Stained Glass Making Basics

A thorough, photo-driven guide to stained glass that builds from the absolute basics to progressively more challenging projects. Haunstein draws on years of teaching experience to anticipate exactly where beginners get stuck, and her more than 1,000 step-by-step photographs leave very little to guesswork.

Why Start Here

This book was built in the classroom, not at a desk. Haunstein developed her teaching method over thousands of students at Rainbow Vision Stained Glass, and you can feel that experience on every page. The projects are sequenced carefully: you start simple and each new piece introduces a skill that prepares you for the next. Both copper foil and lead came techniques are covered, so you get a full picture of the craft rather than just one approach.

The photography is the strongest feature. With over 1,000 step-by-step images, you can see exactly what your hands should be doing at each stage. For a craft where the difference between a clean break and a ruined piece of glass comes down to angle and pressure, that visual clarity matters.

What to Expect

At 208 pages, this is one of the more comprehensive beginner stained glass books available. The second edition, published in 2019, keeps the content current. Haunstein covers workspace setup and safety before touching any glass, then walks through tools, materials, and techniques in a logical sequence. The project-based structure means you are making real pieces from early on, not just reading theory.