Layered cloth - Ann Small

Ann Small's imaginative use of cutting and manipulating techniques, and her layering and colouring tricks, makes thisyour 'go-to' guide for bringing form and texture to your fabric artwork. This book isa rich resource and reference for textile artists seeking new ideas and who want to experiment with reverse appliqu and related techniques such as layering, trapunto, stacks, puffs and fabric manipulation.

• Packed with techniques suitable for quilting and other textile art
• Three wearable step-by-step projects
• Clear, close-up images make layering enjoyable and accessible.

Ann lives and works in Hertfordshire, and has exhibited widely in the UK, America and Canada. She trained in Canada, and also at Goldsmith's College, London. She has a Fine Art degree, and with her love of colour and design, she has developed unusual and exciting techniques in her current textile art work. Ann now devotes her time to mentoring and making, developing her work for exhibitions and galleries. She will be featured artist in the Knitting and Stitching Show 2017.

At first sight the techniques described here seem to target machine and hand sewers. But delve deeper and you may see clear potential for fabric and yarn to be dyed or woven specifically to include in art pieces, interior items or costume using these methods. The layering of colour and pattern, also known as reverse applique, involves stacking cloth, stitching to form a design, then slashing or cutting away to expose cloth beneath. Starting with the basic technique tocreate a small sample, the author introduces ways of producing more complex effects, then shows how these might be combined and embellished: it is the nuances of how layers are prepared, treated and finished that create the lively effects described here. A section on finding and developing design ideas includes some refreshing tips and widely applicable advice on scaling up and sampling, then finishing and care of work. Not a book for everyone, but if you have come to dye or weave from other textile crafts, this may well inspire you to look again at how your knowledge of a variety of textile skil ls may be combined and explored further.

May/June 2018

Ann Small's imaginative use of cutting and manipulating techniques and her layering and colouring tricks make this your go-to guide for bringing form and texture to your fabric artwork. This book is a rich resource and reference for textile artists seeking new ideas and who want to experiment with reverse appliqu and related techniques such as layering, trapunto, stacks, puffs, and fabric manipulation.

This inspiring book forms part of the popular and beautifully photographed series of books under the label of 'The Textile Artist', published by Search Press. The series is aimed at the more creative stitcher and budding textile artists. The book is predominantly a technique guide but it does include a number of interesting projects that you can attempt to try out what you have learnt and consolidate the techniques...The book is an excellent resource for a creative stitcher who is looking for something a bit different to take into their stitching and is a great reference on using these innovative techniques.

Layer stacks of fabric, and then slash and decorate them for a richly textured look. I thought that I had done (or at least seen) most forms of fabric manipulation but this is new to me and looks most impressive. It is a good way of making the most of all sort of leftovers and doing a lot with a little, turning the ordinary into something new and exciting. Most of the tools needed are the same as those required for ordinary sewing, and if you sew you will already own stacks of fabrics. This is a book aimed squarely at the experienced needlecrafter who is up for something fresh and challenging and who already has the basics under their belt.

There are seven step-by-step projects in here, and plenty of preliminary information to get you started. This large format book also has lots of lush good-sized photographs to get the creative juices flowing. All the staged photographs are a decent size too which is essential for such an unfamiliar craft, where the samples have so much detail. After the section on tools and materials there are several chapters showing how to layer the fabric and grids for the slashing part. Each chapter has ample written instructions and enough photographs and diagrams, including some for simple embroidery stitches. After this comes a section on inspiration and design, focussing on ideas, keeping a sketchbook and stylizing the real world into workable drawings. This is very helpful, showing the progression from inspiration (eg a field of lavender) through to a painting, a simplified drawing, a design and finally the finished piece. The next section, entitled Pushing The Boundaries looks at "advanced techniques" and contains four staged projects. The final section on 3D appliqu has three projects, and each project is designed to get you working on a particular type of layering technique. Fabric puffs, trapunto, booklike stacks, twisted spirals of cloth and more look amazingly complicated until they are explained and you work through the stages. It is all great fun for needlecrafters and something a bit different. As a maker of wearable art I was pleased to see how many projects are for wearable items as opposed to the usual pictures and cushions. One for the keeper shelf.