Penguin Random House LLC

Immerse yourself in an underworld adventure with 25 vibrant and fun little sea creatures to crochet in amigurumi style!

From the author of the bestsellers Mini Amigurumi Animals and Mini Amigurumi Birds.

Create your own underwater wonderland with these cute and colorful tiny sea creatures. Crochet 25 fun and vibrant ocean creatures, including sharks, whales, jellyfish, an octopus, seahorse, turtle and plenty of colorful fish to choose from. There’s even some coral to complete the set!

You can quickly make each project using only small amounts of yarn from your stash. Give your tiny creations as gifts, or make them into keychains, bag pendants or baby mobiles. Clear and easy-to-follow crochet techniques and diagrams make it easy to get started, and with a short techniques sections to set you on your way, you’ll want to make the whole collection once you get started!

Potential for creating designs in textiles can be seen even in the physical properties of cloth. The simple fact that cloth tightly compressed into wrinkles or folds resists the penetration of dye is an opportunity—an opportunity to let the pliancy of textiles speak in making designs and patterns.


People around the world have recognized this opportunity, producing resist designs in textiles by shaping and then securing cloth in various ways before dyeing. Yet in no other country has the creative potential of this basic principle been understood and applied as it has in Japan. Here, in fact, it has been expanded into a whole family of traditional resist techniques, involving first shaping the cloth by plucking, pinching, twisting, stitching, folding, pleating, and wrapping it, and then securing the shapes thus made by binding, looping, knotting, clamping, and the like. This entire family of techniques is called shibori.


Designs created with shibori processes all share a softness of outline and spontaneity of effect. Spontaneity is shibori’s special magic, made possible by exploiting the beauty of the fortuitous things that happen when dye enters shaped cloth.


Usually it is in response to the fact that a craft is being lost that the need for preserving and documenting it arises. The motivation behind this book is no exception, but the authors have gone far beyond simple documentation. Extensive research and experimentation have led to the revival here of shibori techniques that were once well known but have now been largely forgotten in Japan. In addition to more conventional techniques, the work of contemporary fiber artists in Japan and abroad in shibori textile art and wearable art is presented, to suggest the extent of the creative innovation possible.


The 104 color and 298 black-and-white plates include a photographic Gallery of Shibori Examples, based on Japan’s largest collection of traditional shibori fabrics. Included also are a detailed guide to basic natural dyes used in Japan, the making and care of an indigo vat, and a list of suppliers in North America, as well as a glossary and bibliography. Now available in paperback, this full documentation of one of the world’s most inventive and exciting dyeing techniques continues as a classic in the textile field.
Published by Kodansha International
Feb 21, 2012 | 304 Pages | 8-1/4 x 11-3/4 | ISBN 9781568363967

Shibori is the Japanese term (from the word meaning “to squeeze or wring”) for the dye-resist technique of binding, clamping, or gathering the cloth so that the dye cannot reach certain parts. The result is the most powerful of combinations a carefully structured design with the organic freedom of the unpredictable.

One of the richest textile traditions in the world, shibori has been used in Japan, Africa, India, and South America for centuries to create vibrant color, bold patterns, and intricate motifs. In recent years, a resurgence of the art has revealed its full potential. Janice Gunner’s book is aimed at quilters, embroiderers, and textile artists who want to master the techniques of shibori and find ways to use the fabric for a range of textile applications.

The book begins with the historical and cultural background of shibori; then goes on to explain, with clear, step-by-step instructions and diagrams, how to make a wide range of exquisite fabrics. Gunner covers many different techniques, including tied-resist, stitched-resist, wrapped-resist, clamp-resist, folded-and pleated-resist, as well as immersion, space and indigo dyeing. Stunning examples of finished shibori pieces appear throughout the book, both to inspire and guide; and practical advice is given on incorporating shibori textiles into the reader’s own quilted and embroidered work.
Published by Kodansha America
Sep 01, 2010 | 128 Pages | 8-1/2 x 10-7/8 | ISBN 9781568363806

A sock is a work of wonder. No other knitted garment has as many structural demands or endures as much wear and tear. The humble sock must defy gravity, suffer the confines of our shoes, and endure being trampled on all day long.

All too often, the root cause of a sock’s triumph or failure is the yarn itself. In The Knitter’s Book of Socks, Clara Parkes shows you how to knit socks from yarn up, following the sock yarn life cycle from its foundations to its final moments on a proud foot. By understanding a sock’s basic needs—elasticity, strength, and moisture management—you’ll learn how to play with these tools like building blocks, confidently combining fiber, twist, ply, pattern, and clever stitch tricks to construct your perfect pair of socks.

To help put these principles into practice, The Knitter’s Book of Socks also offers 20 fresh, original patterns from today’s sock-design luminaries, including Cookie A, Cat Bordhi, Ann Budd, Nancy Bush, Anne Hanson, and Melissa Morgan-Oakes. The socks presented here run the gamut from simple knit-and-purl combinations suitable for beginners to innovative designs with lush colorwork, swirling cables, and delicate lace.

Understanding the elements of yarn is the first step on every successful sock knitting journey. With this book as your guide, you’ll learn how to make any sock yarn shine and love every pair of socks you knit.

Published by Potter Craft
Oct 11, 2011 | 208 Pages | 7-7/16 x 9 | ISBN 9780307586803