Karen Lewis' "Wabi-Sabi Sewing", is a delightful introduction to quilting for beginners. I love the Wabi-Sabi approach of embracing our imperfections. How wonderful to be able to learn and develop a skill while being able to cherish the little mistakes and physical marks of learning. This makes for a much more pleasurable experience, as well as less cursing at the fabric as is the norm with the traditional idea that finished product have impeccable stitching. I am looking forward to trying out the apron pattern which not only looks easy as pie, but is also perfect for adjusting and/or detailing to suit individual tastes.

Wabi sabi has intrigued me for a long time, even since my friend told me about it. He showed me his pictures and described them as ‘perfectly imperfect’, to see the beauty in the imperfection, and even make the ‘mistake’ more visible. Quilters usually only allow for an Amish mistake on purpose, and there is actually a thing called the Quilt Police which I think is ridiculous. Something doesn’t need to be perfect to be beautiful - that’s the message of this book. You can just grab fabric you like and make something beautiful. Embrace your uneven stitching and don’t be afraid to put different textiles in the mix and if you’re a little short on fabric, just dive into the scraps, you can use anything.

The author, Karen Lewis, starts with a list of necessities, and she also mentions what exactly she likes. I really love to read recommendations like that and the list is very inclusive and clear, with motivations on what you are exactly using it for.

In this book you’ll find different techniques, there’s sashiko, visible mensing, EPP, applique and maxhine piecing. It is all very well explained with black and white drawings to show the technique clearly. Some are drawn in 3D and that helps a visual person like me so much! I finally understand how to sew a bag (it always seems so complicated in other turorials!). There are also handy little tips throughout the book and hand quilting is even explained (most books don’t have this unfortunately). In the back of the book there are extensive tutorials on HSTs, machine piecing, sandwiching a quilt, EPP, hand quilting and binding.

The projects are beautiful! Of course the amazing clean Scandinavian photography doesn’t hurt at all. There are lots of small easy projects: cushions, pouffe, small quilt, coasters, apron, potholders, table runner, placemat, pouch, bags, scarf, hanger cover, water bottle cover). There are also 3 large quilts featured.

The quilting style is minimalistic and geographical, lots of traditional quilting patterns made with simple yet stunning fabrics (lots of minimal prints, linen look and solids) and awesome usually monochromatic color palettes. This is a style many people will love, but especially people in my age group of 20-35 with a Scandinavian interior style.

My favorite quilt is the scrappy star quilt and I really want to make tea towels now. And upgraded jeans with shashiko stitching!!! Seriously that might be the coolest tutorial in the entire book for me. Love it!!

This e-arc has been given to me in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is perfect for the person who loves sewing. The biggest perk of this book that I fell in love with is the close up photos that show the stitching. It shows how a handmade item truly looks This is excellent for the beginner who might feel intimidated with other quilt patterns that only show the quilt from afar.

This is filled with tons of patterns for a rainy day of sewing. I look forward to making several items from this book.

I'm a sewist and I absolutely love the values that underpin this book. Before now I'd always thought that everything had to be perfectly finished but this book has changed my mindset.

If you sew and you've ever wondered what to do with those endless strips of scrap fabric then this is the book for you. Beautiful, easy to follow projects, perfectly illustrated.

I would recommend this book to intermediate and advanced sewists - if you have quilted before, you'll be familiar with the underpinning (no pun intended) principles.

The only thing I'd change about this book is to put a note at the start of where to download the templates - I was thinking I'd never be able to do any of the projects until I came across this section.

Many thanks to F+W Media and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

#Wabi-sabiSewing #NetGalley
publisher synopsis: Capture the essence of Japanese style in your sewing with this collection of projects inspired by the wabi-sabi concept of 'perfect imperfection'. This collection of 20 sewing projects for home decor and accessories is based on the popular Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi which celebrates the beauty in the ordinary and imperfect.

The projects are grouped according to how we live, for example: living; sleeping; eating and exploring. Sewing and quilting expert and fabric designer, Karen Lewis, has used a limited palette of earthy tones and the best quality natural fabrics including linen, cotton, denim and wool to create a stunning collection of simple, sewn projects.

Try out some simple wabi-sabi style sewing techniques such as hand hand piecing, sashiko embroidery, big stitch quilting, and visible mending to create unique items for your home whether it's a full sized bed quilt, simple coasters for your favourite mug or a stunning scarf to wrap up in.

This is a wonderful book! Embrace your imperfect, artist side and create unique designs. Great ideas. Simple tools. A very inspiring way to create something beautiful from scraps.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

I really like this perfectly imperfect approach to sewing. The author explains this approach as embracing natural imperfections; such as using treasured, mismatched scraps, hand stitching and visible mending. It makes me think of a scrap quilt that has now been passed down three generations in my family. My great grandmother pieced scraps of old clothing in various rectangular shapes into a giant collage of memories. The projects in this book are inspiring in the same way; my favorites include an infinity scarf made from stash fabrics (Informal Mixer), a tutorial for mending clothing (Well Worn) and a scrap fabric drawstring bag (Creating Calm). There are also a lot of patterns for pretty quilts (my skills aren’t quite there yet) and a great section at the end on technique. I highly recommend this book.
I was given an advance reader copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for my honest review.