Book Review: Fun with Fabric

Today I'm reviewing Fun with Fabric by Jane Foster. I've long been a fan of Jane's designs and her blog, so I was delighted to hear she had a book of projects coming out.

The book is just as bright and colourful and fun as you'd expect from Jane whose work often involves bright primary colours and retro 50s prints - it's got a chunky board cover with rounded corners and a lovely textured feel...

... and there's no shortage of colour inside, either!

 

Part one includes 10 projects to make with vintage and retro fabrics. The projects are relatively simple, designed to showcase the awesomeness of the fabric you're using. There are some no-sew projects like these fabric-covered pots...

 

... tips for framing special pieces of fabric, and tutorials for things like decorating teatowels and making a patchwork throw.

 

Jane also includes sources for finding vintage and repro fabrics, though you may find yourself getting green with envy at her tales of snapping up vintage fabrics cheaply before they came back into fashion! There are also tips for picking the right fabric for your project, combining prints, etc.

Part two covers printing fabric, with 3 types of printing and 8 projects to try - all with step by step instructions and illustrations. 

The printing techniques included are: printing from masking-tape and paper stencils, printing using an exposed screen and getting your designs digitally printed. 

As in the first section, the sewing involved here is not very complicated, it's the printed fabric designs themselves that make the projects special - e.g. these simple lavender bags printed with your / your kids' drawings.

Some templates are provided, so you can recreate designs of Jane's like this floral repeat...

... and these stripey stockings...

... but you're encouraged to design your own and use the book as a springboard to unleash your creativity. 

There are some fun projects in this book but it's a little light on content for the more experienced crafter. If you already know a bit about printing and/or don't need a book to teach you how to make things like a basic patchwork or a non-removable cushion cover this may not be the book for you. 

However, if you love Jane's colourful style and would like to dip your toes into collecting vintage fabric, creating your own fabric designs and creating some simple projects to show them off then this is a great place to start.

Fun with Fabric is published by Collins & Brown. RRP £14.99. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, The Book Depository and many other bookshops.

[Disclaimer: Collins & Brown sent me a free review copy of this book. They also publish the Mollie Makes books, which have included some projects by me but I am always honest in my reviews! The Amazon & Book Depository links in this post are affiliate links]