Customer Reviews

All About Machine Arts

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a must-have book for any sewer, quilter, or embroiderer. Every single page is packed with innovative ideas and techniques, each accompanied by a multitude of photos that thoroughly illustrate the processes. I've been a quilter for 15 years, and just started machine embroidering; there were quilting techniques I'd never seen before, and I'm a quilting instructor! They thought of everything and every technique in this book. After just a brief thumb-through of the book my head was spinning with ideas and inspiration! I have well over 400 books in my needlecrafts library, and I can tell already that this is going to be one of my most-referred-to volumes. It's worth 100 times what they're charging for it! I guarantee you'll love it!

I have been sewing for thirty-five years and have a library of books on embroidery, applique, sewing with fleece, etc. This is one of the best I have found. It covers everything from Applique to Zigzag with full color illustrations and excellent advice. I read it cover to cover and then bought a second copy to give to my sister (I wasn't about to part with mine!)

This book is perfect for anyone who has bought an embroidery machine for the first time. The steps and descriptions in this book are clear an concise and extremely user friendly. This book is useful for any type of machine.

All About Machine Arts / 1-57120-227-7

When I bought my embroidery machine, I also bought up pretty much every embroidery-related book that was recommended to me on Amazon. I was a little disappointed to learn that "All About Machine Arts" wasn't an exclusively embroidery book - until I opened it and started reading.

This book is *incredibly* comprehensive and helpful. I learned more about machine embroidery techniques and accessories than I did from the other dozen or so embroidery books I purchased. There's a huge wealth of information to be had here for sewing techniques as well - I've been quilting for years and there's stuff in here that I've never seen or used before, which is extremely exciting. There's also a lot of serger-related material, too, which wasn't too useful for me (I don't own a serger), but was easy to skip over to the quilting and embroidering and sewing techniques.

There's so much to love about this book - every page has half a dozen color pictures illustrating the techniques. In the section on foams and toppers, for instance, (material used between the cloth and the embroidery thread to give the final design 'lift' and definition), there are several "with" and "without" pictures showing the differences in technique. There are a lot of good tips and tricks offered, and very rarely does the information feel obvious or like "filler" material. What I like most about this book is the way all the techniques are combined and interchanged to create something beautiful - embroidery is used on quilting blocks; decorative sewing is used to finish the sides of an embroidery work; and embellishments are added subtly to just about everything. The whole feel is very holistic and brings together a variety of techniques to create simple, beautiful things.

I really can't think of anything critical to say about this book, except that maybe some of the techniques won't be so easy to perform on the cheaper, hobbyist machines (and how many hobbyists own a full-fledged serger along with the sewing machine and embroidery machine?), but that won't stem your enjoyment of this comprehensive book. If you're a quilter, I'd recommend buying this in conjunction with "The Quilter's Companion"; if you're an embroidery hobbyist, I'd recommend "Embroidery Machine Essentials" as a companion to this book (although there is a lot of overlap, naturally).

~ Ana Mardoll

You can't go wrong with this book for yourself or a gift for someone who sews. This book is for everyone, beginner and experts, BAR NONE
When I received this book I was blown away by the easy to read and follow instructions. If there is anything, and I mean anything, you want to learn or try, this is the book for you. When "they" say ... 'From A to Z' that's what they mean.
There are instructions here I have never seen before and I've been sewing for 45+ years. Time saving suggestions, easy to follow instruction. My fingers itch because I want to do every one of the projects. Just as I think I've read it all, I turn the page and suddenly someone shouts - "BUT WAIT!!! THERE'S MORE!!"
And you know what?? There is. This book is an adventure. Try it!

I tracked down this book when a sewing blogger claimed she was inspired by it. What a great book! It is absolutely packed with practical information, useful tips and beautiful illustrations. It is not a project book but rather a reference book covering all kinds of techniques to embellish your own projects. The book is full of the kind of information you would glean from attending zillions of classes with people who know everything you want to know. It is wonderfully organized as an A to Z reference for home sewers and quilters.

I also thought it was just wonderful to read. I have been carrying it around with me for two weeks. I have been sewing for 50 years and I have learned something new on nearly every page. There is a reason why it gets 5 stars from everyone. Whether you are a beginner or just want to take your machine skills to the next level, you need this book.

This is a really good book, one of the best I bought in some time. I bought quite a few
from amazon.com over the years. Some I was really disappointed with, this is worth the money.

Wonderful details in this easy to follow book. Information can be applied to any brand of sewing machine (I have a Janome, 2 Husqvarna Vikings and a BabyLock) and the instructions are applicable to all of them. It's fun to work thru the samples and apply what I've learned to my projects.

This is an awesome book and to have found it for such a great price was amazing. I will be using this book a great deal. I'm thrilled with not only the book but the seller as well. Speedy delivery, excellant condition as was promissed. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone who sews at all NEEDS this book. This is an absolutely fabulous guide--very well written and easy to follow. Helps you see that you can acheive many new designs and challenges.