Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts Book Review - Fuzzy Felted Friends and Woolly Embroidery

The next two books are courtesy of the Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts book series by Chronicle Books. The series includes four books: Amigurumi, Fuzzy Felted Friends, Lacy Crochet and Woolly Embroidery. Since I don’t crochet I only have the embroidery and felting books.


The books were originally published in Japanese and have been translated into English. We’ve all run into badly translated foreign movies, instructions, and websites. These are nothing like that. They have been remarkably well done. The only thing that gives away their foreign nature is the naivete of the text.


Woolly Embroidery begins with 33 pages of color photos of the motifs and projects. This is followed by a guide to wool embroidery, useful tools and materials and thread color charts. There are also clear illustrations for 30 different decorative stitches. I find that particularly useful. The patterns are adorable, some even having a touch of that 1970’s crewelwork look that’s so popular.


Fuzzy Felted Friends is laid out in the same manner, with about half the book being full color photos of the projects. Several pages of step-by-step photos of the different techniques follow. The instructions for the projects are next and, fortunately, have both metric and standard measurements. It includes projects for wet and dry felting, for both felted animals and pouches/bags, for useful items and purely decorative cuteness.


I would say these books are suited to the crafter who has had some experience.However, they do have projects that are do-able by the beginner with a little bit of patience. I do wish there was a little bit more substance to each of them but $15 for an 80 page softcover book is still fairly reasonable.

Stencil 101 Book Review

Stencil 101 by Ed Roth is one of those books that encourages you to tear out its pages. It contains 25 reusable stencils on glossy cardstock. And the very day it came in the mail my son was already pulling out the stencils and using them on a wooden case that was just screaming out for customization. And, hey, if something passes the teen boy test for coolness it must be pretty special. And he must be somebody special, too, because I let him use the book before I did.

I know it’s been said so many times that it’s ridiculous but really… these aren’t your granny’s stencils. You won’t find any English ivy or country geese here. We’re talking muscle cars and luchadores.

a journal page using a couple of the stencils

At the beginning is a brief history of stenciling and then a nice chapter on the basic stuff needed to get started. Then the author shows several projects using the stencils in the book. I wanted the book just for my journal pages but now I’m thinking my kitchen cabinets need an edgier look to them.

click for detail

The book has a nice expandable pocket in the back to keep your used stencils in. As I mentioned earlier the stencils are on cardstock, glossy on both sides so you can flip them either way. They should hold up to many many sprays. Even after you pull out the stencil there is a page left in the book that shows the design so you can still flip through the book to know what designs you have without digging them all out of the pocket. Or if it came down to it and you lost your stencil and were too cheap to buy another you could scan the image and cut another.

Speaking of buying stencils, Ed has lots of them available at his website, Stencil 1. He also has his own line of spray inks. And don’t forget to check out the awesome how-to videos while you’re there.

French General: Home Sewn Book Review

French General: Home Sewn is one of those books that makes you want to push everything to the side, pull out the sewing machine and make.something.right.now. It’s the latest in the French-influenced line of books, stationery, and other sundries from Kaari Meng. And she does it so well. The photos are gorgeous. The illustrations are charming. And it never feels uppity-French (That’s a technical term. ;) ) It has a rustic elegance suited to almost any home.

one of the adorable illustrations

I want to make everything in this book. Fortunately, everything is labeled according to its difficulty - one spool for beginner, two spools for experienced, and three spools for advanced. The one spool projects are perfect for when I just have a couple hours and want whip up something simple and pretty. Speaking of simple, some of the projects will have you thinking “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Yet they’re so beautiful you won’t feel like they are a waste of space in the book.

The beginning of the book is dedicated to finding and caring for vintage French fabrics and notions. The instructions are applicable to all old fabrics. Next is a small chapter on putting together a sewing basket. In the back of the book you’ll find general sewing and embroidery techniques. Kaari has listed her favorite suppliers and designers in the resource guide, as well.

The book lies flat with a convenient spiral binding. There is an envelope of full-size patterns as well as monograms and embroidery designs.

All in all, I love this book. It’s my new favorite sewing book. I’ve pictured here some of my favorite projects… the ones that are first on my list to sew. Anyday now.

P.S. I may have to steal the spool rating system to start rating books here on the blog. :)

P.P.S. Don't Forget to leave a comment to be entered in thebook giveaway at the end of the week. For more info click below.