Stitches and Pins - Sewing made easy and fun to do!

	Quan.	Description	Price
1.		Stitches and Pins Learn to sew. This book teaches beginning sewing through good construction skills and a variety of sewing projects. From pillowcases to purses to pajamas to quilting. All sewing patterns are included: Girls sizes 8 - 16 and Misses sizes 8 - 16. Item No. BSP	$24.95
2.		Extra Pattern sheets for Stitches & Pins Item No. BSP-XP	$5.00
3.		Stitches & Pins patterns for 18" dolls Have fun picking out material with your daughter to create clothes for her doll, or using left over scraps from sewing projects in "Stitches & Pins" sewing patterns for girls, stitch up matching or coordinating outfits for your favorite doll at minimal expense. Patterns include pillowcase, tote bag, laundry bag, potholder, doll quilt, apron, elastic waist skirt, reversible vest, purse, pajama bottms or shorts and pajama top or nightshirt. Item No. PAT-SPD	$12.95
4.		Stitches & Pins PLUS 18" Coordinating Doll Patterns $$SAVE$$ Purchase Stitches & Pins, A Beginning Sewing Book for Girls, AND the coordinating 18" Doll patterns. SAVE $3.00. Retail - $37.90; You Pay - 34.90 Item No. SP_PAT	$34.90 $37.90
5.		Sewing & Growing with God's Word Devotions for use with "Stitches & Pins." Teach your daughter life lessons from the Bible as she learns to sew. Devotionals, memorization, and life applications, created to go hand-in-hand with each Stitches & Pins project, will help you provide a strong foundation for your daughter's life. Item No. B-SGW	$9.95
6.		Stitches & Pins and Sewing & Growing with God's Word SPECIAL-SAVE when you buy them together! Learn to sew. This book teaches beginning sewing through good construction skills and a variety of sewing projects. From pillowcases to purses to pajamas to quilting. All sewing patterns are included: Girls sizes 8 - 16 and Misses sizes 8 - 16. Also Included is the accompaning devotional! You yeach your daughter life lessons from the Bible as she learns sewing is fun and easy, step-by-step. Sewing becomes a tool for developing character as you work toge Item No. B-SP_SGW	$32.90 $34.90
7.		Stitches & Pins Book, 18" Doll Patterns, & Sewing & Growing with God's Word For a short time you can purchase the Stitches & Pins set: Stitches & Pins, 18" Doll patterns, & Sewing & Growing with God's Word for a discount. Purchase now and save an extra $5.00 off the retail price. Item No. PAT-SP-SGW	$42.85 $47.85
8.		Sewing & Quilting Activity Pages "This fun filled activity book will keep you in stitches for a while with dot to dot, coloring, mazes and word searches. 32 pages of puzzles and more, including a couple of sewing projects! You will build the love of sewing and learn a few skills along the way as you inspire and challenge your budding seamstress. Learn to sew while having fun!" Item No. Bk-SQA	$4.95

All prices in US Dollars

"I started my sewing school 1 month ago. I am teaching a 10 year old girl with a learning problem. I can not teach all of the projects in your book, I have started with the pillow case. This girl is so pleased she is almost finished with her pillow case. Her mother is so pleased also. I have been teaching my hyper grandson, and to see him concentrate on what he is making is so rewarding. I also have a severe learning problem. I wanted to write a sewing book for children, but my writing skills lack so much. I am so glad I found your book. I feel I found it with God's help. I work at Hancock Fabrics. I was fixing some books in the store. Your book was the only book with different binding and I had to look at it. That night I bought your book. Thank you for writing your books. There are so many children wanting to learn sewing." Dianna

About Stitches and Pins:

With more than 50 years combined sewing experience between them, JoAnn and Corrie have seen a real need for a basic sewing primer, geared toward 8-16 year olds. As 4-H instructors and teachers, they have worked extensively with young and old, novice sewers, and assembled the 14 sewing lessons in Stitches and Pins based on a curriculum that has been honed and finessed through their years of teaching.

Because the sewing projects begin with the very basics, and then advance gradually to increasing complexity and skill, Stitches and Pins can be used with confidence by a non-sewing parent, and an older child could go through it independently. All necessary sewing patterns, girls sizes 8-16, are bound into the book and each of the 14 projects is a fun, practical item that any girl would be proud to use, wear, or give. 18" doll clothes patterns that match the projects in this book are also available.

Stitches and Pins is spiral bound and printed on coated, gloss paper. The sewing patterns are printed on one side only, and the sewing book is written in a way you will understand, with lots of illustrations to make using it successful.

Testimony From a Satisfied User

"When I first thought about teaching my children to sew, I was in a state of panic: 'How do I teach them a subject I barely know myself?' I had tried other 'beginning' sewing books, but they were either quite difficult, or so simple that the projects they made were nothing more than funny paper greeting cards and many many little pillows."

"Under JoAnn and Corrie's guidance, however, I followed their projects step-by-step and found, incredibly, that not only were my girls learning to sew, but I was too, and it was fun!"

"My ten-year old had a book bag she could actually use, a pillowcase for her bed, a bookcover that earned grand prize at the county fair. My older daughter made a vest for her brother, a doll quilt for her sister, and pajamas that she wears when I don't steal them for myself."

"There is simply no other resource like Stitches and Pins. I wish I had had it five years ago, but at any rate, I'm sure glad I have it now!" Carolyn H., Dayton, WA

Sewing Tips for Beginners
		Color coding dots are a quick and easy way to mark important guides onto your fabrics. These 1/4" round dots can be purchased at most office supply stores. You simply stick them to your fabric where the markings need to be transferred from pattern to fabric. After you have used them for guides or stitching, you just peel them off. These dots are inexpensive, quick and easy, and actually fun to use!
		If it is difficult to identify the right side of your fabric, place a safety pin on the right side of each garment piece before removing the sewing pattern from the fabric. You should always mark the right side of your fabric also, before preshrinking (laundering) it.
		Are you too short for your sewing machine? Find a pillow to put on your chair to sit taller. Find a box the right height to put the foot control pedal on, making it a comfortable height. Using duct tape, tape the pedal to the box.
		If you have problems controlling the speed of your machine, try putting a piece of foam between the base and the foot pedal lever. This will slow the machine down, and give you better foot pedal control.
		*Start using the sewing machine right away. There is a tendency to spend too much time on information and practice, which tends to kill the initial excitement in leaning to sew.*
		*Beginning sewing time in the sewing room should be limited to 2 hours. You'll loose interest if you get too tired. We want you to learn to enjoy sewing.*
		*Make sure your sewing machine is working well. Breakdowns discourage everyone and prevent us from completing sewing projects.*
		*Do as little ripping out as possible. No one is an expert when learning. Choose sewing projects that will forgive a stitching line that is a bit squiggly.*
		*There are more sewing tips and ideas in each of our books. We hope you thoroughly enjoy and find great value in this experience as you learn to sew.*

"Stitches & Pins" review from The Old Schoolhouse Store:

I have found the answer to teaching my children to sew! I am so excited about this, you can't even believe it! When I found a curriculum on teaching our daughters to be homemakers (see review for Future Christian Homemakers on our website) I was intrigued by the sewing curriculum the author recommended. I contacted Mrs. Gagnon, and asked if I could review her sewing curriculum so that readers could see of what the homemaker book was talking. Am I ever glad I asked!

This is the cream of the crop for teaching young children (girls AND boys) to sew. The book for girls is called Stitches and Pins and the book for boys is called Buckles and Bobbins. My mother-in-law had taught her son to sew and bake and I was so happy to marry someone so self-sufficient that I promised myself I would teach our sons and daughters the same way. There was only one problem; I hadn't been taught how to sew! I knew enough to get by, but teaching it is entirely different. These books will help! They are written to teach children aged eight to 16, and are written in a very easy to understand format, with step-by-step instructions. Both books come with 14 projects, and while the books contain the patterns, the supplies needed are to be purchased separately. Kits for all projects can be purchased from the website, www.bunkhousesewing.com, and include all fabrics, notions, and thread to complete the projects found in the books. This is an excellent way to know that you have exactly what you need, especially if the thought of entering a fabric store sends you into a panic attack! These are great kits, and you have a choice of fabric from which to choose. Now, back to the books themselves!

The books start out very basically, and step you through all parts of the basic sewing machine, along with the basic sewing supplies with which you should be familiar. There are simple, clear black and white drawings to accompany the explanations. The books go on to describe everything you need to know about fabric, including fiber content, grain lines and preshrinking! Patterns are discussed and clearly explained, as is the directions on how to pin the pattern to the fabric. All this before you are ready to sew, but it is presented in such a clear manner, that I wasn't stressed or afraid that I would never "get it." Mrs. Gagnon and her daughter are obviously very talented seamstresses and are also very articulate and able to explain concepts clearly and simply. It is evident throughout the books that they love what they do! Each project is clearly laid out and easily followed with the step-by-step approach. The projects start out very simply with a pillowcase, and progress to more difficult concepts and techniques.

You will be making pajamas, potholders, vests, skirts, etc. The differences between the boys and girls books are small, but important. The projects in the boy's books are geared for boys! Most young boys don't want to make a doll quilt, like the girls do in project number six, but they would get interested in making a patchwork quilt for using at night to watch TV or read a book! Most boys probably wouldn't be interested in making a skirt or purse either, but I don't know any boy who wouldn't be interested in making a fisherman's vest and a pair of cargo pants! The authors have addressed the gender needs of their students very well, and I am excited about teaching my son how to sew these projects. I know the satisfaction it will bring him when he realizes that he can do this himself! The book for boys also includes a few pages of basic sewing that they will need for life skills, such as ironing a shirt properly (they will have to have a job someday!), as well as mending rips and holes and sewing on buttons.

Both of these books are just so well written and illustrated that I feel confident in using them to teach my children these very important skills. In today's world we often think of the more "hi-tech" skills our kids need to learn, but sewing is very important and a needed skill, for both our sons and daughters. Now I know why these books were recommended so highly by the other author I was working with, and I recommend them just as highly!

There are also other kits available on the bunkhouse books website, including doll patterns for 18" dolls that are designed to make use of the leftover material you will have when you finish a project in Stitches and Pins. This way, your daughter will be able to make coordinating outfits for her dolls. What little girl wouldn't want to do that? There is also a coordinating doll pattern book for the projects in Buckles and Bobbins, and plans are in the works for an intermediate book for girls called Pins and Needles. Also, on the website you will find a downloadable curriculum outline written to go along with Stitches and Pins. The outline contains extra projects available on the website, and when used with the book, the projects work out to be 110 or more school hours that you can use to document your work. There is also a downloadable award certificate available on the website. The authors are very excited to help with the homeschool movement and have made an effort to help you with your planning! You won't be disappointed with your decision to go with these books, I for one am very glad I found them!

"Stitches & Pins", a review from Homeschool Christian.com:

Stitches & Pins is a basic "learn to sew" curriculum suitable for girls and their moms. It begins with the most fundamental material including parts of the sewing machine, sewing tools, and fabric information. Then it gives detailed but understandable instructions on every step of sewing. The authors clearly explain the "why" and "how" of patterns, cutting fabric, and sewing.

Once the basics are covered, the book continues with projects to learn on. Fourteen projects that increase in complexity are included with the final project being a nightshirt. Tear out, full-sized patterns for the projects are found in the back of the book.

Recommendation: Stitches & Pins is so easy to follow that mothers who do not sew could easily learn alongside their children. The projects may be of equal interest to boys as well as to girls and would make good gifts. JoAnn Gagnon and Corrie Gagnon Berneking's expertise in sewing is obvious; yet, they explain everything in such a way that the least experienced person can succeed quickly. The skill of basic sewing is one that will be useful and save money throughout a lifetime. Stitches & Pins is an excellent way to get started!

House Potholder Corrected Pattern Measurements
A	Cut 2	size 2 3/4" x 4"
B	Cut 2	size 2 1/2" x 4"
C	Cut 2	size 1 1/2" x 4"
D	Cut 1	size 8 1/2" x 1 3/4"