Embellished Bras: Basic Techniques provides in-depth instruction and useful advice that guides readers through the process of turning a store-bought lingerie bra into a fabulous costume piece. This easy-to-follow four-phase process is presented through graphic step-by-step photographs and illustrations. You'll learn how to make a bra cup pattern, cover the bra and straps, and embellish with fringe, beadwork, appliques, and jewelry. From ballroom to belly dance, Embellished Bras addresses the special needs of dancers no matter what performance style. This "workshop in a book" is an excellent resource for both novice sewers and professional designers.

Costuming from the Hip is a comprehensive reference for anyone who works with Middle Eastern dancewear. Dancers, costume makers, designers, and historical re-enactors will like the many illustrations, historical patterns, construction techniques, and hundreds of hints and tips. This 118-page book will take you step-by-step through measuring your body, researching your costume, laying out the patterns, fitting it, and accessorizing your creation. Topics covered include: * Making your measurement chart * Turkish coats, kaftans, and thobes * Veils * Jewelry * Designing for every body type * Coin, tassle, and cabaret belts * Bras and cholis * Shirts, vests, and blouses * Men's wear * Going professional. The book includes a glossary and an extensive bibliography.

Creating Couture Embellishment offers a step-by-step guide to manipulating fabric and making and applying a rich variety of embellishments. Chapters cover fabric-manipulation techniques of pleating, quilting, tucking, ruffling, shirring and smocking, as well as the fabrication and application of feathers, beading, embroidery, flowers, decorative ribbons and bows, bias bindings and piping, fringe, braids and passementerie. The heirloom quality created by the insertion or application of lace is also explored. A comprehensive sourcebook of ideas for the student, professional and home sewer alike.

The Cloth of Egypt: All About Assiut is the first book of its kind to document and celebrate the supple and sparkling fabric known today as assiut. This single-stitch metal embroidery technique originated in Turkey, but transformed into a distinctive textile tradition in Upper Egypt during the 19th century. Vintage assiut is now an exotic cult collectable, prized . This book, will entertain and educate anyone interested in its history, legends, wear and care. Vintage clothing collectors, textile historians, and belly dancers will all find inspiration and information about this sometimes mysterious, yet always beautiful assiut cloth.Part one traces the history of this cloth, known variously as tulle bi telli, tally, and assiut, from the era when it first entered the historic record until the twenty-first century. This section of the book is lavishly illustrated with vintage images from around the globe. Part two dives into the technology of the fabric, exploring the history of the fiber content and weave structure of the ground cloth as well as the structure of the metal embroidery stitch. Part three is about integrating both vintage and modern textiles into your collection and using it in your wardrobe. Part four presents the myriad ways that assiut cloth is used for historic costuming, traditional and modern belly dance performance attire.Dawn Devine aka Davina, art historian and author, is an internationally renowned belly dancer, who has spent more than 18 years working on an interdisciplinary research project on the history of assiut. The result is this revolutionary book, filled with more than 700 vintage and modern b/w photos to inspire and delight.

Bedlah, Baubles, and Beads is a book about designing and crafting the elaborate bra and belt sets worn by contemporary belly dancers. Also known as "dance oriental" and "raks sharki," belly dancing has numerous sub-styles that are defined not only by their movement vocabulary, but also by their distinctive costuming. The first part of the book provides a conceptual framework by starting with a history of this costuming style and its origins here in the United States. From there, it concentrates on introducing the reader to design principles, methods, and techniques for developing figure-flattering styles. The second part presents the materials, tools, and processes for putting together an elaborately decorated bra and belt set. Step-by-step illustrations for applying beads, a fabric shopping guide, and directions for constructing the bra and belt bases are all illustrated with descriptive diagrams to aid the reader. Finally, the book finishes with a portfolio of styles and ideas for expanding the performance wardrobe. From skirts to accessories, these chapters introduce the essential garments that transform the bra and belt into a complete costume. Detailed topics include: * Step-by-step illustrations of beading techniques, including back stitch, couching, tambour beading, scatter beading, and more. * Directions for making high-quality bedlah, from concept to finished costume. * Techniques for developing beading patterns using clip art sources and transforming images into dynamic designs. * Fitting and covering bras and belts. An extensive bibliography is included.

Couture Sewing Techniques presents the finest sewing techniques in the world as they're actually practiced in couture workrooms.

More and more sewists and quilters are adding embroidered details to their work. While there are a bevy of stitch dictionaries currently available, Bead Embroidery Stitch Samples goes beyond basic and traditional embroidery stitches to incorporate beads, allowing readers to create delicate and striking trims and embellishments. Stitch patterns range from elegantly simple single motifs, to complex all over patterns to three-dimensional designs. Along with step-by-step instructions are numerous examples of how to use and place the motifs on hems, pockets, cuffs, collars and handbags; or as home decor trim on pillows, curtains, or lampshades. Patterns emphasize beaded edgings and trims, as opposed to heavy, solid beaded fabric motifs found in other beaded embroidery books. Using nothing more than embroidery threads and simple beads, Bead Embroidery Stitch Samples offers beginner and advanced embroidery enthusiasts alike new ways to set their work apart.

Horace G. Danner’s A Thesaurus of English Word Roots is a compendium of the most-used word roots of the English language. As Timothy B. Noone notes in his foreword: “Dr. Danner’s book allows you not only to build up your passive English vocabulary, resulting in word recognition knowledge, but also gives you the rudiments for developing your active English vocabulary, making it possible to infer the meaning of words with which you are not yet acquainted. Your knowledge can now expand and will do so exponentially as your awareness of the roots in English words and your corresponding ability to decode unfamiliar words grows apace. This is the beginning of a fine mental linguistic library: so enjoy!” In A Thesaurus of English Word Roots, all word roots are listed alphabetically, along with the Greek or Latin words from which they derive, together with the roots’ original meanings. If the current meaning of an individual root differs from the original meaning, that is listed in a separate column. In the examples column, the words which contain the root are then listed, starting with their prefixes, for example, dysacousia, hyperacousia. These root-starting terms then are followed by terms where the root falls behind the word, e.g., acouesthesia and acoumeter. These words are followed by words where the root falls in the middle or the end, as in such terms as bradyacusia and odynacusis.. In this manner, A Thesaurus of English Word Roots places the word in as many word families as there are elements in the word. This work will interest linguists and philologists and anyone interested in the etymological aspects of English language.

Building on experience from 60 countries worth of independent travel, the author takes you on three journeys to places you may never have considered visiting, although you probably should and you definitely could. Learn about a low-budget cruise to Antarctica, understand what the Trans-Siberian Railway really is like, enjoy the natural wonders of Southern Africa. The book is a fun read, but you will also learn about far-away destinations and about how to travel independently anywhere. It's not a travel guide or a travel journal, it's both!More details, including free downloads, available from http://bjornfree.com/