Girls, get sewing--because crafty is cool! Teens and tweens with a funky fashion sense will love creating these fast, fun quilts and gifts. Twenty hip projects use bright fabrics and simple-to-stitch designs.
- Make six quilts plus 14 gift items with easy patchwork, appliqué, beading, and embroidery
- Choose from a music-player case, a table runner, a pillow, greeting cards, and much more
- Create most projects in just one day's time--beginner's sewing basics are included
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Review from the Fabric Shop Network, www.fabshophop.com
Cool Girls Quilt is a fun book by Linda Lum DeBono that succeeds in appealing to sewers and quilters of variety of skill levels. In fact, it could potentially be an outstanding teaching book, if you’re looking to get a young person involved in quilting for the first time. It’s nice because while the book is constructed like a project book, it’s also contains sequential skill-building where each project builds upon the techniques practiced in the previous project. The projects are extremely eye-catching, using vibrant fabrics and bold applique in everything from small floral pin cushions to a vintage-inspired quilted wall hanging.
One of the things I really appreciate about Cool Girls Quilt is the excellent introductory section. For example, selecting the “right” fabrics for a project can sometimes be intimidating–even if you’re very experienced. Linda encourages you to do what she does: use gut instinct. With that said, she also provides you with some questions to guide you in your decision-making process. She encourages you to ask questions the focus more on the recipient, such as, does their home have a contemporary or modern flair? Once you’ve decided upon the right “feel” for your project, she provides her favorite tips and tricks for organizing your fabrics to determine what you want to include in your quilted project. The “Quiltmaking Basics” section gives a very thorough overview of the quilting process, with clear, use-to-understand illustrations of key quilting techniques, such as rotary cutting, applique and binding.
I mentioned that there are some great projects that would make excellent candidates for teaching someone quilting and sewing. The “Cool Girls’ Tool Case” is one such project. This simple case actually provides lots of instruction in techniques such as layering fabrics, sewing on appliques and adding embellishments–but it’s small enough that it can be completed relatively quickly, so the student would feel satisfied that they’d been able to finish. Plus, since they have a tool kit for all their quilting goodies, it serves to inspire them to keep at quilting.
Another such project in Cool Girls Quilt is the fun “Too Cute to Cook” apron. While it’s not specifically a quilting project, it serves to help develop some important skills you’ll need to quilt–measuring and cutting. Each of the first few projects in this book are like this one in that they guide you through creating a project that emphasizes building an important skill for quilting success.
The “Best Friends Pillow” combines applique and mitered corners to create a funky pillow that would be fantastic for gift-giving.
Once you’ve been able to work through some of the basic skill-building projects, Linda has you start with more complicated, but smaller-scale, pieces that combine the techniques practiced earlier in the book. I love that the projects at this point are still simple enough in terms of size to complete in a relatively short period of time, but that they involved enough different fabrics and techniques that they’re bound to keep you engaged.
The quilting projects are so appealing that even though they are highly appropriate for a new quilter, I see them as just as relevant for a quilting veteran who has made many, many quilts. The designs are so fresh and the ideas for different color palettes are so fun that it’s easy to get enthusiastic about making one of these as soon as possible.
Because Cool Girls Quilt can serve so many different needs for quilters, particularly as a user-friendly book for teaching quilting, I can definitely say that you should buy this book.
Linda Lum DeBono
Linda Lum DeBono is a quilt designer who was named Aurifil Designer of the Month. She's also a fabric designer for Henry Glass & Company. Her designs have appeared in several books, as well as in several magazines, including American Patchwork and Quilting, Quilts and More, Quilter's Home, and Quilt It for Christmas. She's well-known for her bright and funky quilts, and loves working with color and texture.
Visit Linda's websiteContact Linda Lum DeBono
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Download Individual ePatterns from this book!
 Perky Paisley Quilt ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |  Flowers in My Garden Table Runner ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |
 Daisies in the Sky Pennants ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |  Party It Up Coasters ePattern Retail Price: $1.99 |
 Diamonds are a Girl's Best Bag ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |  Chrysanthemum Sewing Machine Cover ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |
 Sticks of the Trade Needle Case ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |  Pretty in Pink Pillow ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |
 Flowers on Parade Quilt ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |  Vintage Bouquet Quilt ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |
 Crazy for You Quilt ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |  Bohemian Flourish Quilt ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |
 Love Quilt ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |  Hi and Heart Greeting Cards ePattern Retail Price: $3.99 |
 Best Friends Pillow Sham ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |  Cover Me Pretty Book Cover ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |
 Hip-Hop Case ePattern Retail Price: $1.99 |  Cool Girls Tool Case ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |
 Zinnia Pincushion ePattern Retail Price: $4.99 |
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