Book Review: The Busy Girl's Guide to Sewing

I was really excited when my copy of The Busy Girl's Guide to Sewing landed on my doormat! Busy is a concept I understand well and I was eager to see how Carrie Maclennan - co-owner of the creative enterprise Made in the Shade made the journey into 'sewing goddess'.

The premise of the book is based around Carrie's introduction to not only sewing but the craft community and creative lifestyle. As a gal who has been working in the industry for years promoting indie craft and design she confesses to only now picking up a needle and thread. As a result the book is a perfect start for any newbie's to sewing, as they can learn alongside Carrie. 

As well as mapping Carrie's sewing journey, it packs in 13 sewing projects neatly divided into chapters by time; 30 minutes, an hour or 4 hours. 

A lot of the projects are very easy for any competent sewer (I'm not going to claim I'm advanced!) but still manage to be quirky, interesting and most importantly inspiring. 

(Well Dressed Notebook)

(Keep It Neat Pattern Sleeve)

Even though many of the projects are fairly easy, they are well thought out and use beautiful fabrics that will have you flinging and flailing inside your fabric cupboard because 'you-have-to-make-that-right-now!'

It's no surprise that my favourite projects are both in the four hours section. This pouffe is amazing and I cannot wait to make this!

But the piece de resistance has to be 'The Busy Girl's Bag' with a beautiful embroidered bear on it! 

I love that as well as projects, the book is also littered with other pieces of useful information such as how to set up your own craft blog, how to source second hand supplies and how to make to sell. 

I'm thoroughly impressed with what Carrie Maclennan has achieved with this craft book. It's a fantastic book for beginners, yet really has enough inspiring designs and projects that make it a tremendously worthwhile purchase for an experienced sewer. I can't wait to share some of my makes from this book. 

If you still want more of Carrie you can check out her blog Not The Kind of Girl You'd Marry