| Make
it personal this Christmas with a bookful of fun projects
aimed at tweens and teens who want to learn how to sew.
Like the others in the FunStitch series this book starts with
the basics on what to buy and using a sewing machine, and
shows how much fun you can have making your own decorations
and gifts. It explains simply how to use power tools like
a sewing machine, domestic iron, and hot glue gun, so the
young user respects them but learns not to fear them. As with
all the titles in this series, there is an emphasis on the
feeling of accomplishment when you make something yourself,
but asking for adult help is okay too -- like using a "scary"
tool it is all part of the process of learning. Most of the
techniques you need to know are covered at the front, which
is a bit of an info dump if you deal with it all at once,
but all the topics covered are the type you need to practice
first. These are mostly sewing machine skills as well as making
a pompom and working with fusible web. Projects have difficulty
ratings, but because they are all Christmas related there
are no themes or chapters. Each pro ject has a large page-sized
photograph of the finished item, plus stages with photographs
for foolproof crafting. There is a list of what you need,
preparation, plus a handy checklist of all the skills you
need. I love this last touch and wish it was included in adult
craft books too. Projects include a tree skirt, bunting, stocking,
wreath, advent calendar, pillow, wrapping a gift in fabric
etc. Not all the projects involve sewing and not all use fabric;
there are paper options, too, and hand sewing as well as machine
sewing gets covered. I think my own favorite has to be the
plastic zoo animals dressed in their holiday best, a lovely
idea to incorporate toys into the décor. This is a
great way to get girls into making things and discovering
what fun it is to personalize the holidays.
If
you cannot find a good range of origami materials locally
try www.searchpress.com
for a list of suppliers.
|
