Customer Reviews

I Love Patchwork: 21 Irresistible Zakka Projects to Sew

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yippee! Finally a sewing book that has something refreshing and new, but 100% achievable and fun to read at the same time. As soon as I put the book down, I wanted to run to my sewing machine and make the Little Lamb Softie and the Sewing Machine cover, and the Lap Quilt. Rashida includes great information about linen and her resources sections is excellent. There were a couple of projects that were not for me or I had seen elsewhere, but for the most part, some solid projects, a great voice and a design aesthetic that is flawless. Much better choice than the Zakka Sewing: 25 Japanese Projects for the Household (Stc Craft) which I thought was hopeless.
Well done!

I really like this book...of course, I love any Zakka book! I have found that Zakka, in and of itself, are always very easy craft patterns. That's why so many people can buy the Japanese Zakka books and have no problem making their item, even though all the directions are in Japanese and they do not know the language. Most, if not all, of the projects are simple enough that you really don't have to have a sewing machine, as they can easily be handsewn.

This is a good book for beginners of any age with all of the easy step by step directions in English and lovely illustrations. It's a nice introduction to sewing. For the advanced or intermediate sewer (I consider myself an 'intermediate' sewer), I think it is always fun to try a new book and possibly see ideas and projects you haven't seen before. Want to give someone a quick, handmade gift? There are projects in here for everyone, and everyone will be amazed that YOU made it JUST for them!

Basically, if you are interested in Zakka crafting but have been afraid to try because most of the books out there are written in Japanese, this is a great book to begin with. Or, if you are just looking for quick and easy sewing projects, it's great for that, too!

One thing I like about this book is that it contains several projects that I haven't seen before. Sure, you've got the mandatory apron, cosmetics bag, kitchen towel, tote bag, coasters, and pillow, but you've also got inspired ideas such as a linen sewing machine cover, a paper-pieced baby's ball, a utensil basket, and the button calendar.

Ah, the button calendar. Let's talk about that. It was the project that made me buy the book; I was so excited and ran right out to buy the supplies. Ouch. Anyone know just how much self-covering buttons and velcro circles cost? But I went with it... you know, sometimes things you love cost a little more. (But seriously, if you're making a re-usable calendar to save money, you'd better plan to pass it down to your kids if you want to break even). The calendar was fun to make, good instructions, nice photos, clear diagram. I finished it up over several evenings, and then stood back proudly. But... oh, wait a second... if a month starts on a Friday or Saturday, there aren't enough spaces for all the buttons!!!! So, all that money on supplies, all that time, and it turns out the silly thing wasn't even designed properly, which was a little frustrating.

So far, the calendar is the only thing I've made, and though it was a little disappointing, I will definitely give the book another shot by trying out the sewing machine cover.

Loosely translated Zakka means "miscellaneous goods" but as the author talks about in her introduction it has really grown into it's own aesthetic design style that's focussed on everything from household items to personal accessories. And that's exactly what you'll find plenty of in this book: 21 very fun and engaging projects to sew that are suitable for just about any skill level. Directions for each project are clearly written and easy to follow and you'll also find some helpful diagrams and illustrations to accompany a lot of them. You'll find a wide variety of projects in this book ranging from personal accessories like the cosmetic bag, pencil case, patchwork bordered apron and fold up eco-bag; household items like placemats, kitchen towels, table runner, utensil basket and coasters and things for your sewing room that include a pincushion, sewing machine cover and a travel sewing kit. The author uses linen combined with cotton patchwork for all of her examples but any of these projects would be equally as charming done in cotton or even denim. Whether you're a beginner or experienced sewer you'll enjoy the projects in this book.

The linen/cotton projects in this book are lovely and fresh. The author has a beautiful sense of style and whimsy and I've already pre-ordered her next book, sight unseen. I've made 3 projects from this book and found the instructions easy enough to follow (I'm a beginner). I gave the book only 4 stars instead of the 5 that I think the projects themselves deserve because 2 of 3 three projects I've done so far had errors in the instructions. I think this was just sloppy editing. For example, the placemats instructions say to cut a 12 1/2" x 10" square -- and it should say 12 1/2" square. I discovered this after only cutting out one placemat, thank goodness - so I didn't waste that much fabric. Also, the fold up eco bag, in instruction #1, says to fold over one long edge -- when I believe it means fold over one short edge. At least that's the way it makes sense to me - I had to rip out a seam. Those errors made me nervous when I started my third project (with a zipper!), but it went smoothly with no problems. I am still a big fan however and will make several more projects from this book -- rare for a sewing book to have so many great looking projects. I wish Amazon or the publisher's website had an errata page for editing errors caught by readers!

I spend a decent amount of time looking at sewing books and in my opinion THIS is the best book I've seen in a while! I checked it out from my library first and now I'm gonna get myself a copy!

It's full of beautiful projects and fabrics. The projects have good instruction for a book format (which can often be troublesome in my experience). The projects are also very well sewn and made (which again, has been troublesome in my experience in the book format of directions/projects). These projects are do-able for the intermediate/advance sewer in my opinion, I'm not sure I would recommend it for a beginner sewer, but I could be off on that.

I made the coasters on the front cover and they turned out so beautiful, quick and useful!

This book is fantastic and I love how it makes patchwork not that boring kind of craft which is what drew me to it in the first place. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't list the fabric requirements in a way that tells you what you need to buy when you go shopping. Instead it gives you the specific measurements of each piece of fabric and how many pieces you need of that shape.

I'm not too crazy about most of the projects in this book. . . But the Little Lamb Softie is to-die-for!! I'm super excited to make this one!! Also, I like that they give instructions on making yo-yos.. . . Even though most of the projects seem pretty sleepy, I'm still happy I bought this book.

Don't you love it when you find a craft book that has so many darling projects you're just not sure where to start? That's exactly how I feel about this book. I really like Zakka anyway, but Rashida's style in particular really appeals to me. The projects are a perfect mix of Zakka's sweetness and a modern sophistication that fits really nicely into my decorating taste. I love the sewing machine cover (the project I finally decided should be the first), it's gorgeous and the instructions were really clear and easy to follow. The calendar is pure genius, and will be the next project I try. That is if I don't make the lamb first. Or maybe the patchwork ball. Then again, maybe the travel sewing kit would be handy... You see my dilemma.

LOVE this book. This is one of the few books that perfectly match my personal style, and I can easily imagine myself making one of everything. This book has become a go-to when my creativity needs a boost. Can't wait for her fabric line to be released, too!