Weekend Review: Folded Fabric Elegance

 

Folded Fabric Elegance / Rami Kim
Paducah, KY: AQS, 2007
95 p.

And my last fabric manipulation book of the month is Rami Kim's look at traditional Korean 'chopkey' fabric work, adapted to her modern American outlook. It's a beautiful book! The layout is very logical but also visually appealing, the techniques are interesting in themselves but also shown in many project examples. There are tons of photos both of the techniques and of the many outfits Kim has made using variations of folded fabric and embroidery - and that she won many awards for in Wearable Art categories in national guild competitions. 

The book starts by introducing 10 techniques. There are 4 traditional chopkey designs (folded squares), 3 North American smocking designs, prairie points, harlequin tucks and an ultrasuede pinwheel that could really be made from any non-fraying stable fabric. 

The second part of the book then follows this up with 12 projects ranging from wallhangings to purses and pillows. The projects are small enough for beginners to try without being overwhelmed, great practice to get to learn the various techniques. But as mentioned, there are also photos of the ambitious pieces Kim has made, to inspire the reader! 

My favourite technique - or maybe the one I'd be most likely to try out - is the one featured on the cover. Tucks that are then stitched in the opposite direction and embellished with beads appeal to me a lot -- I can see them in an art pieces or a garment panel. But then I love all kinds of tucks! 

The folded fabric ideas are also lovely and maybe I'll get to some of them as well. This book is fairly short but has so many ideas, and I liked the way it's laid out with a lot of colour photography for each technique and each project. The explanations are pretty clear though I think it might take a try or two to really get some of the folds down. But it's a great resource and I had a lot of fun perusing it. 

You can watch her sew up a Lightning Bug from this book over on youtube also!