February 2015I learned to sew as a child partly from my mother, and partly from a book called My Big Book of Sewing. This taught me how to work with patterns, us a sewing machine and all the other basics as well as providing me with soft toys, simple garments and many gifts and sale items. Here is another such book for a new generation of budding stitchers. There are many things to praise about this book. It is easy to read and very user friendly, talking to its young owner rather like a friend. The first section of the book is taken up with the basics, such as what you need (and very importantly why you need it), getting to know your sewing machine and choosing fabric. There are short sections giving tips on safe use of an iron and a glue gun, working with patterns and things like sewing around a corner, stitching on a button and tying a good knot. Everything is illustrated with clear photographs and concise captions, all worded to appeal to a young person. I particularly liked the check list of things you need to be confident with before going on to the patterns. These include gifts for friends and family, things to make for pets and even ways of presenting gifts in the form of gift bags and envelopes. Everything is graded according to difficulty and there are some fun and modern ideas. Make a pet bed, decorated mirror, belt, tie for Dad, lavender sachet, squeaky bone, trinket bowl, watch strap and more. Many items can be made from existing scraps of fabric and I was glad to see that nothing involved laying out a lot of money. The author had most things covered and anybody who works through the book will be able to tackle more advanced projects having all the basic sewing know-how they need. A great book that is going to appeal to any child who wants to learn how to sew.
