Grrreat Sewing Guides!

There is a growing trend, which has been dubbed "The Maker Movement", which is encouraging people to learn many of the almost forgotten skills of our recent past. Sewing and needle crafts are just two of the many skills that have enjoyed some revival with the Maker Movement.
Sewing is a skill that is making a comeback among people of all ages across the nation. From teens who want to make a tote, hat or mittens to Gen-Xers who want to personalize and decorate their first home with drapes, pillows and table runners. People want to make a connection with their creativity and their environment. It hasn't hurt that women's fashions now favor personalization: encouraging people to sew appliques on their jeans and vintage looks, which inspire hipsters to up-cycling thrift-store finds.

These two awesome books will provide support and solutions to your sewing questions.

If you are looking for a great sewing guide check out the Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing. This book is completely illustrated to help you when you find yourself stuck on a technique like pivoting at corners, how to sew gathers or how to put in a center zipper. The book also includes hand sewing techniques, selecting a pattern size and sewing vocabulary.

Another great sewing book that is well illustrated is Simplicity's Simply the Best Sewing Book. It is on a spiral so its easy to view and you can keep close when you are working. Every topic is covered in this how to sew book. From using interfacing to straightening fabric its all here. It really is the best sewing book.

Time to Get Your Craft On!

Bandana-Rama by Judith Cressy is a colorful, beautifully illustrated beginning sewing book that is packed with ideas you will want to make. Take out your old bandanas or buy some new ones and create some amazing bandana items. This book includes 21 projects from start to finish with easy to follow pictures and directions. Projects include: a bandana belt, drawstring top, purse, decorative pillow, blouse, skirt and more. There is also a tutorial on techniques: from tying a knot to how to use a sewing machine. It may inspire you to design and create your own ideas from bandanas.

Two great books we used to develop ideas for projects to demonstrate our new sewing machines and sergers at our Maker-Faire were Megan Nicolay’s Generation T books. The T-shirt inspired projects Meghan has created are incredibly easy, inexpensive and anyone can make them. I highly recommend making some of these projects. Meghan Nicolay has a great website that has more T-shirt and craft ideas.  

Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform aT-shirt is Megan Nicolay’s first book and she has transformed the way we think about T-shirts. Her ideas are unique and inspirational. Megan's illustrations are easy to follow and easy to sew and you do not need a sewing machine. She encourages you to be your own designer and provides a template to help you design your own ideas. There are projects in this book for every person: tops, skirts, bags, pillows, hats and even a wedding dress. Think outside the box. T-shirts can be made into anything, literally.

Generation T: Beyond Fashion 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt by Megan Nicolay 

Meghan as revolutionized the T-shirt. She has repurposed it, reinterpreted it and reinvented it. Now she explores new ways to slash a tee, scrunch a tee, and sew a tee with Generation T: Beyond Fashion. A collection of 120 projects for every occasion, it takes the humble yet ever-malleable tee in dozens of new directions. The rallying cry is: Don't buy; DIY. The result is hip, imaginative, crafty, and very green. There's a basic primer on techniques: knotting, sewing, braiding and lacing. Projects range from the simplest no-sew to intermediate, and all have easy-to-follow illustrations.

Girl With a Sewing Machine by Jenniffer Taylor

Create your own unique clothes to fit your personality and your shape. This stylish, instructive book from The Great British Sewing Bee’s Jenniffer Taylor shows you how to make and adapt your own clothes in a simple, no-fuss way. Using Jenniffer’s fun and imaginative ideas, this book will teach you how to get started transforming unloved items of clothing into new and exciting outfits; how to customize clothes with doilies, tassels, tie-dyeing and block printing; and finally how to measure yourself, create patterns and make clothes from scratch. The book is packed with all the tricks of the trade that Jenniffer has learned along her sewing journey. 

See Kate Sew by Kate Blocher

Create beautiful crafts for your home and everyone in it--no experience required! Learning how to sew has never been easier! In See Kate Sew, blogger Kate Blocher shows you how to make dozens of beginner-friendly projects with professional polish. From stylish pillows and home decor to adorable soft toys for kids and fashion-forward accessories, there is plenty to make and gift--or keep just for you! Detailed instructions and step-by-step illustrations help ensure your success, while sewing tutorials on everything from creating buttonholes to mitering quilt corners. Best of all, projects can be sewn together in 60 minutes or less. Sew great!

by EM

December Abounds With Teen Holiday Festivities

Any teen looking for something fun to do to prepare for the holidays should make sure to check out what the Glenview Public Library has to offer in December. 

On Saturday, December 1st, join us for the first-ever Craft Bonanza!  Enjoy working on craft projects at the Library over the past year?  Ever wonder what happened to some of the extra materials?  They will be on hand for you and your friends to make new and exciting gifts for the holiday season on this date only!  From 2-4PM, drop by the Youth Services Program Room to see what kinds of treasures have been left behind for your own personal creation.  Idea sheets will be on hand to give you some help, and YouTube videos of different demonstrations will be playing in the background.  Come solo or bring a group for a fun afternoon of craft-making while sipping hot chocolate, listening to holiday music, and enjoying some light refreshments. 

Want to focus your creative juices on chocolate?  Don't miss out on our Chocolate Dipped Creations program on Saturday, December 8th from 12-1PM.  Kelli McDonald, Foods Teacher at GBS, will be on hand to assist teens who will have a chance to dip oreos, rice crispy treats, and other tasty treats in melted chocolate.  Makes a cute gift, or something special for yourself.  All chocolate, sprinkles, bags and treats will be provided. 

Both programs are open to teens ages 13-18 years old.  Registration for Chocolate Dipped Creations can be done by calling 847-729-7500, or going to the Library's website and click on Calendar and Events.  No registration required for Craft Bonanza. 

Planning a Handmade Holiday?

Now that November is here, it's really time to get ready for the winter holidays. If you are hoping to do less shopping and more crafting, here are some suggested titles for inspiration that are available at the Glenview Public Library.

Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts: 225 Inspired Projects for Year-round Celebrations - Make the holidays more festive with these projects for cards, decorations, and gifts from master crafter Martha Stewart.

Holiday Crafting & Baking with Kids: Gifts, Sweets, and Treats for the Whole Family! by Jessica Strand - Get the whole family together for some holiday fun to make handmade gifts.

Gifted: Lovely Little Things to Knit + Crochet by Mags Kandis - Over 30 projects to make and give including wearable accessories and home decor.

Gourmet Gifts: 100 Delicious Recipes for Every Occasion to Make Yourself and Wrap with Style by Dinah Corley - Corley presents simple and sophisticated recipes for jams, nuts, patés, and other items that bring together the culinary and the creative for inspired gifts.

The Best of Papercrafts Magazine - From handmade cards and food wraps to home décor and gift bags, this book is your one-stop source for projects of all kinds.

Duct Tape Crafts for Teens

Ever want to create exciting crafts with nothing but duct tape? The Glenview Public Library will be hosting a Duct Tape Craft program for teens ages 13-18 on Saturday, November 19th from 2-3PM.

This will be the second time the Library has hosted such a program. Cell phone cases, wallets, and other neat items can be created with a variety of duct tape colors. Teens are encouraged to be creative! Any teen who is experienced at making more complicated duct tape creations are encouraged to attend and to help others. The possibilities are endless!

There are many spots still available, so register today at http://www.glenviewpl.org and click on Calendar and Events. You may also call 847-729-7500 and ask for the Reader Services Desk. A staff person would be happy to assist you with registration.

This is a great project for groups of friends who like to craft together! The Library offers a variety of teen-related programs, and we will have a nice selection of craft programs in the future as well. In the past, there have been such programs as Cookies in a Jar, Decorative Notebooks, and Scrapbooking. This Winter, we will have Cookies in a Jar, Card Making (Rubber stamping), and Chocolate Covered Pretzel making. Registration for these Winter programs will begin shortly.

Any questions about teen crafts and programming, please contact Nicole M. Mills, Young Adult Librarian, at 847-729-7500 x2613.

Scrapbooking for Teens

Ever want to learn to scrapbook? Have a lot of vacation photos you don't know what to do with? Then don't miss the Glenview Public Library's Scrapbooking for Teens on July 22nd from 2:00-3:00pm.

Teens ages 13 and up are asked to bring at least 5 photos to work with, and all supplies and embellishments will be provided. Make a beautiful scrapbook page and make a memory! Scrapbooking is a great way to organize photos by theme and tell stories with photos. Different papers and many decorations will be available to choose from, so get creative!

Light refreshments will be provided in a relaxed atmosphere. Bring a friend or come solo. Registration may be done by going to http://www.glenviewpl.org/ and clicking on Calendar and Events, or by calling 847-729-7500. A Reader Services Staff member would be happy to assist you. Register no later than July 15th.

Cozy Mysteries

Fall is in the air – cool crisp mornings, the scent of wood burning, the leaves turning colors…doesn’t it make you want to sit by the fireplace and knit an afghan? Not so crafty? Then how about just reading a “cozy” mystery from one of the Needlecraft series, Someday Quilts series or the Home Crafting series, to name a few.

Monica Ferris started writing the Needlecraft series in 1999 with Crewel World. She has since written 12 more, the latest of which, Buttons and Bones, will be published later this year.

The Someday Quilts series is written by Clare O’Donohue. At the moment there are only 3 books in the series: The Lover’s Knot published in 2008, A Drunkard’s Path (2009) and The Double Cross (2010).

The first book in the Home Crafting Series, written by Sophie Mae Reynolds, is Lye in Wait, published in 2007. There are 3 subsequent titles, the most recent, Something Borrowed, Something Bleu was published in July.

However, if you do want to knit 1, purl 2 and drop 3…we can also recommend some of those titles.