A Field Guide To Fabric Design

I had at one point saw that this was a title due to release soon and thought to myself: I need to check that one out.  Then the holidays happened and I forgot about it.  I figured I run across it in the bookstore and take a peek to see if it was something I needed to own.  I may have even flipped through a preview online and thought: maybe.  I like knowing what I can about design and how certain elements of a design are achieved (like repeats or coloring in items on the computer), but not sure if I actually want to design fabric.  Perhaps as a hobby with screen printing (I’m still bummed about last years YuDu fail and their inability to get back to me about damaged product I contacted them about via their website’s contact form). 

We were at the beach a few weekends ago and I went into one of my favorite quilt shops, Center Diamond in Cannon Beach, when I spotted A Field Guide to Fabric Design on a shelf.  I pulled it down, did a quick flip of the pages (you know the one, where you just do a quick flip with your thumb, fanning the pages), and quickly tucked it under my arm.  Seriously, just with that quick flip of pages I knew I had to have this book.  Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to want to own this book.  Not that it wouldn’t be fabulous, but I was thinking it probably covered most of what I already knew.  I was wrong.  I learned SO much from this book.

Questions I had about doing repeats and half-drop repeats on linoleum blocks for block printing…answered!  I think that alone was enough to sell me on the book.  Not only are the instructions easy to understand, but there are fantastic photographed images to get you through each step.  The layout of the book is very pleasing, and I think one of the better Stash book layouts to date.  Kimberly also walks you through the steps of creating patterns in Photoshop and Illustrator.  There were lots of techniques that were new to me.  The instructions was quick and to the point, and most likely for those that have at least a basic understanding of the programs. 

There were lots of question and answer sections, with quotes from various fabric designers.  It was nice to have honest insight and opinions from so many different designers.  I truly enjoyed reading what everyone had to say.

There are sections dedicated to block printing and screen printing.  There are very thorough instructions on screen printing and creating repeats on large pieces of fabric.  It was amazing what she explained in one chapter that whole books on the subject haven’t taught me.  There are even instructions for building a table for screen printing large runs of fabric.

There is a rather large section discussing color and the color wheel.  And lots of information throughout on color selection.  Personally, this was of less interest to me, but someone that is very interested in color and how to go about selecting it will find this very useful and informative.  There was one bit that I liked very much in this section, her idea of creating color jars and pulling from that when creating color palettes.  I could actually see using this for just quilting in general, and having it be very helpful to me when selecting fabrics for a quilt.  So even though it wasn’t my favorite section, it was still of great use.  I just kind of skimmed most of it and figure I will pull from it what I need when I need it. 

These pages give you an idea of how she explains the steps in Illustrator.  Photoshop explanations are the same.  The instruction is, as I said, quick and to the point and the images are relevant and really explain what you need to know. 

In short, awesome book!  If you have any interest in fabric design, or just design in general, I would definitely recommend this.  I’m glad I found a copy to flip through and bought it.  Well worth the investment.   

A Field Guide to Fabric Design by Kimberly Knight of True Up

Kimberly’s post on her book found here.  And a post by Stash Books here.