Book Review: Stitched Sewing Organizers by Aneela Hoey

Today I thought I'd share a little review of the book Stitched Sewing Organizers: Pretty Cases, Boxes, Pouches, Pincushions & More by Aneela Hoey. I bought the book a while ago, but I didn't want to write a review until I'd made at least one or two of the projects. I've now crossed three of them off my sewing list, so I think I'm qualified to give my opinions!

As the name would suggest, the book contains 15 projects which are all designed to help you organise your sewing supplies. While there are a few projects that are fairly sewing-specific (a cute needle book, covered tape measure and pincushion), many of the projects could be used for a whole range of purposes. I'm not actually using any of the three projects that I've made so far for sewing at all. I do have plans to make some more of them for crafty storage though.

Two-in-one case - three guesses what I'm using this for?!

Like many sewing books, this one starts with an introductory section with details of materials and supplies, tools and instructions, and some basic techniques used in the projects (such as installing zips, inserting magnetic snaps, attaching binding). I haven't read this section in detail, but the bits I have looked at seem clear and helpful.

Two-in-one case - inside

The main body of the book is, of course, the projects. They are split into 'Small things', 'Cases and folios', 'Pouches' and 'Boxes and totes'. If you want to get an idea of the kind of thing you can expect, both in terms of the details and the styling, take a look at the author's pattern shop. I would stress that the individual patterns aren't exactly the same as the projects in the book, but I think they have a similar feel.

The book patterns are designed to be able to be used together, meaning that smaller projects have been intentionally sized to fit nicely inside some of the bigger items.

Handy fold-up pouch (large and small)

So far, I've made the Handy fold-up pouch (both sizes), Two-in-one case, and the Triple pouch. I've found the instructions to be very thorough and clear. There are diagrams for some, but not all, of the steps - but I don't think the instructions are in any way lacking for not being fully illustrated. Some of the individual steps are fairly simple, so diagrams really aren't necessary.

Triple pouch. Again, the fabric will tell you what I'm using this for - my make-up bag

I tend to read through instructions before I start a  project to get an idea of what I'll be doing. When I did this for the Triple pouch in particular they did sound a bit confusing, but when I was actually working through the steps everything made complete sense.

Some of the projects look fairly simple (such as the needle book, drawstring pouch and big zip pouch), but there are others that are more complicated. I'd definitely have had no idea where to start trying to put together all of the pieces of the Triple pouch without the instructions!

Top/inside of the Triple pouch

Overall, if you're interested in making a few pouches and bags to organise your sewing supplies, or any other supplies for that matter, I'd really recommend this book. The instructions are thorough, the projects are useful and, compared to the prices of individual patterns, the book is pretty good value. Now I just need to find time to make a couple more of the projects!