Notions: Over 50 Great Gadgets You Can't Live Without

Rating:
Summary: Nice book, could be even better
Review: I love how this book tells you about notions you may not have heard of, and I like that the articles are written by well-known people.

The one thing that gets me about this book is that in many the instances, the person writing the article about the notion actually sells it. So of course they don't tend to mention the competitor's brand of widget.

I think this should be stated somewhere in the article, or at the end, but the only way you can discover it is that to notice that the name of the company that sells it is also the name of the company that they mention in the contributor's bio waaay at the front of the book.

I felt like there was too much of that, and I should not have had to pay for the book or at least had the price reduced for all the hidden advertising.

I think this book could have been so much greater if they had mentioned multiple manufacturers for some of the notions (obviously, some of them are only made by one company) and compared and contrasted their versions of that notion.

All that cynicism aside, I really did enjoy this book. I think it's a great book for someone who realized that it will cause them to go out and spend even more money on notions!

Rating:
Summary: A must for sewers, old and new
Review: Like most seamstresses, I have a handful of tried-and-true notions that I keep right next to my sewing machine and many others that sit unused in my sewing desk. I usually purchased the latter based on a long-forgotten demonstration or on a whim. Finally, help has arrived. This new book from Taunton Press describes the favorite notions of 23 sewing experts from around the country. Its colorful illustrations and spiral bound construction make it both attractive and practical. Each of the more than 50 notions and tools is described in two to five pages; many are new to the home consumer market. They include embellishment tools, cutting and marking tools, stabilizing and structuring aids, pressing aids, machine accessories, needles and threads, and aids for precision sewing. Some of the descriptions also provide instructions for complete projects. Lyla Messinger, for example, describes a variety of uses for the new fusible stay tapes. She explains how to apply the tape to a neckline as a way to avoid a facing and how to use the tape to control gapping in a sleeveless garment. Another example: Ultra-soft double-sided fusible tape can be used to easily hem silk and other fine fabrics and to stabilize a double-needle knit hem before sewing it. With the book's help, I will be able to pull the "spinster" out of my bottom drawer and use it to twist ordinary yarns and cords into decorative trims for clothing and home dec items. The book might even convince me to buy the new "tatool," an adjustable device that aids in the construction of tassels for fashion and home dec projects. I intend to give some old and new "feet" a new lease on life, based on the information in this book. Connie Long illustrates how to use a binding attachment to finish edges; Clotilde describes the "Velvet V Foot" as the ultimate (no-slippage) way to sew silk or rayon velvet; Gayle Starbuck and Jan Grigsby say the Bonfit "No Hands! Elastic Wizard" is a stress-less way to apply elastic; Barbara Deckert show the correct way to use a tailor's ham to press darts and seams and to shape garment components such as collars, lapels, and cuffs. I kept thinking as I was reading this book about all the tools available to the carpenters who appear on "This Old House." Well, we've got them, too. Here's a great way to learn how to use our own sewing tools and notions.