Copyright 2009 by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Potter Craft, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.clarksonpotter.com
www.pottercraft.com
POTTER CRAFT and colophon is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.
Some of the craft instructions in this book have been previously published in slightly different form in Martha Stewart Living magazine.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Martha Stewarts Encyclopedia of Crafts / by the editors of Martha Stewart Living. 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
eBook ISBN: 9780307587046
Hardcover ISBN 9781307450579
1. Handicraft. I. Stewart, Martha. II. Martha Stewart Living.
TT157.M39145 2009
745.5dc22
2008033415
Front cover photograph by Ditte Isager
A list of photography credits appears .
v3.1
, made out of tissue paper.
To all crafters and artisans,
who keep valued traditions alive
A variation of the . These terra-cotta pots are adorned with scallop, white cay cay, violet clam, and tiny white cap shells.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book represents the creative genius, hard work, and tireless efforts of many talented people at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
The brilliant crafts editors at Martha Stewart Living deserve high praise and thanks for creating the content that appears within these pages. The editors continue to inspire and delight us with each new issue, and they conceived, created, and produced the craft projects in this book.
Marcie McGoldrick, editorial director of holiday and crafts, and Jodi Levine, a longtime MSLO editor and crafter, carefully reviewed every page of this book to make sure it is accurate and useful. Laura Normandin, long-standing member of our crafts department, also lent her expertise. Of course, we are indebted to our executive editorial director of crafts and original crafts editor, Hannah Milman, who currently oversees the practical and popular crafts merchandise for the company, along with Megen Lee, another very talented crafter. Wed like to thank current members of the crafts department, including Nicholas Andersen, Marissa Corwin, Corinne Gill, Morgan Levine, Athena Preston, Blake Ramsey, and Silke Stoddard, as well as past crafts editors whose contributions appear in these pages, including Anna Beckman, Shannon Goodson Carter, Bella Foster, Katie Hatch, Sophie Mathoulin, Charlyne Mattox, Shane Powers, and Kelli Ronci.
Our special projects group wrangled 17 years of crafts content into one concise, well-written volume; for that we are grateful to editors Amy Conway, Ellen Morrissey, Sarah Rutledge, Kimberly Fusaro, Christine Cyr, and Stephanie Fletcher, as well as interns Megan Rice and Gillian Mohney. A note of thanks, as well, to Jessica Cumberbatch.
As much as it is thoughtfully organized and written, this book is beautifully designed, thanks primarily to Amber Blakesley. Amber worked under the guidance of William van Roden and Eric A. Pike, and was dutifully assisted by Aimee Epstein and intern Eleanor Kramer. Thank you to George D. Planding, Dora Braschi Cardinale, and Gael Towey for their help, as well.
Photographer Ditte Isager captured the beautiful cover image, and many other photographers (too many to name here) also contributed their work (a complete list appears ). Thank you as well to Heloise Goodman and Alison Vanek Devine of our photography department.
We have worked for many years with our original book publisher, Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, to produce our cookbooks and other lifestyle books, but this is our first joint venture with the enthusiastic team at Potter Craft; they are Rosy Ngo, Erica Smith, Chi Ling Moy, Marysarah Quinn, Derek Gullino, Kim Tyner, and Thom OHearn. Many thanks to them, as well as to Jenny Frost, President and Publisher of The Crown Publishing Group, and Lauren Shakely, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Potter Craft.
Lacquered wooden cubbyholes provide storage space for many supplies in Marthas craft room at her home in Bedford, New York. All of the desks are topped with a pressed-linseed material that absorbs nicks and scratches.
INTRODUCTION
n 1988 I had what I thought was a brilliant idea to create a series of beautiful how-to books on a wide assortment of practical, useful, and inspiring topics for the homemaker. I envisioned tomes on flower arranging, on collecting, on every holiday, on gardening, on sewing, on embroidery, and on a vast number of crafts, beautiful crafts.
Understanding that almost each and every one of us is interested in some or all of these subjects, I thought that most publishers would jump at the chance to work with me on this series. Well, like many good ideas, even though the basic concept was sound, the project was rejected. I was told that my concept was too expansive, too all-encompassing, too ambitious for one author to undertake.
After returning to the drawing board, I revised my plan and created not books, but a beautiful how-to magazine, the ubiquitous Martha Stewart Living. It has consistently provided some of the best content on myriad how-to subjects for almost eighteen years, and each story and project has been enjoyed and attempted by many thousands of readers.
Crafts has been an extremely popular area, and our crafts editors have developed an amazing library of projects that clearly display our talent for adopting and adjusting historical and established techniques. Quilling, marbleizing paper, candlemaking, block printing, botanical pressing, silkscreening, and soap makingeach is an ancient craft that has been practiced by professionals and amateurs alike. Today, with our ideas and our creativity, and with modern tools and materials, we have brought these crafts into the twenty-first century. Now they have a more contemporary feel, a more modern perspective, and a more pleasing aesthetic, making them appropriate for inclusion in this wonderful encyclopedia.