Improv Sewing: A Freeform Approach to Creative Techniques; 101 Fast, Fun, and Fearless Projects: Dresses, Tunics, Scarves, Skirts, Accessories, Pillows, Curtains, and More

PROS:- Nice photography of lots of tasteful, artistic, modern sensibility sewing projects, from clothing to home accessories - beyond pillows!- There is a consistent, low-key, organic, loose-construction, European vibe and concept to many of the designs and embellishments presented. Some ideas are quite unique. Much of what is presented in this book hangs together as a 'collection'.- The projects are not intimidating and can be made for very little cash outlay. The message here is to get loose and start cutting things up and throwing things together. 'Forget patterns,' the authors urge. 'Be non-fussy!' The overall message winds up being very encouraging and fun! This is the 'gesture drawing' of sewing!- The pacing of the book is well thought out. Each project introduces a new skill that you can build upon to create your own combinations of ideas.- If you're like me and have a few boxes of clothes waiting for some creative 'upcycling' you'll find plenty of ideas, and most importantly ENCOURAGEMENT, in here for making new creations that are fun and creative without being tacky.- Even though many of these project ideas or similar ones are available online, this is a lovely, well-designed book with great illustrations and instructions for each project along with solid basic concepts presented in the earlier sections, that I'd much rather have in a physical format than have to dig up in front of a screen. A book can be curated to a certain aesthetic, which I prefer to the broad cast of the internet.CONS:- Non-fussy occasionally goes too far for me: A few of the clothing projects fell flat for me or seemed poorly implemented, such as the Ribbon Ruffled Sundress or the Ruched Tunic that follows it. A small minority of the clothing projects seem a bit unflattering and/or a touch ill-fitted in the photos. Even so, each design presents an embellishment or construction idea, and the near misses serve to lower the intimidation bar for experimental seamstresses.- To that end, a few extra tips on adjusting the fit of clothing, or troubleshooting, might be beyond the scope of this book, but would have been nice.- Many of the ideas presented in this book seem ridiculously simple. One might even categorize this book as a collection of DIY sewing blog entries. This seems to be a common complaint for many DIY books that have been published in the last few years. Not a problem for me, but some might be disappointed or prefer to go online for 'free' and find ideas.I'm glad I made this purchase. There are quite a few projects I'm putting on my to-do list! It definitely fills a void in my sewing book collection. I will be referring to it as I work on my upcycling pile!

I made my first project from this book today. In the past I've been pretty dependent on printed patterns (expensive) and purchased fabric (ditto), and I've done practically no sewing with knit fabric. But yesterday, armed with the fabric guides in this book, I went thrifting on 2-for-1 Monday and found plenty of ideal fabric to work with; and today I made my own 2-panel, short-sleeve dress pattern in about 10 minutes (including scrounging big paper to draw on!) and sewed a dress my 8-year-old daughter loves, all in an hour or two (including fighting with my cantankerous machine). It fits great, looks cute, and will make a perfect dress for playing anywhere, with no worries about messing up something that took many hours or lots of money to create! Truly, for active kids, it's hard to beat a comfortable, cute, custom-made dress for about $3 in materials.The projects in this book are casual, mostly on the bohemian side, and as someone with a fair amount of training and experience in sewing garments, I found the instructions shockingly simple, yet detailed enough for someone with basic knowledge of how to use a sewing machine to follow. There are lots of unfinished edges and other stuff a more formal seamstress would never do. But for the knit fabrics recommended for most of the patterns, this works! And it takes a heck of a lot less time than doing it in my old ways. I'm sure there's more sewing from thrifted garments in our future!

Lately I've been on a sewing-book kick, but I usually check books out of the library so that I can skim for ideas and then return the book. I already own a bunch of basic sewing books, so there are very few that I feel the need to own at this point. This one turned out to be the exception to that rule! I gave it a quick flip-through and immediately rushed off to order it from Amazon. The projects are just gorgeous -- artsy but in an approachable way that a not-especially-talented sewer like me could actually manage. There's a combination of how-to instructions for making entire projects from start to finish with ideas for jazzing up items you already own with simple appliqué or embroidery. True to the "Improv" name, the projects all seem quite forgiving. I was most taken with the clothing and accessories (lots and lots of jersey knits, which are soft and comfortable to wear), but there are also a handful of cute home projects like pillows and napkins, folders and cases, and even a headboard for your bed. Highly recommended, this is one to buy and own!

I saw this book at the library, brought it home, read thru it and bought it on Amazon. This is probably the best sewing book I own. I would make nearly ever project in this book and made already 2 and can't wait to make more. Clear instructions and great ideas. Every time I open it I find something new, its just great.

Even though this book is very basic I really like it. I have been sewing most of my life so there wasn’t anything revolutionary in here for me. Still I think it is very encouraging and inspiring. It is aimed at motivating new sewers to have the courage to sew. Overcoming fear of making mistakes and shows how it is possible to make beautiful things despite of imperfection. The book is full of nice projects, teaching the reader to make basic patterns and embellish their projects.Some of the things in the book could be debated. For example, it teaches its "students" to always backstitch. For those acquainted with "couture sewing» this is contrary to the teaching of other advanced instructors. But I do not think that really matters. I understand why the authors say what they do. They are trying to simplify the process of sewing, making it "safe" to the weary, insecure novice. All in all a great book :-)

I definitely have a new go to book - this book is brilliant! It takes a relaxed approach to sewing encouraging you to play and experiment and not worry too much if you don't do things exactly as the instructions say.It starts off with a guide to fabrics, techniques and stitches and then goes into some really simple guides to making garments, either from existing garments or using simple pattern blocks. It tells you how to make different sleeves, necklines, ruffles, pleats and trims which you can then incorporate into your own designs or make up one of the many projects in the book.It then goes on to cover free motion embroidery, appliqué, stencilling, mixed media techniques and upcycling (there are loads of upcycling projects). There are 101 projects in total throughout the book allowing you to practice the various techniques covered. They are not all garments there are plenty of projects for the home, for kids and to make as gifts. Even though it sounds like a lot of projects for 1 book they are not crammed in, they each have at least a couple of pages of instructions, photos and diagrams. I'm amazed at how much they managed to fit into the 320 pages.I love this book and would highly recommend it, you will be inspired.

This is great if, like me you love to just throw fabrics together and make fun wearable items. You are positively encouraged to just sew and not worry about the formal rules for producing items, clothing and the like. As a beginner this was just what I needed to give me that little bit more confidence to keep me interested and develop my skills. Thank you Nicole for being so inspirational and encouraging.

Ich habe das Buch gekauft, weil ich mir neue Ideen erhoffte und es mich reizte, genau für mich passende Kleidung herstellen zu können, ohne mühsam mit gekauften Schnittmustern zu hantieren, deren Standart-Größen mir dann doch wieder nicht genau passen. Ich fürchtete erst, dass bei diesem Experiment unförmige Kartoffelsäcke herauskommen, aber das wird schon allein dadurch vermieden, dass man mit elastischem Stoff arbeitet, der sich der körpereigenen Form (bis zu einem bestimmten Grad) anpasst.Die ersten Kapitel erklären gewisse Grundlagen, zeigen auf, wie man seinen persönlichen Schnitt für Shirts, Kleider, verschiedene Röcke und Varianten dieser Kleidungsstücke erstellt. In den folgenden Kapiteln werden verschiedene Techniken vorgestellt, wie man Kleidung oder andere Gegenstände aus Stoff verzieren und verschönern kann. Schließlich folgen Vorschläge, was man mit der Nähmaschine sonst noch anstellen kann (z.B. aus Karton Postkarten basteln oder Geschenkanhänger verzieren), wie man aus alter Kleidung Neues macht und einige Ideen für „Blitz-Geschenke“, die man innerhalb kürzester Zeit fertiggestellt hat.Das mit dem persönlichen Schnitt ist gar nicht so schwierig und funktioniert überraschend gut, ich habe mir bereits einige Shirts, Röcke und Kleider nach diesem System genäht und bin mit den Ergebnissen sehr zufrieden. Die Techniken zur Verzierung kannte ich teilweise schon, einiges fand ich aber wirklich neu und originell.Nicht so gut gefallen hat mir, dass die meisten Produkte ungesäumt bleiben. Das kann man zwar selbst anders machen (es wird im Grundlagen-Kapitel auch erklärt, wie das geht), nur dauert es dann länger und der Anspruch der Autorinnen, „ganz schnell“ tragbare Kleidung zu nähen, wird nicht mehr erfüllt.Zu beachten ist noch, dass die Materialangaben in Inch erfolgen, man muss also umrechnen, und dass manche Kleidungsstücke für Kinder gedacht sind – die Technik lässt sich natürlich auch auf Erwachsene übertragen.Ich nehme an, dass auch ein Näh-Anfänger gut mit dem Buch zurechtkommt, ein bisschen Erfahrung im Nähen von Jersey ist aber sicher von Vorteil.Auf jeden Fall ermutigt das Buch dazu, selbst kreativ tätig zu werden und zu experimentieren.

This book has lots of fun ideas! All simple, easy to follow instructions. the -tshirt patterning will get used a lot! Excellent for bigginners. the only thing I didn't like is it uses lot of stretch fabrics….and never mentions the use of wooly nylon in the bobbin. Which experienced sewers know is the key to the seams not ripping open when you put your garment on.

Got it for my22 yr old granddaughter.. she really likes it because no patterns !