Parchment Craft: A Fifteenth-Century Art Form

Of all of my parchment craft books and kits, Janet Wilson has written the one I turn to most often. I've created three cards (two valentines and a sympathy card) following her directions and designs, and she is by far the easiest author to understand. (Incidentally the directions included with the Pergamano parchment craft kit were the most difficult to follow. Go figure.) In the first chapter of "Parchment Craft," the author describes and shows photographs of the materials and equipment you will need to get started in this fifteenth-century art form. She does not actually list suppliers, but they are easily discovered out on the internet. (One of my favorites is "willascommodities.com".) You really don't need much to start with, just the correct type of paper (which is not really parchment), scissors with short curved blades and fine points (very much like manicure scissors), a pen and white ink for tracing, a couple of pads to place underneath the paper while embossing and perforating, embossing tools (basically knob-ended sticks to use for drawing & rubbing), and needle tools for perforating the paper into fancy patterns. The author suggests tracing all designs on to the parchment with a mapping pen and white ink. I tried that and found that I was more comfortable with a white Prismacolor pencil, although the resulting lines are not quite as fine. Embossing is done from the back of the paper, so don't do what I did the first time and also trace onto the back of the paper. My niece Chelsea's name came out as 'aeslehC.' Many of the directions are illustrated by step-by-step color photographs, especially when the author is demonstrating a new method such as applying color with oil pastels, or using the four-needle tool to make lace. There are many patterns that can be used interchangeably--for instance I copied part of the design from an Easter card for my sympathy card. However, some of the patterns are not full-sized and you will have to enlarge them on a photocopier before using them. I wish this step could have been avoided by publishing only full-size patterns, since I no longer have easy access to a copier. However, this is a minor fault in a very nice book.

Like the previous reviewer, I found the instructions in Janet Wilson's book to be very clear--much more so than other books I have on the subject. She guides the reader step-by-step and tells what supplies are needed and how to use the tools. This craft was completely new to me, but within a short practice period, I was able to complete most of the projects in the book with very beautiful results. I've sent birthday greetings with my hand-made parchment cards and received effusive compliments and thanks for them. This is my favorite instruction book for working on parchment.

This is my favorite book on parchment craft. The patterns are just beautiful and can be done by a parchcrafter of any skill level. Janet Wilson's directions are clear and easy to follow.. The photos of her completed projects are inspiring. I use this more than any other book I own on parchcrafting....I was recently asked to teach classes in parchment crafting and this is the book I asked to be put on the student's supply list.