Book Review: Made at Home

So I've been meaning to review this book for a while now. Made at Home by Lisa Stickley is the perfect book for the novice seamstress. It combines the simplest of sewing techniques with beautiful fabrics to produce homemade, stylish furnishings.

I love the introduction to this book. Lisa is very much of the same school of thought as I am when it comes to sewing - give it a try and see what happens. This book proves that you don't have to be a whiz with a sewing machine to produce some really beautiful handmade items.

The book begins with an extremely comprehensive guide to basic sewing stitches and techniques - together with illustrated diagrams I have to say it's one of the best no-fuss sewing aids I've seen yet in a book of it's kind, and I'd have appreciated something similar to help me when I began to sew.

Projects range from simple napkins, tea cosies and table runners to more complex pouffes, curtains and roman blinds, and are grouped together by rooms of the house. Even the more complicated patterns are manageable to the novice sewer after attempting a few of the easier patterns. Instructions are simple and refreshingly easy to follow, and all of the techniques used are explained in the first portion of the book.

I would have liked to see more photographs of the finished items as I know if I were attempting to sew my own furnishings for the first time, I'd like a comparison to see if mine had turned out right, but there are quirky illustrations to help with all of the projects. All in all I think this book ticks all the boxes for the creative homemaker wanting to give handmade furnishings a go and looking for a bit of guidance and inspiration.

The book is published by Quadrille Publishing ltd and is priced at £16.99. And you can even nab yourself a signed copy here!