I have a room full of craft supplies and kits and books, and this summer my goal was to actually use some of them. Part of starting out with this book was to practice sewing, hand sewing in particular since it's useful for details and small things, and usually easier when you're working with tiny doll clothes.
Some of the instructions in the book aren't very clear. The backstitch paragraph was especially confusing:
(notes added by me)
I had to look up a tutorial online to even figure out what the diagram was trying to show. It doesn't help that the pictures go left to right when the stitches go right to left. Once you know what it's trying to say it's a bit more clear, but I'd say at the very least there should be labels showing where 1 and 2 are in relation to 3 and 4, especially since 4 and 1 are in the same location. I made my own diagram that makes more sense to me:
The needle goes in the back of the fabric and up through point A. Then from the front it goes down through point B. Through the back it goes up through point C, and then from the front it goes back down at or near point A (D). Then it goes up from the back through point E, and down through the front at point C (F), and so on moving towards the left. Basically going up and backwards, then further to the right from the back, then meeting with the first point, then going further to the right from the back, and so on. It's a bit disorienting at first when I've been so used to just making simple left to right stitches, in and out continuously moving forward. Sewing and knitting and other needlework becomes muscle memory once you've practiced enough, but starting out it can be really confusing trying to follow the path of your string as it weaves and loops back. Sometimes it takes a few different tutorials or youtube videos to figure out what actually is going on.
The book also just kinda assumed I knew what fusable interfacing was, and had some around, and could just use it without any instructions. Googling revealed it's stuff you iron on to the back of a piece of fabric to stiffen it and make it holds its shape better. Forum posts about alternatives you could use in a pinch were mostly people insisting that only the highest quality interfacing will do. Not wanting to spend 20 dollars on amazon prime for 3 meters of the stuff when I only needed a piece the size of a kleenex I just left it out and doubled up on the fabric instead. My bunny's ears are a bit floppier than intended, but we all have to make sacrifices.
Maybe the book is pitched to more experienced tailors but I never once saw a complicated project I wouldn't just jump in and try with barely any idea what I'm doing. In any case the fun is seeing just how far I can get just fumbling my way through brand new territory.
In any case my bunny turned out pretty cute, even if I never quite got the hang of oversewing the felt pieces together. Maybe if I used high quality felt and not the kind they sell at the dollar store it would be easier, or maybe I'm not very good at it. The dark color felt helps hide the edges and so does poking them back in with a knitting needle.
I started on one of the clothing patterns before getting distracted by something else, I'll have to come back to it at a later time.