A few weeks ago, while shopping at Jo Ann's, I came across this book and just had to have it. I finally got a chance to sit down and flip through it and thought I would give my two cents and review it for my blog. I want to start by saying I purchased this book and am in no way being paid to do this review. This is my own honest opinion. On to the review:
I really love the book, although I have a few qualms with it. The good stuff first: I love the images and the layout on the pages, which is fun and looks almost like a scrapbook. I also enjoyed reading about the history of home sewing and how it related to womanhood. There were also little spotlights on different important women in the sewing and crafting field. The only thing I really didn't care for was the projects. While most of them are beginner appropriate, I was kinda disappointed. I will admit, I DID NOT buy this book for the projects. I purchased this book for the great graphics and the information it provided about the history of home sewing. So, in those regards I am very satisfied with the book and my purchase.
The book itself is of great quality with thick pages and a comb binding, making it easy to open the book flat to view instructions for the projects. I also like that the book included the patterns for each of the projects. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves sewing and would like to learn a little bit about the history of home sewing from around the 1880s to now. The spotlight features are also really interesting and include popular figures such as Hattie Carnegie and Amy Butler.
So, my advice is to buy the book for the great graphics (which are REALLY well chosen and are great!!) and information and not for the projects, unless you are a novice when it comes to sewing, then these would be prefect for you!
I know I will be picking up this book to look at it often because the images are really cute and offer a lot of vintage eye candy. :)
Emily