Monday 23 May 2016

#OOTD Sew and Style - Review + Giveaway!

As someone who got into sewing in their teens, I'm all for anything that encourages young people to start sewing their own clothes! Back at my high school, everyone takes half a term of sewing, and they make a pincushion, a stuffed frog, and a pair of boxer shorts... which doesn't exactly make most people want to keep sewing. Making clothing that you actually wear and love is so more fun!

That's exactly the idea behind the new sewing book #OOTD (Outfit of the Day) Sew and Style, by Angela Lan. Today, I'm excited to be hosting the a stop on the blog tour for the book, including a giveaway at the end of this post!


What impressed me most when I learned about the book is that Angela is only 14 years old, and already writes her own blog at LoveSpunk.com! She's mostly self-taught, and was inspired to write the book because when she was learning, she found there was a lack of sewing books for young girls that focus on sewing clothing rather than other crafty projects.

The book is aimed at young teenagers and tweens that are interested in clothing design, so the emphasis is a little different than other beginner sewing books that I've seen. I liked that in her introduction, Angela focuses on sewing wearable, everyday clothing and finding ways to make it your own - that's exactly what I'm trying to focus on with my sewing right now, even though I've been sewing for years! 

There's a great introduction to different types of fabric and what to look for when fabric shopping, as well as a helpful guide to reading a sewing pattern. The sewing details are concise, and enough to get started with the included projects.


As you go through the book, Angela introduces some new techniques that are needed for the projects, and along the way, she talks about sewing to fit your style and create unique clothing, and introduces a few pattern modifications for the included projects.

The projects are all pretty simple and perfect for a beginner! They get more complex as you go through the book, starting with an infinity scarf, and ending with a pair of shorts that can be lengthened to pants. Most of them, with the exception of the pants, don't require many more skills than sewing and finishing straight seams. The pants would definitely be a project to work up to, but mostly because they would be trickier to fit! The construction itself looks quite straightforward.

Overall, I think that this book would be perfect for a tween or teen that wants to start sewing clothing rather than those classic beginner projects like pillowslips and pincushions! Everything is explained clearly and simplified just enough to make the projects very do-able for someone younger. It doesn't include many techniques other than what's needed for the projects, but it's a perfect starting point to build upon if you worked through the projects and wanted to learn more, either from the Internet, from a course, or from another book.


So, now for the giveaway! C&T Publishing has kindly offered a copy to give away to a reader (a paper copy if you're in the US, and an e-book otherwise). To enter, leave a comment with an email address, and I'll keep it open until Monday, May 30 at mighnight, EST.  Edit: giveaway is now closed. 

Following me (on Bloglovin, Feedly, Instagram, or anything else) is appreciated but not necessary to enter!

Also, check out the other stops on the blog tour for more posts (and more chances to win!):

May 17: Angela Lan posting on the C&T Publishing blog
May 18: Marte Lambin at the Compagnie M blog
May 19: Sasha Werner at Secondo Piano 
May 20: Barbara Emodi at Sewing on the Edge
May 23: Me!
May 24: Suzannah Stanley at Create/Enjoy
May 25: Angela Lan posting at LoveSpunk


And finally, a little disclaimer: I was given a free copy of the e-book for the purposes of this tour, but all opinions are my own. As a fellow teenage seamstress (for another couple months, anyways), I think that this book really would be a great introduction to sewing for a tween or young teen. I would have loved it when I was that age, and I probably would have started sewing seriously a lot sooner!

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for the giveaway, I would love a chance to win :)

    ekhandler@gmail.com

    By the way, I follow your blog with The Old Reader.

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  2. This looks like a great book!! I would love to share it with my girls.

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  3. Looks like a great approach for beginner fashion sewers.
    amy.l.marohn@gmail.com

    I follow on Blogger.

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  4. I wish I had found a book like this when I started sewing. I started sewing when I was 16. I took an evening class back then with a friend, the other people in the class where all older then 50. nathaliesewsthings@gmail.com

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  5. I saw this book a few months ago and thought it looked interesting, but I didn't get it then. It certainly does provide a more appealing level of sewing garments rather than aprons or drawstring bags ! reganlf@gmail.com

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  6. Thank you for the giveaway - I would love to have this book to give to my 16 year old daughter who takes sewing at school.

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  7. This would be great for my daughter! carmen99 at asimplehomestead.com

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  8. Neat! I'll have to remember this for when my sister is a little older. Rmariepp (at) gmail (dot) com

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  9. I would love to get this book. As a beginner sewist(is that the right word?), this would be so appropriate for me, even if I am well over the intended age bracket.
    redsilkroute@gmail.com

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  10. It's exciring to see young ladies promoting sewing today. I would love this book for my niece who is learning to sew.

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  11. Thanks for the opportunity! ecboeringa@gmail.com

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  12. Thank you so much Shannon for participating in the blog tour and your kind words. Your feedback means so much to me!

    Angela

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  13. If I don't win this book, there's a good chance I'll buy it. I have two teenage daughters that I have been teaching to sew. One was reading the post with me and her response was "cool" even before she read the part about Angela being 14. Both girls look through the pattern books at the fabric stores and moan that they are too old for them. Funny because I remember saying the same thing when I was their age! This book looks like it would exactly what they're looking for.

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    1. My email address is indowhebles at gmail dot com

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  14. Hi Shannon. This book sounds just right for my 12 year old daughter who has started making a few things with my help, but only wears the pyjama trousers regularly. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Kim x kimlimdickson@live.com

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  15. This book looks wonderful. My eldest daughter would love it as she has started sewing a little bit and is interested in developing her own style

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  16. This book looks so interesting. I would love to give it to my youngest daughter... she has shown interest in sewing since she was little and probably needs some different inspiration than her Mom can provide! ecboeringa@gmail.com

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