DIY: Design it Yourself is a wonderfully inspirational book full of ideas for lots of different aspects of design. It includes very useful practical advice which is often missing from books on this subject.

Fabric Jewellery is filled with absolutely beautiful pictures of ideas for jewellery projects. There are instructions for twenty-five different designs, using silk, ribbon, buttons and beads. Lots of ideas for using up all of those little leftovers!

Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys is a series of essays by Kate Fletcher, about various aspects of the fashion industry and how they can be approached in a more ethical manner. Each chapter addresses the issues from a different angle, and demonstrates that there are no easy answers.  

The Readers Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing really is just that - complete. Once you have this book, it’s the only sewing manual you’ll ever need!

Metric Pattern Cutting taught me how to draft my own patterns from scratch. This is an essential skill if you want to be able to make and sell clothes from your own designs.

Fabric, Form and Flat Pattern Cutting goes into detail about the properties of many different kinds of fabrics, and how to utilise these in your designs. It also teaches you how to draft patterns based on these fabric properties.

Stitch & Bitch is the book that taught me how to knit! The instructions are clear and easy to understand, even for a beginner, and the patterns are funky and modern.

The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns is the most useful knitting book I’ve ever come across, particularly for people who like to make things up as they go along. Choose a gauge, choose a garment, and you’re designing your own knitting patterns!

Knitting Rules! is just one of several inspiring and hilarious books by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, otherwise known as the Yarn Harlot. I can’t recommend her books and her blog highly enough.

Badge/Button/Pin is a fabulous inspiration for anyone interesting in either making or collecting badges. There’s some fabulous artwork out there, in badge form!

Fashion, a two-volume collection from the Kyoto Costume Institute, is pure inspiration for anybody interested in the changing fashions of the 20th century.

99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim and Tie Your T-shirt into Something Special is a fabulous resource for the complete beginner. You don’t even need a sewimg machine! You can get started with just an old t-shirt and a pair of scissors.

Halibut Jackson is the most adorable childen’s book about a man who is so shy that he makes clothes to allow himself to blend into any situation. Then he is invited to a fabulous party, with unexpected results…

The Creative Family is written by Amanda Blake Soule, who keeps an inspirational blog called Soule Mama. Perfect for anyone looking to encourage their kids in creative endeavours.

The Crafter’s Companion is another blog-related book! Celebrated blogging crafters, such as Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane, share their projects with the rest of us.