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textile interest has always been biased towards structure. There seem to
be an almost infinite number of ways threads can be interworked to
create a coherent fabric. So I have gradually built up a small
collection of items either distinguished by their beauty or their
structural make-up.
Ib Bellew, a publisher of unusual volumes, suggested that I chose about a hundred such fabrics and then described them, analysed them with diagrams, and annotated them in a personal way (for once using "I" in my books). The unbeatable David Cripps would then photograph them, half in colour. It sounded a seductive idea. Moreover it offered me a cast-iron excuse to add to my collection whenever I spotted a fabric in a technique new to me or so puzzling I had to take it home to analyse. An unforeseen difficulty resided in the diagrams, as lacking the ability to free draw the many techniques, I had to resort to various artificial aids, French curves, moldable rulers, compasses, plastic templates and the standby squared paper to produce a clean result. Another difficulty was that the items had to appear in a sequence according to the Emery classification; but that also had to chime in with an alternation of B/W and colour spreads. This is my favourite book; it attempts to show what I find fascinating in fabrics and admirable in their makers; and in so doing, it covers practically every fabric technique
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| The
Maker's Hand, A Close Look at Textile Structures. first published in
1987, re-printed by Ib Bellew, still as a hardback, in 1998. ISBN
1-85725-134-2.
160 pages, covering 93 objects, each photographed in B/W or colour by David Cripps, 163 diagrams. To obtain a SIGNED COPY, send email to me at <plysplit@onetel.net> PRICE £20 plus postage. Available in USA from Unicorn Books, <lars@unicornbooks.com> Price $ 34.95
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