Fifteen Fabulous Felted Fedoras (working title), Chad Alice Hagen. New York, NY: Lark Books, A Division of Sterling Publishers, forthcoming Spring 2005.
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The Weekend Crafter: Feltmaking: Fabulous Wearables, Jewelry and Home Accents. Published by Sterling Publishing Company, 2002. ISBN: 1579902529. USD $14.95 (CAN $22.95), 80 pp. The Weekend Crafter: Feltmaking has detailed, step-by-step instructions for 18 different projects, designed to demonstrate a variety of felting techniques. And they're all fun and easy to make! Click here to read an excerpt from the book |
You can order a personally autographed copy of The Weekend Crafter: Feltmaking directly from Chad for $14.95 plus $3.00 shipping (in US). Please e-mail chad@chadalicehagen.com for further information. Otherwise, please check your local bookstore.
Library Journal
"The Weekend Crafter series is exactly that - a series of books for people interested in learning a new craft without necessarily devoting their lives to it. Hagen has taught feltmaking in the United States and Europe, and her hand-felted wool is in many private and museum collections. Here she takes the reader step by step through the process of hand feltmaking. Close-up color photos illustrate each step in making beginner's felt projects, such as solid felt balls and the basic flat felt needed for wearable felt pieces. Projects of note include an ambitious, life-size stuffed cat wearing a necklace of felted beads, small felted bags and bracelets, and warm felt slippers. Books on crafts like feltmaking, which requires supplies like Merino wool sliver not available at your local craft store, cry out for lists of suppliers. It appears that the publisher has decided to omit such lists from many of its titles and to make them available on its web site instead - a good idea, because the lists can be kept up to date more easily. Unfortunately, at press time, the list for this book was not yet available on the Lark web site. The price is right for this collection of colorful felt projects. Recommended for public libraries." (12/01/02, p.122)
Publisher's Weekly Book of the Day
"Fine craft books can be hard to come by, so The Weekend Crafter: Feltmaking: Fabulous Wearables, Jewelry and Home Accents (Sterling) comes as a great pleasure. Created by textile designer and fine artist Chad Alice Hagen, the book is intelligent, comprehensive and practical.
"Felt, that soft yet substantial fabric often used for crafting, is created not by weaving but by combining water and soap with soft tufts of wool fleece. In effect, the fabric is sculpted, not woven. Hagen, who elevates the technique to the level of art, has had her own felting projects exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Mint Museum of Art and Design and other prestigious venues.
"The book introduces the reader to the art of felting by offering a brief history of the craft, which dates back nearly 2,600 years. Full-color how-to photos are used throughout the book to teach the reader how to create handbags, mittens, hats and jewelry. Any crafter who has tried to learn a new technique by referring to illustrations is aware of how frustrating such an approach can be. Hagen's use of close-up photography makes each process immediately accessible. Succinct, easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions accompany each of the 18 projects, and templates are included to make the process even easier.
"What makes this book distinctive is its respectful and educational approach. The projects range from easy to difficult, the information is at once accessible and intelligent, and the images are beautiful but instructive. The book would make an ideal acquisition for a school library or classroom, but this is not to say individuals won't find that this is a reference book to which they will turn again and again." (Bethany Lyttle, February, 2003)