Crafty Little Things to Sew: 20 Clever Sewing Projects Using Scraps & Fat Quarters

by Caroline Fairbanks-Critchfield

Adorable must-have items to sew in a session or two . . . even if you’re a total beginner!
Start a project—and finish on the very same day! From pouches and totes to baskets, these clever and crafty little things will make you feel like a superhero stitcher. Created by the bloggers of SewCanShe, the 20 projects include a quilty first-aid kit, cute magnets, headbands and hair baubles, travel iron mats, and more. Many are made with fat quarters of fabric—sold in precut stacks or bundles and easily purchased in stores or on the web. Newcomers will find so many pictures, diagrams, and tips that they’ll feel like the author is right there beside them.
 
Project designers include the author and :
Virginia Lindsay (Gingercake Patterns)
Jennifer Heynen (The Beginning Fabrics / Jennifer Jangles)
Sarah Markos (Blue Susan Makes: bluesusanmakes.blogspot.com)
Heidi Staples (Fabric Mutt: fabricmutt.blogspot.com)
Tessa Walker (The Sewing Chick: thesewingchick.blogspot.com)
Christina Roy (2littlehooligans.com)

Genres: Sewing, Nonfiction, Crafts

144 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2017

About the author

I love sewing books! Maybe because I'm part geek, part artist. My mom taught me to sew while my dad taught me to use the first home computer ever released... you know, the Apple with the green screen.

I stitched my way through elementary and high school, and then squeezed in more time to sew while studying Russian Language and Literature at Brigham Young University. A brief internship at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (under the tutelage of my Uncle Jonathan - then a curator) increased my love for textiles.

Sometime after my first little girl (and the internet) was born, I realized that sewing and computers went together! I started my first sewing blog to share and show off my projects, and soon after that I started SewCanShe.com so I could feature more sewing projects than just my own.

I have contributed projects to lots of books and magazines and am so excited to be releasing my first book... Just For You. It's a compilation book with 24 projects from me and 20 of my favorite bloggers. Don't miss it!

You can also see what I'm making right now at sewcanshe.com/blog.

Reviews

[Sam (Hissing Potatoes) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The projects are fine, but mostly not for beginners. Despite the book's claims, the few sewing 101 pages at the beginning are nowhere near enough to cover the techniques and materials used throughout the book.

Most of the projects require at least .5-1 yard of multiple fabrics, which seems much larger than the scraps or fat quarters mentioned in the book's subtitle.

The templates provided are smaller than they actually need to be, which is frustrating.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some projects in this book that are clever, and some that suffer from not paying attention to the little details. The Quilty First Aid Kit's quilting is ever-so-slightly misaligned from the big red cross, for example. The Easy Wallet with Pocket's velcro sticks out even with the wallet closed! These things definitely doom a project to being labeled homemade instead of hand-crafted. The Circle Pouch Shopping Tote and Festive Buttoned-Up Baskets are clever and useful. This is a book to easily skim through.

[Sarah Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute projects, with lots of colored pictures. Easy to do for those starting out and ideas for those who have been sewing for awhile. It is projects and not much on teaching you so make sure you know some basics before getting started. I want to try a few projects but put it on my list to check out again in the future to try a few more projects that at this moment I have no uses for, but might later.

[Marcie Lovett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The projects are useful, although they aren't much different from other offerings, and none is for beginners. The directions, along with photos, are not detailed enough. The pattern images for the projects are printed in the back of the book and need to be copied at 200-400x, which may not be possible on home copiers. The author also has a website, which I think is much more useful than the book.

[Christen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprised by projects. They are just a little more difficult. Shopping tote with attached circle pouch to enclose the tote inside. Nice. Divided drawstring bag. I think I might use the idea for a purse. Curved zippers are not fun, but I might try for the first aid kit project. I will want a bigger finished box, but the idea is sound.

[Gulfport Circulation · Rating 4 out of 5]

Designed to use up all those cute fat quarters you keep buying but not using, this book has fairly easy-to-sew patterns for baskets, bins, lunch totes, and first aid kits with clear photos and easy to follow instructions. Great for last-minute gifts.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy-to-follow instructions.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colourful and fun projects with plenty of practical steps, photos and tips to help you realise them.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with crafts I haven't seen in other sewing books.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t find anything I wanted to make. Very basic but good book if you wanted a super easy make and take.

[Dinh Hong · Rating 3 out of 5]

projects for beginners, the patterns needed to be enlarged not be able to make at home

[Deirdre · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had actually read this before, perhaps in the Before Days when one could go sit at the library for hours?

It is a fine book of fine projects, although I really only want to make 2 or 3 of them.