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Books on Fabric Design

Lizzy House wrote a book on fabric design and it is lovely.

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It is a gloriously gorgeous book.
And I’m not just saying that because one of my quilts is in there.  🙂

This one, thanks for asking:

It’s in the collage at the back.  Small deal really, but I’m chuffed!  It is just so cool to me that she digs that quilt and wanted to include it because I only used a small amount of her fabric and I messed with it ( I over-dyed the edges of her duck print).   :::happy sigh:::

“How to Enter the World of Textile Design: For the Quilting Industry” begins with a discussion of how Lizzy became interested in designing fabric, then moves on to explain the particulars of designing for the quilt market–how to get that job and how to do it.  As Lizzy writes, “This is not about how to design textiles; it is a book about who and where to present it.”

Anyone who aspires to fabric nerd-dom would enjoy the information Lizzy shares about colors, the printing process and more.

When I was trying to sort out whether to buy this book, I had a few questions.  So now that I’ve got the book, I’m going to have my past-self interview my present self.  Because time travel is fun and you, the blog reader, might benefit!

Question: It’s self-published.  Is it going to feel like it needed editing?
Answer:  This is a little tricky, so I’m going to answer it three times.
1. Grammar.  If you noticed that the sentence I quoted above isn’t grammatical, you’ll pick up on more errors of this sort throughout the book.  They can be distracting, but they never obscure Lizzy’s meaning.  You’ll just have to reread the occasional sentence.
2. Ideas.  In my experience, editors play two major roles when it comes to the ideas of the author (a) they make sure the main ideas are foregrounded.  (b) they pull out some of the bits that might be controversial.   Lizzy needs no help with (a) since she’s a natural list-maker and list-sharer.  And really, I’m glad (b) didn’t happen because if Lizzy is stirring pots, they are pots that need stirring!  (i.e. “Most designs are currently knock offs of knock offs which were knocked off nearly 10 years ago.”  Go Lizzy go.)
3. Design.  This book is really beautifully done; the design is stunning.

Question:  You spend enough time on the computer, is an e-book going to be annoying?
Answer: No.

Question:  Given that you don’t want to be a fabric designer, does this book merely satisfy some curiosity that you have about the fabric industry or do you think it might help you grow as an artist?
Answer: I think it will help me to become a more thoughtful quilter, especially when it comes to fabric selection.  Lizzy works backwards from a quilter’s logic in explaining how to put together a fabric collection that quilters will buy.  So, for someone like me who gets a thrill out of putting together my own fabric combinations, I can reverse her logic and use what I find to refine my thinking and hone my craft.

If you want to buy the book, it is here.  The price is $25.

Lizzy wrote about her book here.
And her mom (Cherri House of Cherry House Quilts) wrote about it here.

 

 

Other books on fabric design to look for in the library and at the book store:

A Field Guide to Fabric Design by Kim Kight

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The Spoonflower Handbook

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Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design by Laurie Wisburn

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Screen Printing at Home: Print Your Own Fabric by Karen Lewis

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Printing by Hand by Lena Corwin

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Lotta Prints by Lotta Jansdotter

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*the above links are Amazon Affiliate links*

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. I figured it would be a beautiful book… Not that I have any intentions about designing fabric, but I like your comments about it helping you choose fabric. Thanks for reviewing it.
    PS God stuff on the quilt!

  2. Gasp, I love that little quilt! The sashing sets off the little blocks so well. It reminds me of some collage boxes at the Art Institute of Chicago. I'll have to comment again when the artist's name comes to me.

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