C & T Publishing/Stash Books have introduced a new range of books called Design Collective which are themed books with projects contributed by a range of contemporary designers from around the world who feature on popular websites such as Etsy.
We are lucky enough to have the first 2 books in the collection to review: Little Birds and Lunch Bags. Along with another of their new books - Socks Appeal.
Little Birds 
This book features 26 projects involving birds from soft toy birds to embroidery involving birds in the design there is something for everyone. The book incorporates techniques such as quilting and embroidery but the 
projects are suitable for beginners. Some of the birds are decorative and others, like the Bird on Branch Make Up bag or little birds quilt, are functional.
Each project has the instructions broken down into a few different steps, from getting the necessary equipment together before you start to cutting the fabric and constructing the bird itself. What I love is that at the start of each project there is a little biography of the contributor along with links to their website/blog/shop so that you can find out more about them, or buy one of the birds if you don't want to make it yourself.
At the back of the book you will find pattern pieces and a guide to the embroidery stitches used. This book is available to pre-order on Amazon here, currently priced at £8.05 (on 10/07/10).
Lunch Bags
The second book in the Design Collective series is Lunch Bags. As with the previous book this book features projects from a range of designers who sell online.
I did wonder whether it was possible to have 25 diffe
rent types of lunch bag but this book has a great range, none of them look similar to the others. They range from small sandwich bags to kids lunch bags or huge insulated carry all bags.
As with the Little Birds book there is a pattern section in the back, as well as a useful section on corner construction techniques. The projects are aimed at beginners and are quick and easy to make.
You can download a free project from this book on the Stash Books blog: http://www.stashbooksblog.com/2010/07/lunch-bag-and-wraps-using-cotton-laminates/
This book is due for release in November in the UK (perfect for Christmas) but can be pre-ordered on Amazon here for £11.69 (price on 10/07/10).
Socks Appeal by Breanna Maloney
I've always wondered how to make sock animals but have never had a go at it, this book is a perfect guide.
It's full of inspiration, lots of different animals to make, octopuses, squirrels, lions, rabbits, mice and many more from all shapes and sizes of socks and some from gloves too.
Its projects are split into skill categories, those for beginners and children, for intermediate level and the more experienced. There are step
by step written and photographic instructions to guide you through the projects.
There is also a section at the front telling you what supplies you will need and showing a few different stitches. It also gives you a few tips for making the projects in the book. Now you have something to do with all those mysterious odd socks that appear in the washing!
You can download a free owl project from this book on the Stash Books Blog here: http://www.stashbooksblog.com/2010/06/free-owl-project-from-socks-appeal/
You can buy this book on Amazon for £11.49 (price correct on 10/07/10) by clicking here.
Images above taken from http://www.stashbooksblog.com
