The Artful Bird: Fanciful Feathered Friends to Make + Sew

by Abigail Patner Glassenberg (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2011

  $27.17

  Crafters and sewists are enchanted with birds, and the trend continues unabated. For the first time, techniques for making a bevy of three-dimensional fabric bird soft sculptures are available to textile and mixed-media artists in The Artful Bird. Author Abby Glassenberg, celebrated for her charming, quirky, personality-filled birds, presents 19 incredibly creative projects with a gallery of birds from other noted fabric bird makers with accompanying profiles. In addition, a set of step-by-step basic bird-making techniques and tips will help the reader to make the projects in the book and to draft a pattern for almost any bird-real or imagined. Bird projects range from dignified owls (with baby owlets) to friendly wrens, from an elegant flamingo to a swooping crow in flight. A queenly quail would make a sweet gift for any friend's kitchen, while larks, raptors, gulls, and even a peacock stand on their own as sculpture or become part of mixed-media assemblages.
  While the structure, sewing, and stuffing processes for each of the bird bodies are similar, Glassenberg offers an array of creative ideas to give each bird individual character. Fabric treatments for wings and tails allow for color and texture variation. Beads and embroidery add personality to eyes and faces. Beaks are made from fabric or polymer clay, and wire legs and feet are wrapped in floral tape and thread for an amazingly life-like yet handcrafted appearance. Ideas for inspired use of paint, glitter, and collage elements give the reader even more tools for bird-making magic. Positioned at the intersection of craft, sewing, art dolls, and softies, and immersed in the appeal of birds, The Artful Bird will appeal to crafters of all kinds looking for new ways to express their creativity and use their skills. Glassenberg's careful instructions and how-to photographs for the entire basic bird-making process will help beginners and more advanced crafters build successful, appealing creatures.