Animal Friends to Sew: Simple Handmade Decor, Toys, and Gifts for Kids

by Sanae Ishida

"…a slew of child-friendly projects as adorable as they are functional. [...] These sweet DIY projects will appeal to parents who are also avid or aspiring sewers, not to mention to their kids."
—Publishers Weekly

From the author of the bestselling Sewing Happiness comes this beginner's sewing book to making beautiful handmade animals—includes 15 easy projects plus 35 variations. The projects in this book are divided into three main categories of cute creatures to decor, toys, and wearables. Inspired by the beautiful simplicity of Japanese and Scandinavian design, these projects will delight the maker as much as the recipient.

Make adorable handmade animal a darling whale teether, adorable fox baby slippers, stackable animal blocks, a sweet lion throw pillow, or a fuzzy sheep backpack! Perfect for gifting, these one-of-a-kind handmade treasures are sure to be cherished.


   • Lookbook
   • Sewing and embroidery primer
   • Project instructions with photos and step-by-step iilustrations
   • Sewing templates

DECOR
    Polar Bear, Lion, Koala, Bunny, Sloth
    Cat, Bear
   Wall Zebra, Reindeer
   Rope Cat, Dog

TOYS
   Stackable Mouse, Raccoon, Bear, Elephant
   Teether Whale, Dove
   Bunny Ears
   Terry Cloth Bath Panda, Cat, Penguin, Seal
   Quiet Adventures Felt Book
    Turtle, Hedgehog, Armadillo
   Fishing Game

WEARABLES
   Beanies with Ears
   Baby Fox, Penguin, Raccoon
   Hooded Animal with Ears, Animal with Horn, Animal with Bony Plates
    Monkey, Koala
    Sheep, Fox

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 2020

About the author

Sanae Ishida writes, draws, sews, and takes photos almost every day. In addition to writing and illustrating books for kids, she's written several books on sewing. She lives with her husband and daughter in Seattle, Washington. It's possible that she and her daughter have too many handmade clothes.

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is absolutely adorable! I really want to get started making some beautiful things from this book for my little one as she would love them! I love the templates at the back of the book too! So handy!
This book shows you some absolutely beautiful things to make for children and then goes on to show you step by step how to make them.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable. These projects had me smiling and wishing I had more little ones to make these for. :) This charming book was a home run for me thank to the attractive layout, the simple directions and the whimsical projects. The first section is laid out as a "lookbook" with the projects all featured in fabulous photographs, and then the instructions are given for each later in the book. It's well illustrated and most of the projects can be executed by even a beginning sewer. Great fun.

I read a digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun projects.

[Dee/ bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this approach was very good, especially for a beginner to intermediate sewer. I really liked how the author went through each technique, each tool, each stitch and explained what it was, why she used it and which one she used or preferred and why. Great book!

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. These opinions are my own.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful projects that are easy to make, even for beginners.

The projects within this book are perfect for small to primary school children, from bibs and teething rings to pillows and knapsacks.

The Lookbook section of the book is followed by detailed pictured instructions. These instructions are easy to follow. They are so easy to follow that my 10 y/o daughter, who is learning English as a second language and doesn't read at the level required for this book), understood the pictured instructions and made herself a polar bear pillow.

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains great guides and sweet ideas for simple creations that will brighten up children's rooms and make them smile too, anyone can make these and the tools required are basic too.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has lots of appealing photographs, cute designs, and very clear instructions. Some of the projects reminded me of sewing crafts that I made for siblings and friends when I was in elementary and middle school, and because of that personal experience, I want to mention that even though this book is cataloged as adult nonfiction, it is great for kids, too.

These projects are accessible to any experience level, and the book is written in a warm, professional style, without any of the foul language or vulgarity that have become common in other craft books. This is completely appropriate for anyone who is old enough and trusted enough to wield scissors and a needle, and it is a great resource for all ages. Also, even though the author writes to an audience of parents who want to make things for their children, I can imagine how much fun it would be for an adult and an older child to make some of these projects together.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Animal Friends to Sew is a decor and tutorial book for soft toys and furnishings by Sanae Ishida. Released 30th March 2020 by Sasquatch Books, it's 240 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a beautifully illustrated, well written, and whimsically appealing sewing book for animal themed soft furnishings. The tutorials are not limited to plush pillows and animal cuddly toys; there are numerous decor items, adorable stylized silhouette placemats (which I want to sew for my grown-up table settings), and wearables including bibs, slippers and a backpack. I didn't count carefully, but there are more than 35 projects to keep anyone crafting for a long while.

They are grouped thematically by project type. All of the tutorials are pictured (in color) in the table of contents with page numbers included for easy lookup. The introductory section has a good basic overview of tools and general techniques which is beginner accessible and clearly written.

The tutorials themselves include a color photo of the finished project, tools and materials in a bullet list in a highlighted sidebar (US standard measurements only), followed by step by step instructions. The book includes an index, metric conversion charts, and a resource/links list.

I really love the breezy and sweet style, and the quirky comfortable projects. Full size templates are included for all the tutorials (in the back of the book).

Five stars. There are a number of these projects I fully intend to do myself (and I have grown children and no grandkids on the horizon).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[library lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love sewing handmade gifts and toys for my children so I was excited to check out this book.

Overall this book has some fun projects and gives clear and detailed instructions for each of the projects.

However, some of the projects were downright adorable (like the baby shoes and rattles) and others bordered on the creepy (the animal backpacks). For other projects it was really hard to decipher what animal the author was even going for (the seal wash-mit was totally unidentifiable).

My other problem with this book is that it has a complete lack of joy and whimsy. All of the projects and all of the photos are heavy on muted colors light gray, tan, and dark brown. There is nothing bright or exuberant in this book. These muted colors will definitely appeal to a certain audience, but they didn't to me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Lisa Philpotts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute book of beginner friendly sewing projects! Animal Friends to sew includes decor, wearables (such as hats and capes for babies-elementary school age kids) and toys. The book begins with inspiration photos of the finished projects, and some basic information about sewing. The instructions follow, with illustrations to lead you through each step. I am an intermediate sewer and found the instructions easy to follow. The book includes templates to trace, and a few projects involve some simple drafting. Skills used in the projects include machine sewing (straight and zig zag stitch only), basic embroidery, and applique. This book is likely too basic for advanced sewers, but will be good for beginner sewers looking to make sweet little gifts for babies and young children. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Witch-at-Heart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is super fun and Nd some of the projects are excellent but some are very difficult to follow. I realize the author prefers a specific color palette but that was a bit sad for me as I like to keep it interesting and bright. But anyone making these projects can feel free to use any colors you want. I both like and dislike the pictures all in the front of the book. I enjoyed looking through them but I feel it makes more sense for them to be with the projects. Some of these are very basic and very in complexity. I feel some sort of rating on skills needed might be helpful. As with any craft-book I found things I really like and other things meh.

If you like to sew things for your children this book provides good inspiration but lacks slightly in clarity and detailed instructions. Overall it’s a decent book.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animal Friends to Sew is such a cute little book, full of unique sewing projects anyone can make. The projects include toys, decor, and even wearable items. The style is minimalistic which I love for children's items. The instructions are well written and easy to follow. Most beginners would have not problem sewing up these cute projects. My favorite item I sewed was a sloth pillow! I highly recommend buying this book if you have children and you like to sew for them. Even an older child learning to sew would benefit from this one.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animal Friends to Sew by Sanae Ishida is a detailed book full of fun little toys and items you can sew for children. This book gives basic information on how to get started sewing and then goes into more through detail with each specific item. This book shows you how to make cute animal pillows, blocks, beanbags, teething toys, backpacks, hooded towels, bath puppets and more. I have really enjoyed this book and would recommend this to anyone who wants to sew.

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute and and fun book on making children happy. The designs are modern and different, staring with decor, going onto toys and finishing off with wearables. All are "make me material" from the wall pockets looking like a deer head, to the bath puppets, animal capes, koala bib, baby slippers and lots more. One will not know which to start with first.
Good instructions, easy to make and so cute

[Sabina · Rating 1 out of 5]

The general ideas presented in this book are really nice but definitely their design could be cuter especially that these are toys/room decor items/ backpacks for children. I also find it rather sac that that the templatez at the end of the book aren't printer friendly since they are thin lines on back background. I wouldn't recommend this book.

[Sally Birkitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky book. Patterns for babies and small children, I couldn't quite see the usefulness of some of the patterns. If you are into furnishing and decor then it might be useful when setting up a nursery or toddlers bedroom, The ideas are very cute.

[Dinh Hong · Rating 4 out of 5]

very nice , easy , tons of ideas to develop for projects to make for kids

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are number of cute ideas in this book. Patterns are easy to follow. Ideas for all levels of ability.

[Jenn Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tons of different projects with easy to follow instructions. It begins by showing pictures of different projects. Then there is a section that has each project and detailed instructions. It does give you foundational skills so you can make sure to do each part correctly. The dinosaur cape was my favorite.

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh golly, I adore this book! You can feel that this book was made with love and care - it's lovely. I personally absolutely LOVE the muted colours and the simple, minimalistic feel of the designs - oh so cute! I really like the sections it's been broken into, starting with the beautiful gallery of photos, showing you the different ideas in the book. The photography layout is fantastic! Then moving on to practical advice and step by step instructions. As someone who doesn't know anything about sewing, I found it so easy to follow and didn't feel overwhelmed, which is a real pleasure. The format and layout is great and I had a wonderful time reading this. I think everything about it is fantastic basically. I think I need to take up sewing and try to make some of these adorable items now! Love it!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

This is a lovely collection of animal sewing projects with a lookbook, clear instructions and diagrams and helpful templates provided in the back. A great resource for anyone at any sewing level who is interested in sewing some animal friends for themselves or others!