Ryland Peters & SmallCico Books-Making Children's Clothes

I bought this book sight unseen on Amazon due to the high reviews it received, however, I was very disappointed when I got it and actually looked at it.For one thing--most of the clothes do not fit the models very well in the photographs, so I am not sure why other reviewers go on about how cute they look! Lots of baggy, overly large dresses on tiny girls--the most egregious of which is the "party dress" pictured on page 71. The child is wearing an admittedly well-constructed champagne mauve satin dress trimmed with sequins and a large silk flower which would be cute if it wasn't HUGE on her! The color perfectly compliments her pale blond hair and blue eyes, but the bodice is at least four inches too big around for her with huge gaping armholes which make her slender arms look spindly! Not an attractive look.Similarly, on page 20, we are shown the "petal top," which is a very simply put together shirt that is just this side of a T-tunic, but instead of being cut out of two t-shaped pieces of fabric, the bodice front and back and sleeves are two separate pieces of fabric sewn together at the shoulder before sewing up the sides and armholes like a t-tunic. Then a casing is added to each sleeve, which look like they are meant to be 3/4 length, but once again, the sample garment is so big on the model it is hard to tell. There is also elastic in the neckline, but again, it does little to alleviate the simple fact that the top is too large for the model. And, to top it all off, there is an overly large fabric flower trimming this baggy mess on the shoulder, overwhelming the little model in swathes of fabric and accentuating the fact that her body is lost shapeless shirt.Look, I have nothing against comfortable, easy fitting clothing for kids--but there is a difference between easy-fitting and baggy and just plain too darned big.And these designs are shown as just too darned big and unflattering.As for the instructions--they are very vague. I'm lucky in that my grandmother was a professional seamstress and I learned from her, so I can usually look at the most confusing directions and parse out the exact meaning, and I have enough experience to know when a construction method is either just plain wrong or much more difficult than it needs to be. However, I can imagine that a beginner taking up this book might well toss it across the room in frustration, and I would not blame them one bit.For example, the three tiered skirt is put together in a very confusing manner and instead of explaining the simple mathematical formula that is necessary to make a three-tiered skirt for any size child or woman, they give exact measurements for one size! Why do that? And then, instead of teaching how to gather using a basting stitch on a machine, or even mentioning the technique, they have you hand-gather with large hand-stitched running stitches. No mention is made of how to make certain the gathers are evenly spaced around the tiers.Another design choice/construction technique I don't understand is why the author would choose to use lines of thin elastic sewn to a rectangle of fabric to make a smock top, instead of just loading the bobbin with elastic thread and shirring it--a technique that is so simple a beginner can do it. Instead, the author chooses to put the reader through the laborious process of sewing elastic on the fabric with a zigzag stitch AFTER stretching it and marking straight lines across the fabric to guide it. No mention is made that you are supposed to make sure your stitches do not pierce the elastic, but rather encase it, so a beginner would likely fail and not even know why.Whereas shirring is perfectly simple and results in a beautifully gathered sun-short or smock top, in a matter of less than an hour. I know, because I just put one together, without any pattern, last night.Overall, this book is a distinct disappointment and I cannot recommend it to anyone. The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is because I like the fabric choices used in the samples. Lots of them are very cute, without being overly juvenile in style. Other than that, this book is a bust.I wish I had seen this book before buying it, because I would never have gotten it otherwise.

I have made many of the clothes in this book...and they are so beautiful! They don't look "homeade" either. Easy to follow instructions for me. I have done much sewing, but I had only made several clothing items before now. I love making the clothes in this book! Most can be accomplished in an afternoon or two. The only thing I was disappointed about was the lack of cute clothes for boys. The boy shorts look too feminine (capri length) for a boy to wear and the shirt looked a little silly in my opinion and in the opinions of others (like my mother) that I showed it to. However, there is a pants pattern that can be unisex as well as pj's that I'm planning to make my son for Christmas. There are a few projects for babies as well, such as bibs, booties, hats and bloomers for girls. I recommed this book to anyone who wants stylish, adorable clothes and accessories to make for their little girls.

It's a good book, and the patterns are interesting and easy to follow. As with many clothes, it's all in the fabrics that you pick, and the suggestions provided are good ones. Tends to range toward lighter-weight fabrics and summer clothes.My one beef is the way that the patterns are provided - they are on two large tear-out sheets. The actual lines of each pattern overlap with other pattern pieces printed on the page, so you have to figure out what color represents the piece you are tracing, then figure out which dot/dash pattern is your size, and then somehow trace that as your line criss-crosses other pattern pieces. Lots of eye strain before even threading a needle. It would have been much better if they had included a CD with pdfs or... anything. For the price of the book, I would have hoped for a much easier way to get your pattern.

As a grandmother of 3 girls this is a very good book for my skill level. I've moved from beginner/novice to the stage where I will be using it more. The various terminology used in sewing in different countries is something I had to overcome and still do, I'm Australian of English heritage. I know this is not a comprehensive review but if you are into "Making Children's Clothes" then you will probably like this book, I know I do.

This book would be wonderful for those just learning to sew. I like the patterns but had to alter them to get the look I wanted. The instructions are easy to follow. I think a few changes in patterns and design would make this book even better. I would recommend this book to everyone with the idea that those that are advanced seamstresses would use this as a starting point for more creative ideas.

I made a dress similar to the one on the book cover. I misread the instructions and the dress came out shorter than I expected, but it worked as a shirt for my little toddler. The book has a lot of good ideas, but the lines for the patterns are really confusing. I think the patterns should have been divided up in sections for each sewing project not all on two different pages for you to tear out and hope you trace the right pattern. Over all it is a good book with different ideas to make clothes for little girls.

This is a well put together book. There are a good range of outfits and accessories, and they are all pretty cute. The patterns are in the back and are full sized. You do have to trace them onto something. I used tissue paper and had no problems. Just keep an envelope in the back for the cut out patterns when you are finished. There are boy clothes and pajamas, but it seems more geared for girls, in my opinion. I am a beginner and had no problems understanding and using this book.

I bought this book expecting it to be one of the many that are complicating and the instructions are hard to follow. But to my surprise it's a real good book for beginners like myself. I've already begun making dresses and pants for my daughter. Though it only has two patterns that are for boys, it isn't a bother. The patterns that come with the book are full size-patterns, so there's no need to make copies to enlarge. Makes a great gift for people who are beginning an interest in sewing, I recommend it!

This book is so easy to use. Full size patterns included, so no need to photocopy and enlarge them. This book was recommended to me and I have already recommended it to others. I have made the dress on the front cover, a gipsy skirt and I am just about to start on my 3rd project from this book. Love it!

I found this book very useful, I tried quite a few of the patterns and made a bundle of cloths ready for Christmas for my grandchildren aged 1, 3 and 5 (will try to upload a picture - N.B. most of fabrics bought from Amazon too). While there are some very small details wrong (hopefully fixed in the next edition), I really could not manage without it.

so excited to get this book though the projects are still half way. The dresses are wonderful and yes, have to admit it is more for little girls than for boys. Come on !! boys clothes never be as interesting as girl's clothes !! It is excellent price to get a book like this that paying £8 or more for a single patten in a fabric shop caterlog. At least looking at the pictures make me happy !

Opened this book and realised that the important pages are all missing! There are no patterns so I can't use it.

I purchased this book and on opening it today I found that all the patterns had been ripped out of the back rendering the book useless.