Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing

Thanks for visiting Craft Critique! If you've come here from a search engine or from a direct link, you might be missing out on more content! Please visit CraftCritique.com. And for more amazing content such as projects, artist interviews and more, sign up for our Monthly Newsletter.

Reported by Melissa Norris

Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing: Fabu-Low-Sew Projects for the Everyday Crafter is the latest book by Kathy Cano-Murillo, aka The Crafty Chica. I have to say, I just loved this book. Normally when I get crafty books like this, I just skim through the projects and read only the parts about the project I want to make. I did that at first with this book, but when I was reading the information for the project I discovered the words were infused with Kathy's personality and wit. I immediately flipped back to page 1 and started reading it all!

I would call myself an intermediate sewer. I own a machine, have made clothes, a quilt, and more curtains that I can count and know the sewing terminology. But that didn't stop me from reading the book like a beginner and learning things I didn't know before. Kathy made this book accessible for all sewers, beginner to expert. And she completely encourages and supports the freedom to experiment, learn, and fail (the seam ripper is your friend!).

If you are a complete beginner, I definitely recommend this book for you. The information is given to you as a trusted friend, not a stern teacher. She talks about some of the different types of fabrics and even how to design your own; how you can alter your fabrics with image transfers, appliques and trims; and the tools you need in your sewing arsenal.

Then Kathy gets into the details about the parts of your sewing machine and how to use them (while referring to your manual of course), the basics of stitching, and how to use the seam ripper if you have reached your last resort.

The projects in the book range from purses and bags, clothing and home decor items. The instructions are simple, with patterns included in the back, and include tips for how to change up the project to suit your needs. A lot of the projects involving altering and embellishing existing items, repurposing items that may have seen better days, and finding uses for those 2 beautiful napkins you found on clearance and just had to have, but no idea what for.

I chose to make the "All Work and All Play Laptop Sleeve." I made this for my mother-in-law, so I chose to keep my project all work. The project involves making a laptop sleeve with 2 different fabrics, one when you're all work (Kathy used a pretty floral) and one for when you're all play (Kathy used sock monkey fabric). The instructions for the sleeve were simple and easy to follow and the materials were simple. I wouldn't have even had to go to the store if I hadn't been out of batting.

Scattered throughout the book (and one of the reasons I read it all the way through) are little snippets called "A Stitch In Time." Here other crafters tell of their adventures in sewing. There's so much to learn from all these little bits, and all of them will make you smile. There are also pages like Crafty Cinema, which are movies you can watch that feature sewing; The Crafty Chica's Ode to Sewing , a little something you can recite to get the sewing going; and great stories from "The Diary of a Crafty Chica" which are Kathy's personal stories of her sewing journeys.

Pros:

• Not just a step by step instruction book, meant to entertain and enlighten
• Accessible to sewers and even crafters of all skill levels
• Projects feature great instructions and patterns
• Photography and samples in the book are top notch
• Great list of resources and websites in the back
  

Cons:

• The style of sewing and projects may not be for everyone

Buy this book from Amazon via the link below and help support Craft Critique! The book retails for $21.94 but the Amazon price is only $14.93!



Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing: Fabu-Low-Sew Projects for the Everyday Crafter

I definitely give this book a 9 out of 10. Some of the projects may not be for me, but a lot of them are. I really feel that I learned something by reading the whole book and was entertained through it all. I recommend it for sewers of all types.

So have you checked out this book? Or are you familiar with Kathy's style and other books/products? Let us know what you think!