{Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book to review. I’ve included my Amazon affiliate link in this post. All opinions are my own.}
I recently had the opportunity to review a book called Sew Fun: 20 Projects for the Whole Family.
{There’s a GIVEAWAY involved. Keep reading for details!}
Author: Deborah Fisher
Interweave/F+W Media; $26.99
I love anything fun and whimsical and the front cover of the book drew me right in. Aren’t those lions cute?! Aside from the cuteness factor I was intrigued by the process involved in making their manes. Now that my kids are a little older they are getting into more imaginative play so my interest in making dolls, animals and fun characters for them continues to grow. The funky manes on these cool cats are made from chenille strips that Deborah teaches you how to make in her book. After taking a peek inside the book I found even more fun stuff to make! Enjoy my review and pictures from the book.
I’m going to try to keep this book review somewhat brief and to the point. And because I love bullet points and lists that’s what I’m going to use!
• The book focuses on projects adults can make with their kids. Adults can make them alone, kids can make them alone or they can make them together. I love that.
• Peppered throughout the book Deborah gives great tips and ideas on how to incorporate a child’s help in the projects. If a technique or step is not age appropriate for a young child she also provides little side tasks you can have them do so they still feel involved and keep busy.
• The book is an easy read. The language flows easily and her voice is very relatable. You can tell she is a mom who doesn’t take herself too seriously and enjoys having fun!
• Aside from the 20 projects the book also covers a lot of the basics like terminology, tools and techniques. Great info for beginners.
• Some of the projects call for custom art work. Meaning you recreate your child or grandchild’s art work into works of textile art that they will keep for years!
• There is a lot more than just sewing going on in these projects! Deborah covers all kinds of fiber art projects and techniques. Including applique, quilting, home decor items, hand embroidery, felting and more!
• The projects are not as simple as you would imagine a book with child-friendly projects to be. They really are works of art that feature some great embellishments. I like this because I enjoy a challenge even if I’m just sewing with my young children. There is a lot of new stuff to learn in this book. One project I’d like to try, but to be honest I’m a little intimidated by… is the Hazel Doll {see pic below}. Look at her nose! How in the world?! I have to learn how to shape a doll nose like that. So cool!
• The photography is great. Bright colors and fabrics definitely appeal to me. But I would have liked to see a few more instructional diagrams in the project instruction pages. I always benefit from seeing some different angles illustrated especially on some of the 3D projects so I can check my progress as I go and make sure it’s looking the way it’s supposed to. Following text instructions only can be confusing sometimes so I like to double check my work with a visual.
• Although there are projects in the book that can be whipped up pretty quickly Deborah also includes some pretty ambitious works of art! The Indoor Snowman is crazy awesome! It’s scrappy and made of felted wool knits. Kids get to stick all kinds of felt facial features and accessories on him and he can be split apart and used as bean bag chairs as well.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my little review of the book. If these projects grab your attention you can pick up your own copy HERE or enter for your chance to win a copy! GIVEAWAY TIME!!
Thanks to our friends at Interweave we are giving away one copy of Sew Fun by Deborah Fisher to one of you! TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: All you gotta do is leave me a comment below this blog post letting me know what is your favorite kid-friendly sewing project to work on? After you post your comment then click to enter the giveaway on the Rafflecopter widget included below! That’s it! Giveaway details are in the Rafflecopter widget as well. Please comment first and then enter using the widget. To be counted you must properly enter the giveaway. Good luck!
Thanks to our friends at Interweave we are giving away one copy of Sew Fun by Deborah Fisher to one of you! TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: All you gotta do is leave me a comment below this blog post letting me know what is your favorite kid-friendly sewing project to work on? After you post your comment then click to enter the giveaway on the Rafflecopter widget included below! That’s it! Giveaway details are in the Rafflecopter widget as well. Please comment first and then enter using the widget. To be counted you must properly enter the giveaway. Good luck!