Book Review: Hand Painted Textiles

 

Hand-Painted Textiles: A Practical Guidel to the Art of Painting on Fabric by Sarah Campbell is an excellent new title on various ways to create patterns on textiles. Full of full-color photographs of various technique samples, the book is no only an excellent reference manual but also a beautiful compendium of vivid artwork.

The book is aimed at a general reader, someone interested in creating pattern on fabric for personal projects or home decor who may have some familiarity with painting or textiles, but it's not an art-class textbook or a textile-science reference. The language is accessible and clear, and she explains things in detail, such as when she covers all the different options beyond a traditional paintbrush that one might use to apply a colorant to a textile--sticks, feathers, sponges, etc.

Some chapters are framed such that the reader could explore a single technique on a project of their own devising, such as the section on potato printing (creating stamps with potatoes and stamping patterns on fabric)--she explains the technique and illustrates how it can be used in a range of different ways, to inspire the reader to create their own designs.

It can probably be chalked up to the fact that this book seems to be aimed at a novice reader and is written by a UK author, but there is very little information about the types of paints and inks she uses--no brand names, no explanations about the composition. She mentions a preference for heat-set products, but no explanation as to what the advantage of that is or why heat-setting is necessary.

The book includes a list of suppliers located in the UK, the US, and Canada, at which one might purchase many different tools and various products for painting on fabric. This is an excellent introductory text for someone who wants to explore painting on fabric and would benefit from the many full-color photos of many different applications/examples. A good book, perhaps too introductory for a college course but great for a home crafter with an interest in this topic.

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.