Crafting With Lace: More Than 40 Enchanting Projects to Make - Hardcover

Crafting with Lace is more than the title implies. In addition to including individual projects using antique and machine-made laces, Cusick provides fascinating background material on the history of lace, photographs from 19th-century women's magazines, and instructional material on techniques employed in fine French hand sewing and its adaptation to the modern sewing machine. Projects are graded for difficulty (simple, intermediate, and advanced), with instructions included for sewing by hand or by machine. Each project is shown in a full-color photograph, with a materials list and step-by-step procedures. Projects range from simple lace sachets to elaborate potpourri birds fashioned from Battenberg tape lace. The last two chapters are devoted to cutwork and Battenberg lace crafts. Recommended for public libraries and subject collections where demand warrants.
Janice Zlendich, California State Univ. Lib., Fullerton
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The fashion industry's emphasis this winter on luxurious fabrics may soon lead to a revival of interest in all things lace. Cusick is well prepared; her how-to book is filled with not only more than 40 projects but also well-documented histories of this craft. Each of the patterns includes level of difficulty, materials, procedures, charts to follow, and a four-color photograph. Though many of her inspirations might be disregarded because of difficulty or style, others prove very adaptable to twentieth-century needs: hand towels, pillows and cases, holiday ornaments, hat adornments, and baby items, for instance. Experienced sewers will be keen on her ideas. Barbara Jacobs