About the Book
This title helps kids express their creative side with these 26 delightful projects suitable for all skill levels. Using just a few simple crafting and sewing techniques, kids can make 26 colorful, modern projects to use, wear, give, and brighten their personal spaces. They'll learn how to transform tee shirts, tote bags, and more into unique pieces all their own using embroidery stitches, super simple applique, and basic machine sewing. No matter whether they're super crafty or have never even picked up a needle and thread, kids will find something they just have to make. They can craft a fabulous necklace, a cute cover for a boring notepad, or a chic bracelet in no time at all.
Table of Contents:
Contents Hello, Stitchers! Get Started, Get Inspired Fabrics Crafting Supplies Where to Shop Getting Inspired Skill Builder: Watercolor & Pen Postcards Practicing New Skills: Beautiful Stitches Embroidery Basic Supplies * Fabric * Stitches Hand Sewing Stitches Skill Builder: Embroidery Sampler Card Skill Builder: Small Embroidered Patch Make to Wear Color Wheel Hair Clips Leather Bracelets Easy Wrapped Bracelet Embroidered Bracelet LOVE Shirt Making Letter Patterns Heart Shirt Beaded Tassel Necklace Simply Stitched Tote Bag Make to Decorate HELLO Wall Art Painted Graphics Pencil Holder Arrows Wall Hanging Quick & Easy Ornaments Stylish Pillow Covers Basic Pillow Cover Embroidered Pillow Cover Felted Disks Garland Felting a Sweater More Fun Projects to Try Stitched Gift Tags Stamped & Stitched Cards Simple Stamping Stitched Notebook Hexagon Magnets Hold-Anything Drawstring Bag Fabric-covered Notepad Sketchbook with Pom Pom Bookmark Cross Stitched Backpack Label Felted Disk Coasters
About the Author :
Kristen Sutcliffe’s grandmother taught her how to cross-stitch when she was very young, preparing her for a college career spent studying ceramics. During a three-year stint in Japan, she fell in love with fabric and craft books. She lives in Oberlin, Ohio with her family.
Review :
C&T Publishing's new imprint FunStitch Studio promises to deliver exciting and creative books for young crafters. Sutcliffe gives step-by-step instructions for making jewelry, embellishing clothing and tote bags, creating room decor, and more. Basic stitches are demonstrated via illustrations: running, backstitch, cross-stitch, lazy daisy, arrow, whipstitch, and blanket. The projects are great to work on individually to keep or give as gifts or to work on as a group during crafting parties and sleepovers. Sutcliffe maintains a craft blog featuring her latest projects so readers can follow her and see more crafts online. Recommended for ages 10 to 13. -- Becky Walton Ingram Content, 3/6/13 Blogger Sutcliffe's first book is an approachable set of projects, mostly embroidery-based and aimed at preteen girls. Her aesthetic is charming: simple, often patterned, designs with easy-to-stitch lines, with just enough trendiness to appeal. Watercolor & Pen Postcards are pleasing despite being basic, while the Simply Stitched Tote Bag and Leather Bracelets have the kind of vaguely beachy, woodsy look that's perfect for summer. Adults who find this book might want to stitch up a few of the designs for themselves. A few caveats before buying, though. While Sutcliffe provides extensive illustrated directions for embroidery stitches, notation to "use a sewing machine to prepunch" or to trim the raw edges "with pinking shears" pop up without warning that such tools are needed. Also, with several projects, Sutcliffe advises stitching on Aida cloth, then fusing the cloth to an article of clothing or accessory. Aida cloth won't hold up to much wear and tear (or washing) and waste canvas, which is widely available, is a far better choice. With those minor oddities in mind, this book is a lovely gift to the supervised young crafter. Color photos. Publishers Weekly, May 6, 2013 All of the projects are cool and fun, and appeal to anyone. Though most of the pictures have girls doing the projects, the projects aren't girly and my son didn't consider any of the projects "off limits" for a boy. Most of the projects require materials that, as an avid crafter, I had on hand, making this a great rainy-day book to just flip through and make without running to the store. There were ideas in this book that I will totally use in my own projects. I also liked that there are a great variety of projects that can be done by hand, without a machine. Fabric Paper Thread is full of ideas. Many of these projects will make great road trip and vacation projects, and I'm looking forward to trying them out with my kids. Sew A Straight Line, 9/10/13 We're not really caring that our staff members' assorted children, who serve as our junior editors, want to look at this book. Instead we tell in (insert little white lie here) that they are way too young for this level of fun and that they need to leave this book in the hands of trained pros (ahem, their moms and dads.) We don't want to deny them the pleasure of Kristen's marvelously different book of stitched fun. We just want to feel the pleasure first. (Being older has to have some perks.) So we've hidden this gem from their greedy little fingers and instead we're trying our skills out on Kristen's brilliant projects. After all, who the heck adapts self-adhesive reinforcement circles to hair ornaments? Or stitches right on that oh-so-begging-for-embellishment Moleskine craft paper notebook cover? Hmmm? Yep. That's what we're talking about. Generation Q Magazine, September/October 2013 What we liked most about this book, designed to get children crafting, is that we could imagine that most of the projects are things they will genuinely be interested in making, wearing, using or gifting to family and friends. They're not dorky or embarrassing or inane. Another thing that appealed was that even children who have never crafted before will find projects that they are likely to be able to tackle successfully. Each one is graded, although even the most difficult are very achievable with the involvement of a bit more time and patience. Each project is broken down into small steps, and there are plenty of photographs and encouraging words that will help young novices enjoy the process as well as the outcomes. The projects include a pencil holder, cushion cover, several bags, notepad cover and embellishments for clothing. If you have a young woman in your life in, say, the 9-to-14 years age range, this book could be a real winner. Australian Homespun Magazine, October 2013
