September 14, 2016
Sew Illustrated – A Review
Hi! I’m Natalie of HungryHippie Sews. I had the privilege of reviewing Sew Illustrated by Minki Kim and Kristen Esser, made available by C&T Publishing.
This book teaches several techniques for making illustrations or pictures with your sewing machine. The projects inside are numerous, and very in skill level. They are ALL super duper cute!
I printed out the PDF file so I can look at it anytime. It is major eye candy!
I decided to make a pillow, a mug coaster, an iPad holder, and a place mat. Since I had the PDF version of the book I did not have the iron-on illustrations that the “real” book provides. That’s ok-but I think I will be purchasing this book so I can speed up the process. For now, I was able to draw the illustrations free hand, then proceed as the book instructs. For the coaster I used a stamp, which was simple and quick.
Here are some photos of my steps for the pillow. I used the Air balloon scene and then added borders and mini pom pom trim.
For this project I used my free motion foot and “drew” with the thread. This method is much less precise if you are after straight lines or perfection. Personally, I like the wibble wobble and find it adds an element of charm.
Here is the back:
Just needs a pillow insert and she’s ready to go.
For the coaster project I used a rubber stamp on linen. I then sewed directly on these lines with black thread. This method is fun and quick.
Use grippy gloves when drawing with thread, it helps a ton!
For the letters I drew them out and stitched over the markings. I used a Frixon pen so the ink irons out. This was very fast, and I could see a set of four as a great stocking stuffer!
The place mat project took a bit more time. I drew it out, then cut my freezer paper and fabric together, fused it to the linen, and then sewed it all down. It’s interesting how it looks sort of weird until that last step is complete–the black thread really brings out the picture and defines much needed details. Of course I had to add some sassy ‘tude.
Nothing a cuppa tea can’t solve.
For the mini iPad sleeve I used the same fabric as the tea cups (Nadra Ridgeway for Riley Blake) and made the little town scene. I fused wonder under to the fabric wrong side, and then cut my shapes out accordingly. After fusing them down, I drew with a regular sewing machine foot first, then went back over with a free motion foot. Several passes gave the thickness of line I was looking for.
I drew it out roughly on the linen first, to make sure it would fit.
I super enjoyed this book, and will be buying the old school paperback version. The instructions are really well written, and the projects are too cute to pass on.
Thank you Reece for having me over!
Umm wow! Each and every project is incredible! Thanks so much Natalie for sharing!
Check out more of Natalie’s work and follow her blog at Hungry Hippie Sews. To get yourself a copy of Sew Illustrated, head on over to C&T Publishing and pick one up.
