Patch Sewing Guide and Sew Sew Sew
Zine, Michelle Margaret, stitchwizardry.etsy.com, $5
Don’t you hate it when you’ve spent hours covering your favourite hoodie or denim vest with sick patches, only to have them fall off the first time some well-meaning friend or relative is able to wrestle the garment away from you and run it through the wash? Worry no more! Both of these 1/8-size zines contain instructions on how to stitch patches on your stuff and have them stay put, whatever adventures or laundromats may come. Each zine is bound with a long safety pin along the spine, and they came bundled together in a repurposed plastic ID badge holder, which I found both creative and practical. Patch Sewing Guide contains the most detailed instructions and suggests a few different stitches you can use, and also includes helpful strategies like how you can sew with nylon thread or dental floss, and how to singe the ends rather than knotting them for an even firmer grip. Sew Sew Sew contains similar information, but its instructions are more minimalist, with many words whited-out so the tutorials are transformed into poetry. (Mary Green)