The Best Modern Craft Books

Jan 3, 2020 — Gift Guides

At the beginning of the year, we want to improve ourselves and become more productive and better people. Maybe you have a goal to try something new, to spend less time on your phone, or to be more creative. Are you not sure what you want to dive into? Look no further!

Here is a list of craft books that I love (I wish I owned them all!) and that you or maybe a friend of yours would love. They are the perfect gift and will get your creative juices started. All you need is a little push of inspiration or a few projects to follow in a book and then you won’t be able to stop!

Craft books are a great way to dive into an art medium that you are interested in and want to learn more of. I chose books that were beautiful to leave out on the coffee table. They are also great books to gift to others on their birthday this year. I added a helpful tip for each book to find just the right book for the person that would enjoy it!

Weaving Books

Welcome to Weaving

Lindsey is such an amazing weaver and she has taught so many classes on weaving so you know her book will be amazing.

Gift this to someone who wants to dip their feet into weaving and learn from a true professional!

Welcome to Weaving 2

This second book from Hello Hydrangea takes it up to the next level with more techniques for weaving! If you know someone who loves weaving, this is a great book to gift them to up the ante!

This book is a great gift for someone who has taken a class or two on weaving and wants to challenge themself a little more!

Weaving within Reach

This book takes weaving to a whole new level. Anne teaches how to weave by hand or by loom and how to weave more than just a wall hanging, but earrings, clutches, pillows and more!

This is a great gift for someone who wants to make a variety of projects and loves the chunky look.

Rug Hooking Books

Punch Needle

Arounna’s rug hooking style is seriously the best out there and so you know you’ll learn some great techniques that you will want to use from this book.

This is a great gift for someone who has shown interest in punch needling or working with yarn but don’t necessarily call themselves a creative person

Modern Rug Hooking

I have been following Rose Pearlman for years and I absolutely love her style of rug hooking. She has such an eye for abstract design, color, and composition.

This is a great gift for someone who loves a modern look and doesn’t have a lot of time to craft anything very intricate.

Punch Needle

This book has a lot of cute projects that bring punch needle to live and to 3-D!

Gift this to someone who has a kid that would enjoy crafting with them, since it’s such an easy craft!

Embroidery Books

Embroidered Life

If you’re looking for a book about embroidery, Sarah K. Benning’s is the one to check out. Her bold colors and plant subjects are always a hit!

Gift this to someone who loves plants or who wants to challenge their hand skills, whether they’ve tried embroidery or not.

Thread Folk

This book teaches basic embroidery stitches and how to choose materials. She includes patterns that are on perforated pages so you can easily transfer them for your own projects!

Gift this to someone who is looking for a simple and meditative craft while they watch TV!

Zakka Embroidery

I own this book and I love the simple one and two-color embroidery designs. The blend of Japanese and Scandinavian designs are so beautiful you really don’t need a bunch of color to show them off. This book is for more advanced embroiders but a beginner can do it if they’re up for the challenge!

Gift this to someone who loves the simple Scandinavian look or who is an embroidery intermediate level.

Other Fiber Books

The Year of Knots

A beautiful book to learn all kinds of knots for creative projects! The techniques are simple and meditative, and the chunkiness of them is a beautiful bold statement.

Gift this to someone who likes working with their hands and who doesn’t want to spend hours working on tiny stitches.

Painting with Wool

Dani has the most amazing work when it comes to 2-D felting and her book explains all the techniques, tools required, and how to get started!

Gift this to someone who likes working with fibers or who loves animals since Dani does a lot of animal portraits!

Macramé Books

Macramé 2

This macramé book has dozens of projects and techniques to learn macramé. This is a great craft to learn to create that perfect custom design in a unique spot in your home that you can be proud of.

Gift this to someone who likes macramé or just bought a new home and are looking for decor ideas.

Modern Macrame

This book is the ultimate guide to creating more modern macramé pieces for your home.

This is a great book for someone who has a modern taste but loves working with their hands.

Macramé at Home

This book guides you step by step on some amazing boho projects for your home.

Gift this to someone who loves macramé or who owns a home and is looking to spruce things up!

Paper Crafts Books

Handmade Houseplants

This book is all about making plants out of paper! They are the perfect way to never kill a plant yet look as chic as a real one.

Gift this to someone who has a limited budget but loves plants. Or someone who cannot keep their plants alive!

The Fine Art of Paper Flowers

This book takes paper flowers to a whole new level. They are the most realistic flowers ever and she shows total step-by-step instructions on how to make over 30 of them!

Gift this to someone who is getting married soon or who wants to spruce up their home without having to kill expensive plants!

Craft the Rainbow

Who can’t resist a beautiful rainbow project? This book holds 40 paper projects from the popular The House That Lars Built blog – from party decorations, flowers, cards, garlands, you name it!

Gift this to someone who is bright and bubbly and loves rainbows!

Other Crafts Books

Hand Dyed

A book that shows how to hand dye fiber that every crafter should have. I love how simple hand-dying is and this book breaks it down and makes it easy for beginners! Spruce up a robe, duvet, old shirt, whatever you’d like.

Gift this to someone who loves all things natural or who does home school!

Baskets

Learning how to make baskets would be so useful around the home. Tabara’s book has so many projects for you to explore basket making if you’re looking for a unique craft to learn!

Gift this to someone who doesn’t want to work with yarn and fiber or who loves organization!

Mending Matters

This book includes all kinds of stitches to use for mending and other projects that takes visible mending that are edgy and bold!

Gift this to someone who likes to sew or who enjoys thrift shopping!

The Ultimate Easy Screen Printing Book

I love all of her work and this book gives you all the tips and tricks (and templates) to create some awesome t-shirts and other screen-printed items for your home!

Gift to a person who wants to try something new and has older children to join in on the fun!

For those who just love making in general

Making a Life

Why do we make things by hand? And why do we make them beautiful? Led by the question of why working with our hands remains vital and valuable in the modern world, author and maker Melanie Falick went on a transformative, inspiring journey.

Did I miss any treasured craft books you absolutely love? Please tell me, I’m always looking for a good craft book! Happy crafting!

*Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of these links, you won’t pay anything extra, but I will get a small commission which helps keep this blog going. Thanks for supporting McKenzie Sue Makes!

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