The Crafter's Guide to Patterns: Create and Use Your Own Patterns for Gift Wrap, Stationary, Tiles, and More

by Jessica Swift

Overview

Design your own well-constructed patterns by hand! Aimed at crafters who need the skills to turn their creative ideas into reality, this easy-to-follow guide covers everything from finding inspiration and choosing colors to creating backgrounds, borders, and full-scale repeats. Step-by-step tutorials explain all the basics and show how to apply the patterns to multiple surfaces, including fabric, giftwrap, stencils, tiles, and more. Interviews with contemporary crafters plus stunning galleries offer a wealth of inspiration-AND you get 20 free motifs to download and adapt!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454709053
Publisher:	Lark Crafts
Publication date:	04/07/2015
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Jessica Swift is a full-time artist, surface pattern designer, and author. Her artwork is licensed by companies and manufacturers for iPhone cases, fabric, stationery, and much more. She is coauthor and illustrator of The Declaration of You! How to Find It, Own It and Shout It from the Rooftops, published by North Light Books in 2013. Jessica blogs and displays her colorful creations at jessicaswift.com. She lives in Portland, OR.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

Project index 8

An overview of pattern design 11

Section 1 Planning Patterns

1 Sourcing Inspiration 15

Building mood boards 16

Sourcing ideas for patterns 18

Legal considerations 21

2 Color 23

Choosing colors 24

Building a color palette 26

3 Pattern and Layout Types 29

Motif styles 30

Backgrounds and borders 32

Pattern types 34

Layout types 36

Layout and symmetry 40

Direction and orientation 42

Scale and spacing 43

4 Making Patterns 45

Designing patterns

Designing a motif 46

Creating a repeat 49

Straight repeat patterns 50

Half-drop repeat patterns 52

Brick repeat patterns 54

DIY print tools

Rubber block stamps 56

Foam stamps 58

Stencils 60

Simple silk screens 62

Making your pattern digital 64

Preparing to cyanotype 68

Section 2 Using Patterns

5 Fabric 73

Applying patterns to fabric 74

Printing techniques

Screen printing a Furoshiki 76

Foam stamping a tote bag 78

Interview: Hitomi Kimura 80

Gallery 82

6 Gift Wrap 85

Applying patterns to paper 86

Printing techniques

Cyanotype printing on paper 88

Foam stamping gift wrap 90

Interview: Zoe Ingram 92

Gallery 94

7 Stationery 97

Applying patterns to notebooks and cards 98

Printing techniques

Stamping cards and envelopes 100

Printing on a notebook 102

Interview: Leak Duncan 104

Gallery 106

8 Packaging 109

Applying patterns to boxes and bags 110

Printing techniques

Potato stamping a box 112

Stenciling on a paper bag 114

Interview: Susanne Firmenich (Hamburger Liebe) 116

Gallery 118

9 In the Home 121

Applying patterns to walls and floors 122

Printing techniques

Stenciling a border on a wall 124

Printing on tiles 126

Interview: Heather Moore (Skinny laMinx) 128

Gallery 130

Reference

10 Resources 133

Motif templates 134

Printing and image resources 136

Useful websites and companies 137

Glossary 138

Contributor index 140

Index 142

Acknowledgments 144

Editorial Reviews

You’ll never look at any pattern, whether for home, clothing, or work, in the same way again after reading Swift’s treatise. It’s less of a ‘follow this pattern and the result will be great’ than it is an education in and encouragement for how to experiment with design. Most of the text and excellent color photographs center on either planning or using patterns. For the first, she carefully explains the rudiments of design—color and inspiration—then builds 9 tutorials that show, in step-by-step format, exactly how to use techniques from rubber-block stamps to simple silk screens. Tutorials (a total of 19) continue into the ‘using’ section; each of the five chapters—fabric, gift wrap, stationery, packaging, home—features notes on how to apply patterns; an interview with a designer (Hitomi Kimura, from Japan; Heather Moore, from South Africa); and a great gallery of patterned items. The final touch? Twenty copyright-free motifs, with URLs, that’ll get your hands itching to pattern.” —Booklist “Surface design involves a variety of decisions, including color palettes, layout, and design. In this guide, pattern designer Swift introduces the basics . . . Interviews with successful artists working in pattern design add inspiration, and Swift includes a series of simple motif templates that can be photocopied or downloaded and freely used. The tutorials are well constructed, with a clear listing of supplies (most of which are readily available), straightforward instructions, and plenty of photographs for the visually inclined. ­VERDICT This orientation to basic principles and practices for surface design will appeal to crafters interested in creating their own fabric, gift wrap, or decorative prints.” —Library Journal  

From the Publisher