Shibori Knitted Felt [Paperback]

Alison Crowther-Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Knitters who already love knitted felt for its softness and durability take their skills to new heights with these wonderful projects for garments, accessories, and home fashions. By incorporating Shibori, the Japanese art of manipulating fabric to create unusual textures and color effects, these projects delight with their fanciful bobbles, pleats, ruffles, and embroidery stitches. Designs include a delicate frilled scarf embellished with beads, a pair of Turkish shoes, an embossed throw, a pleated cape, a water-bottle cover, and a striped "bump" bag made by tying marbles into the fabric before washing to create a bubbled texture. A guide to felting basics, lists of yarn types and equipment, and washing-temperature charts to ensure exact shrinkage are included, and beautiful photographs, step-by-step instructions, full-color illustrations, and sidebars filled with tips and techniques make the projects easy to envision and complete.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What you get are beautifully organic looking and feeling projects. Layers of texture, depth of color and shape, a wonderful adventure in knitted felt."  —knitty.com

"A whole new world of Shibori."  —CraftGossip.com

"Charming. . . . Small, useful projects like handbags, flowers, and cushions enable readers get to the 'fun' part of transforming their knitting into textured felt with minimal effort."  —Monsters and Critics.com

"What's great about this book is how encouraging it is about readers trying their own thing . . . a must for anyone who likes felting."  —About.com Guide to Knitting

About the Author

Alison Crowther-Smith teaches popular workshops in knitting and felting and has worked as a design consultant for the Rowan company.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596680857
• ISBN-13: 978-1596680852
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Uninspiring - browse, but don't buy, August 6, 2008

By 

brrejy (Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shibori Knitted Felt (Paperback)

If you already have experience with felting (fulling) knitted fabric, then I would pass on this book. It does have *some* interesting ideas and details for those less experienced with felting, so I gave it 2 stars (but, at the end of this review, I list 3 books that are much, much better - for beginners, as well as experienced).
This is not a book about needle felting, or creating a felted fabric that has not first been knitted. This is a book about knitting for the purpose of felting. Now, I love knitting for the purpose of felting (especially accessories and bags of all sizes and shapes), and I have been felting for a few years now. This book did not present me with anything new - and I found it uninspiring.
Did I mention that I LOVE felting, and the fabric it creates? Well, I have felted many different wools, but none were soft enough to wear as a scarf wrapped around your bare neck. There are at least five (5) felted scarves in this book. My family laughed at me when I asked if they would wear a felted scarf around their bare neck - "no way". Although I enjoy the feel of felted fabric, I would not wear it directly against my skin - no way ! An article of clothing that is to be lined with a soft fabric - yes, I (and my family) would wear a lined felted garment, but not the felted fabric directly on skin...
The book does have 3 bags - but they are very basic, for beginners, and uninspiring.
The book has a couple of blankets and throws - again, not inspiring. The author suggests one of these blankets could be a baby's blanket... I can not imagine placing a baby directly onto (or tucked under) felted wool.
The book does have some felted pillows and other home accesssories - but again, I found them uninspiring (yes, I sound like a broken record... uninspiring...).
If you've never felted... well, you *may* like this book. But, I would suggest that you check the library or book store first.
I DO recommend the following books on felting (no affilliation):
"Knit One, Felt Too" by Kathleen Taylor;
"Felted Knits" by Beverly Galeskas;
"Fabulous Felted Bags" by Nicky Epstein.
These are just 3 very good books on felting (fulling) - there are more out there.
I do not recommend this book - if you think you'd like it, well, try to get a look at the library or local book store first.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesone Book, March 27, 2008

By 

Linda Lanese "LuLu" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shibori Knitted Felt (Paperback)

This book is filled with outstanding designs that you will want to try. I have done the Shibori felting before, but have seen many new techniques that I will be trying. Unlike some book on Shibori knitting and felting this book offers projects such as wearable art, home furnishing items and lovely gifts to make.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the felt-crazee, July 12, 2008

By 

Karen E. Lindenberg "KarenL" (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shibori Knitted Felt (Paperback)

This is a book for those who already are familiar with the properties of felted objects. Although there are explanations for the novice, the projects themselves would be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated. I will probably try a project or two, but I purchased this primarily for the explanation of how shibori techniques work with regular felting, and for that, it does the trick.