Whether you’ve got a cushion that needs re-covering or a tablecloth waiting to be made, you’ll find just the inspiration you’re looking for in this book. I certainly did. Fabulous fabric paint will show you how to add a personal touch – and a splash of colour – to just about anything, as long as it’s material.

The authors go to quite a bit of trouble in the beginning to clarify the basics, which is great for beginners. They help you choose the tools you’ll need to get started, and explain things like preparing the fabrics you’re about to work on, as well as making and using a sticky board.

From there, they give you a couple of ideas on how to finish your project properly – there’s everything from copyright recommendations to how to care for your finished product. Then there’s a useful chapter on how to use colour, before the real fun begins: techniques.

This is where the book starts to pick up in pace. And instead of going according to projects, you’re taught a variety of techniques like shading, texturing, stencilling, stamping, embossing, screen-printing, and working with liquid paint, to name a few. There are step-by-step instructions, lists of what you’ll need, and beautiful, clear photographs to help you out – you’re unlikely to get stuck.

Once you’re acquainted with the techniques that give you the effect you’re after, you’ll no doubt have your favourites. And that’s the beauty of fabric painting: most techniques can then be used on any blank canvas – be it that cushion and tablecloth; or bags, hammocks, deck chairs, and t-shirts.

You’re in for a surprise at the end of the book. A generous 15 pages of traceable designs await you. So if, while you’re trying out the techniques, you come across any designs you like, flip through to the end of the book – it might just be there.

Reviewed by Cara Visser

Published by Metz Press

Originating centuries ago, and made popular by hippie musicians like Janis Joplin in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, tie-dying is back – bolder and brighter than ever.

In this, her first book published by Metz Press, Melanie Brummer unleashes a fresh, modern twist to the ancient craft. With over 50 fabulous projects and patterns to choose from, the book gives clear instructions on how to breathe new life (and a swirl of colour!) into anything from tired T-shirts to drab decor.

Melanie doesn’t forget the novice in us though. Hot on the heels of a very complimentary foreword by SA fashionista, Marianne Fassler, the book launches into a thorough introduction to the art and carefully explains the equipment and materials required before doing and dyeing. What’s particularly helpful is that each project is graded according to the level of experience required – easy, intermediate and advanced. So no need to run before dyeing is mastered.

Contemporary dyecraft is superbly user-friendly and easy on the eye. It is well laid out, a breeze to follow and the photography is not only aesthetically appealing, but genuinely useful. A real gem.

Get more info on this title here.

• We caught up with contemporary dyecraft’s author, the self-taught Melanie Brummer. Read her tie-dyed, rags-to-riches story in the February issue of Craft Gazette.

Reviewed by Cara Visser

Published by Metz Press

Simply Fabulous Fabric offers lovers of textile art the opportunity to learn over seventy-five different techniques to inspire them when they craft with various fabrics. These techniques are taught in sections throughout the book, and include dying, stamping, printing and painting. The book opens with an interesting section on how crafters can record their inspirations in a journal, and use the journal when they begin to craft a project. This section is followed by a section on various types of fabric, and how to protect and care for them, and the tools needed for each project.

The projects in the book are wonderful, but what is really striking are the colours of the various projects in the book. Each project is more vivid and striking than the last, and it is impossible to not feel inspired to create when looking at them. The section on the various types of shibori (tie-dying) was fantastic, and is hardly the only section of the book offering new and exciting ways to try working with textiles.

A joy to look at and bound to inspire many crafters to new heights in their textile art.

Reviewed by Lauren Inggs

Published by Metz Press