Fabric Manipulation: 150 Creative Sewing Techniques

by Ruth Singer

The award-winning textile artist presents her modern approach to 150 fabric manipulation techniques in this fully illustrated sewing guide.   In Fabric Manipulation, Ruth Singer presents the most in-depth and comprehensive guide to sculptural and embellishing effects since Collette Wolff’s The Art of Manipulating Fabric. Divided into three sections—Pleat and Fold, Stitch and Gather, Apply and Layer—Fabric Manipulation teaches sewists of all skill levels 150 creative sewing techniques with clear instruction, photos, and hundreds of full color diagrams.   Ruth explains her innovative variations on traditional fabric manipulation techniques such as pleating, folding, gathering, smocking, quilting, trapunto and applique. She also offers inspirational project ideas for accessories and home décor that demonstrate practical uses of fabric manipulation.

Genres: Sewing, Fashion, Nonfiction, Crafts, Art

427 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Laurla2]

-a neat book with tons of pictures. techniques including pleating, folding, gathering, smocking, quilting, trapunto and applique.
-for the shirring section i would NOT call it step-by-step instructions. more like pictures of a couple different variations, a small amount of description, with only a teeny tiny amount of instruction.
-for the smocking section there were far more pictures and detailed instructions, including an interesting looking lattice design with a lattice stitch diagram.
-i only paged thru the pictures of the other sections. some were interesting but not something i'm likely to try my hand at.
-4 stars? not sure. not a bad book, i was just disappointed in the shirring section (my main reason for checking out this book).

[Eva Zeman]

This is a great resource to have at hand at home. The author did a marvelous job of presenting a long list of techniques that the reader can utilize on their own projects.
I would say the book is not suitable for complete beginners, as it doesn’t tell you when to use what. This is left to the reader’s imagination. If you’re a beginner sewer, maybe look for a different resource first.

[Christa Hinkle]

Mostly about different ways to smock fabric, but there were some helpful techniques I may use in the future.

[Bonnie Washington]

Great ideas

I have a whole handbag sewing business and I'm having a block on new ideas. The hardest thing about sewing handbags is the work that is done inside; like pockets and zipper placement. I wanted more structure for the outside that catches the customers eye. I have looked at several resources on the Internet and none of those resources have given such great instructions. This is a must have for your sewing library.

[Ru4repeat]

This book was so inspiring! I previously have only done traditional quilting, but with the techniques explained in this book I not only want to try something new, but I believe I will succeed at it too! Excellent material...pun intended. ;-)

[Lorrien]

Manipulation

Everything I ever wanted to know about fabric manipulation and then some. You can make fabrics look like many things besides fabric. If your looking for how some types of armor are made in costumes, this book is a good resource.

[Andrea Fraser]

Great for the novice

I am only just beginning the journey in sewing and I find it relaxing. This book helps it stay relaxing with excellent tips given in an unpretentious manner

[Stephanie Arnold]

Interesting ideas, would like more practical projects to have been included

[Laura]

I was expecting fabric origami - and it sort of is but is more about different sewing techniques to create different patterns and texture in sewing. a great reference

[nic]

this is such a great resource for textile art and sewing!!

[Erika Mulvenna]

A great book presenting many fabric folding/stitching manipulations, including detailed instructions and photographs. Also contains a nice section up front about materials, tools and techniques. These are many of the techniques I learned about while studying Fiber Arts, but have since forgotten about. Awesome to flip through and check out many different possibilities and ideas for creating decorative fabric details.

[Icelandic Vespertine]

Surprisingly straightforward instructions which are clearly written and photographed.

[Nat]

Some good techniques and step by step photographs which made this a pleasant read but I'd really like to have seen more actual projects than just little pictures of step by step techniques.

[Shirin Bagherzadeh]

Pretty and easy designs to make !!!

[Janine Fenton]

A good book with some good ideas and information on techniques.