Threadbared: Decades of Don'ts from the Sewing and Crafting World

by Kimberly Wrenn, Mary Watkins

A hilarious look at the home-sewing and crafting crazes of the last several decades, Threadbared is a parade of pictures of the “fabulous” clothes and “darling” decorative items that sent people rushing to their sewing machines, knitting bags, and local notions shops. These vintage photographs from instruction booklets and patterns may bring a smile to your face, but the sassy, snarky commentary provided by Kimberly and Mary will have you in stitches.

Inside, you’ll find everything from speculation about why 1950s sewing patterns models had such incredibly small waists (Girdles? Malnutrition? Tapeworms?) to commentary on ladies’ fashion (“Is there anything sexier than a woman who sews her own underwear?”), to all-too-vivid reminders that the ’60s wasn’t just the Age of Aquarius—it was also the Age of Macramé! Laying bare the hideous history of homemade treasures, Threadbared leads crafters, wannabes, and don’t-wannabes alike to ponder the age-old Did anyone really think this stuff looked good?

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Sewing, Crafts

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mean, pointless, and dull.

[Jesica Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kimberly Wrenn makes me laugh. She has a great sense of humor and this book is super fun. It also makes an excellent gift!

[melydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a longtime fan of James Lileks's Institute of Official Cheer, this sort of snarky commentary on vintage items looked right up my alley. And yes, it's decently funny, but I only chuckled aloud a handful of times. The pictures range from amusing to creepy, but it just seems to be lacking something intangible. Maybe color - several of the pages made references to the (generally godawful) colors in the photos, which of course were printed in black and white, and on a few occasions made the jokes fall a little flat. It doesn't help that the back cover copy includes quotes that don't actually appear anywhere in the book. I suppose there may be folks who would find this uproariously funny, but to me it was just kind of meh.

[Theresa F. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I like to make crafts and I enjoy some types of humor, I've come to the realization that craft-based humor books as a sub-genre can be rather hit or miss for me. (I didn't enjoy April Winchell's 'Regretsy', but I think Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a comic genius.) The humor in this particular book was a little too snarky for my taste, but the book itself was still worth a look, since some of the vintage illustrations have to be seen to be believed.
Did I like it? It was ok.
Would I reread it? Probably not.
Would I recommend it? This book is a treasure trove of unique images for fans of vintage pattern books. Just don't read the commentary unless you have a taste for snarky humor.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely hilarious!! It's all about poking fun at the patterns from the 60's and 70's. I'll just give you the last line from the book:

"Laying bare the hideous history of homemade treasures, Threadbared leads crafters, wannabes, and don't-wannabes alike to ponder the age-old question: Did anyone really think this stuff looked good?"

My particular favourite is the blankets that can crawl up the stairs!

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I, too, am a fan of James Lileks, and this book is in a similar vein with his humorous culture-of-the-past books. I do think their range of humor is more limited than his, which hurts my assessment some, but I did definitely find it amusing. And some of those crafts are eye-poppingly unbelievable!

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the website!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every crafter needs to read this book. Too funny!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious review of crafts from the 40's through the 70's.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best.Holiday.Present.Ever! Completely cracking me up!

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

kind of funny...

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hilarious!!