Review by Booklist Review
Today's tie-dye boasts a sophisticated edge. In South African Brummer's first book, the craft takes on a faux-finishing look, emulating tiger and zebra stripes, and even a rainbow, all through the efforts of experienced dyers. Lest you think her compilation of more than 50 items is geared strictly to well-tenured practitioners, she contradicts that perception through a lengthy and elaborate introduction covering fabrics, dyes (and bleaches), equipment, and the basics of resist dyeing. And though her projects are not naturally segmented in any particular fashion, the designs themselves lend a comfortable compartmentalization: between flat and graded color; circles, stripes, and coils; geometric shapes, spirals, and stitched patterns. Each includes more than enough instructional how-tos, general photographic step-by-steps, level of difficulty, and preparation needed. Professional tips are readily divulged, such as testing fabric shrinkage before beginning and realizing that the tightness of the elastics will define the pattern's detail.--Jacobs, Barbara Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Brummer's first book is a comprehensive guide to tie-dying, with clear instructions and multiple color photographs for a series of lovely projects that use a variety of materials, from a throw dyed with a cobweb design to an impressive series of silk scarves. Amazingly, Brummer is able to achieve both rustic and sophisticated looks, and readers who previously thought that tie-dye meant rainbow-splotched shirts adorning Deadheads will be impressed by the variety that can be achieved on (most often) cotton garments with rubber bands and buckets of dye. That said, Brummer focuses here exclusively on tie-dying; there's no batik, resist dying, or even much bleach work to be found. A hundred and forty-four pages is an awful lot of tie-dye, even for the aficionado. Photos. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
