Debbie has been involved in writing and the craft world for pretty much all of her life but in 1997 she made it into a profession, qualifying formally in journalism and writing patterns and a couple of columns for magazines and newspapers across four continents. She is inspired by nature, travel and history, ancient worlds, steampunk or just a walk in the woods. But she writes about so much more than craft - she loves travel writing, photography and just simply commenting about some of the ridiculous things that happen in our lives. Writing has led her through the world of teaching, and she has written more craft pattern packets than she cares to mention! She has also self-published seven books on subjects ranging from templates for embroidery designs to a cancer self-help book. She designs sewing, papercraft, scrapbooking, card, beading, jewellery and mixed media projects, as well as patterns for quilts.

Introduction 6 Materials 8 Fabrics 8 Felts 9 Threads 10 Trims and shop-bought embellishments 11 Haberdashery and hardware 12 Equipment 16 Techniques 18 Seaming 18 Finishing seams and lining 19 Binding edges 20 Patchworking 21 Inserting a zip 22 Making box corners 25 Clipping, notching and cutting across corners 26 Making bias binding 27 Applying bias binding 28 Piping 29 Inserting patch pockets 31 Straps, handles and tabs 32 Embellishment 35 Embroidery 35 Applique 39 Crocheted flowers 41 Adapting charms to make brooches 42 Beaded charms 43 Making labels 44 Projects 46 Lorle 48 Liesl 52 Shirley 56 Tilde 62 Hannah 66 Claudia 70 Lotte 74 Minna 78 Anna Lena 84 Margaret 88 Christa 94 Ingrid 100 Ina 106 Gertrude 112 Trixie 116 Sylvia 120 Dorte 124 Kirsten 128 Helge 132 Karin 138 Index 144