Gyulai Monica - Project teen: handmade gifts your teen will actually love: 21 projects to sew

Publisher: Amy Marson Creative Director: Gailen Runge Art Director: Kristy Zacharias Editors: Lynn Koolish and Monica Gyulai Technical Editors: Doreen Hazel and Mary Flynn Cover/Book Designer: April Mostek Page Layout Artist: Casey Dukes Production Coordinator: Zinnia Heinzmann Production Editor: Katie Van Amburg Illustrator: Zinnia Heinzmann Photo Assistant: Mary Peyton Peppo Styled photography by Nissa Brehmer, unless otherwise noted; Instructional photography by Diane Pedersen, unless otherwise noted Published by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549 Dedication I would like to dedicate this book to my family, especially my husband, Jeff, who so wisely asked me many years ago, How do you know you cant do it if you havent tried? Acknowledgments Thank you to my kids, who are always so willing to cheer me on and let me work, and who give me a million ideas. You are truly the inspiration for the projects in this book. Thank to you my mom, who, when I was a teenager, let me turn the basement into the messiest sewing room ever seen. Thank you for encouraging me to develop my talents when I was young. Lastly, thank you to everyone at C&T Publishing, who worked so hard to make this book a reality.

I am so grateful to you for taking a chance on me. In this book, I hope to inspire you. I want to inspire you to not just make quilts for that cute newborn baby. As babies grow into young adults, they can still use nice handmade gifts. Teens Are Not Just Big Kids Teens are forgetful, messy, emotional, and unpredictable. If youve ever had one, you know there is nothing quite like a teenager.

Perhaps the title on this page caught your eye? If you have a teen, you know that teens are not just small adults or big kids. They dont come with a set of operating instructions, even though I wish at times they did. This book wont help you navigate the emotional turmoil of the teen years. Im sorry for that youre in the wrong section of the bookstore. What it will do is offer a handful of projects for you to sew that are specifically designed with teens and tweens in mind. Why sew for teenagers? Well, there are a lot of good reasons.

For one, its a great way to show your love for them. The teen years are full of turmoil, often characterized by tension between parents and teens. Teens need to feel loved just as much as little kids maybe more. A handmade item is a great way to show that you love them. Case in point: A few years ago I decided, like a crazy person, to make a quilt for each of my kids for Christmas. Ive got three of themkids, that is.

Not being the best manager of time when it comes to large projects, I left more work for the last minute than I should have. I almost decided to just ditch the project, but I finished it. My oldest daughter was sixteen at the time. I feared she might think it was the dumbest gift she received. But I will never forget the look on her face when she unwrapped the quilt. I dont think she was expecting it.

There was love in that quilt, and she could tell. I had taken the time when designing the quilt to really think about her. What did she like? What were her favorite colors? I thought about her hobbies, the TV shows she liked, and the clothes she wore. I used all of these as clues when designing that quilt. Later that day I caught a glimpse of her curled up on the couch, wrapped in her new quilt. It was in that moment that I knew: Even though she was growing up, it was still important that I put effort into making things for her.

You too can sew for the teens in your life and discover that they might even like it! Just put thought into the project, and make sure its really geared toward them. I hope this book takes some of the fear out of sewing something a teen would like, and that it inspires you to make a special gift for that not-just-a-big-kid in your life. Choose Fabrics with Teens in Mind Okay, lets start here. Teens are very trend conscious and picky. Most Ive met are pretty definite about what they do and do not like. The fabric you choose can make or break your project.

Here are a few tips to help get you started in making the perfect present for your teen: If your project is not a surprise, consider taking them shopping with you. Let them peruse the fabric store. Stand back and observe. What do they like? What are they gravitating to? Try not to offer too many suggestions at first; give them a few minutes to make choices. If shopping with them is not an option, think of their favorite things. Do they have any hobbies? What are their favorite colors? Not sure? Think of the outfit they were wearing the last time you saw them.

Their choices in clothes will also give you a lot of ideas about the colors and patterns they like. Really take some time and think about it. Get inspiration from the retail world. Several retail stores specialize in teen clothing. Most of these stores are very loudjust get over it and go in! Notice the colors and the textures in the clothing and the displays. Is there a recurring motif? What is your teens favorite place to shop for clothes? This might give you a great head start in finding fabric-selection inspiration.

Teens love novelty fabrics. Have a soccer player? A hint of a soccer-themed fabric will go a long way toward eliciting a smile. I personally love to work with novelty fabrics. However, when working with these fabrics, its best to use them sparingly. Start with a novelty fabric as your jumping-off point. After that, select more neutral pattern fabrics with a similar feel and color scheme.

Doing this not only keeps your project from becoming overly busy, but it will also help the novelty fabric really stand out. If you need help picking a color scheme for a project, start with one fabric that you love and that has multiple colors in the design. Use those colors as your palette for your project. Try to stick to no more than three strong colors per project. These are some of my favorite stores to visit for inspiration for teens: Vera Bradley PBteen (Pottery Barn Teen) American Eagle Outfitters Anthropologie Johnnie B (by Boden) These are some of my favorite fabric designers and manufacturers for teen-appropriate fabrics: Echino Riley Blake Designs Amy Butler Design Melody Miller Alexander Henry Fabrics (great for novelty prints) Birch Fabrics Tula Pink Lizzy House PRECUT FABRICS You can save time in cutting out your projects by using precut fabrics. In general, these bundles or stacks will come from a single collection from a single manufacturer or designer.

Heres a quick guide to some popular precut fabric bundles: Layer cake: stack of 40 or 42 coordinating 10 10 squares(I frequently buy white-only layer cakes for use in quilt backgrounds.) Charm pack: stack of 2540 coordinating 5 5 squares(Some manufacturers use 6 6 squares in their charm packs. Double-check the label before you purchase.) Jelly roll: roll of 40 coordinating fabric strips, 2 width of fabric(These come in a variety of names, including Design Roll and Rolie Polie. They are great to use for borders or sashing in the quilt projects.) Theres one other precut that you can purchase in bundles or individually. Instead of the usual quarter yard that is cut 9 width of fabric, a fat quarter is cut 18 22. Fat quarters provide lots of variety in print fabrics and less wasted fabric.