Yay, it’s finally my turn on the Simple Sewing blog tour! Simple Sewing: 30 Fast and Easy Projects for Beginners is a book that my very dear internet blog friend that I’ve never met, Katie Lewis, wrote and just published. I am thrilled for her and this book and I’d tell you to go buy it even if she weren’t my very dear internet blog friend that I’ve never met. I can’t say enough good things about this book, but I’ll save that for later and first just show you what I made!
Now, I feel like I must prepare you before you see these pictures. You see, I crafted. If this blog was only about me, it would just be called “erhours”, because me and crafts do not mix. In fact, we are mortal enemies. Basically I murder everything that I touch with glue. So when I got out that E6000 for this project, the thrill of doing something that is usually off-limits for my clumsy non-crafty hands overcame me and I became high with power. Or maybe fumes. Either way, I ended up with this:
You see, I had this gold pleather hanging around, and it is so much brighter and shinier than all my other fabric on the shelf that it literally sits there screaming LOOK AT ME! CHOOSE ME! And then I thought it would be fun to cut a little scallop trim out of pleather to go around the top of my sunglasses case. And then that was a miserable failure, so I decided I could handle cutting straight lines to make a fringe (turns out I couldn’t, so please don’t look closely). And then I decided that some of my sunglasses cases could have fringe, and the others could be adorned with my beautiful shiny new ribbon. And then (here’s where the fumes just took over), I decided that ALL of them could be decorated with fringe AND ribbon. You can see where this is headed.
So, in case you were wondering, no, these really aren’t my style at all. And yes, I adore them*. I even have a favorite:
Ok, so enough about my experience with E600 and more about this awesome book and project! The sunnies case started as a basic rectangular pouch for your glasses, as you’d expect. Katie’s book is full of beautiful photography and well written instructions, so it’s not her fault at all that I took this so far in another direction. Though, I think she’d agree (maybe, hopefully) that one of the best things about this book is that the basic projects are really easy to build upon and make your own. Instead of sewing a lining, because pleather doesn’t fray, I only used one layer. I used glue to attach the fringe and ribbon, and I also added a strip of velcro to keep the top shut, just in case anyone else’s purse is a swirling vortex of black hole that sucks everything from the place it’s meant to be.
I chose the sunglass case pretty easily, because I needed one and because I thought they’d be fun to construct en masse. But when I gave the book to my 7 yr old to pick a project, she sat with that thing for half an hour. So really, if you buy the book, you’re getting free babysitting too. She finally settled on the stocking for a friend’s newborn and we’re in the middle of making it together. I love how she can come pretty close to figuring out what do in each step on her own. I’ve only had to give a little guidance and help her operate the machine, but the instructions are so clear cut, and the photography so detailed and simple that I don’t need to do much. At the same time, the book isn’t condescending if you’re an adult learning to sew. In fact, I’d say you couldn’t do better if you want to give sewing a try. The first section of the book deals with all the basics, from techniques to materials, and then you can choose a project and get hands on experience. And of course, experienced sewers always appreciate projects like these, that are great when you just want to sew something quick, or need a last-minute gift. Or get high on glue fumes and embellish something more than you’ve ever embellished anything in your entire life combined.
If you want a peek into the book, you can see some of the pages on Amazon, and you can also buy it at Barnes and Noble and Books and Stuff.
But if you’re feeling lucky, you can enter the rafflecoptor below for a chance to win it! There are three ways to enter, shipping is only available in the U.S.
Make sure you stay tuned to Katie’s blog, The Red Kitchen, to see a bunch of projects from the book, including my partner today, Sabra from Sew a Straight Line. Well, yesterday. But since the internet hates me, I’m posting 22 hours late. I guess my partners today are now Cherie and Mandy. They’re all worth a visit anyway, so go check it out!
So, which one is your favorite?
* I can say that, because I’m a girl.
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