Christmas Magic: Decorative Ideas for Winter & Yuletide Patchwork

Christmas Magic: Decorative Ideas for Winter & Yuletide Patchwork
By Ingrid Perra
Gifted by: Schiffer Publishing
www.schifferbooks.com
Reviewed by Molly Fletcher, Editor, AllFreeChristmasCrafts.com

Give your home a dose of Christmas cheer with the help of Christmas Magic: Decorative Ideas for Winter & Yuletide Patchwork. This book contains 25 unique sewing projects including wall hangings, table runners, ornaments, and more. An avid sewist, author Ingrid Perra honed her skills in Germany, specializing in American country style. She was an instructor for many years before establishing her own patchwork company, Country Quilt.

You'll become acquainted with Perra's personality and sense of style as you flip through Christmas Magic. She blends classy and cute with ease, channeling her fondness for the holidays into designs for snowmen, Christmas trees, and elves, to name a few. Every project in this book has a rustic, down-home vibe that is perfect for Christmas, the most nostalgic of all holidays.

If you have trouble dreaming up gifts for your family and friends each season, Christmas Magic is an ideal resource. For instance, wall hangings, place mats, and tablecloths make lovely hostess gifts. The stitched ornament patterns in this collection can be made quickly and easily for only a few dollars apiece. Create pieces of personalized holiday decor for loved ones. Not only will you impress the people who matter most to you, but you will have given the gift of a heartfelt keepsake.

Christmas Magic focuses on the simple and elegant, letting the beauty of the fabric in each project shine through. Beginners will master the basic stitches as they work through these patterns. The first portion of the book is devoted to basic techniques and diagrams. With Perra's helpful tips, readers can learn how to sew by hand or by machine. Advanced sewists will likewise have fun with the easy designs, using the templates and step-by-step tutorials as a springboard for more advanced projects. For a cozy, homemade holiday, you can't beat the projects in Christmas Magic.