Handmade and Creative

Synopsis: Tatty Devine are the cult jewellery brand of this generation. Named one of the top 50 coolest brands in the world by Dazed and Confused, their pieces are individual, brim with personality, and are the most covetable accessories around. Within three months of making their first piece in a tiny studio off Brick Lane in 1999, Tatty Devine's founders, Harriet Vine and Rosie Wolfenden, had Harvey Nichols and Browns stocking their fledgling line, and Vogue shooting their first collection. 

In How To Make Jewellery With Tatty Devine, Harriet and Rosie bring their decade-plus experience of accessory-making to the page, with a quirky, creative guide to making your own stunning jewellery.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Make-Jewellery-Tatty-Devine/

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
In How to Make Jewellery with Tatty Devine, the Founders Harriet and Rosie, bring a decade of experience of making jewellery in this stunning guide. The book includes really helpful basic practical techniques and information about the tools and materials you’ll need to start creating. Fully illustrated with step-by-step instructions for each piece, plus hints and tips about where to find further inspiration, this is a fabulous guide to creating your own necklaces, earrings, rings, cuffs, as well as various other pieces for you to make, all created by Tatty Devine. Unique and very original, this guide would make a perfect Christmas present for any creative fashion lover. We loved it! Highly Recommended!

Synopsis: Despite its 100-year plus history as a leading textile designer and fabric retailer, Liberty has yet to produce its own inspirational book of home sewing. Now that is set to change. This sumptuous book has been created to showcase Liberty studio-designed fabrics, to inspire the reader with their versatility and to provide an irresistible collection of original designs to sew for the home.

Liberty has always been a byword for quality, style and even luxury. Progressive yet traditional, it is unique in marrying the contemporary with the timeless. This is reflected in the content of the book that offers readers the opportunity to add an element of Liberty style to their home. The interpretation of the projects is such that this can be achieved to varying degrees using a greater or lesser amount of Liberty fabric. Essentially simple and perfectly achievable for the beginner sewer, the projects include both core items as well as more special designs but they are all characterised by the imaginative use of fabric with often-unexpected combinations of colour and pattern.

The book is divided into three chapters – Essential, Organisation and Luxury – and contains projects ranging from practical fold-up shopping bags to elegant cushions, through handy display boards and book slipcovers to indulgent kimonos, beanbags and throws. Variations and alternatives are included for many of the projects so that the core collection is in fact an inexhaustible resource of ideas. While respecting the essential timelessness of the Liberty tradition, the projects also present a modern way of using the prints for a contemporary take on home furnishings.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Liberty-Book-Home-Sewing/dp/1844009769/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318179260&sr=8-1

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
We love Liberty and this book presents a wonderful collection of projects using Liberty fabrics. It contains something for everyone whatever the level of sewing ability. There is a fascinating glossary of Liberty fabrics used in the designs as well as step-by-step instructions for many projects including a traditional cot quilt, lampshades, delightful book covers, cushions, roman blinds and one of our favourites, a stunning rose cushion with three-dimensional blooms in shades of pink, green and red with a sprinkling of antique mother-of-pearl buttons and backed with rich velvet, which gives a luxurious textured feel.

As the Autumn nights draw in this is a perfect companion, a book to treasure. Highly Recommended!

Synopsis: From pink cotton dresses with embroidered hems to bibs with bright motifs and stripy blankets, Made in France: Cross-Stitch and Embroidery for Babies, Toddlers and Children will inspire readers with its unique collection of embroidery and cross-stitch projects in the finest French style.

Making these affordable gifts is possible for beginners and accomplished crafters alike and will take only a little time and care. With the help of this book readers can create clothes and accessories from scratch and breathe new life into pre-loved items.

With step-by-step instructions and all projects tailored to suit babies and young children, Made in France: Cross-Stitch and Embroidery for Babies, Toddlers and Children is the perfect gift for expectant mothers or friends and family.

About the author: The eldest of a family of five children, Isabelle Leloup was raised in a rich creative atmosphere where everyone – parents included – would cut, paint, draw, weave, sew, knit and embroider for hours on end. Since studying graphic design, she has worked for several years for the Paris Opera and in the art industry.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Made-France-Cross-Stitch-Embroidery-Toddlers/dp/1742661300

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict

We love the Made in France series and this book is no exception, beautiful and delicate, the projects are photographed first and then described in detail with templates. Some of the projects include, Cot Canopy, bibs, t-shirts, little girl purse, and a quilt cover. The designs are exquisite, creating heirlooms to treasure. A beautiful gift, or a way to create beautiful gifts!

Synopsis: Line is an essential component of textile art. When used effectively, it can convey texture, tone, form, movement and mood. Drawn to Stitch is a practical guide to the uses of line in embroidery and textile art, presented as a structured series of exercises designed to help the reader explore line’s potential and develop their own creativity. It covers line and mark-making tools, materials and processes – including printing and mixed-media techniques – and then moves into stitch, explaining how to interpret different line qualities from crisp and sharp to soft and diffused, from raised and overlaid to recessed and inlaid. Full of inspiring ideas, the book is illustrated with stunning examples of stitched-textile work.

About the author:
Gwen Hedley is an author, teacher and embroiderer who exhibits widely. She is a member of The Society of Designer-Craftsmen and The Practical Study Group. She is the author of the best-selling Batsford title Surfaces for Stitch.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drawn-Stitch-Gwen-Hedley/dp/1906388806/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308912558&sr=1-1

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
We always try to champion traditional and creative crafts here at Hot Brands Cool Places, and we found this book absolutely fascinating. As the title implies, in Drawn to Stitch, this inspirational book shows how to incorporate many mixed-media techniques in creating beautiful textiles.
As well as the step-by-step examples there are also two very useful introductory chapters on backgrounds and techniques, as well as details of suppliers and further reading at the end of the book.

What we loved was the way the examples were collated, showing photographs, paintings, original drawings of such diverse items as Office Structures on the South Bank to a Sea-Urchin Shell. These were then turned into beautiful textile art and embroidery.

A stunning example of creativity at its very best, we absolutely loved it! Highly Recommended!

Creating homewares embellished with embroidery and ribbon

Be inspired by the earthy texture and elegant shades of linen and a stash of irresistible ribbons. Linen and Thread shows you how to use this versatile fabric to create and embellish beautiful accessories for the home.
Follow Monique’s simple instructions and learn how to sew cushions, table linen, aprons, blankets or bags, and embroider your homewares with the charming motifs provided.

Each project is illustrated with a full page photograph, cross-stitch grid and instructional diagrams and simple cross-stitch motifs can also be used to embellish other accessories throughout your home.
Illustrated with drawings of the individual steps and beautiful photographs of the finished projects, this book will inspire both novice embroiderers and accomplished needle workers.

Creator of the brand and shop ‘La Croix & la Manière’, a haberdashery that's a benchmark in the world of embroidery, Monique Lyonnet is an insatiable creator who can't keep her curious hands still, and who loves linen, ribbons, braids, pins and buttons. Many of her creations have appeared in the magazine Marie Claire Idées.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Made-France-Thread-Monique-Lyonnet/dp/1741966035/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309530032&sr=1-1

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
We love the Made in France series and this beautiful book is no exception, a classy and stylish take on embroidery, divided into Comfort, Share, and Organize, there are many delightful projects, all carefully described with step-by-step guidance and beautiful photography by Frédéric Lucano.

The designs are exquisite and would make perfect gifts for family and friends, or to keep for yourself. Nous avons adoré! Highly Recommended!

Synopsis: Nicola Gouldsmith and Jacqui Mann show you how to rediscover the homespun crafts of your grandparents' era in the gorgeous A Green Guide to Country Crafts. With today's emphasis on thrifty living and a yearning to get back to a simpler way of life, you will be amazed at just how relevant the techniques of yesteryear are today. The 35 projects can be endlessly adapted and will equip you with lifelong skills that you too, can pass on. The projects are inexpensive to make and use natural and easy-to-find materials, reflecting the ethos of natural living and the countryside.

http://www.rylandpeters.com/books/bookdetails.php?isbn=9781907563171

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
This is a delightful book, full of projects such as weaving, dyeing, soap-making, patchwork, candle-making and much more. You can learn how to make delicious smelling soap bars, create fabulous patchwork, make your own candles, or learn how to dye with natural materials, as well as creating projects using pre-loved items. The book is an inspiration with step-by-step instructions and wonderful photography by Gavin Kingcome.

A Green Guide to Country Crafts is a celebration of all that is good and natural in traditional crafts, perfect for relaxing summer holiday projects. We loved it! Highly Recommended!

Synopsis: Strawberry shortcakes, plump macarons, toffee apples and ice-cream sundaes — these mouthwatering motifs in delicious colours will inspire you to create beautiful gifts and accessories for the home. The 53 projects in Sweet Treats in Cross-Stitch include placemats, napkins, bibs, bags, aprons, cushions and tea towels but once you’ve mastered this simple stitch the possibilities are endless.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Made+in+France%3A+Sweet+Treats+in+Cross-stitch&x=0&y=0

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
This is a delightful book, the projects really do look good enough to eat; if you are looking for a relaxing hobby, the projects in this book are sweet and simple to create. Beautifully illustrated, with detailed charts, once you have mastered cross-stitch and understand how to count the stitches, you can create gifts for friends and family, or create your own ideas. This would also make a perfect Mother’s Day gift. Highly Recommended!

Synopsis: Exclusive Cath Kidston designs for 30 simple Needlepoint & cross stitch projects- kit for bag included

Following the runaway success of Sew!, Cath Kidston has turned her unique designer’s eye to Stitch!  Reinventing the arts of needlepoint and cross stitch for today’s crafter, Cath has injected her own distinctive style of cheery, heartwarming, homemaking prints into these traditional crafts.

There are plenty of quick, accessible and highly achievable projects throughout the book – Cath’s popular quartet of fruit motifs, including the delectable cherries and apples, lend themselves brilliantly to making small cross stitched patches or badges that can adorn anything from a satchel pocket to a parka sleeve. In many projects to complement the stitched pieces, Cath has injected one of her trademark prints – for example, her polka dot and floral reworking of the needlepoint Union Jack is made up into a cushion using her iconic red dot cotton duck fabric for a backing. The beauty of both needlepoint and cross stitch is that they are worked on a canvas made up of a grid of squares, so – just like painting-by-numbers – it is virtually foolproof and a great result is guaranteed. And, as with Sew!, this book will include a unique and exclusive giveaway kit.

With over 20 charted designs to make up in either needlepoint or cross stitch, and over 40 finished projects that incorporate those designs into a variety of stylish items, Stitch! is guaranteed to have Cath fans and crafters everywhere stocking up on tapestry yarns and embroidery silks ready to get stitching.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cath-Kidston-Stitch/dp/1844008738

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
If you are looking for a relaxing pastime during these dark autumn evenings this book is a perfect introduction. Coming with its own purse project attached you will have no excuse for not getting started! With a comprehensive introduction of basic and advanced stitches, sewing essentials and how to finish off, it’s a great guide to Needlepoint and Cross-Stitching. There are a wonderful variety of projects from exquisite Lavender Hearts, cushions, and bags through to more ambitious projects like the Stripe Rug. This delightful book would also make a fabulous present for crafters of any age. Highly Recommended!

Synopsis: Designer and decorator Carolyn Westbrooks love affair with all that is French inspired began long before she ever travelled to France. Growing up in the US, her Southern heritage was infused by French influences from the chic elegance of New Orleans to the romance of southern plantation houses. Here, Carolyn brings you her first-hand knowledge, acquired through years of combing French flea markets for unique treasures, of what makes a beautiful French interior. Immerse yourself in her own beautiful plantation house, a sleek urban apartment or a classically elegant town house. Each home featured has its own distinctive style, but all are essentially French in their inspiration, whether it comes from a distressed gilded mirror, or a faded rug that exudes age in just the right places. Carolyn Westbrook prides herself on these French-inspired interiors that are classic and timeless but never stuffy. The French have mastered the art of this time-worn yet sophisticated style of living, and you too will fall in love with the colours, the textures and the inspiration that is truly French.

http://www.cicobooks.com/books/bookdetails.php?isbn=9781907030697

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
This book is utterly charming, as you turn the pages you can sense the calmness that can be created within a French inspired home. We love the way that Carolyn has gathered together beautiful examples of the very best of French influenced interiors. Whether she is describing a French Country House, or a more modern French House, the photography by Keith Scott Morton, and the descriptions by Carolyn make this book an absolute joy.  We Loved it! Highly Recommended!