The Crafter’s Guide to Patterns
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Author: Jessica Swift
Publisher: Sterling Publishing
Year Published: 2015
Dimensions: 7.8in. x 9.8in.
Pages: 144
The Crafter’s Guide to Patterns is an excellent primer for learning about surface design and pattern making. This book is a collection of information on various pattern types, how to make color palettes, and finding inspiration, and how to make patterns analogously and digitally. There are also interviews, and projects that inspire crafters to implement patterns into their crafts.
One of the biggest benefits of this book is how it carries readers through the entire process of designing a pattern. Swift begins by teaching readers how to find inspiration, develop a color palette, and make the elements that will be used to make the pattern. She primarily focuses on analogous pattern making techniques like stamp carving, foam stamping, and found objects, and stenciling. She shows readers how to apply these elements to various surfaces like cloth, paper, packaging, and decor.
Another thing I like about this book is it stays away from using expensive materials. A lot of the materials can be purchased from big box stores, or can be found laying around the house. This takes away the stigma and the risk of using materials incorrectly, and motivates readers to jump into the process.
This being said, I do think that there are some problems with this book. The biggest problem is the disconnection between creating and applying digital patterns. Swift primarily focuses on analogous print making. Although she shows how to design a pattern digitally, she never shows how to apply it to a project.
I think she makes up for this by including interviews with surface designers and pattern makers who lightly touch on this. Swift does include plenty of photographic examples of digital patterns, but I wish she would incorporate a project on how they can be used outside of the digital realm.
Another problem with this book is almost all of the patterns that are featured are outdated. The patterns are catered to her taste, and they do not represent patterns throughout history. She incorporates a few geometric patterns that reflect patterns from the midcentury modern movement, but other than these, the rest are not timeless.
The design of this book is nostalgic to me. It is reminiscent of every Martha Stewart graphic design trend since 2010. The square serifed fonts used for headers and text combined with the equal-stroke weight sans-serif [in this case Neutraface], the almost-pastel tinted color palette, and the lifestyle photography that showcases every aspect of the project solidify this nostalgic feeling. Although my personal design taste doesn’t align with the design style of this book, I still love it. And I love the sense of nostalgia it brings to me.