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This fabulous book is actually quite misleading when you first page through it. The seemingly endless pages of gorgeous floorcloths make it look like it's an inspirational ideas book. But once you can drag your eyes away from the photographs and start reading the text, you'll realise just how practical a book it is: everything you could need to know to create your own beautiful floorcloth.
Instead of cluttering up the pages with endless step-by-step photographs (and who really needs to see what it looks like when you paint gesso on a canvas?) this book has detailed but very clear, step-by-step written instructions to lead you through all the stages, from preparing the canvas, applying a background colour and making a hem to drawing and painting a design, applying a sealant and even a nonskid rubber backing. The chapter on design considerations is ideal for readers who think they haven't got any ideas. It walks you through the decisions you'll need to make such as location, use, size, colors and style, each generously illustrated with examples of floorcloths in a variety of styles. This is followed by a chapter on painting techniques, which is really an invitation to play. My favorite is the "sponge mosaic," where you cut a sponge into small squares, put your paint in an ice cube tray, and then stamp away. Again each technique is illustrated with examples of different artists' work, giving you a good idea of the possibilities. For those who lack the confidence to boldly paint where they haven't painted before, there are eight projects with full instructions and designs to copy. Each uses a different decorative technique. This truly is an essential book for every fabric crafter's shelf. It's superbly illustrated, extremely practical and beautifully printed. It's far more deserving of the title "inspirational coffee-table book" than "how-to manual." The Complete Book of Floorcloths: Designs & Techniques for Painting Great-Looking Canvas Rugs is published by Lark Books. 144 pages, 260 colour photographs, 50 black-and-white illustrations, hardback ISBN 1-887374-19-1 Kathy Cooper is a full-time artist, an exhibiting member of the Piedmont Craftsmen, and the owner of Orchard House Floorcloths in King, Northern Carolina, USA. Jan Hersey has been writing for craft and furniture trade journals for 20 years and lives in Clemmons, North Carolina.
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The copyright of the article Book Review: Floorcloths by Kay Cooper & Jan Hersey in Fabric Crafts is owned by Marion. Permission to republish Book Review: Floorcloths by Kay Cooper & Jan Hersey in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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