So far I have released four books, and most of them have been translated to many other languages than the original Swedish.
Vardagsslöjd
Vardagsslöjd translates into “every day craft“ and this book differs from my previous ones in that is does not focus on one particular subject. Instead it is comprised of 18 different craft projects, and it is my hope the it will inspire the experienced craftsman and beginner alike to bring craft into their every day lives. There are projects for both types of learners in this book, and a few of the things you can learn are:
Plant dyeing
Spinning wool yarn and making fibers out of nettles
Carving two different kinds of wall-mounted hooks
Mending knits and denims
Sewing a quilt
Embroidering with stem stitch
…And 12 other projects! This book came about after I had been commissioned to write standalone “Do it yourself“-articles on craft for the magazine Hemslöjd, and I had the idea to gather the articles in a book where they would be allowed more space than in the magazine.
The book is written by me, Kerstin Neumüller.
Photographed by Ellinor Hall.
Graphic design by Sebastian Wadsted.
Edited by Elisabeth Fock.
Published by Natur och Kultur in 2023.
Vardagsslöjd has not yet been translated to any other languages than the original Swedish.
Simple weave
I started to carve my own little heddles in 2020 and by the spring of 2021 I had so many people asking me how I did the woodwork and also how to weave on the heddles that I decided I needed to make a printed material about it. The result is Simple weave, a book where I show you how to make little wooden rigid heddles, backstrap looms and a simple frame loom and how to weave on them!
I chose the name of the book because I wanted to highlight the fact that this kind of weaving is lightweight, fast, and compared to weaving on a floor loom I find it uncomplicated. Any problems are easily corrected and if you mess up completely you can just start a new project within an hour!
The book contains an introduction to the basic elements of weaving, repp band weaving and pattern design, tabby weaves on a rigid heddle, structured weaves like looped pile weaves and scandi style wool pickup patterns, warp facing weaves, backstrap loom weaving in tabby and twill, and in the wood carving chapter you find directions on how to carve your own rigid heddle, make a backstrap loom and a frame loom for picture weaving.
The book is written by me, Kerstin Neumüller.
Photographed by Ellinor Hall.
Graphic design by Sebastian Wadsted.
Edited by Elisabeth Fock.
Published by Natur och Kultur in 2021.
Danish translation
Simple weave was translated into Danish in 2023 and is published by Bogoo books. The Danish title is “Båndvævning - Kom godt igang“.“
English translation
Simple weave was translated into English in 2022 and is published by Batsford books. The English title is “Simple weave - weave without a large loom“.
Contact Rizzoli books at rizzoliusa.com for US wholesale of this book.
Lappat och lagat
Lappat och lagat (English: “Mend and patch“) was written during a time when I had a denim mending studio. People would bring me all kinds of things to mend though, not just denim, so I decided to write everything I know about mending clothes into a book. Many of these techniques are traditional, and I have learned them over the years while studying and working with textiles.
Although the book does include tips for how to mend garments using a sewing machine it is heavily biased towards hand sewing. This is because I myself prefer to use hand sewing techniques because they are so much more versatile, but also because I want to keep the book accessible for as many people as possible.
The book covers the mending basics like sewing on a button and mending rips and tears in a quick way, there are mends inspired by Sashiko and invisible mends for denim fabrics, instructions on how to mend knitted garments visibly or invisibly and there are also instructions on how to do the very complicated invisible mending by weaving a patch in place over a hole that I learned when I was training to be a tailor.
The book is written by me, Kerstin Neumüller.
Photographed by Hampus Andersson.
Graphic design by Sebastian Wadsted.
Edited by Elisabeth Fock.
Published by Natur och Kultur in 2018.
English translation
Lappat och lagat has been translated into English and is published by Harper Collins. The English title is “Mend & patch - A handbook to repairing clothes and textiles“.
Danish translation
Lappat och lagat has been translated into Danish and is published Bogoo books. The Danish title is “Lappet & lavet”.
German translation
Lappat och lagat has been translated into German and is published by Haupt verlag. The German title is ”Verflickt & zugenäht - Kleidungsstücke ausbessern und verschönern”.
French translation
Lappat och lagat has been translated into French and is published by Editions La Plage. The French title is “Rapiécer et raccommoder“.
En Handbok Om Indigo
This is my first book, often referred to as just “Indigo“. It came about when me and my co-authour Douglas Luhanko wanted to learn how to dye textiles with indigo but had trouble finding a comprehensible source of information. By the time we had gotten the hang of it we were offered a book contract and who were we to say no to that?!
The Indigo book is structured like a cookbook. While it only contains recipes for one color (that being blue) there are a lot of different ways to prepare the dye and we have gathered recipes from many different dyers. The book also contains instructions on how to grow your own indigo and extract the dye from the plants, as well as extensive instructions on how to restart a dyebath, safe conduct while dyeing, and the history of indigo.
In the third section of the book you’ll find ideas on what to make out of your indigo dyed textiles. There are instructions on Shibori dyeing, Sashiko stitching, dyeing a color gradient and laking an indigo quilt. On top of this, recipes for dyeing with other plants are offered, should you want to combine the blue with other colors
The book is written by me, Kerstin Neumüller, and Douglas Luhanko.
Photographed by Fredrik Ottosson.
Graphic design by Sebastian Wadsted.
Edited by Elisabeth Fock.
Published by Natur och Kultur in 2017.
German translation
Handbok om indigo has been translated into German and is published by Haupt verlag. The German title is ”Indigo - Anbau, färbetechniken, projekte”.
French translation
Handbok om indigo has been translated into French and is published by Editions La Plage. The French title is “Indigo - Teinture, fabrication et applications”.
English translation
Handbok om indigo has been translated into English and is published by Harper Collins. “The English title is Indigo - Cultivate dye create”.
