Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters: 60 Blocks + a Dozen Quilts and Projects!

To date, it seems like only one other reviewer has done more than just flick through "Shape Workshop for Quilters". It does indeed look inspiring, but when I dig deeper, there is lots of negative feedback to give alongside the obvious positives.GENERAL:- In the Welcome text, it is mentioned that the book is "an invaluable tool for anyone starting out in quilting", but I disagree. Basics such as tools and handling fabric aren't dealt with at all, but you will have to learn them elsewhere.- Curves (Chapter 2 Circles), which are highly challenging for beginners, aren't mentioned in Quilting Basics. Useful tips how to pin curves aren't shown in any of the blocks either, even though there's plenty of unused space on the pages. A photo or diagramme would be helpful.- In the Welcome text, stars are placed last, whereas they make chapter 4 out of 6 in the book. It would have been nice to indicate that stars aren't a basic shape the way squares, polygons, etc. are, by placing them last, as a specialty shape.BLOCKS:- I haven't found any text stating the block size prior to sewing it into a quilt, but it is left at "finished 12 inches" in both Welcome and Quilting Basics in the back. The size when finishing an individual block is 12.5''x12.5'' prior to piecing the blocks together into a quilt top, in case you didn't know this (seam allowance 1/4'' on all sides).- In the descriptions, adding sizes for smaller blocks prior to assembling into final block would have been very useful throughout the book. Now you have to calculate for yourself in some cases, if you want to check that you're on track.- Photos show numerous blocks, which have been pieced with points not matching and/or crooked seams. Not good.DIAGRAMMES IN DESCRIPTIONS:- There's plenty of space to cater to visual quilters, but we have been neglected. Lack of informative, accurate diagrammes is a huge minus for me; larger pieces, piece sizes added, etc. would be a few improvements. The diagrammes aren't consistently featuring unpieced or pieced pieces only, but throughout the book there's a frustrating mix of these two types, as if the graphics person has no clue how to handle seam allowances in the diagrammes.- Many diagrammes are mere replicas of block photos. They should have been edited away and replaced with proper assembly diagrammes. In some cases, there is a photo only. An example is Orange Soda Redux in the Circles chapter; the uppermost row is shown with pieces separated and then miraculously the three lower rows appear with petals already sewn in place. A more helpful approach would be to show the squares only in the first figure, and then make a second one with petals in place. This isn't interesting to verbally-geared quilters, but if you're more visual the diagramme could tell a lot in just one glance.- Many diagrammes are completely off as far as size ratios go. Read the instructions and find that even rough eye-balling shows differences in these. Look at Cub Crawl Baby Quilt in Ch.1 and see the off-centre green and orange rectangles in figure 17 as example of what I mean.- When cutting fat quarters for the Cub Crawl Baby Quilt, don't leave "sashing" between pieces as figure 15 suggests.ERRORS:It's been too frustrating to wade through all block instructions, but I've found some already that contain significant errors.- A Dime A Dozen in Ch.2 consistently talks about 1.5-inch strips, but from what I understand it should be 1-inch strips as written in the cutting section. The photographed block supports this. To ensure the directions of your print fabrics are correct in the finished block, skip looking at figures 2-5 and only look at figure 6. Block A is illustrated correctly in figure 6, which supports the instructions in paragraph 5 as well as the photo, and it is illustrated incorrectly in figure 2. The same applies to block D. Blocks B and C are illustrated 180 degrees incorrectly in figure 2 compared to figure 6 and the photo. Look at figure 6 only when positioning your printed fabric in blocks L and K, or you will have them tilted 90 degrees if you trust figure 5.- Crooked Frames in Ch.2, figure 10 indicates that you chop off fabric from the outermost white border, but the square ruler is much larger than the outer perimeter of this white border. In the photo, only the red border is wonky and the rest are intact.- If you want to assemble the quilt His Hope Chest (Chapter 2 Squares and Rectangles) correctly, don't look at the diagramme, but stick with the photographed quilt only.My first version of this review was really negative and I had decided to give it two stars only, but I feel generous today. Fat Quarterly has a great reputation and I had planned on buying their magazines at some point, but now I'm very much on the fence; don't want to pay to do even more proof-reading.I was very excited when ordering this book and, seeing as it contains 60 blocks to practice techniques on, I saw many sampler quilts in my future. I'll have to put the book back in the shelf and return to it only when I'm up for double-checking several times before cutting. As mentioned, there are positives to this book, too, but be prepared to do some serious reading and comparing of text and figures prior to sewing.

I have recently got into patchwork although I have over 30 years experience of sewing. I wanted inspiration for some designs to create with some fat quarter packs I had bought and thought this would do the trick however, I was not as impressed with it as I thought I might be.I found several inaccuracies in this book so be careful when you you are planning a design based upon one of the basic square designs offered. I took a fancy to the star pillow and thought by mulitplying it by 3 and turning it to portrait rather than landscape I could create a cot bed quilt. I did successfully do this but without some very frustrating calculations. I.e. it states that you require assorted fabrics squares as follows:20 squares of 4.5inches26 squares of 2.5 inches20 rectangles 2.5x5.5 inchesthen in the assembly instructions it states:from the 12 assorted 4.5inch squares set aside 4.... '12'??? where did the 12 come from? Cut each of the 12 on the diagonal to create 24 triangles?!?!??! Huh? The only way to figure out whether you need 20 or 12 is to look at the design template and count and work it out yourself. So what is the point of the book?? Does that make the yardage quoted at the beginning of each design correct based upon which amount of squares??? Crazy and confusing. If you are being presented with a design and its requirements, it should be correct and you should be able to rely upon it without spending half an hour scribbling calculations for yourself. This was not the only discrepancy I found in the book.With patchwork, unless you are a very experienced quilter, you may have no idea how a particular block looks on a larger scale once it has been included in a pattern. For instance, the main blocks used to create a double irish chain look nothing by themselves but look absolutely beautiful once they are put together over a large area to create a quilt. The first half of this book contains small projects like place mats and table runners which are shown in their finished state so you can see the result but the second half of the book is purely individual block patterns but no examples are given of how these individual blocks would look when pieced together. Even if this the effect was shown in a diagrammatic format rather than actual real photo of a finished item it would give you some clue as to how the block would look repeated in a quilt.Too American for my liking, difficult to understand and plan a design with, I found this not too useful in the grand scheme of things and have found better free block designs and inspiration on the internet.

Four different authors, living both in Europe and America have joined forces to present this book. The book is divided into different shape sections and the blocks of each shape are all sewn in the same colours. This makes it really easy to see how the same shapes can be combined into different blocks, both traditional and modern. The book starts with the square/ rectangle, and then as your skills or confidence grows, you could move on through the book.Clearly well written and very inspiring. I have never before though about making a Dresden plate quilt, simply because I thought it was too fussy, but as it is shown it his book, I many well have one completed before the year is out.

I love this book because it offers small projects as well as larger one. There is a simple step by step for each block and each technique. I am completing one of projects as we speak.I am not a very experienced quilter so I would have liked more tips on how to handle seams at the back and suggestions for quilting but most books don't provide this information...I would still recommend the book if you want ideas to create modern, colourful quilts.

This book is a must have in my opinion for anyone who quilts. The book is split into showing how to make different styles of quilt blocks and then how to use them in projects (mainly quilts). It has beginner friendly blocks through to much more advanced blocks, it's great for those quilters who want to design their own quilt and not necessarily follow a pattern.The styling and quality of the overall book is superb, I cannot put it down!