Freeform Style: Blend Knit and Crochet to Create Fiber Art Wearables [Hardcover]

Jonelle Raffino (Author), Prudence Mapstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 2009

Everything you need to get started, get hooked, and get your freedom groove on!

Grab your needles and hooks, unleash your creativity, and join lifelong fiber artists Jonelle Raffino and Prudence Mapstone for some freedom fun! Using yummy yarns and a sensational assortment of stitches, Freeform Style transforms straightforward patterns into wearable works of art.

Inside, color and texture collide in a collage of yarns as 30 projects demonstrate the joys of freeform knitting and crochet - from a simple scarf made magical with fancy fringe to a magnificent cape that becomes anything you want it to be. The results can be wild and jazzy or simple and elegant, but always guaranteed to stand out from the crowd.

• Choose from 10 patterns for garments and accessories, each presented in three skill-level variations - from simple stitches and eye-catching embellishments to 100% freeform garments.
• Follow along with step-by-step instructions for a fabulous variety of motifs and trims - patches, embroidery, starfish, leaves, flowers, domes, ruffles, corkscrews, zigzags and much more!
• Brush up on your knitting and crochet techniques with the comprehensive Basics section.
• Be inspired by impressive examples of the authors' freeform work.

Whether you're a beginner looking to inject a little bit of whimsy and personality into your projects, or an expert itching to punch up patterns into original creations, this book will how you how to make Freeform Style YOUR style!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jonelle Raffino is the creative force behind Southwest Trading Company, an internationally recognized yarn brand known for its earth-friendly collections. She has been featured in a variety of media venues, including Inc., Fortune and Success, and has written numerous articles about SWTC, earth-friendly fibers and knitting for consumer and trade magazines, including Knit ?N Style. She is the author of the self-published book Purls Forever.

Prudence Mapstone's fiber art is exhibited widely in Austrailia and overseas, and she has been the featured guest artist at craft events in every capital city in Australia, as well as New Zealand and Denmark. She is the author of the Australian self-published titles Freeform: Serendipitous Design Techniques for Knitting and Crochet, Bullions & Beyond, Never Too Many Handbags and Coat of Many Scrumbles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (June 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600611389
• ISBN-13: 978-1600611384
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice - with a caveat, June 12, 2009

By 

Cikk "cikk" (Malta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Freeform Style: Blend Knit and Crochet to Create Fiber Art Wearables (Hardcover)

CAveat first - I should have realised from the mini editorial up top that since one of the authors is involved with SWTC, the yarns used are all from this company - lots of soy silk. nice to be aware of this in advance. They do say you can use yarns from your stash for the bits and bobs, but the knitted patterns are in SWTC bamboo, soy silk, etc etc etc.

Otherwise it's quite a good book. There are various patterns which are each elaborated in three different levels of freeform decoration - from mild to overload. Patterns include a shell, a tshirt, a skirt, gloves, hats, a scarf, and a cape - which is knitted and then felted and slashed to make space for freeform deco. Anyhow, the table of contents in the amazon reader is there for a purpose - check it out.

There's a few pages of pics from artists who create freeform items - msotly scarves. good for inspiration. There are instruction pages for creating said bits and bobs in knit or crochet.

I like it, more as a starting point for creating my own stuff and for inspiration than anything else . That's what freeform is really about anyway.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for all levels of skill, July 12, 2009

By 

Margaret A. Moore "sharecropper" (New Bern, NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Freeform Style: Blend Knit and Crochet to Create Fiber Art Wearables (Hardcover)

This book is great for all levels of skill in crochet and knit, especially since each "pattern" has 3 different versions. The styles are varied, and the ideas presented in each section can transfer to many applications. I have used some of the ideas in continuing my own free form creations, but I also plan to use a couple for creating the apparel in this book. Great book for all levels.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas for Color and Design!, July 13, 2009

By 

Linda J. Addison "knitter gone wild!" (Bowie, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Freeform Style: Blend Knit and Crochet to Create Fiber Art Wearables (Hardcover)

Pictures of garments offer great ideas for mixing colors and textures in design. These two gals are so talented with their ideas and ways of expressing the mixing of all types of textures, color, and flow of design. I could have used a little more detail in some of the types of stitches, thus only 3 stars.