Quilt Toppings: Fun and Fanciful Embellishments [Paperback]

Melody Crust (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2005

Designed with both the hand and the machine quilter in mind, this thorough look at ways to paint, bead, trim, and stitch embellishments onto finished quilts brings together diverse media for the experienced quilter. Modern as well as time-honored materials are used to create new works of fabric art. Hundreds of ideas are presented, using techniques including paint and paint sticks, burnishing, beads and buttons, ribbons, tassels, and embroidery. Prep steps for all methods and post-project care are also covered. An "Idea Gallery" at the end of each chapter is not prescriptive—the projects are jumping-off places for quilters looking to add color, texture, and pizzazz to their repertoire. The emphasis is on creativity, making the book an enduring source of future inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Melody Crust is a quilting instructor and lecturer who teaches quilting from coast to coast and at major national conventions, including the Quilt Festivals in Houston and Chicago. An award-winning quilter, her work has appeared in American Quilter, Quilters Newsletter Magazine, and Quilter's World. She is the author of A Fine Line: Techniques and Inspirations for Creating the Quilting Design and regularly contributes features and patterns to national quilting magazines. She lives in Kent, Washington.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Breckling Press (September 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933308028
• ISBN-13: 978-1933308029
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,046,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Find!, April 27, 2007

By 

JAZZYLADY (Silver Spring, Md.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quilt Toppings: Fun and Fanciful Embellishments (Paperback)

I recently bought Melody Crust's book after having bought what I thought was a book on applique and having been extremely disappointed and upset. If you wanted a book on brightly colorful quilts that would have been it, but Melody's book was what I was really looking for. If you are looking for a book on embellishing small quilts and wall hangings this is the book for you. It is bright, colorful, and chock full of ideas and techniques for creating and embellishing the quilts. While you could copy some of her creations she encourages you to create your own, and you can. If you have some small amount of sewing skills or none at all you can sew small pieces on your own. No machine is really necessary, though you might want to have an iron on hand. You don't need that much skill to sew beads to fabric, and any block can be hand sewn with just a running stitch. Most of your creations will never see the inside of a washing machine as they are for display only and won't need it. You don't even need to buy fabric if you have some old clothing you can wash, iron and cut into sheets for your squares, any fabric will do. If you just want some small pieces of handwork to do while you think or to teach yourself this is the book for you. The price you pay for the book is well worth it if you are looking for that one applique and embellishment book to spark your creativity.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wealth of impressive resources for inspiration, March 5, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quilt Toppings: Fun and Fanciful Embellishments (Paperback)

"Quilt Toppings: Fun And Fancy Embellishment Techniques" by quilting expert Melody Crust features hundreds of color photos illustrating close-up details of quilting embellishment techniques, before-and-after shots of projects that transformed plain quilts into works of the needlecrafter's art, and a wealth of impressive resources for inspiration and for embellishment techniques ranging from beading to painting, buttons and bows, thread play, and fabrics. Each individual chapter includes an 'Idea Gallery' of unique quilt toppings. "Quilt Toppings"is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to instructional quilting reference collections for the novice needlecrafter and has a great deal to offer even the more experienced quilt maker.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...something for everyone, August 11, 2008

By 

MaggieD "ncmaggie" (Greensboro, NC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quilt Toppings: Fun and Fanciful Embellishments (Paperback)

This book has something for quilters of every style. If you are looking to "expand your horizons" or just find something unique for your next quilt, you will probably find it in here! Her directions are simple, and illustrations plentiful. Just using her "postcard" size examples as a basis for projects would give you a working knowledge of embellishing for any quilting need. It is unusual to find a book covering so many topics that provides sufficient instructions in each topic, and for this reason "Quilt Toppings" will probably not just be in my quilt library for a long time, but on the shelf next to my sewing machine. Well done, Melody!