Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought the Merchant & Mills Workbook as an impulse purchase in a fabric store, attracted by its design and aesthetic, and being an admirer of that book, I have been on the lookout for something similar ever since. This book came up on Amazon repeatedly as a suggestion, so I went for it. Well, it's not at all comparable. It's sort of fun to look at, if you are the kind of person who finds Brooklyn to be "twee". But it reads like the diary of a 10-year old airhead, and it is of very dubious use as a sewing book. To wit: if you are experienced, you would not need patterns for the kinds of garments this book has to offer. They include simple elastic waistband pants, a zipper closure A-line bias skirt in several lengths, a gathered front tank top/dress, and a tunic/dress/top with a facing neck. This might be a good selection of projects for a beginner, but the instructions are completely useless. I really do not think a beginner would be able to make any sense of the instructions in this book. If you can actually put together the patterns from the two sheets. I have some experience tracing patterns out of magazines, so this didn't scare me, but it's not going to be an easy introduction to sewing for someone who doesn't have a lot of experience. Then there's the patterns themselves. The drafting is rather poor. Some specifics: The pants have just about the same height rise in the back as in the front--which will only work for the relatively rare humans whose butt is the same size as their stomach. They are also cut for a rather short person--maybe 5'2". The rise is ridiculously low if you follow the instructions for the foldover elastic waist casing. The book never shows you what the pants look like from the crotch up, and for a good reason--they are uuugly. The skirt has no shaping of any sort, which would work if it had a drawstring or elastic waist but not with a zipper and a Petersham ribbon waist. The maxi length is too long for me (5'9")--so they are not drafting for the same person, between the pants and the skirt. The maxi length of the Esme dress is also too long for me, and the armscye/shoulder area is problematic so the front neckline rides up. If you cut it with the notched collar, be aware that for some reason, they give you only one size opening for all the sizes, so whether you are a petite size 4 or a size 14, you're looking at the same (overly deep) notched collar pattern. The armscyes of the Kiomi dress are far too high and tight, and the top length is too short on me; so the maxi and the top lengths are determined by drawing random numbers from a hat, apparently? The bias neckline trim in the Kiomi dress is a total mess; it doesn't even look good in the pictures. The introduction to the book says that Lotta Jansdotter teamed up with another designer to make the patterns--a person named Alexia Abegg. Her website is currently defunct, but just like Lotta J, she seems to be more of a fabric designer. Certainly not a skilled pattern drafter. I think they should both stick to fabrics. In conclusion, if you want a colorful, vapid book for inspiration and already know how to whip up any of the pictured garments without a pattern, this is a good book for you. But there is no shortage of inspirational material for basic, straight-seam cotton tunics out there. If, on the other hand, you are a beginner looking for sewing instruction, look elsewhere. And if you are a relatively experienced sewer looking for quality minimalist patterns, buy the Merchant and Mills Workbook. It won't be as colorful, but you'll be able to make sense of the instructions, and the patterns will fit and look better than the pictures in the actual book.