Craft Focus, December/ January issue
Sewing guru Wendy Gardiner brings you this comprehensive guide to sewing with fat quarters. Delve into a brilliant techniques section, guiding you through a variety of essential techniques, from inserting a zip and sewing buttonholes to creating patchwork. Each is fully explained and combined with easy-to-follow step-by-step photography. Once youve brushed up on your sewing skills its time to get sewing. Choose from 15 inspiring projects: from doorstops and drawstring bags to tablemats, aprons and cushions. Each fun fat-quarter project contains colourful photographs, instructive hand-drawn illustrations and a stash of handy hints and tips. Full-size, traceable templates are supplied at the back of the book.
We say: Whether youve treated yourself to a fat quarter bundle or are using up leftover fabric, theres a project for you.
If you cannot resist purchasing fat quarters whenever you are in a fabric store, then you will probably have more fabric then you know what to do with! Use up some of it by making these fifteen fun stash busting projects.
This book is also great for people like me who always buy more fabric than they need when making clothes so they can make accessories. There are several of those in here, from simple flowers for corsages and trims to various bags, a cosmetic purse and aprons. You will also find a baby play mat, draught excluder, door stop and more than one mat. This is a good book too for those who don't have a lot of sewing experience, as many of the techniques are explained in some detail in the second chapter. The first is devoted to introducing the tools and materials you are going to be using, so any beginners out there will get a good grounding in the contents of their sewing box. In here you can learn the basics of quilting and patchwork, but you can also learn how to put in a zip, make buttonholes, work with a twin needle, attach piping, trims and appliqué, and even use any fancy stitches your machine does. These lessons all come with staged photographs as do the projects, although here there are fewer (since you have already had the basics) and there is more print and less picture. Each project has a large photo of the finished item plus several diagrams in most cases. None of the projects are too large or ambitious, and all templates are given where necessary at actual size, always a good thing. Most projects don't use more than one fat quarter of each type, so if you have bought one of those mixed packs you can still use it. This is a great book for beginners and anybody else with too many smallish pieces of fabric!
Karen Platt Yarnsandfabrics.co.uk/crafts
September 2015
Lovely projects that you can really spice up by choosing your own fabrics. Use fat quarters to make home projects such as a door stop, coasters, baby blanket, bags, placemats, draught excluder and cushion. There are 15 items to enjoy making. Templates are given where necessary and the instructions and photos are very clear. There's a great introduction and techniques section; something Wendy excels at. I like the mini flower tutorial, showing you how to make 3 different fabric flowers. Most of the projects take just two fat quarters. Useful little book.
Popular Patchwork
August 2015
Wendy Gardiner has produced a great book for beginners in this lovely collection of 15 gorgeous projects for using up fat quarters from your stash or from a newly started fabric collection. Wendy is a very experienced quilter and writer who has combined these projects with an excellent how to start patchworking and quilting manual. The emphasis is on small easy to finish projects using fat quarters is great for novice sewers as it is certainly more productive and less overwhelming to make a cushion, pinny or bag rather than a full sampler quilt , but it is rare to find a book which combines such good basic instructions with pretty desirable projects. Each project introduces a new technique , such as piping applique or inserting a zip. This book would make a lovely present for a friend who would like to start sewing, but isn't sure where to start. Just add a bundle of fat quarters to a copy of the book and you'll make someone very happy.
