24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better title: The Absolute Beginners Guide to Reconstruction, February 7, 2008
This review is from: Save This Shirt: Cut It. Stitch It. Wear It Now! (Hardcover-spiral)
This is the first time that I bought a book sight unseen and based off one Amazon review. I won't be doing that again.
First the positives. Spiral bound is an excellent idea! It makes it much easier to browse and I imagine it would be very useful if I were going to make any of the projects in this book. The interior- layout, full color pages, and organization- are also much appreciated. The concept is also cool, as "upcycling" our unwanted clothing into shiny new outfits is a fun and creative way to work towards zero waste. If I knew a young person who had little to no experience with sewing, this would make a pretty good gift.
My biggest gripe with this book is that all 14 projects are suitable for absolute beginners. The title or description did not indicate that, so I feel mislead. For instance, the first shirt called "The Winner" is actually just reducing the size of a shirt (also called "resizing"). As with all of the projects, the neckline, sleeves/arm holes, and hem are left raw. There is no instruction that explains the options and nuances of how to finish the edges of knit materials such as t-shirts.
Additionally, there is an odd choice of how many instructional images go with a project. For instance, "The Winner"- the most simple shirt recon- takes 4 pages and 8 instructional images for the book to explain. The scarf, which is literally one long strip of fabric and requires no sewing- takes up 3 pages and 8 instructional images. Move onto Racer Back "Sleeves" and you get no instructional images. Overall there is an over abundance of images, but in a few places the opposite is true.
Perhaps the most perplexing thing to me though is the inclusion of an actual t-shirt with the book. Putting aside that it will leave a gap about 1" in the book once it is removed, it's antithetical to the title and mission statement of the book! If this gets reprinted someday, please skip the shirt and let us use "save" our own.
Excellent topic, and probably good for those who have just discovered or want to explore clothing refashioning. If you've ever visited the Craftster forums or have any experience sewing, skip this one.
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
neat summer projects..., June 2, 2007
This review is from: Save This Shirt: Cut It. Stitch It. Wear It Now! (Hardcover-spiral)
I decided that in my spare time I want to re-fashion my t-shirts. I shelve in the craft section in a bookstore and am quite familiar with all of the other books on t-shirt reconstruction (generation T, rip it, 99 ways to transform your t-shirt) and Save this Shirt is the one that I'm buying. I'm most excited about the t-skirt but the patterns are all creative. There are colored patterns with detailed instructions (which make it look a lot easier then the other books do) as well as photos. And it actually comes with a starter t-shirt...not too shabby.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good for the basics, not much else., March 24, 2009
This review is from: Save This Shirt: Cut It. Stitch It. Wear It Now! (Hardcover-spiral)
If you are looking for a nice comprehensive book with lots of ideas, this is not it. I found the variety of styles to be lacking; there are very few styles to begin with, and most are either impractical to wear anywhere but a club or else similar to designs in Generation T, which I purchased at the same time. I think I got way more bang for my buck with the later; with 108 styles, I could find a bunch that suited me. Not as much with only 20 styles in this book.
The book isn't terrible; please don't get me wrong. The most helpful bit is the very first design, the "favorite t" and the page demonstrating various necklines. I will use this for the basic alteration to make a shirt more comfortable, but will look elsewhere for more unique ideas. I just wanted to share the book's strengths and weaknesses to help you decide how to spend your money!
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