June reviews

Everything Alice by Hannah Read-Baldrey & Christine Leech

As you would expect this is a quirky book with an eclectic range of projects.  There are 50 projects in the book featuring a range of crafts from sewing, embroidery and millenary to baking, paper crafts and jewellery making.   However, if you are only into sewing don’t worry there are enough sewing projects for you to get your money’s worth!

Projects include a Humpty Dumpty doorstop, a Cheshire cat hand warmer, Wonderland aprons and red velvet cupcakes.   The book is bright and colourful with good photography, well written instructions and photos used to guide you through the making process. 

There will probably be some projects in there that wouldn’t interest you (I can’t quite see the point of a fabric covered teapot, or fabric covered furniture myself), however there are so many projects that there are bound to be a few that you will love.

One definite endorsement for this book came from my husband, in that he actually asked to read it after me (he never ever reads any of my craft or sewing books!).

I think even if you aren’t a huge Alice in Wonderland fan you would still enjoy this book for its quirky projects.   You can find out more about the book, and the authors here: http://everythingalice.co.uk/

This book is published by Quadrille Publishing and can be purchased from Amazon here

Sewn Toy Tales by Rosalie Quinlan & Melanie Hurlston

This book contains the instructions for making 12 totally adorable soft toy creatures including Preston the Lion, Pearl the Zebra, Alvin the Alien and Finnegan the Frog.  These are characters that children and adults alike will love.

Each toy gets a several page spread, full of bright colourful pictures, detailed instructions and useful tips.  All the templates you need are at the back of the book, along with useful advice on the stitches used, how to stuff the toys, attach the limbs etc.

What really makes this book is the way each toy is given its own personality.  Each project starts with a little introduction to the animal and the pictures have amusing little quotes on them which all bring a great sense of fun to the book.  For more gorgeous designs and ideas do visit the Melly & Me blog: http://mellyandme.typepad.com/

This book is published by David and Charles and can be purchased here.

200 Crochet Flowers, Embellishments & Trims by Claire Crompton

This book has some great ideas on how to incorporate crochet into sewing projects, whether using it to add texture or colour to bags and cushions, or for giving your clothes a new lease of life by adding a crocheted trim or embellishment. 

The book has 200 crochet patterns, each one with a picture at the top, step by step instructions underneath and a diagram at the bottom.  The book is split into 4 sections: Flowers, Trims, Fabrics & Motifs.

There is a useful section at the front with stitch instructions, a guide to following crochet patterns, advice on choosing yarns and your colour palette. 

This book is published by David & Charles and can be purchased here.