Art & Craft Books
Make Thrift Mend. Mending Matters. The Paper Playhouse.
I’ve written three books about art, craft, and sustainability. These are how-to craft books with step-by-step photo tutorials, original essays, contributions from international artists, photos, and extensive resource lists. I’ve been writing poems and essays my entire life but these books bring my craft workshops to your studio, classroom, or kitchen table. They provide support, inspiration, and practical guidance for mending, darning, sewing, stitching, dyeing, and crafting with sustainable design. My books are available anywhere books are sold online or in-person.
![MakeThriftMend_Cover_081320[1].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fa1c2a11c875a0cdc382e18/1604527877514-KCHABB770XAXLNVULJ33/MakeThriftMend_Cover_081320%5B1%5D.jpg)
Make Thrift Mend.
A fiber artist’s guide to sustainable fashion through sewing, stitching plant-dyeing, mending and darning. This book shares over 20 step-by-step tutorials in sustainable sewing (like turning a tablecloth into a top); making natural plant dyes to transform secondhand garments; and using visible mending to repair woven garments like denim and darning knitted garments like sweaters. A summary of my slow fashion project, Make Thrift Mend, this book takes the reader on a transformative journey. Includes heartfelt essays, quotes by artists, an extensive resource list, and over 175 color photos. Published with Abrams in April 2021. Available wherever books are sold.
Mending Matters.
Shares 22 how-to techniques to mend, stitch, patch, and repair your favorite denim and more. This book focuses exclusively on hand-stitching to repair woven garments like linen, cotton, silk, and denim. Includes five original essays, contributor quotes, and over 200 color photographs. An instant bestseller, Mending Matters, is now in its eleventh printing with over 60,000+ copies sold—thank you to everyone who has supported this book and my mending journey. Also available in a German edition. Published by Abrams Books in October 2018. Available wherever books are sold.
The Paper Playhouse.
My first book includes 20+ tutorials for making sustainable art projects for, and with, children. Focused on upcycled paper crafts, the projects are organized into four categories: Paper, books, boxes, and performance & public art. It’s a great book to inspire play-based craft projects from everyday materials including what’s in your recycling bin. Also available in French and German editions. Published by Quarry Books in January 2015.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
Photos by Karen Pearson for Make, Thrift, Mend published by Abrams Books, 2021.
“Katrina's philosophy is masterfully distilled in Make Thrift Mend. She has a gift for making sustainable living into a spiritual practice, while at the same time grounding it in accessible practices. Treading lightly upon the earth does not require a hefty paycheck; anyone can learn how to clothe themselves in alignment with their values with the skills taught in these pages.”
— MEG MCELWEE, Sew Liberated
NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.