Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby [Hardcover-spiral]

Anna Maria Horner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2010

wiley publishing handmade beginnings. this book features twenty four sewing projects to welcome baby. mothers to be grandparents family and friends will treasure this collection of sewing projects to welcome home a new baby. stylish prints and colors combine in unique designs to give you projects ranging from booties and a quilt to an embroidered family tree and a thank you note organizer and everything in between. featuring seven original anna marie horner paper patterns. author anna marie horner. hardcover spiral bound 160 pages. imported.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

24 sewing projects that celebrate the joy of a new baby

Come stitch alongside celebrated fabric designer Anna Maria Horner as she prepares for her own new baby. This stunning collection of nursery decor, keepsakes, maternity wear, baby's clothing, and more is all breathtakingly photographed as Anna Maria progresses through her pregnancy.

Mothers-to-be, grandparents, family, and friends will treasure this collection of sewing projects to welcome home a new baby. Stylish prints and colors combine in unique designs to give you 24 projects ranging from booties and a quilt to an embroidered family tree and a thank you note organizer, and everything in between.

• Includes seven bonus loose-leaf paper patterns neatly tucked inside
• Includes a brief primer on sewing for babies, including fabric selection and safety considerations
• Other titles by Horner: Seams to Me

Saturated with gorgeous full-color photography, Handmade Beginnings gives new and veteran sewers colorful, contemporary, yet classic, patterns to mark one of life's biggest milestones.

Free Pattern from Handmade Beginnings

Nesting Cubes

Nesting Cubes Handmade toys are the best kind that you can give your own children, and they make loving gifts for expectant friends and family members. Because these are sweet and soft, they are particularly good newborn toys. Choosing colors and patterns high in contrast will help occupy even the newest baby as his eyes develop. Building, stacking, and hiding objects are all favorite skills for babies as they grow into becoming clever little toddlers. This set of Nesting Cubes helps baby begin to master those skills, and fun ribbon loops make grasping and playing easier. The sewing itself is quite simple, and you’ll have some lovely handcrafted décor for your baby’s nest. The more cubes you make, the higher the tower will grow, and the more giggle-y the tumbling down will be.

From the Back Cover

24 sewing projects for mama, baby, family, and nest

Come stitch alongside celebrated fabric designer Anna Maria Horner as she awaits and then welcomes her newest child. This stunning collection of nursery décor, keepsakes, maternity wear, baby clothing, and more is all breathtakingly photographed as Anna Maria progresses through her pregnancy. Moms-to-be, grandparents, family, and friends will find inspired, truly stylish sewing projects from the irresistibly cute to the pretty as a picture:

Here We Go Bag

• Sixth Time's the Charm Quilt

• Cute as a Button Booties

• Mariposa Dress & Tunic

• Family Portrait Tree

Saturated with gorgeous full-color photography, Handmade Beginnings gives new and veteran sewers colorful, contemporary, yet classic, patterns to mark one of life's biggest milestones.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover-spiral: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470497815
• ISBN-13: 978-0470497814
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute patterns but some bugs need ironing out, May 16, 2010

By 

busy_mom (MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby (Hardcover-spiral)

I just got the book and am making the maternity/nursing top. The design is so cute and really functional. My only problem is that I think I may have come across a few problems in the pattern, some of which were not fixable. The pieces in this pattern are all rectangles and I think for one part, the orientation (cross-wise or with the grain) is not given correctly. Once it's cut however, there is no re-doing it without a trip to the fabric store! I was able to finagle it because the print I was using was pretty forgiving but it's a serious flaw depending on the print.

I also thought the lengths didn't end up all the same - I had to cut some pieces to create a straight hem in the end. Not much of a problem however the top is already fairly short. My attempt at lengthening it (using the 'long' direction from the larger and the 'wide' direction from the smaller pattern) was foiled by the aforementioned flaw where the orientation was wrong. Not a big deal - once the shirt doesn't cover my belly anymore, I will just wait to use it as a nursing top.

If you're tall, I definitely recommend figuring out how to make the top an inch longer.

I still love the book and will make the mariposa dress next - I wish I could have found a fabric as cute as the one in the picture, but I had to resort to something less special. I might updated my review based on the next project...

Update: I finished the mariposa dress today. Again, I had a problem with the pattern - this time the width of the skirt back panel and the bodice back panel didn't work out to match after cutting the hip shape as instructed. I don't think I messed up. I could still work around it though. There was one typo in the instruction referring to step 38 instead of 39, which was a pretty obvious one yet disastrous if not caught.

I am currently 32 weeks PG (and currnetly 167lbs) and the dress in the S/M size barely fits my belly. I made the dress an inch longer and I wish I'd made it 2 more inches longer. I am 5'8" which makes me sometimes 'tall' but mostly 'regular' in store sizes. This is not a serious flaw, just something to be aware of.

Something else I noticed is that when they say 'line up the notches' that you cut to mark the orientation in the pieces (e.g. when putting in the sleeves) it just means to put them together so the notches are on the same side. If you tried to actually match these notches, you'd end up with a mess. I usually sew of European patterns which are altogether different, so I am not positive this is really a flaw. But I am used to have the notches actually match exactly, so this was disconcerting and I am glad I went with my gut feeling and didn't line them up exactly.

Overall the dress came out cute, and I have gotten compliments on it. I took only 1 afternoon to sew (after cutting the previous day), and it's really a neat design.

Update#2: I have now made the hooded toddler jacket as well as the reversible toddler pants from this book, both projects went off without a hitch and came out TOTALLY ADORABLE. Lots and lots of compliments on the results. I wonder if I will figure out how to post a photo. This book as proven itself totally worthwhile and I think I will continue to use the patterns in it a lot.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some good, some disappointments, April 29, 2010

By 

C. Jacobs - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby (Hardcover-spiral)

I have been waiting for this book to come out, so I was thrilled when it arrived in my mailbox. I love Anna Maria Horner's style. I think the baby projects are great - reversible pants, cute booties, quilts and other necessities, but stylish, modern and sweet. The instructions seem clear, though there could be more photos or diagrams of some patterns.

My biggest disappointment is in the Sewing for Mama chapter. The pattern sizes for clothing are only in small, medium and large. I'm not an accomplished enough seamstress to properly enlarge a pattern for myself, so the Mariposa dress I was really hoping to make is out. But, that part aside, I am really enjoying the book and have already picked out some projects to work on for my little one.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sewing Book For More Than Babies, May 10, 2010

By 

Vanessa K. (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby (Hardcover-spiral)

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this book and Anna Maria does not disappoint. The projects are really cute and versatile. While of course there are a group of projects specifically for babies (it is a baby-book after all), many of the projects can be made for other purposes as well. I just made the Lingering Layers skirt, and I can say that the directions were clear and the pattern pieces fit together as they should. I highly recommend this book for any sewing/crafter.