank white muslin, further giving that impression of malleability and elegance. That's the overall beauty and draw of this book, really--it's not a project guide book. It doesn't have weekly goals like "make a funky tote bag" or "sew some ruffled curtains!". The knowledge it bestows upon you is knowledge you can use broadly, anywhere, and causes you to think creatively. I LOVE this book!! Best thing I've bought in months, possibly years.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2009 by SIN-CH
Format: Paperback
My husband ordered me this book, and it is worth its' weight in gold. I specifically wanted it for greater understanding of how to draft dress bodices for my full bust, and to figure out how the angles of the fabric change between the pattern piece and your final gathered upper bodice, and this book has fulfilled my needs and then some. It contains techniques ranging from the basics (basic gathering, pin tucks, knife pleats) all the way through the more advanced techniques (pleat arrangements that change direction, hand smocking techniques, etc) and there are illustrations for each technique described, as well as an actual photo of each technique at the end of each segment. I am a self taught sewer turned pattern alterer turned small-time-for-my-own-use designer/drafter so when I want to try something new, or see a unique dress on tv and want to try something new, I learn by doing. So I ordered this book because I couldn't find much information online about how to slash and spread patterns for gathering (which I have now learned courtesy of this book) but because it contains so much information and things I had never even thought of, this book has now earned a place in my pattern making tub. Two small drawbacks that wouldn't have changed my mind about purchasing this book anyways but are still good to know: 1. black and white, even photos. Color would have been nice aesthetically just to break up some white space, but also to make the step by step instructional drawings more clear. 2. It's very informative and is fairly dense and dry, and reads like a college text book. (I usually watch tv and draft so I get kind of distracted =O ) The photos help offset the density and gives your eyes and mind a break from the dryness of the words though. But as I said, fantastic, informative, descriptive book that has (in the 6 hours I've had it) earned its' weight in gold!
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Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2012 by Suzy/Tony (Wife/Husband)
Format: Paperback
This book is an exquisite resource. The author organizes everything by methodological similarities rather than the product traditionally associated with each technique. In doing so, she ends up with a book that provides a lot of fodder for the full scope of possibilities for any given technique. It's very refreshing, very expansive. It also breaks down a lot of the divisions within the sewing world. This book is useful whether you are sewing quilts, clothing, or even upholstery. This book shuts no one out. Wolff doesn't assume the tools or techniques that people are coming to the table with, and she gives wonderful advice on how to handle even simple familiar methods like gathering when the folds get untidy. For every method, she gives instructions for multiple methods of handsewing, machine stitching, with or without elastics. Anyone who sews for any reason or with any set of tools will find this book accessible its contents incredibly well-structured. Techniques are illustrated beautifully, and the photography in this book is visually stunning but also serves the clear purpose of showing how the fabric behaves under different conditions. I could not recommend this book more highly. I have had my eye on it for ages, and I already regret that I did not buy it several years ago.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020 by Skolaidhe