The sewists DIY projects from 20 top designer-makers

Like many of her contemporaries, Perry, a UK-based sewist and teacher, started "making" in her 20s and quickly became inspired by the sewing renaissance that has taken place over the last decade. Her desire to learn inspired this collection, which features projects from 20 "designer-makers." Perry's definition of sewing is broader than readers may expect-she includes everything from traditional garment and accessory sewing to hand-sewn bookbinding, with forays into stuffed animals, dolls, and art embroidery along the way. Each designer's chapter begins with a brief bio/creative statement that explains that person's point of view and style, followed by a representative project. The quality of the directions varies-some are a little vague-and the designs are more hipster than homespun. Printable pattern pieces, stitching charts, and templates are included on a CD packaged with the book. VERDICT The projects are exciting, but the variety is a drawback-there's just not enough space to get into the necessary background information for such a wide array of sewing techniques. Still, sewists looking for artistic inspiration will be drawn to the pretty pictures and may wish to investigate further. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.