Review on Sewing for Kids: Learn with Sophie & Her Friends • Exciting Projects You'll Adore Making & Using by Morgan Gilmore

While I really enjoy this book, I have a few complaints about the specific project instructions. I'm going to tell you about all the things I like and the details I want to include. Advantages: 1. Lots of good information. The book not only jumps right into the project instructions, it begins with information about fabrics, concepts, supplies, techniques, and sewing machines. My daughter found it very exciting; After reading it, she already felt like an expert.2. The projects are ordered by difficulty. That way you don't search the whole book for what you can actually do. You know, that you can tackle the first projects immediately and later projects are feasible once you have some experience.3. Photos/sketches of each step and tips to avoid common problems. This makes the instructions easy to understand and helps children avoid disappointment.4. A variety of projects. Not only are they all designs that teens/younger teens can actually use, but there is something almost everyone will love. Also, many projects provide hints about options you could try. It can be picky but I like the variety of people in the photos. Although I bought this book for my daughter, I have sons who also like to sew from time to time. Unlike most books, this one actually features a bunch of boys working on pillows or other non-girly projects. There are also children of different nationalities that some books do not deal with. However, children are shown almost exclusively between the ages of 10-13, in case that matters to you. Cons: My main objections here relate to specific design instructions. For example: 1. The headband design can be quite tricky to pull the elastic through. A later draft of the book notes that some ribs are wider than stated and therefore you should measure the ribs and adjust the stitching accordingly to ensure the ribs will fit easily through the sleeve you are sewing, but this is not mentioned . an "easy" headband project that's a little frustrating, if you either a) barely get the elastic in or b) need to turn the fabric sleeve inside out, rip all the seams and re-sew the whole thing with a tighter seam allowance because your elastic won't get through at all.2. Skirt design is misleading/opaque. The girls pictured have skirts no lower than the knees (even two-tiered skirts). However, the measurements given result in a shorter skirt. (The top row is 7" - 1.5" [folded to create a channel for the elastic] = 5.5" The second row should be waist to knee minus 7.5" what after the seam allowance for the connecting rows, resulting in a skirt about 2.5" above If your child has short legs to begin with, 2, Can be quite short at 5 inches above the knee - and definitely shorter than any skirt in the photo to the measurements taken, and there is a step in the instructions where you gather the bottom to match the width of the top, but they have never mentioned before in the pattern that you can/should make the bottom row wider than the top to accommodate the ruffle. We have owned this book for a year now and my daughter has completed six projects (some of them multiple times). ). Although she doesn't like all projects, the projects she has done so far have brought many hours of enjoyment. She received the book at the age of 8 and was able to easily complete the first three projects on her own, with only occasional editing advice. projects, that require meticulous ironing (like folding and ironing to 0.25 inch) still make her ask me for help, but I think in another year (by age 10) she could be almost completely independent. I've owned this book for a year and my daughter has completed six projects (some of them multiple times). Although she doesn't like all projects, the projects she has done so far have brought many hours of enjoyment. She received the book at the age of 8 and was able to easily complete the first three projects on her own, with only occasional editing advice. Projects that require meticulous ironing (like folding and ironing to 0.25 inch) still make them ask me for help, but I think in another year (at 10 years) she could be almost completely independent. I've owned this book for a year and my daughter has completed six projects (some of them multiple times). Although she doesn't like all projects, the projects she has done so far have brought many hours of enjoyment. She received the book at the age of 8 and was able to easily complete the first three projects on her own, with only occasional editing advice. Projects that require meticulous ironing (like folding and ironing to 0.25 inch) still make her come to me for help, but I think in another year (by age 10) she could be almost completely independent. Although she doesn't like all projects, the projects she has done so far have brought many hours of enjoyment. She received the book at the age of 8 and was able to easily complete the first three projects on her own, with only occasional editing advice. Projects that require meticulous ironing (like folding and ironing to 0.25 inch) still make her come to me for help, but I think in another year (by age 10) she could be almost completely independent. Although she doesn't like all projects, the projects she has done so far have brought many hours of enjoyment. She received the book at the age of 8 and was able to easily complete the first three projects on her own, with only occasional editing advice. Projects that require meticulous ironing (like folding and ironing to 0.25 inch) still make her come to me for help, but I think in another year (by age 10) she could be almost completely independent.