I have so many books on pattern design I use for reference, I decided to lump them all into one big entry and let you know a little about each.

Pepin Press puts out a series of books on patterns in all different catagories. I have a lot from their cultural styles group- Chinese Patterns, Japanese Patterns, Persian Designs, and Islamic Designs. I also have from their historical styles group- Art Nouveau Designs and from the textiles patterns group- Wallpaper Designs. These books are really focused and give many of examples in their particular styles. The designs are often full bleeds and in color. They also come with a cd that has high resolution files of every pattern in the book. These are great books if you are looking for something specific. I also recently bought this book, Soviet Textiles published by MFA Publications, which seemed to be missing in the cultural styles offerings from Pepin. It’s got some really interesting textile prints and even some pictures of the original drawings or paintings it came from which is something I haven’t seen offered in other books. There’s also some writing about the evolution of the designs and their designers.

For more general all inclusive books on pattern design, I have a few favorites. Textile Designs published by Harry N Abrams, Inc. is a big, thick-almost 500 page book covering 200 years worth of European and American designs. I like how this book is organized- either by motif, style, color, layout or period. In the geometric catagory, one page is titled- The Coffee Beans, Screw Tops, and Split Peas and has eleven patterns that fit that genre. It’s also got a great conversational prints section with patterns ranging from clowns to transportation to trophies. Another good general book is 1000 Patterns. This book is seperated into Pre-Industrial and Post-Industrial. It covers all different cultural styles in the first half- Polynesian, Pre-Colombian, or Japanese. The second half mostly covers American, European and Asian through it’s movements. The end goes by decades so there are some 50s, 60s and 70s patterns. Twentieth-Century Pattern Design published by Princeton Architectural Press covers everything from the 1900s until the 1990s. It has a lot of information and histories of specific designers and companies. This book has some real unique looking patterns. I haven’t seen designs similar to these in the other books. I wish the pictures were a little bigger. Sometimes they have photos of the pattern applied to a surface which is always a pleasure to see.

Forties Fabrics and Conversational Prints- Decorative Fabrics of the 1950s are enjoyable books designed in a nostalgic way with swatches arranged in little groupings around the page. Once in a while there’s a photo from a Sear’s catalog with a lady wearing a dress in the pattern they are showing.

Off the Wall covers wallpapers of the twentieth century. Some of the designs are awful- like bad grandma’s house-not good grandma’s house style. I can’t believe people looked at them everyday. There are a few inspiring designs.

All Wrapped Up is probably my favorite of the bunch. It’s a book of all the wrapping paper of the 1960s. Boy was it amazing back then. I think I love every pattern in this book. There’s everything from wedding paper to bon voyage paper to kids birthday paper. It’s all huge pictures, sometimes full spreads of a pattern.

The blog Print and Pattern is a good resource for finding more out about patterns and pattern books. She recently wrote about a book next on my list called, simply- Patterns. Ok I’m sure that’s enough pattern talk for one day. I have a few other books that focus on pattern applied to apparel and homes or focusing on individual designers but I’ll save those for another day. thank goodness.

© Julia Rothman 2007