Brighten up your home by knitting and crocheting with this inspirational guide to surface decoration! Using the main techniques of altering, collaging, and interrupting, you’ll see how each of these skills can be applied to bags, hats, scarves, cushions, shawls, jackets, wraps, and tops. Although each example has been exquisitely embellished, personal creativity is emphasized throughout: You have the freedom to choose your own decorative technique or to combine several for a unique style. Whether working with fancy yarns, shop-bought braids and trims, beads, buttons, lace inserts, or found objects, you’ll discover countless ways to create interesting and fabulous new surfaces for soft decorations all through the house.

This is not your grandmother’s knitting and crochet! For those ready to break away from the pattern books and create wearable pieces of fiber art, freeform is an exciting discovery. It’s a technique that abandons strict garment design and builds up simple shapes out of gorgeous textured yarns—with the knitter sometimes making it up as she goes along. Start with the step-by-step clinics on how to create fragments and motifs like chevrons, flowers, and spirals. Then take inspiration from the color photographs and combine luscious yarns in intricate patchworks. The result? Something amazingly unique. There’s guidance on creating fabulously fashionable capes, stylish shoulder bags, intriguing scarves and hats, avant-garde jewelry, and even handy cell phone holders. Set your creativity free!