• Home
  • Suggest A DIY
  • DIY Newsletter

Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

  • About CraftGossip
  • Our Network
    • Bath & Body Crafts
    • Candle Making Ideas
    • Crochet Ideas
    • Cross Stitch
    • Edible Crafts
    • Felting Patterns
    • Glass Art
    • Home & Garden Ideas
    • Indie Crafts
    • Jewelry Making
    • Kids Crafts
    • Knitting Patterns
    • Lesson Plans
    • Needlework
    • Party Ideas
    • Polymer Clay
    • Quilting Ideas
    • Recycled Crafts
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing Patterns
    • Card Making
    • DIY Weddings
    • Not Craft Ideas
  • Giveaways
  • Roundups
  • Store
  • Search

Fun Felt Crafts by Tina Skinner Book Review and Giveaway

August 11, 2009 by Linda Lanese

51frssv6h7l__sl500_aa240_1

Fun Felt Crafts by Tina Skinner is a fabulous book for those of us that love felting.  This book is published by Schiffer Books and they were kind enough to send me a copy to giveaway to one of you.  The pages are filled with clever ideas on how to recycle old or used woolens, as Tina points out in the history of wool crafts (Below).  Homemakers have been using left over or outdated wool clothing and recreating these into fashionable wearables for their families. I recall my mother telling the story about a coat and showing me pictures of this adorable coat that was made for her out of the wool lining of a worn out man’s overcoat.  The lining was a brown and cream plaid and the matching bonnet that matched the new coat.  There was a fur band around the bonnet and a fur muff was also created.  This book will show you just how to recycle wools and turn them into amazing and useful home décor items and wearables. Tina shows us the proper way to take apart an old wool blazer and skirt for use in fun new projects.  Felting and cutting up used wool sweaters will leave you with enough wool for many smaller projects. She shows you the basic stitches to use when hand sewing felted wool. There are patterns for making adorable pouches, bags and fabulous flowers she calls “flower Power” to decorate your hats, sweaters, jackets or stand alone brooches.  She has the cutest hats and sweater bags that will be one-of-a-kind by you the designer.  Tina has many templates in this book for patterns for your use.  The illustrations in this book are wonderful and clear and you will enjoy looking through the projects and creating your own from Tina’s basic ideas. This is a book that all felters will want to own.  

A History of Wool Craft by Tina Skinner:

Felt is one of the most popular craft mediums right now, but it’s hardly a flash-in-the-pan trend. Sheep are one of mankind’s oldest commodities, and their wonderful wool has been clothing and sheltering us throughout recorded history. Saving scraps of wool from sewing projects and salvaging what’s usable from used-up clothes is an age-old tradition. Women have been recycling wool into clever crafts since time immemorial, and the styles pioneered by America’s early homemakers are still much admired and imitated in Grafting circles today. Besides forming the basis for hooked and braided rugs, wool scraps are also the stars of the lesser-known penny rug. Penny rugs were probably never destined for work on the floor. Rather, they were used to protect the tops of precious cabinetry or furnishings while showing off the mistress’s skill with a needle.

To learn more about the designers and projects get this fun filled book.

Enter today or purchase it from Amazon or Schiffer Books. To enter (type enter me in the comment area)

 

 

 

 

 

Read These Next

  • Free Black History Month Coloring Sheets and…
  • Craft Book Reviews on CraftGossip: Share Your…
«
»

Have you read?

Book Review: The No-Brainer Brain Explainer

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.” 

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles. 

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies. 

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans. 

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain. 

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal. 

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

 

Featured Posts

Valentine Clay Kitties

Project: Floral Bouquet Window Card

Freebie: Forest Animals Coloring Pages

Tutorial: Tiered twirly pettiskirt for little girls

Disecting a Knitted Frog

RSS More Articles

  • FIFA Soccer Crafts For Kids, Crochet Fans And Game-Day Makers
  • Cross Stitch Ice Cream and Frozen Treats
  • Sunflower Ribbon Embroidery Tutorials and Kits to Brighten Your Hoop
  • 15 Charity Sewing Projects That Let You Sew Something Useful For A Good Cause
  • Decorating Mistakes That Make Your Living Room Feel Cluttered
  • Remembering Jill Smokler, Founder Of Scary Mommy
  • In the Garden Layer Cake – A Bloom-Filled Fabric Collection for Spring Sewing
  • How To Do Kitchener Stitch: A Beginner-Friendly Guide To Grafting Knitting Seamlessly
  • Pattern Review: Georgie Granny Square Bucket Hat Crochet Pattern
  • Free Giant Squishy Octopus Crochet Pattern

Pick Your Blog

  • Sewing
  • Knitting
  • Quilting
  • Crochet
  • Home & Garden
  • Recycled Crafts
  • Scrapbooking
  • Card Making
  • Polymer Clay
  • Cross-Stitch
  • Edible Crafts
  • Felting
  • Glass Art
  • Indie Crafts
  • Kids Crafts
  • Jewelry Making
  • Lesson Plans
  • Needlework
  • Bath & Body
  • Party Ideas
  • Candle Making
  • DIY Weddings
  • Not Craft
  • Free Craft Projects

Copyright © 2026 · CraftGossip | Start Here | Contact Us | Link to Us | Your Editors | Privacy and affiliate policy