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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Give into your sweet tooth without gaining an ounce!, June 25, 2008
This review is from: My Favorite Felt Sweets (Paperback)
Please ignore the other review (amazon, remove that already would you?) The book is a English translation and an amazing one at that.
I've only just started attempting to make playfood for my daughter, of course one can only have so many felt fried eggs and pancakes so when I saw this book I had to buy it.
The book itself is stunning, the photos will have you drooling and every turn of a page leaves my daughter yelling "mommy make me that one, oh and that one, can you make me that one too?"
Every pattern has a very detailed photo, a written instruction and FULL SIZE PATTERNS (photocopier needed, they are part of the book). There are also hints on which type of felt to use, how to sew the stitches (all are handsewn), etc.
For a beginning sewer all the detail is greatly appreciated. I've only attempted one little cake so far (awaiting a delivery of some wool blend felt, see below) and while I have a learning curve as I've never done hand sewing before it still came out pretty cute, the stawberry & whipped cream were especially easy and adorable.
Regarding the felt, while you can use the craft store variety be warned that it doesn't sew very well, or last very well. For the amount of effort these little pieces of art will require you'll want to invest in a wool blend or solid wool felt, which can be quite pricey... and some of the cakes use a great deal of wool so be awake that while adorable the creations will also be time consuming pending your level of experience and a bit pricey to make. That said, even if I never make anything else in the book I'm happy with the purchase, it's a gorgeous book to just look at!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, Simple, Very "Kawaii", December 24, 2008
This review is from: My Favorite Felt Sweets (Paperback)
First of all, all the craft ideas are very cute indeed. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked up the ISBN and found this book had an English translation.
I give this four out of five because of two things. One being that the instructions are slightly vague using mostly illustration (no step by step photos) and very little wording (my fist fortune cookie came out very, very flat). Nothing that a determined crafter couldn't over come.
Second, there are a lot of very Japanese and a few Chinese confections that the average American would have no idea as to what they are, so to me personally, they are less cute than the easily recognizable sweets like cake and donuts but that is personal preference.
I bought regular synthetic ( A.K.A cheap) felt and the first projects I made (fortune cookie aside) look good and I had no trouble with the felt being too weak. Some of the felt colors are hard to find, like mint green, but other than that the supplies are fairly cheap and easy to find at the usual craft stores.
If you want to make something super cute and can hand sew a bit this is a good book and the techniques are much faster to learn than other revenues of cuteness, like crocheting amigurumi etc., and with some supervision a craft that kids can enjoy and play with the end product. I'm glad I bought it!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Favorite Felt Sweets by Joie Staff, translated by Yoko Ishiguro, August 19, 2008
This review is from: My Favorite Felt Sweets (Paperback)
Good things come to those who wait! If you are a crafter, I am sure you have seen the adorable Japanese craft books on crafting blogs and sites on the Internet. People like you and I question if we can create a project from instructions written in Japanese. Some have been able to use these wondrous books and complete the projects. I did an article about a kit out of Japan and I had many questions and interest in the kits. Sadly the sources of these kits dried up and were not available outside of Japan. The article is ¡°Felt Deserts¡± and the Japanese site is Patisserie Soleil.
I am sorry to make this intro for a book review so wordy, but I want you to get as excited as I am over this book ¡°My Favorite Felt Sweets by Joie Staff¡± and translated into English by Yoko Ishiguro. This fabulous book cost less than one of the kits I mentioned above. Yoko has done a marvelous job translating this perfectly delightful book. The ideas and the sweets are perfection confections for you to create for gifts and yourself. The pictures are works of art and each project has a life size template and instruction sheet. You will not have any problem understanding these patterns. Each charming designs is a feast to the eye and although your mouth will water, please to not eat these little delectable¡¯s. There are 106 different projects. Sheets of colored felt and basic sewing skills (and sometimes a little glue for the final, decorative touches) are all that are required to whip up these luscious-looking and guilt-free I have a friend who owns a bakery that makes delightful deserts like the ones in this book and I think that these sweets would create a charming display for her shop. I have scanned some of the delights in this book the temp you and I hope you do rush over to Amazon or the book shop of your choosing and pick up this book and then let us know what you think and please leave a review here.
If you are thinking of buying this book you may wish to get some supplies so when you get the book you can get started right away. There are two thicknesses of felt, for rolling and shaping you will want 1mm thick felt and for item such as cookies 2mm felt. These projects require very little fabric so you want to purchase some basic colors and the embroidery floss in the same color for stitching the pieces together, following are some resources. ¡°Save On Crafts¡± Carry Craft Felt Rectangles at discount prices. (9¨ö¡± x 12¡È) sizes. Here is a list of books that Yoko Ishiguro has translated. Art Girlz Felt
http://felting.craftgossip.com/2008/08/19/my-favorite-felt-sweets-by-joie-staff-translated-by-yoko-ishiguro/
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