Customer Reviews

Sewing Bits and Pieces: 35 Projects Using Fabric Scraps

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I will admit that my expectations for this book were high. Based on my interpretation of the cover I thought this book would be filled with ways of using fabric scraps to upscale/reinvent old clothing. However, there are only two ideas of this type in the book; the cardigan on the cover and a t-shirt with fabric cherry blossom flowers added to one shoulder. The majority of the ideas in the book are really for children or young adults. I loved the dahlia pin cushion, the saviour of the book for me. I don't think I would try any of the other ideas.

That being said it is a nicely presented. The photographs in the book are of the finished items and the instructions are drawn. The templates are clear and easy to find.

I love this book. I was surprised to read some of the reviewers who found nothing unique in the book so I thought I would list the projects in the book I have not seen elsewhere in any other book, all of which I would love to make:

Sweet Treat Towels - to applique with a cupcake, pie or ice cream sundae
Fruit Magnets - darling fruit shapes with crochet embelishments
Foodie Bag - perfect for carrying trail mix to keep your energy up during a hard work day
Garden Pillows - pillows with a wind blown spray of applique leaves or teardrops
Bubbly Shower Curtain - with a darling fish to applique with bubbles
Growing Tree - a 3 dimensional wall hanging to chart your child's growth
Party Lights - decoupage fabric strips to brighten up a light string of Chinese lanterns
Picnic Quilt - a one patch "scallop" quilt (gorgeous)
Ruffled Head Scarf - a patchwork retro 50's head scarf

And here is a list of the rest of the projects that I have seen elsewhere, however, they were all made with a unique twist which makes them fresh, new and fun:

Fruit Applique Tablecloth - the fruit is made with retro repro fabrics, giving it tons of charm
Patchwork Pillow - the fabric makes this project shine- challenge yourself to create your own palette.
Hanging Organizer - to use up your designer home dec fabric scraps
Herbal Sachet - made with linen, felt and embroidery
Little Girl Twirly Skirt - with cute little ruffles on the edge of each skirt ruffle
Little Girl Mary Jane Slippers - beautifully embellished
Fabric Chain - inspired by paper chains
Bunny - love the Kath Kidston inspired vintage floral fabrics
Owl - fabulous selection of fabrics gives this owl personality!
Library Bag - you'll never guess how cute a library bag could be till you see this one
Party Garland - more than just bunting, you haven't seen garland till you've seen these!
Greeting Cards - inspired by Eric Carl
Butterfly Pins - embellished with crochet, perfect for your favorite jean jacket
Journal Covers - with cute little pockets for special markers and pencils
Dahlia Pincusion - made with Sandi's signature color palette, really gorgeous

Wow This book is a beauty! The photography is amazing which i understand was done by the author, she did an amazing job it's a pleasure to look it. Sometimes these "use your scraps up books" have the most simple and useless projects...this one is different there are many things in this book I plan on making. The book is divided into chapters, kitchen, bed & Bath, children, parties, Adults, Crafts. Also the patterns you need for different shapes just require you to trace not enlarge! Thank You Sandi! I hate having to go get those done. I think the projects I am most excited for are the head scarf, and sassy hair peony. But there is also the market skirt, which would look great with the cover project sweater! The kids mary janes also are adorable! There is alot in this book I want to do, out of the 35 projects T will most definately make about half. on that note I haven't attempted any projects yet(I just got the book 2 hours ago in the mail!), so I can't say if the directions are good or not, but I have used a Sandi Henderson pattern in the past and it was very straight forward. I consider myself an intermediate to advanced sewer so if I find anything amiss with the directions I will update my review!

My mum sent me this book for Christmas. It looks pretty enough and there were a couple of projects i liked, most of them were things i had seen before.
The brick road skirt caught my daughters eye so I started to make it for her. After cutting out all the pieces stated for the skirt and starting to sew them together i realised that i didn't have enough pieces. Very frustrating , i had to go back and cut out more and this also changed the design and order of the fabrics. I finished the skirt which turned out quite well and so I started on the slippers. Now half way through i have found another mistake. I have cut my fabric and it will now be wasted. It is frustrating that these patterns have not been properly edited.I would not recommend this book especially not for a beginner.

This is a very cute book, that as the title implies has patterns to use up scraps of fabric. A lot of the patterns feature applique as a way to use up scraps. The designs are all very cute. The book is divided up into 6 sections of projects: Kitchen, Bed and Bath, Children, party, crafts, and adults. There is not an extensive how-to section or anything, but there are lots of diagrams, and full color photos. The photos are really nice.

Some of the projects I am looking forward to making: fruit applique tablecloth (uses a patchwork edge trim, and applique), Sweet treats tea towels (uses cute applique to embellish tea towels with cupcakes, icecream, pie ..), Fruit magnets, Foodie bags (linen drawstring bags with a cotton fabric insert), patchwork pillow, Bubbly shower curtain (fish and bubble applique), countdown chain, party lights, birthday party garland, budding treat bag, and the dahlia pincushion. The rest of the patterns, although I will most likely not make, are wonderful inspiration.

You must trace the pattern pieces, but they are full size... so that is nice not to have to enlarge.

All in all, a really great book -- and for under $20, you really cannot beat it! :)

This book is one of the most wonderful I've gotten in awhile! Followers of Sandi's blog will enjoy this book (as well as everyone who sees it in my opinion.) It has so many beautiful projects, two of which I've already made. Unlike many "miscellaneous" sewing books right now this one has so many useful and large projects. Mya favorites include a tree growth chart for the wall, library bag, market skirt, and two lovely quilts. I have many projects marked from the book though and am planning to make them soon. This is one book that I am really excited about and have really looked at it almost everyday since receiving it. The photography and Sandi's fabric lines are beautiful to look at. You won't be dissapointed with this book.

I do have one small issue with the book, but it is minor and I say it about almost every sewing book I purchase. I wish there were a few different pictures of a couple of the projects. Most are photographed sufficiently, but I think on two of them I said to myself that it would be nice to see it from such-and-such an angle...I know it's hard to get every angle in for every project without going overboard though, so this is very minor to me.

The slippers I made turned out way too small for my daughter and I had to double the length of the ruffle to go around the top. I made the size 10 and they turned out more like a size 6. Has anyone else had problems with the sizing for the Mary Jane Slippers?

I think that there are lots of cute ideas in this book. So far, I have made the Budding Treat Bag, Upscaled Cardigan, and I'm working on the Ruffled Head Scarf.

I found the directions for the gift bag to be a bit confusing, it calls for single fold bias tape but the directions were vague and I couldn't figure out how to make it work so I wound up using double fold which worked better.

I had no problem with the upscaled cardigan, it looks cute!

Right now I am working on the ruffled head scarf, the directions are wrong because you are supposed to sew 49 3 inch squares with a 1/4 inch seam allowance which makes an 18 inch square, but the book says the lining should be a 17 inch square so the patchwork is a full inch too big. Now I need to cut a new lining in order to make it fit. Fortunately, I have the fabric to do it with.

There are so many cute projects in this book. I am looking forward to making the slippers for my daughter and the bunny for my niece. I just will be more careful about double checking the directions.

As a recent college graduate, wise money spending is incredibly important to me. With that in mind, I would definitely NOT recommended this book. I initially Sewing Bits and Pieces because I was impressed with the 4 1/2 star rating as well as the promised content; who wouldn't like to use up their scraps? But once I opened it up, I can honestly say it did not deliver on ANY level.

+ REPETITIVE AND UNINSPIRED: Many of the patterns are just slight remixes of the ones that come before it. How many times can you cut out fruit shapes, adhere it to a piece of fabric, and call it original? For example, the only difference between Sandi's tablecloth and dish-towel projects is the size of the finished product. The biggest difference between the pin project and the magnet project is the actual magnet. It's ridiculous.

+ UNUSABLE PROJECTS: Who wears a triangle headscarf, anymore? Are we stuck in the 90s? Just how often are you going to need to glue on fabric to your party lights? Just how many journals can one person cover? The skirt and the cardigan are completely out of fashion. I was extremely disappointed by the lack of creativity; there are maybe two projects in the entire book that I feel are worth making.

+ NOT A MOM? FORGET IT: Since I have yet to pop out any kids of my own, the rather large kid project section is useless. This, of course, is not a negative aspect for everyone; you could make slippers or a skirt or a rather ugly cherry blossom t-shirt decoration for your nieces or neighbors, but I thought I'd give you a heads-up. I'm all about honesty.

+ POOR DIRECTIONS: For as simple as the projects are, Sandi Henderson finds ways to ruin what you're attempting to make. Thanks for telling me to cut down my sachet size AFTER I'd already centered my felt flower in the center. The materials do not specify if they're for one project or two, and I feel like most of the directions are more confusing than they need to be.

Bottom line: you can find free patterns for cuter and more original projects with the help of Google. This book is not worth your money or time.

I am rating this 4 out of 5 stars because this book is beautiful to look at, the projects seem a little lacking and weren't as creative (or original) as I was hoping. It is a beautiful book (very pretty to look at and flip through the pages) and the projects are well written, it just didn't have as many projects that I was interested in. Though I did love the last project (rolled flower headband!) It is a good buy for the price and lovely for your collection of sewing books.