Sewing School 2 Book Review and Giveaway

I am so excited to be participating in part of the Sewing School 2 blog tour! I have been eying Sewing School by Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle for several years, but I kept reminding myself, that Hazel was too young for it still. Then I was asked to review their second book for kids which includes machine sewing. I of course jumped on the offer and they are also willing to give me a copy for a giveaway!

This book is written for the child who has not sewn on a machine. It goes through thirteen lessons from how to use the book, choosing a sewing machine and fabric and much more! Then there are some great projects that include something every child will love. Finally it has a review of hand sewing and more! Since Hazel cannot read, I could not have her go through the lessons, so we went straight to the projects. I looked through them first and picked some I thought she might like and gave her those to choose from. She chose a couple to try with me and I made a few without much help from her. Hazel was so excited to get to use the sewing machine for the first time!

The first project Hazel wanted to do was make the felt microphone. I took her to the craft store so she could choose the colors she wanted for her microphone. Then we found the pattern pieces. Now one of the things I love about this book is how the pattern pieces are clearly marked and have a picture of the finished project on each one. The pattern pieces are also well organized and in the project instructions it tells you on which pattern sheet (a total of four) you will find the pattern. Hazel helped trace the pattern, and she helped cut it out. Then we did a practice sewing machine run on one of the scraps. Then we tried it with the real piece. Next I showed her how to turn it the right way. She got a bit frustrated and had me finish it. Then she helped me stuff it, and she got one of her rhythm sticks to help with it. She even helped with the start of the hand sewing, but she got bored and had me finish it. I added a button so she would have an on-off switch or volume control. Needless to say she loves it! She is such a little diva.

Extra Pocket Belts

Next we looked at the zipper pouch, but since she had lost interest we did not make one right away. I started to make her the extra pocket belt. Now my daughter loves clothes that have pockets and always wants something special in them. Since so many girl clothes do not have pockets, I thought this would be great. I used wool felt for the project and then embellished it with a wool felt flower I had bought on clearance. I also put a piece of Velcro in it so it could close. We tried it on one of the belts I made her ages ago, but she never uses since she had trouble with the D-rings. The book suggested D-rings as well, but Hazel suggested making one with Velcro, so we went to the store and bought some webbing and Velcro. Then she got her belt. I also made an extra pocket belt with the other half of the square of wool felt and another embellishment for one of her friends from the Waldorf School. We went to her birthday party this weekend. I made her a peg doll to keep in her extra pocket as well.

I also looked at the snack packs. I thought this would be a nice easy one for Hazel. I had some Disney Princesses fabric scraps, and I made her a lined one with a ribbon so it could be a purse or a snack pack on the go. I also added a ribbon to the front of it. Then I made her two of the basic snack packs from the same fabric. I used my serger just so the edges of the fabric would be finished, but it is not necessary. Then I used the sticky back Velcro the book suggested. I am not sure how that will hold up, but I figured I can always replace it with the sew in kind later.

Our final project is the zipper pouch. Since going to Disney World, Minnie Mouse is Hazel's favorite character. I had bought this fabric before our trip in hopes of making her a dress, but never quite got to it. (She still wants me to.) We made the zipper pouch into a Minnie Mouse purse. My mother gave me a bag full of zippers awhile ago, so I looked in it for a 7-inch zipper and we found a lavender one. The book suggested hand sewing the zipper in, but we used the machine with my zipper foot. I can understand why the book would suggest to kids sewing on their own to hand sew it though. We added the Minnie Mouse head and the ribbon so it would be a purse. Hazel was dressing up as Minnie this afternoon. Since I have not made her a costume yet she wore her polka dot dress with her homemade mouse ears and her purse. Needless to say she loves it!

So those are the amazing projects we have attempted from this great book. Hazel is really wanting to make the guitar, but I keep saying when she is a little older. I guess I may have to break down and try that one next. She also is asking why she cannot have her own sewing machine. Hmm, I think she needs to master mine first and be able to actually do it on her own.

Make sure you stop by all the blog tour stops to check out the other great projects that are made (and more chances for winning your own copy). Here is the schedule!!

July 7 – Our Busy Homeschool

July 8 – scrumdilly-do!

July 9 – Crafty Moms Share

July 10 – Jane of All Trades

July 11 – Windy Lou

July 12 – Adventures of a DIY Mom

July 13 – Improv Diary

July 16 – He Sewed She Sewed

July 17 – Teach Beside Me

July 18 – All Things with Purpose

July 19 – The Crafty Crow

July 20 – Family Style School

July 21 – Such Designs

July 22 – Red Bird Crafts

July 23 – The Long Thread

July 25 - mayamade

Also if you want more information on the book or project ideas, stop by Sewing School's blog and their Facebook Page.Or of course you can go purchase it or if you can wait, enter to win it below!

Now for the fun part. The Giveaway!! I now am happy to say that one of you can have a copy of this great book. You do NOT need to know how to sew for your child to be able to learn from this book or for you to learn together. The giveaway is open only to residents of the United States. (My apologies all of my international readers.) Please also follow all of my regular Giveaway Rules.

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For this post I received a copy of the book. All opinions and photos (except the book cover) are my own. Linked this post to CashNet Sweepstakes.