Anna Maria HornerHandmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby

I'm an advanced seamstress and sew designer outfits for the public so that may affect my perspective on this book. When I was looking through reviews and blogs on this book, I was really excited. Then it came in the mail.The sizing for nursing tops and outfits only goes up to size M/L with a bust measurement of 38/39", 31/32" natural waist, and 40/41" in the hips. So unless you are skinny or know how to adapt sewing patterns, this book is not great on mommy outfits.There are 2 basic bags, baby shoes, pants, and a few other simple projects that you can find free patterns online for by just doing a simple Google search.If you don't sew much, the directions are not very helpful bc they are drawings and are better on some projects than others. Directions on the quilts are good, while directions on the four corner blouse were not as clear. More detailed photographs would help on some of these projects, including the interior of tge thank you notebook (for beginners).I did like the authors adaptation of the "picture dress" and the "center of attention" quilt. I also enjoyed the print selections and the introduction. However, I don't need patterns for either of the projects I would choose out of this book as they are standard patterns used in many projects.All in all, try Google first. I feel like I wasted my money on this one and will return. Etsy and pinterest are much more valuable resources for baby projects. Mommies in sizes L/XL and up should look elsewhere for nursing/maternity tops unless you are comfortable sizing up patterns. Craftsy has classes to help with pattern sizing. :)

I just got the book and am making the maternity/nursing top. The design is so cute and really functional. My only problem is that I think I may have come across a few problems in the pattern, some of which were not fixable. The pieces in this pattern are all rectangles and I think for one part, the orientation (cross-wise or with the grain) is not given correctly. Once it's cut however, there is no re-doing it without a trip to the fabric store! I was able to finagle it because the print I was using was pretty forgiving but it's a serious flaw depending on the print.I also thought the lengths didn't end up all the same - I had to cut some pieces to create a straight hem in the end. Not much of a problem however the top is already fairly short. My attempt at lengthening it (using the 'long' direction from the larger and the 'wide' direction from the smaller pattern) was foiled by the aforementioned flaw where the orientation was wrong. Not a big deal - once the shirt doesn't cover my belly anymore, I will just wait to use it as a nursing top.If you're tall, I definitely recommend figuring out how to make the top an inch longer.I still love the book and will make the mariposa dress next - I wish I could have found a fabric as cute as the one in the picture, but I had to resort to something less special. I might updated my review based on the next project...Update: I finished the mariposa dress today. Again, I had a problem with the pattern - this time the width of the skirt back panel and the bodice back panel didn't work out to match after cutting the hip shape as instructed. I don't think I messed up. I could still work around it though. There was one typo in the instruction referring to step 38 instead of 39, which was a pretty obvious one yet disastrous if not caught.I am currently 32 weeks PG (and currnetly 167lbs) and the dress in the S/M size barely fits my belly. I made the dress an inch longer and I wish I'd made it 2 more inches longer. I am 5'8" which makes me sometimes 'tall' but mostly 'regular' in store sizes. This is not a serious flaw, just something to be aware of.Something else I noticed is that when they say 'line up the notches' that you cut to mark the orientation in the pieces (e.g. when putting in the sleeves) it just means to put them together so the notches are on the same side. If you tried to actually match these notches, you'd end up with a mess. I usually sew of European patterns which are altogether different, so I am not positive this is really a flaw. But I am used to have the notches actually match exactly, so this was disconcerting and I am glad I went with my gut feeling and didn't line them up exactly.Overall the dress came out cute, and I have gotten compliments on it. I took only 1 afternoon to sew (after cutting the previous day), and it's really a neat design.Update#2: I have now made the hooded toddler jacket as well as the reversible toddler pants from this book, both projects went off without a hitch and came out TOTALLY ADORABLE. Lots and lots of compliments on the results. I wonder if I will figure out how to post a photo. This book as proven itself totally worthwhile and I think I will continue to use the patterns in it a lot.

There are so many "sewing for baby" books out there. And they all seem to have certain obligatory projects that are just too simple to actually be in a book (plain bib, changing pad, baby blanket/quilt). But Handmade Beginnings stands out because the projects are different, inspiring, and not something an advanced beginner couldn't just whip up on their own without a pattern or instruction. This is a book that would actually be used for patterns and instructions, not just eye-candy ideas.I have only made the quick-change trousers so far, and I did alter the pattern a bit to fit more loosely over a cloth-diapered bum. But they worked up fine and I didn't run into the errors that other reviewers claimed were out there. Double check Anna maria's website for Errata (known typos and omissions) and you should be good to go!I've looked at a lot of sewing for baby books (preview from the library before I commit to buy) and compared to Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby or even Amy Butler's Little Stitches, this book is a stand out.

I got this book for myself for mother's day because I wanted to try making some maternity clothes for myself. The patterns are all very cute, for maternity wear as well as all the other projects for babies and nurseries. I am not an expert seamstress however and the two projects I have done have been pretty challenging for me despite being at the beginning of the sections (which is where the "easiest" projects are). But I have been able to complete both of them on my own without help from my much more experienced mother-in-law. My only other complaint is that the materials lists have suggested WAY more fabric than was actually needed. I guess it is better to have too much than too little, but fabric is expensive, I would have liked knowing I didn't really have to buy as much as I did. Other than that I love the book and can't wait to try more of the projects in it for myself and others!

The book itself was in a readable state, however the front cavern was ripped, but the book had some interesting projects in it although not as many as I had expected, but it does also offer some insightful information about sewing and setting up sewing spaces and information about sewing materials etc

NOT WHAT I EXPECTED

has been helping me a lot for to develop my skills!!

This is a truly beautiful book with some really inspiring ideas. I want to make almost everything in it. Highly recommended.

Great projects