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All About Machine Arts
Nearly 300 pages of decorative machine art techniques will take your sewing projects to the next level!
- GenresSewing
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2020
I have used some of the ideas in this reference book as a guide to some of my projects. Very pretty to look out and useful as well.
March 1, 2011
All About Machine Arts / 1-57120-227-7
When I bought my embroidery machine, I also bought up pretty much every embroidery-related book that was recommended to me on Amazon. I was a little disappointed to learn that "All About Machine Arts" wasn't an exclusively embroidery book - until I opened it and started reading.
This book is *incredibly* comprehensive and helpful. I learned more about machine embroidery techniques and accessories than I did from the other dozen or so embroidery books I purchased. There's a huge wealth of information to be had here for sewing techniques as well - I've been quilting for years and there's stuff in here that I've never seen or used before, which is extremely exciting. There's also a lot of serger-related material, too, which wasn't too useful for me (I don't own a serger), but was easy to skip over to the quilting and embroidering and sewing techniques.
There's so much to love about this book - every page has half a dozen color pictures illustrating the techniques. In the section on foams and toppers, for instance, (material used between the cloth and the embroidery thread to give the final design 'lift' and definition), there are several "with" and "without" pictures showing the differences in technique. There are a lot of good tips and tricks offered, and very rarely does the information feel obvious or like "filler" material. What I like most about this book is the way all the techniques are combined and interchanged to create something beautiful - embroidery is used on quilting blocks; decorative sewing is used to finish the sides of an embroidery work; and embellishments are added subtly to just about everything. The whole feel is very holistic and brings together a variety of techniques to create simple, beautiful things.
I really can't think of anything critical to say about this book, except that maybe some of the techniques won't be so easy to perform on the cheaper, hobbyist machines (and how many hobbyists own a full-fledged serger along with the sewing machine and embroidery machine?), but that won't stem your enjoyment of this comprehensive book. If you're a quilter, I'd recommend buying this in conjunction with "The Quilter's Companion"; if you're an embroidery hobbyist, I'd recommend "Embroidery Machine Essentials" as a companion to this book (although there is a lot of overlap, naturally).
~ Ana Mardoll
When I bought my embroidery machine, I also bought up pretty much every embroidery-related book that was recommended to me on Amazon. I was a little disappointed to learn that "All About Machine Arts" wasn't an exclusively embroidery book - until I opened it and started reading.
This book is *incredibly* comprehensive and helpful. I learned more about machine embroidery techniques and accessories than I did from the other dozen or so embroidery books I purchased. There's a huge wealth of information to be had here for sewing techniques as well - I've been quilting for years and there's stuff in here that I've never seen or used before, which is extremely exciting. There's also a lot of serger-related material, too, which wasn't too useful for me (I don't own a serger), but was easy to skip over to the quilting and embroidering and sewing techniques.
There's so much to love about this book - every page has half a dozen color pictures illustrating the techniques. In the section on foams and toppers, for instance, (material used between the cloth and the embroidery thread to give the final design 'lift' and definition), there are several "with" and "without" pictures showing the differences in technique. There are a lot of good tips and tricks offered, and very rarely does the information feel obvious or like "filler" material. What I like most about this book is the way all the techniques are combined and interchanged to create something beautiful - embroidery is used on quilting blocks; decorative sewing is used to finish the sides of an embroidery work; and embellishments are added subtly to just about everything. The whole feel is very holistic and brings together a variety of techniques to create simple, beautiful things.
I really can't think of anything critical to say about this book, except that maybe some of the techniques won't be so easy to perform on the cheaper, hobbyist machines (and how many hobbyists own a full-fledged serger along with the sewing machine and embroidery machine?), but that won't stem your enjoyment of this comprehensive book. If you're a quilter, I'd recommend buying this in conjunction with "The Quilter's Companion"; if you're an embroidery hobbyist, I'd recommend "Embroidery Machine Essentials" as a companion to this book (although there is a lot of overlap, naturally).
~ Ana Mardoll
August 8, 2011
I've been writing reviews on Goodreads for several years now, really with no notion as to how a book review is actually written. But I love to read and love to write, so I suppose I just reviewed books by the seat of my pants. Just this summer, however, I was farting around on the internet and I happened to read in Slate (I think it was in Slate!) some advice on writing book reviews. A book review, said the article I think I read in Slate, must do three things: "1. The review must tell what the book is about. 2. The review must tell what the book's author says about that thing the book is about. 3. The review must tell what the reviewer thinks about what the book's author says about that thing the book is about." So that's how you do it!
And it just so happens that All About Machine Arts: Decorative Techniques from A to Z, by Sew News, a veritable how-to encyclopedia of amazing things to do with your sewing machine, was the first book I actually completed reading after learning how to write a proper review. I had checked this book out of the library because I just bought a fancy-schmancy embroidery and sewing machine and wanted some inspiration as how to actually use the features on my machine rather than just doing a straight stitch and some zig-zag. So this review, of All About Machine Arts, is my first attempt at fulfilling the three requirements of any book review. As the "Sew News" moniker suggests, this decorative techniques encyclopedia was not written by one author, but by a collective of contributors, each of whom wrote one or more entries ranging from "Applique" through to "Zigzag" (even pausing along the way for "Xtra tips for Serging," which I thought was an ingenious way to deal with the letter X). Each entry was informative, obviously written by an expert with an eye to making the subject matter understandable for the novice, with photographs that managed to be both instructive and inspiring. It came through pretty clear that the contributors love sewing and want to pass on that love through instruction. I was very inspired by the text and pictures, so much so that I bought the book so I could keep it in my sewing room and have it always to hand, and also enough to start immediately embellishing the first project I'm sewing with my new machine -- some dresses for my little daughters -- with so much detail that I fear I've gone beyond "cute" and all the way to "fussy."
And it just so happens that All About Machine Arts: Decorative Techniques from A to Z, by Sew News, a veritable how-to encyclopedia of amazing things to do with your sewing machine, was the first book I actually completed reading after learning how to write a proper review. I had checked this book out of the library because I just bought a fancy-schmancy embroidery and sewing machine and wanted some inspiration as how to actually use the features on my machine rather than just doing a straight stitch and some zig-zag. So this review, of All About Machine Arts, is my first attempt at fulfilling the three requirements of any book review. As the "Sew News" moniker suggests, this decorative techniques encyclopedia was not written by one author, but by a collective of contributors, each of whom wrote one or more entries ranging from "Applique" through to "Zigzag" (even pausing along the way for "Xtra tips for Serging," which I thought was an ingenious way to deal with the letter X). Each entry was informative, obviously written by an expert with an eye to making the subject matter understandable for the novice, with photographs that managed to be both instructive and inspiring. It came through pretty clear that the contributors love sewing and want to pass on that love through instruction. I was very inspired by the text and pictures, so much so that I bought the book so I could keep it in my sewing room and have it always to hand, and also enough to start immediately embellishing the first project I'm sewing with my new machine -- some dresses for my little daughters -- with so much detail that I fear I've gone beyond "cute" and all the way to "fussy."
October 17, 2008
Basic definitions and instructions on different sewing machine techniques such as embroidery, appliqué, quilting, making lace and cutwork.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews