The Cumulative Cloth, Dry Techniques: A Guide to Fabric Color, Pattern, Construction, and Embellishment  (Schiffer Publishing, May 2024) https://schifferbooks.com/products/the-cumulative-cloth-dry-techniques

A comprehensive how-to reference that teaches dry textile surface design techniques for making custom cloth, including piecing, appliqué, reverse appliqué, fabric manipulation, and embellishment.

Learn surface design for textiles, to create rich and personally expressive fabric surfaces. Projects by expert Susan Brandeis (author of the bestselling The Intentional Thread) help novices and experienced professionals experiment with each method.

• Covers dry techniques in detail: how to add color, pattern, and images to fabrics using cutting, piecing, layering, building, and embellishing.
• Includes both machine stitching and hand stitching.
• What’s the “Cumulative Cloth”? A single cloth that readers add to with each chapter’s techniques, eventually creating a piece of art.
• Serves as a go-to reference to check technical procedures and safety guidelines (many methods require caution).
• Wet techniques are covered separately in the author’s coordinating book, The Cumulative Cloth, Wet Techniques (2023).

Size: 8.5in x 11.0in  |  Pages: 376  |  560 color images and diagrams

Binding: Hardback

Endorsements and commentary:

“Susan Brandeis is the consummate educator and maker, and understands both what is involved in making, and how to convey these processes clearly and efficiently. The Cumulative Cloth, Dry Techniques extends the range and scope of content of its Wet Techniques companion volume, so that both textile students and hobbyists have in these guidebooks comprehensive and detailed references that provide entrée to the world of textile surface design and construction. . . . should find a ‘within reach’ spot in every fabric crafter’s workspace.” — Michael James, quilt artist; Professor Emeritus and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

“This book is a must have for my library. The instructions are easy to follow with illustrations that make me want to start stitching, slicing, folding, embellishing and piecing at once. Her remark, ‘Think of the topics in this book as a collection of present and future possibilities,’ is absolutely true.” — Paula Kovarik, fiber artist

“A wealth of information to guide fabric-focused makers of any level with comprehensive construction processes. Several workshops compiled into one amazing book!” — Wen Redmond, fiber and mixed-media digital artist; author of Explorations with Collage!: Merging Photographs, Paper, and Fiber

“Everyone, from beginner to advanced, can be successful in dry techniques with Susan Brandeis’s detailed instructions, helpful tips, clear illustrations, and stunning photography. She provides ideas for applying dry techniques, suggests opportunities for further exploration, and proposes challenges for artistic growth. Together, the two books will serve as a reference to consult for years to come.” — Dr. Cheryl Christian, artist; editor emerita, Needle Arts

“With encyclopedic scope and meticulous detail, The Cumulative Cloth: Dry Techniques could serve as a classroom text, a course of study for an independent artist, or a comprehensive reference for as-needed look-ups. Susan Brandeis parses the fine points of piecework, quilting, and applique plus patterning, manipulation, and embellishment with a far-reaching range of materials. She then points the reader toward paths of creative exploration. With luscious color illustrations on every page, this book is a solid companion to Brandeis’s earlier volume The Cumulative Cloth: Wet Techniques.” — Patricia Malarcher, former editor, Surface Design Journal.