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 enlarge | Author: Amy Butler
Creator: Colin Mcguire
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $9.98
You Save: $14.97 (60%)
New (19) Used (9) from $6.24
Avg. Customer Rating:  48 reviews
Sales Rank: 5091
Media: Spiral-bound
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 8.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 0811851591
Dewey Decimal Number: 646.21
EAN: 9780811851596
ASIN: 0811851591
Publication Date: August 3, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New - Has remainder mark. Fast shipping from trusted wholesaler with many exclusive publisher contracts.
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| Customer Reviews:
 projects can be found elsewhere July 10, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Amy Butler designs gorgeous fabrics, no argument there. Her fabric designs are so lovely I think that's why I bought the book. All the projects just look so darned spectacular. I mean, who wouldn't want a cute kitty tunnel or a fantastic toiletries thing-a-majig to hang on the bathroom door? Oh, that's right. Me. I'd suggest looking at this book, if possible, before you buy it so you know exactly what you are getting. AB's cotton fabrics run $9.00 a yard, if you want to use them and many, if not all, of the projects can be found elsewhere, probably with clearer directions and larger pictures.
As to the included patterns --not so fast. Most of the projects are made with self drafted patterns. Grant it this is no great shakes for a square pillow, etc., and the drafting will probably be a great learning experience. I don't think any of the project patterns would be difficult to draft, just be aware that even the kimono project, only two of the pattern pieces are included, you draft the rest (rectangles and squares, no big deal). The lounge pants too you must draft the legs below the crotch. I mention this in case someone purchases on Amazon thinking they will get 25 patterns included with the book. You do not. In short I returned this book, realizing I'd been dazzled by photos of beautiful laundry bags, place-mats, checkbook covers and quilted throws. For me this book is a solid three star, mostly for the excellent photographs and the inspiration, the rest of the contents you can probably find elsewhere.
 (I liked it) June 22, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
There are plenty of reviews expressing disappointment with the book, so I feel compelled to add what I liked about it. Amy Butler's fabrics are gorgeous and I can spend a lot of time just looking at pictures of her fabrics and things made out of her fabrics. The photographs in this book are beautiful.
The books provides detailed explanations of the projects with legible, detailed drawings. The book also includes full size patterns in a special envelope in the book. Most other sewing books I've dealt with provide an 8 1/2" x 11" pattern that says to enlarge by a certain percentage. That either involves a copy machine or a scanner and taping together several sheets of paper- yuck. Starting with a full size pattern gets me into the project that much faster.
Any craft book struggles with coming up with something new- there are only so many ideas! But, I thought her big dot pillow, pom-pom pillow, square pot holder and hanging toiletry basket were ideas that I hadn't seen before or better versions of ones I had seen.
That said, I wish it had more personal information from Amy-- what inspires her, how she comes up with fabric designs, how she got interested in art and sewing, etc.
I think the book is worth it, but I can justify any book that provides at least one new project idea or at least one hour of pleasure perusing it. I wouldn't recommend the projects to a beginning sewer, as the explanations assume you have some sewing experience. But the book just might inspire you to gain some experience!
Unfinished?? June 4, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
I love Amy Butler's fabrics so I was excited when I found this book and loved almost all of the projects. But the book seems sort of unfinished. I was working on the pajama pants and it says to buy 2.5 yards of fabric for the trim. So I put the pants almost all together, and the instructions were great and spelled everything out step by step. Then when it comes time to put on the trim, it just says to put on the trim. There is no pattern piece for it, it doesn't tell you how much to cut out, if you should press/hem the edges....it's very strange. I also noticed that one of the projects they mention in the office section isn't actually in the book! When I buy a book, I feel entitled to at least have it be finished and well edited.
Cute, but... May 12, 2007
59 out of 61 found this review helpful
Cute book with some nice ideas and designs. The fabric is gorgeous which of course makes a huge difference. There are projects for the living room (Patchwork throw, floor cushion, kitty tunnel, and the cushions on the book cover), kitchen - placemats and napkins, recipe card bags, apron and pot holder, Bedroom - patchwork duvet cover, bedside organizer (very clever idea), lounge pants, and sleep mask, Bathroom - bathrobe, hanging toiletry basked, laundry bag and decorative towels, Office - organisers, document duvet(huh?!), checkbook clutch... and personal style... a beaded sash which is a bit of a filler (free pattern on her site too), simple leather handled shoulder bag (which is so simple it shouldn't even be there - it feels like another filler - and personally I would never make or use a bag like this except for stashing yarn), and a patchwork handbag and clutch bag. I actually bought the book for the last two, as I love making bags and like her patterns. The checkbook clutch was a bonus as I had no idea it was there. Very cute.
The reason for the three stars is because the office projects intro mentions a business card holder - something I would find really useful - and the pattern isn't there, neither are any instructions. I wrote to her site to ask why, and was told that they couldn't fit all the projects in the book and thank you for pointing it out. When you consider how much space in this book is taken up with repeating instructions (for instance, every project that uses a certain interfacing has details on what it is and how to wash it - why not just have this in the techniques section?)
At the very least this should be included as a free pattern on her site.
I like it! April 25, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I saw that there were a couple of underwhelming reviews on this book. I've had it for a few months and have made multiple items from it. I really like it, give it a chance! My favorite item is the sleep mask, I've made about 10 of them for friends and family and they've all raved about the. I also made the cat tunnel, which didn't work out as designed, my cat just lies on top of it (but he does love it!).
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