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123 of 124 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A for Aprons, I for Improve Instructions/Patterns, June 22, 2008
A is for Apron is a great book to get one interested in sewing aprons, seeing cute ideas and reading a small history of the apron (or at least viewing the changes in style over time), however.... these are the many problems I encountered when sewing aprons from the book: 1. The recommended fabric allowances include a lot of waste (good if you like scraps). 2. Not all of the pattern pieces match/align together (example: Kaleidoscope). 3. The pictures of the model aprons do not always match the finished product using the patterns (example: Psychedelic Squares- length of ties- too short). 4. Lack of a lining or back to the apron is not "crisp," or in my opinion not worthy of gifting to another person. If you want to do this, there is actually enough fabric (as listed) to just double the fronts of the apron to use as a back (example: Psychadelic Squares and The Waldorf. 5. There are easier ways to make a lot of the aprons, in addition many of the instructions are difficult to understand (I have been sewing for 35 years). Bottom line the aprons are adorable, but do not invest in expensive material until you have made the apron using the pattern at least once (that way you can make adjustments to each). I have re-written instructions for every apron on this book for the next time.
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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Aprons, Confusing Instructions, July 22, 2008
The aprons are so beautiful, I wanted to jump right in and make almost every one! Getting the patterns enlarged was not too difficult. Simply photocopy the pattern page and take it to a copy center and ask them to enlarge it 400%. My local (national chain) office supply store copy center charges about $3 per large copy and did several in less than 10 minutes. If I'd never made any of the aprons, the book would rate 5 stars. But I've now made several of them and have found glaring mistakes in each set of instructions. If you are an experienced sewist, you will be able to "work around" the mistakes, but novice sewists should beware and go slowly. Overall, a worthwhile purchase for apron lovers.
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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A is for Agony, January 7, 2009
If you own or are thinking of owning this book, be sure to check Lark Publishing's errata page. The list of errors is quite extensive and involves both patterns and instructions. Lark's idea of correcting pattern errors is to re-label all the wrongly sized pieces with new percentages for magnification rather than to re-draw the patterns correctly proportioned. (In practical terms, this means a whole lot more work for you in the printing and tiling process, which is already laborious.) And I'm not entirely sure they caught all the errors, but I've spent more time than I ever wanted to on this book so I'm not chasing it down. I made one of the more elaborate aprons, Summertime Blues, before thinking to check the publishers site. What a pain in the neck! None of the pieces fit together as they should, the directions seemed to be written in pig-latin, the yardage requirements were off, and the final product would have been weirdly shoddy had I followed their instructions to the letter. (I managed to get a decent apron out of the process because I know how to sew, but heaven help the newbie.) I say weirdly shoddy because they omitted lining most of the apron, despite the fact that a lining 1) makes the apron more functional, 2) increases the lifespan of an apron and 3) would have been a whole lot faster than what the instructions called for. And I should add that many of the apron patterns are unlined. Finally most people I know prefer a full apron to a half apron because it's more effective at keeping you clean while working. (Not all - so don't torch me, please.) This book is strongly biased toward half-aprons. (Faster to design and make up.) When I bought the book I thought the "Marie Antoinette" apron made of silk and organza was intentionally absurd and meant as an amusement. But the more I look at it the more I feel like I got my nose rubbed in cake by a publisher who rushed an unfinished book to print to catch a wave, and knew full well that eye-candy is all you need to get something to fly off a shelf. I very much wanted to like this book. I hate giving bad reviews to things that look cute. And I'm sure this Nathalie Mornu is a nice person and all. But I still feel like Lark picked my pocket of $18, and a newbie would probably toss in the sewing towel if this book was a first experience. That ain't right. I was going to give this book 2 stars because of the cute factor, but then I thought of the beginning sewist sobbing at 2 am under a pile of wrongly sized but carefully chosen fabric pieces and took that star away again. So anyway, if you just want to imagine yourself swanning about your kitchen all dolled up, this is the book for you. But if you want to be deluded by enticing pictures of aprons complete with bad pattern drafts and even worse instructions, it's a whole lot cheaper to wait for the $0.99 pattern sales at the chain stores. At least you don't have to print and tile those suckers. You can dive right into the misery of mis-sized pattern pieces posthaste. No. I'm not bitter. I mean, not really. Sigh.
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