Amy Butler's In Stitches: More Than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projects

by Amy Butler, Colin McGuire (Photographer)

Celebrated designer Amy Butler brings her fresh, modern style to the timeless craft of sewing. In this lavishly illustrated collection of patterns, she presents more than 25 charming projects ranging from cushy floor cushions to smart aprons to stylish handbags. Our innovative packaging makes for easy use pattern sheets are neatly tucked into a folder on the inside cover of this full-color, lay-flat spiralbound book. Lush photographs inspire, while how-to illustrations and straightforward text (minus the confusing sewing lingo) make it a cinch to achieve beautifully finished projects. In addition, Amy offers thoughtful tips on finding and treating new or vintage fabrics, an easy-to-navigate techniques section, and a glossary and resource guide at back. Whether it's chic placemats and napkins for the kitchen, a luxurious kimono-style robe for the bath, or handy organizer baskets for the home office Amy Butler's In Stitches makes it easy to create beautiful accessories for every room and every mood.

Genres: Sewing, Crafts, Nonfiction, Reference, Quilting, Adult, Design

176 pages, Spiral-bound

First published August 3, 2006

Reviews

[Holly Booms Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and meticulous, but the projects are not as easy as they claim to be in many cases. It's a great inspiration book, more due to Amy Butler's gorgeous fabrics used in all the projects and the craft-porn photographs than to the originality of most of the patterns. I won't buy this for my permanent collection but I am glad I was able to borrow it from the library.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I learned from this book is that I am just not a big fan of Amy Butler's sytle! Everyone raves about her, based on many reviews I have read of sewing books (for she is oftened mentionned in reviews besides her own) on amazon.com. However, I am not a big fan of her fabric NOR her projects.

Pretty much, when I saw the long orange pillow with the green pom poms on the front cover, I knew I probably would not like the projects in the book (orange and green - YUK!).

Two things I did like about the book:
1) the Kimono-style bathrobe project
2) patterns are included
(templates you have to enlarge by 300% suck!)

However, there was one thing about this book I truly could not abide: the horrible photography!

Part of the pleasure, for me, in a sewing book, is a photo of the finished project in a pleasing background or context.

In this book, the Amy Butler finished product was the ONLY THING in focus in almost every photo - everything else was blurred out. I could not stand it! Could they not afford to clean the places they were taking the photos and were trying to hide dirt, clutter, who knows what? Or did the Amy Butler really think those photos made her projects look like shining stars?

Awful photography. Hope she did not use photographer Colin McGuire in any of her other books!

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book that your Christmas gift might come from...

Has fun projects but there are some definite flaws in this book:
- the first pattern I tried had me get way too much fabric.
- directions are not always 100% clear - I often have to read thru more than once and work it out in my head.
- the way the steps are broken down is odd - you get very step-by-step instructions for cutting and prep, but then the "assembling" step tends to be written as a long paragraph of many steps rather than a blow-by-blow...
- illustrations tend to illustrate the easy steps but not the difficult steps (when illustrations would be most helpful, such as the many assembly steps)
- skip the drawstring pants pattern. they don't fit right thru the crotch and butt if you have to size the pattern.

That said, these things haven't stopped me from using several patterns in this book with good results!

[Autumn Burger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've made most of the projects in here, though I have to say that some of them fall slightly outside the realm of the cover's claim of "easy." Other than that, the photos and instructions are extremely helpful and easy to follow...if you have some sewing experience.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy Butler has amazed me yet again with her simple techniques and how amazing the projects look in the end! This book makes me want to be a better seamstress.

[Connie Pilachowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened upon this book at goodwill. After a cursory glance through the book I bought it. I sat down with it today and I have to say I'm really impressed with the variety and uniqueness of projects. It's got pictures of every project and diagrams galore.

This isn't for a beginner, I think a lot of the patterns are pretty advanced (but I like a challenge 😉) but but I found a lot of projects I want to make!

Not a big thing but it is showing it's age. It was published in 2006 and twice mentions an ipod and cds. Lol

[Leslie Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge Amy Butler fan so this was a treat. I purchased it when it first came out and made several projects from it. At this point, however, I don't necessarily need the directions to make these projects as they're somewhat simplistic. Lovely book but takes up too much space on my shelf so passing it along to someone who can find inspiration from it.

[Chandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I’m rating this without actually completing any of the projects. But I see several that I would love to try in the future and it seems clear and helpful. Def good for a beginner like me! I know her fabric and really love her style, so I feel like this would be good for me. I don’t have a cat but the kitty tunnel seems so cozy!

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

nothing new here. the directions are odd - I am not sure that she had an audience chosen ( some are beginner projects, but not enough instructions; some are advanced, with too much directions in parts, not enough in others). I like several pictures of a project- not just the quilt wadded up over a sleeping child.

[Amberwench · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the usual "here's how to sew a pillowcase" stuff! Projects range from a simple laundry bag to a clutch purse and multi-card checkbook clutch and two different duvet covers (not "buy a duvet and add appliques" but actually making the entire thing. Love it!).

[Yi · Rating 5 out of 5]

quiet nice

[Yycdaisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most are complicated.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Amy Butler's style and fabrics - but I've found her patterns to be very difficult. They are not for the beginner sewer. I've purchased a couple of her books, thinking I could learn to make adjustments, but it's too difficult for me and I get frustrated with it. I do, however, love looking at her photos, fabrics and designs. I purchased this book hoping I could actually make something....but I can't. If you can slightly alter patterns (realize the errors in the pattern and adjust accordingly), and you like Amy's style, then buy it. The things she makes is cute, but just too difficult for me. If I could follow along, I would have rated it higher, but for me, it wasn't for a beginner sewer.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far I've sewn the kimono in a sewing class from this book, but there are so many other projects I want to replicate like the big dot pillow, the duvet cover, the kitty tunnel (only mine will be a chihuahua tunnel), dinner napkins, and the potholders. However, I really need a large laundry bag, and that's next! A handy book for the beginning sewer though an advanced sewer might find the patterns too boxy and not curvilinear enough--my sewing instructor said that Amy Butler's patterns are an improvement over the boxier stuff in this book. For example, I think the lounge pants might be a bit too square looking--I'll probably just look for a Simplicity pattern for pajama bottoms instead.

[Blue Eyed Vixen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so inspired by some of the previous Amy Butler projects I've seen that I have been searching for her books, and luckily came across 2 in my local library.

Now having read both I will say I would not go out and buy them. I have really liked a couple of projects but some I didn't like (or find useful) at all. I thought there would be more bag patterns in her books than I have seen, and I'm not a big fan of bags that have much narrower openings...really...I want to shove LOTS of essential stuff in my bag and a small opening will not do....not at all.

I think I will stick to buying the individual patterns I want for now.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished another of Amy Butler's books that is organized just like this one (Amy Butler's Style Stitches) and my review is much the same: I'm not particularly an Amy Butler devotee, her style is not mine, but I appreciate the creativity of her fabrics and these projects. But, I didn't love any of them and thought several were kind of strange (Giftable Recipe Card Bags?). Fussy, and annoying, was the graphic pattern overlays atop the photos. I was surprised that there were no step-by-step photos but just a few illustrations. I think that would be a big problem for less experienced sewists. The book was well organized. But I won't be making anything from here.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book and anything else by Amy Butler. I've made the apron, the placemats (although I resized those because Amy's directions produce GIANT placemats) and the quilt, sort of. Er, should I say I was inspired by the quilt in this book and made my own with AB fabrics.

Glossy photos inspire me more than anything else and this books is filled with them! Oh, and excellent instructions too. I am pretty experienced on the ol' sewing machine but you don't have to be with Amy's almost overkill instructions.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just bought this book and looked through the projects last night.

Since I haven't learned how to use my sewing machine yet, I haven't tried any of the projects, but this book really got me motivated to buckle down and learn how to sew. Virtually every project in the book looked like something I'd be interested in making.

To the inexperienced (ok, not experienced AT ALL) sewer, it appeared that this book has projects for several different skill levels.

I can't wait to give these projects a try! :)

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The projects in these books are beautiful but in the 5 years since the book was published, lots has changed in the sewing world. There are so many free tutorials on line now that I could probably find a tutorial for something similar for almost everything in her book.

Also, some of her instructions are pretty outdated (i.e. she tells you to draw straight lines on your fabric and then use scissors to cut them out, rather than using a rotary cutter.)

[Missquiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've done a couple of the projects so far. The giant floor cushions are really pretty easy to make and so pretty.
And the apron came out really well.
I tried the floral clutch too. It didn't turn out as well as I envisioned, though I think it was more a result of my skills not being up to the task yet than a problem with the project itself.

[Judi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revisiting this book reminded me of the many great projects in here, though my fabric choices would be entirely different. The projects would add a lot of personal style to living spaces with accessories and soft furnishings. From relatively easy projects to the more complex, there is a good variety for any sewer to attempt.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sewing is incredibly non-intuitive for me -- I don't think well in reverse or steps ahead of myself. There's a lot of useful stuff for me in this book, especially the smaller projects, like making organizers.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the pictures, and the binding, and the enclosed patterns, but have I yet to make something from this book? Of course, no...although that can be said of almost all my sewing patterns. It is beautiful and inspiring and that should count for something.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have made the apron and eye mask with the patterns from this book and they both turned out great. Some of the pattern descriptions are a little tricky, but the finished products are beautiful. My next endeavor is the quilt.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy Butler is an amazing textile designer and there are some very practical patterns for all skill levels in this book. I use it more for inspiration and as a jumping off point... I'm not really one to follow patterns.

[Combatiente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful ideas and creations, not for the beginner or even experienced beginner. Alot of the patterns also require hard to find or expensive pieces. Would reccomend to someone who has a ton of time on their hands to work through the 20 some odd steps to creating the projects.

[Natalie Houghton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fun! It comes with patterns to make things easier. I already made a sleep mask! Not well, but you can tell that is what it is supposed to be. The instructions are fairly easy to follow.

[Jessy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very creative lady! I would really love to make the lounge pants and several of the quilts. But, sigh, these things will have to wait until the kids get older and I have a bit more time on my hands! In the mean time, it's always fun to dream!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so beautiful and inspiring. I particularly love the wide-leg lounge pants pattern! I only give it three stars because many of the projects are, in my opinion, more "aspirational" for the home crafter-- as in, very complicated and not always *so* clearly explained.

[Darby · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a really nicely laid out book - pretty pictures, projects, packaging. And I have no doubt I will check it out again to do some of the projects. They are just a little above where I am in sewing at the moment.