Weekend Review: Tucks & Textures Two

 

Tucks & Textures Two / Jennie Rayment
Haslemere, Surrey, UK: J.R. Publications, c1997.
112 p.

I mentioned that I recently picked up this book at a second-hand shop, along with another in the same series. I first encountered one of her books on fabric manipulation a while back and really enjoyed it. So I was thrilled to pick this one up to add to my collection. It was self-published a few decades ago, though, and is out of print -- but I think many of the techniques can be found in some of the newer books on her website these days as well as in some of her classes.

But I enjoyed this one! Rayment writes with humour and makes everything seem approachable and interesting, while also creating high quality results. Her pieces look intricate and complex, but the instructions spark your curiosity and reduce anxiety about being able to try something yourself. 

This book continues on with fabric manipulation techniques, like the first book, even referencing some of the instructions from the first in a few projects (so you'd really want to have both). But there are new ideas and additions too. In this book she includes ideas for more 3D work like sculpted spheres - pure art and decoration. And she also goes into making fabric landscapes as well -- little art pieces, made with various tucks and pleats, from hand dyed fabrics (there is also a chapter on small batch dyeing in the microwave). These are pretty pieces, and she gives workshops on this now, according to her website -- you can watch a "taster video" about her textured landscapes to get an idea about them.

And there is a lot more focus on Useful Things in this volume too. Bags, baskets, even hats are created. Whether textured pieces are inserted into plainer fabrics or the fabric is twisted and folded to make things, they are all intriguing! There are colour plates inserted to show examples of some of the designs and projects, and while they can be a bit dated at times in colour and print choices, the concepts are evergreen. I was really inspired by this one! Check out her youtube channel for some examples of her 3D boxes, fabric weaving or tucks - and much more.

I'll be sharing my thoughts on book 3 next week, but until then, I hope you will explore some of her techniques as shared in this book and on her website and youtube channel. Really inspiring!