Home Decorating With Fabric: More Than 80 Great Projects from Cushions to Comforters

Rating:
Summary: Best if you have some sewing experience
Review: I sewed my first duvet cover last summer and ran into a few problems. The book I was using advised me to make the duvet a bit smaller than the comforter so it would be full and fluffy - not a good idea! Lumpy is a better way to describe the result. So when I picked up Carol's book, I looked first to see what she advised (same size). This gave me faith that her other ideas would work well.
Carol's approach is playful and fun, suggesting that you use different but coordinating fabrics to cover each hard-backed chair in a dining room, or sew panels to hang around your bed. The projects cover a broad range from duvet covers to a variety of pillows to curtains and lamp shades, plus slip covers for futons and even wing chairs.
I didn't give this book a five because some of the pictures felt dated - it's always wonderful to be able to luxuriate in beautiful pictures - plus some of the instructions assume more knowledge than some people may have.
For example, when fitting pieces to the wing chair, she advises the reader to use darts or tucks where appropriate. Oh, really. Nothing more to say on that? I checked the basic sewing guide at the beginning of the book. No mention there of darts or tucks. Nor do these two terms appear in the cursory one page index. I have personally sewn a few darts in my life, so I'm sure I could figure this out assuming I get my hands on a nice affordable wing chair in need of covering, but some readers may need to have a general sewing reference book on hand to help out with the details of technique.
Still, anyone with a minimal amount of sewing experience should get his or her money's worth out of this book, and be pleased with what they create for their home.