Stained Glass for the Beginner

A concise, photo-rich guide written by a craftsman with over 30 years of experience in stained glass. Dan Alfuth distills the essential techniques into 128 pages with 400 full-color photographs and full-size patterns that make it easy to follow along.

Why Consider This One

Alfuth learned stained glass by watching a master glass artist work, and his teaching style reflects that apprenticeship approach. The book moves efficiently from tool basics to hands-on technique, using 400 photographs to show exactly what each step should look like. The full-size patterns included in the book let you start cutting glass right away without needing to scale anything up.

The book’s strength is its directness. Alfuth does not pad the content with history or theory. He tells you what tools to buy, how to use them, and then guides you through three complete projects that build your confidence progressively.

What to Expect

At 128 pages, this is the shortest of the recommended stained glass books, and that brevity is a feature for readers who want to get cutting glass as quickly as possible. Alfuth’s background in traditional lamp making gives the book a slightly different perspective than the other recommendations, which focus more on flat panel work.