Customising Your Clothes: The Complete Guide

When I received this book last week I was initially underwhelmed as the cover is seriously uninspiring. Proving that that the saying never judge a book by its cover couldn't be more true when I finally got round to looking through it I instantly thought it was great.

Describing itself as "The only book to cover customising all of the essential garments and accessories from head to toe" The Complete Guide to Customising Your Clothes covers every aspect of embellishment you could wish for.
From applique, batik, bleaching and my favourite "deconstruction" its packed full of really clear step by step tutorials on how to transform your clothes.

One of my favourite projects-the permanent marker circle dress

I was particularly impressed that it tackled screen printing because as a screen printer myself (me and Mr Bee hand print our tee shirts) I know that its a fairly fiddly process and not the easiest technique to break down into bite size pieces.
As well as having clear photographs and nicely written instructions the book also features some lovely gallery sections with examples of each technique used by   designers such as Jil Sander, Martin Margiela and NOKI

This book feels like the author Rain Blanken has really put her heart and soul into it. As well as offering project guides there are chapters on upcycling, sustainable fashion, sketching designs and research. there is also a great "Resources" section at the back which features everything from magazines to suppliers to get you going.

Overall its a cracking book, very inspiring (I am so going to try the bleaching technique) and a good addition to your crafting library especially if you are interested in turning your hand to various printing techniques which tend to be less covered on craft blogs. I also loved the more quirky deconstruction projects 
such as the zip fasinators. Very cool indeed.

The Complete Guide To Customising Your clothes published by Bloomsbury  is available to order from Amazon for £13.59
If you fancy getting your hands on a copy I have two  to give away.


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