Customer Reviews

The Art of Manipulating Fabric

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In the author's words, "this is a book of ideas about sewing cloth" but what it really is, is an awesome collection of information from a thousand different sources on the techniques sewers have used since fabric was invented, to change the surface of an initially flat textile. Wolff brings little techniques of fabric manipulation from the background to the spotlight by isolating each technique, cataloging its unique features, separating the technique from end product associations, and exploring the sculptural possibilities without regard to where application will be. For any home or professional sewers who currently (or hypothetically) maintain folders of "pleating ideas," "interesting darts," or "photos of ruffles" get this book, and fast. Save yourself the chore of assimilating all the diagrams and photos and captions because Wolff has done it so thoroughly you will find yourself engrossed just reading about the humble little fabric tuck. Granted, no technique by itself makes wearable art or couture clothing, but these are the manipulations that make up the experimental stuff on the runways and in the exclusive boutiques. Learn what they do to a plain textile and you're primed to exploit fabric, for whatever purposes your little heart desires. Wolff's chapters cover: controlled crushing (gathering, shirring), supplementary fullness (making ruffles, making flounces, making godets), systematic folding (pleating, smocking, tucking), filled reliefs (cording, quilting, stuffing), structured surfaces (darts), and mixed manipulations (combinations). If you're a collector of books on dyeing or embroidery or exquisite cut, you really owe it to yourself to add this viewpoint to your library. Until the magical moment when I picked up this volume at a fabric trade show, I had no idea someone had catalogued so fanatically the world of playing with fabric. Thank goodness she has, or I might have attempted it. And as if a jam-packed reference guide isn't cause enough for celebration among fabric junkies, she's included a modest glossary, for clarity, a very helpful bibliography of books and articles, and a really thorough index that makes textbooks look carelessly written. This isn't just for garment-makers either; I can easily see applications in quilting, weaving, home decorating, wearable art, and costuming. Sewing machine recommended for most of these techniques but they could all be done by hand-sewers. I think it would most benefit the home sewer looking to spice up their wardrobe with more sophistication and interest in the fabric handling, but could also be very useful to the professional, especially in the design fields. After each time I pick up this book I find ideas bubbling to the surface on how to make my next fabric creation really pop. It's inspired several experiments and I see no end in sight.

This book puts in one place all the different ways you know how to work fabric: pleats, gathers, darts, etc. All the little things you learned over the years and never got to categorize, plus a few new ones you didn't think of yet. This lady deserves a standing ovation for putting together what so many of us know, but never put to paper. The fact that all the work is done on white material adds to the ability to see exactly what she is doing; no prints or stripes to detract from the simplistic beauty of worked fabric. This book is good for any one, be you beginner or experienced sewing hand. It has, in a short 2 weeks, become one of my favorite books and earned the top shelf honors!

As one reviewer notes, this book focuses on "old fashioned" methods like shirring, trapunto, pleating, etc. but the originality and creativity of the examples are an inspiring display of how traditional methods can be used to create a really dramatic, unique look.

Wolff demonstrates many ways to manipulate the large scale texture of the fabric, and the result is NOT something for the timid dressmaker. In fact, many of the examples seem to be from quilts and home-decoration.
(It must have taken her a couple years just to make the hundreds of beautiful muslin samples, which are clearly photographed in black and white! ) I also think these techniques would be great for handbags, high-drama evening wear, and clothing for people who love texture (like me).

Many of her amazing techniques are labor intensive, often hand-sewn, but worth it, I think!

I'm really not exaggerating. Nor do I often (ever) write book reviews. I knew I wanted to do something "creative," I had tried classes in various things that were fun but not quite "there." Interior design, color theory, drawing, drafting, art history, and even two in MS Access database design! And then I saw this book in the flesh at a store and bought it on the spot (sorry Amazon!) I read it straight through, unable to put it down. Afterward, I wanted to see and own all the muslins. I wanted to put them together into sculptural objects. I wanted to know all the things that Ms. Wolff knows about fabric and sewing. I wanted more books, some fabric, and my ancient Singer. I wanted to do it having no idea where I'd end up! So beyond all the lessons in how to do particular things that the book contains, it inspired a passion in me to work with cloth. It built a fire inside me about possibilities, and I began to see the book as beckoning me to try, with cloth as the medium. I grew up as a child threading my Grandmother's needle but hadn't sewn myself since high school.
All this was two years ago, and in the interim I have been working hard on my new passion and have created (and modified many times over!) a design all of my own. I'm entering juried fiber arts shows, and selling pieces. I work on this every day. And in addition to the motivation to start, this book's details are a central reason why I could realize my design. I would not have been able to do it without one of the very last things in the book--how to create a round spherical form to an exact size by darting a flat circular piece of fabric. When I bought the book, I never knew that this part of it would make all the difference. In fact, I didn't know it until I returned to the book with my problem still pretty unformed in my mind and was able to say, now I see that *this* is what I need! So thank you, Ms. Wolff, thank you very much for investing this huge amount of your life into this book, and for inspiring and educating me, and I'm sure many others as well.

Okay, I know next to nothing about sewing. I am a sewing Gumby. But my niece is an incredibly gifted fashion designer, and I have to constantly badger her to let me know if there is ANYTHING I can get for her, or ANY WAY I can help her. This book is one of the few things she has briefly mentioned in passing as something she might like. (I took that to mean something indispensable to the pursuit of her career as she is so shy to ask for assistance.) I had the book sent to my place rather than directly to her, just so I could see it, and my first reaction as a non-sewing type of person was "OH My Goodness, I had no IDEA they could do that with fabric!" I meant to send it to her as soon as I received it, but it was so fascinating, even as a non-seamstress, that I shamefully retarded the delivery to its rightful owner by at least a week. I took it to my friend's house so she could see it. I even showed it to my boyfriend (for whom absolutely NO craft manual could ever hold an interest), and he even exclaimed "My goodness, babe! I had no idea fabric could this! I have to say this is amazing..."

Okay, in all fairness, maybe he was humoring me. In any case, I sent it to my niece. I happened to be on the phone with my sister when it was delivered. She opened the book and started exclaiming, "Wow! How do they this?" To which I simply replied, "Well, they tell you how in the book."


If you like to sew and are beyond the point of making napkins and tablecloths (to which I aspire) this book is for you. It teaches you how to MANIPULATE fabrics. How to make them do what you want them to do.

And isn't that really what it's all about?

Clearly-writtena and well-illustrated, this book not only inspired a number of designs to be executed in fibre, but also in metals. A wood-working friend of mine borrowed it and is adapting some of the techniqiues to carving and inlay techniques. This is an excellent "how-to guide" that actively encourages the reader to apply and adapt these techniques to expand their range of capabilities.

Amazing! Colette Wolff has presented innumerable techniques in which simple fabric may be gathered, shirred, ruffled, flounced, given godets, pleats, smocked, tucked, corded, quilted, and stuffed, and how one may use these provocative and remarkable methods of sculpting fabric using combinations of the above.

In using simple white cotton muslin, Colette presents to the student a visualization of precisely what one may expect of the diverse manipulations of fabric. A seamstress may take a plain piece of fabric and transform it into a work of art. This book is for the student who desires to go beyond simple seams. Each section is explained comprehensively and given a distinct black and white photo so that one may ascertain the accuracy of one's project.

A must-have for the serious seamstress interested in artistic needlework. Happy sewing!

First of all, this is definetely a book for experienced sewers. The book assumes you know how to do basic and intermediate sewing, and also assumes that you are familiar with many technical terms that are not listed in the book. If you are an experienced sewer, then that should be OK.

My main issue with this book is that there is SO much information in it that it seems to be running out of room to list it all. Pages are laid out in four column formats only with black and white photos, mostly just of the finished products. It lists so much information, in fact, that I think it's more accurate to call this book an encyclopedia or a compendium on all the different techniques listed. It's really not a how-to book at all, unless you already know what you're doing.

This book holds a vast array of images & instruction on the art of fabric manipulation for all those simple, & yet other seemingly more complicated, details; from frills & pintucks, to flounces & wrinkled pleating. Especially helpful to those who are less than technically experienced in this field, but also VERY inspirational to those who have years of experience but who still have a creative mind.
The book is easy to read & follow, with lots of images clearly showing the design & process, thus allowing the reader to easily find what they are looking for. If you want to have inspiration &/or technical know-how at your fingertips, then this book will help.
We have used it in our Studio as a reference tool when help was needed for a technical procedure; incl a pinstripe skirt, a silk Posh Frock, & a cotton beach top, but we also found, from perusing the pages, that we got great inspiration for new designs when simply looking for help in solving others...have fun!

I borrowed this book from my library to see what it was all about. After giving it a once over I ordered it that same day. There are so many techniques described with clear instructions, photographs and drawings that I wanted my own copy.