Manga Cross-Stitch: Make Your Own Graphic Art Needlework by Helen McCarthy. Andrews McMeel Publishing; Har/Cdr edition (August 1, 2009).

‘Stitchers often get stereotyped as middle-aged ladies in cardigans, anime and manga fans as geeky teenage misfits. Both stereotypes are equally inaccurate – because both groups are just people who love beautiful things and want to create and enjoy beauty in their own way.’ Helen McCarthy

With a compelling voice, Helen McCarthy, reaches out to those with a curiosity for everything Manga and needlework. McCarthy is a well known writer and speaker on Japanese animation and comics and with her other love of historic and fantasy costume and embroidery designs – it wasn’t long before these two loves would meet in the middle.

She has done a fine job with this authentic manga design book – with short engaging passages that contextualize the manga aesthetic, along with instructions on how to use the included CD/DVD – where you can find all the customisable and printable charts – McCarthy also has included instructions on how to make your own cross-stitch charts based on your favourite character – using the included software found on the DVD.

(Needless to say this book is just as thorough in learning how to cross-stitch as how to design – with the basics covered – thread, materials, charts, there are also good close up photos of how to stitch.) But really this books main feature is its dedication to helping you design your own cross-stitch patterns – and the manga – its all about the manga really – who and what are these kawaii characters / cyber beings / heroes + villains / samurai + ronin / monsters … and more fantastic run down on these character types – how to add in text + special effects, change the texture and tone, and how to change the facial features to give different expressions – this is better than many ‘how to draw manga’ books that are so popular with kids these days.

The readership will not be confined to needle-workers or manga fans but to anyone who wishes to be creatively guided and engaged.

Felties: How to Make 18 Cute and Fuzzy Friends by Nelly Pailloux. Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 20, 2009)

Here are some tiny little felt characters sure to win your hearts, with their engaging personalities and almost manga aesthetic, with their big heads and eyes and funny simple style.

Felties is well served by glossy gridded pages, and to-scale illustrations and templates, and the book’s modest scale still allows each character a dedicated page spread with easy to understand instructions. There is a very brief intro/techniques section at the front – but as each project is quite simple I can handle this briefness, although I would have liked a bit more background about the designer/maker as this personalises a book for me – but I know others like to get stuck straight into the projects.

The little guys are cheek-squeezing cute – with oversized heads and eyes and tiny bodies – I love the sun loving rat best, and the retro alien and little bears, puppies and pandas all won our hearts + the projects are so quick that you can easily make up a whole set to make some kids very happy.

Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More (Make Good: Crafts + Life) By Junko Okawa. Trumpeter; 1 edition (October 13, 2009).

Felting for Baby: 25 Warm and Woolly Projects for the Little Ones in Your Life (Make Good: Crafts + Life) By Saori Yamazaki. Trumpeter; 1 edition (October 13, 2009).

The latest additions in the make good series (Japanese craft books published in English by Trumpeter) are 2 books for parents or those who love to make things for children.

Felting for baby has instructions and patterns to make lovely tiny felted shoes, felted teddy bears, hand puppets and other cute accessories with lots of adorable little details. The best thing really about this book is the exquisite detailed photos of the felting process, and includes both wet and needle felting techniques. A treasure of a book.

Carefree clothes for girls is filled with adorable romantic and rustic clothing for active little girls. Some outfits are more practical than others – depends on how many trees your little girl likes to climb. However these outfits are so gorgeous with some beautiful detailing – such as raw edges, buttons and hand stitching, antique lace and found fabrics, layers of fabric, the use of natural raw unbleached linens and simple cottons. The designs are not difficult, a-line styles, ruffled skirts, square front bodices, and wrap-over tunics. This is such a sweet, sentimental, romantic book of designs for little girls – and mothers who love to dress up their little girls. [You can download full size patterns of the designs from Make Good Crafts Website + download a couple of sample projects.]

Embroidered Effects: Projects and Patterns to Inspire Your Stitching (Sublime Stitching) by Jenny Hart. Chronicle Books; Spi edition (September 9, 2009).

This is not just a book with groovy embroidery designs and lots of transfers to help you re-create the groovy designs, it is in fact an extremely comprehensive book on embroidery for beginners.

Jenny really goes into such incredible detail with her explanations of techniques and tools and materials, it is obvious she loves her craft and has thought deeply about how to explain it those who may be not quite sure how to get started. Along with chapters on the basics (fabrics to use, threads to use, tools to use) there is a fantastic stitch dictionary with excellent clear illustrations and instructions – showing where the needle goes in and comes out, where you are supposed to hold the thread and which direction you should be heading. Often a second technique for doing the one stitch is described – I love that Jenny is not precious about how you get it done and she allows for different styles of stitching in her instructions.

There is a whole section on the different patterns/designs – with transfers in the back to help you get just the right look – the designs are shown stitched onto outfits, aprons, shirts or as framed pieces, pillows, tablecloths, even shower curtains, but alas no doilies.

With Jenny’s usual fun and slightly subversive designs you will find tattoo embroidery for you sleeve shirt, colourful day of the dead skulls for your summer skirt, cute little bluebirds for the fronts of your jeans, adorable framed child’s art, embroidered text and more.

For more of a taster – check out these free online tutes from the book

Mahjong embroidery tablecloth
Floss blending tutorial

Men’s Knits: 20 New Classics by erika knight. Potter Craft (September 1, 2009).

One of the best (if not the best) knitting book for men’s sweaters I have seen in a while. The designs are wearable, suitable for a range of ages and styles, the instructions are easy to follow, the measurements and garment shaping are easy to understand (the downside to this book is the lack of circular knitting – all are knitted flat and seamed). On top of all that the photography is fantastic, they are modeled by a range of different men of all ages.

Designs range from simple and argyle vests, zippered and chunky grandpa collar style cardigans, half zipper fold down neck, herringbone design and chunky funnel-neck sweater (+ a couple of hats and scarves to accessorise with your sweater + lots more sweaters – I can’t list them all here). I love everything about these sweaters, from the styling – the colours and textures, the necklines and shape and fit all perfect – very flattering and comfortable and versatile.

The funnel-neck sweater is knit with an oversized rib yoke, in soft merino and kid mohair – I love that it is described as ‘rugged comfort’ and ‘old-friend favourite’ as these descriptions fit this sweater perfectly.

A simple vest is also customised with a lovely checkerboard pattern and an argyle pattern. Knitted in fine cotton/cashmere blend makes this a classic style vest.

I love that many of these designs are perfect for slim men – not all men have wide frames – a lovely fine-knit low v cardigan is designed as a slim-fit cardigan and knitted in bamboo yarn it drapes beautifully and while very traditional and simple design is distinctly modern.

In fact all the designs in this book are fairly simple with a traditional shapes, and plain knitting, yet have quite contemporary lines. This is the perfect knitting book for the coming season.

You may have heard of Sister Diane through her fabulous crafty pod cast over the last few years, or more recently as a craft book author of the book Kanzashi in bloom (we talked about it back here). Now Diane has ventured into the world of e-books and is doing these just as fantastically as all her previous endeavours.

Always clear and concise, and full of interesting information – her e-books are really a treat. She has 2 e-books on the subject of blogging ‘Making a Great Blog‘ and ‘Creating a blog audience’. They go together but can be read separately too.

The first one ‘Making a Great Blog: A Guide for Creative People’, takes new and old bloggers step by step through the process of creating a successful blog. From how to get started (what sort of blog, how to be organised, what are your blogging goals, how much time do you have to dedicate to your blog), to writing content and dealing with blogger fatigue, finding your voice and style and thinking of your blog as a visual thing. Diane has very valuable insights into blogging and the craft community – as a list maker I particularly appreciated the ‘to do’ lists and work sheets which help with planning and brainstorming.

To delve into the community and marketing aspect of blogging – you will need ‘Creating a Blog Audience: an unconventional marketing guide’, where Diane talks about blogs as a useful marketing tool and how to compete (or not) in the big blogging world full of those corporate blogs with a machine behind them.

With a small but very useful and clear marketing lesson to begin with, Diane tells the reader how to use their blog to promote their crafty business/book/project, how to participate and become part of the community, and how to make use of various blogging tools and social media. Diane also discusses ‘the cool kids’, the popular blogs, how they got there and why they are popular and how you can build up your audience too.

Diane’s blogging e-books are a fantastic resource – take advantage of her incredible experience and knowledge. I only wish I had these 5 years ago instead of stumbling and bumbling my way through. Well done Diane.

Diane is offering 3 whipup readers two ebooks each: a copy of Making a Great Blog and a copy of Creating a Blog Audience (Plus worksheet packs, of course.)

– leave a comment here letting us know the greatest challenge to you in starting up your blog you have 48 hours to enter – good luck!

Comments closed – congrats to our 3 winners: Steph, Fay and Ansie – you have been contacted via email.

Twinkle Sews: 25 Handmade Fashions from the Runway to Your Wardrobe by Wenlan Chia. Potter Craft (September 29, 2009).

Unique fashionable clothing for you to make at home, with designs ranging from a-line style pleated skirts (one with yoke – very flattering), to jazzy woolen skirts (with ruffle), and one extraordinary full length snug fitted skirt cut on the bias. There are some very cute sweaters and shirts, sweatshirts, lacy beach overshirts, and an origami inspired tunic.

Each pattern has very good instructions with the pattern piece illustrations shown laid out on the fabric and there are occasional illustrations of how the pieces fit together. I do think there could be more illustrations and diagrams – I have a weakness for needing pictures to help explain [and I am sure I am not the only one]. However the written steps are very clear. The patterns (in a range of sizes) are all provided on a CD with instructions on how to print them out and join them together.

The designs incorporate some lovely detailing such as pintucks, asymmetry, folded fabric, gathers and wide necklines. Along with sewing basics at the front, there are some unique and innovative designs, ranging from simple to more advanced. With the lack of illustrations throughout, I think you need some sewing experience to get any value from this book.

Altered Shoes: A Step-By-Step Guide To Making Your Footwear Fabulous by Marty Stevens-Heebner. Krause Publications (March 4, 2009)

I have always thought that altering shoes to be a crazy idea and this book has not changed my mind. While there are some fun and cool projects in here – many of the projects sort of look a bit bodgy/dodgy to me and I am not sure the shoes were really improved much along the way. However some of the ideas are intriguing – such as decoupaged shoes – I have seen this done really well with stamps and the shoes in this book have been decoupaged with pages from an old passport and old maps – quite interesting and successful. Not sure about crazy quilted boots or glitter beaded shoes, but maybe for a special occasion?

Pretty Little Felts: Mixed-Media Crafts To Tickle Your Fancy by Julie Collings. North Light Books (October 3, 2008)

This book has a country vintage appeal and is not only sweet and lovely but incredibly useful – with some great tips and ideas and techniques explained carefully and thoroughly.

Beginning with deconstructing wool clothing for felting later, dyeing wool and getting a lovely range of shades, making wet felted beads for use in a range of projects and a lovely clear stitch guide with some basic embroidery stitches.

Not all the projects were to my taste, but even so they have some real charm and the ideas can be adapted to your own personal tastes very easily. I enjoyed the simple crochet edged felt flower brooch, I also really liked the idea of the ‘quiet book’ made from a cut metal screen and filled with felt pages with collaged and stitched memories, text and imagery. Sweet felt zipper purse with embroidery and some darling pincushions, mini art satchel and a funny stuffed cat, however what made this book so special for me were the detailed felt beads and baubles with such tiny attention to detail.

Tasty Crochet: A Pantry Full of Patterns for 33 Tasty Treats by Rose Langlitz. North Light Books (March 27, 2009)

I have been seeing tasty crochet foods all over the net for the past few years and am so happy that someone has finally put together a crochet play food pattern book. This wonderful crochet book is full of yummy things to eat crochet – so if all your friends and family have enough blankets and hats then get crocheting something a little more frivolous and fun.

None of the patterns and designs are really that difficult – if you can do basic crochet stitches and follow a pattern then you can make these projects – fried eggs, apple wedges (very realistic), sushi, peanut butter sandwiches, cherry tomatoes on the vine (adorable), chicken drumsticks, mushrooms and asparagus, pizza (with a side salad – love it), chocolate chip cookies are fantastic, Neapolitan icecream sandwich (my fave), icecream cones and more.

Such a fun book with good crochet basics to boot.