Review: Felt, Fabric, and Fiber Jewelry

I have a couple of cool fiber jewelry books to share with you this week – this one is by the talented Sherri Haab, I’m such a fan of jewelry made from non-traditional materials. . . . Well, let’s face it – I’m a fan of anything made from non-traditional materials.

Anyway, Felt, Fabric, and Fiber Jewelry incorporates those eponymous materials in some very ingenious ways, and the book’s design is lovely. I really like these dimensional felt flowers on the cover.

Also a big fan of this fabric treatment for wooden beads – very elegant, and this simple stringing on the cording really lets the beads shine.

This is probably my favorite project in the whole book – it involves looping thin fabric strips into a burlap background. The technique is simple, but yields this rich, vintage-y brooch. (Excuse my fingers there.)

Each project, by the way, has nice, clear step-by-step photos. And there’s a great variety of techniques here – needle-felting, crochet, sewing/quilting, embroidery, and knotting.

Speaking of crochet, I was excited to see a wire crochet flower! And even more excited to see the wire embellished with cotton.

*raising right eyebrow, tapping fingertips together, looking meaningfully at wire and cotton stashes*

Got some ’sploring to do….

This Kumihimo-style ribbon cord is lovely, and I really like the combination with a polymer clay pendant. They contrast so nicely together.

I’m pretty hopped up about fabric charms lately, and I loved these – the subtle colors make them very elegant.

A note about the complexity of the projects in this book – I think it’s perfect. When I shop for a craft book, I’m always a little disappointed when the projects are too easy. The whole reason I’ll buy a book rather than look things up on the internet is to savor projects that will stretch my creative muscles a little. All these projects have exciting twists to them.

Anyway – there are lots more pretty things in here that I didn’t show you. Give it a flip-through next time you’re at the bookstore.