Synopses & Reviews
Waste not, want not with this guide to saving money, taking heart, and enjoying the simple pleasures of life.
Nowadays, many of us outsource basic tasks. Food is instant, ready-made, and processed with unhealthy additives. Dry cleaners press shirts, delivery guys bring pizza, gardeners tend flowers, and, yes, tailors sew on those pesky buttons. But life can be much simpler, sweeter, and richer — and a lot more fun, too! As your grandmother might say, now is not the time to be careless with your money, and it actually pays to learn how to do things yourself.
Practical and empowering, How to Sew a Button collects the treasured wisdom of nanas, bubbies, and grandmas from all across the country — as well as modern-day experts — and shares more than one hundred step-by-step essential tips for cooking, cleaning, gardening, and entertaining, including how to:
- polish your image by shining your own shoes
- grow your own vegetables (and stash your bounty for the winter)
- sweeten your day by making your own jam
- use baking soda and vinegar to clean your house without toxic chemicals
- feel beautiful by perfecting your posture
- roll your own piecrust and find a slice of heaven
- fold a fitted sheet to crisp perfection
- waltz without stepping on any toes
Complete with helpful illustrations and brimming with nostalgic charm,
How to Sew a Button provides calm and comfort in uncertain times. By doing things yourself, with care and attention, you and your loved ones will feel the pleasing rewards of a job well done.
Review
"Thank goodness for grandmothers and thank goodness for Erin Bried, who compiled his compendium of useful, clever, need-to-know advice, wisdom and practical information. With this book, every woman will feel they are at their grandmother's knee, learning the most vital life skills any of us need to be smarter, happier and better people too. Happy reading!" Lucy Danziger, Editor-in-Chief, SELF magazine
Review
"A breezily useful guide to timeless home-ec skills." O Magazine
Review
"If you wish you could hem your pants without waiting for the tailor or unclog a drain without paying a plumber, you need to read How to Sew a Button...[it] might save you money, time, and lots of frustration." Redbook
Review
"How to Sew a Button is a handy guide to running your household and, in many ways, your life." Washington Post
Review
"The perfect book for these hard economic times when money is tight, but ingenuity is plentiful...As comforting as a hand-sewn quilt, and filled with beguilingly retro illustrations, the tips are a snap, empowering, and fun...Bolstered with nostalgic charm, every page is filled with age-old wisdom for brand new do-it-yourself empowerment." Boston Globe
Synopsis
Waste not, want not. This crafty guide is the perfect holiday gift for anyone looking to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Nowadays, many of us "outsource" basic tasks. Food is instant, ready-made, and processed with unhealthy additives. Dry cleaners press shirts, delivery guys bring pizza, gardeners tend flowers, and, yes, tailors sew on those pesky buttons. But life can be much simpler, sweeter, and richer-and a lot more fun, too As your grandmother might say, now is not the time to be careless with your money, and it actually pays to learn how to do things yourself
Practical and empowering, How to Sew a Button collects the treasured wisdom of nanas, bubbies, and grandmas from all across the country-as well as modern-day experts-and shares more than one hundred step-by-step essential tips for cooking, cleaning, gardening, and entertaining, including how to
- polish your image by shining your own shoes
- grow your own vegetables (and stash your bounty for the winter)
- sweeten your day by making your own jam
- use baking soda and vinegar to clean your house without toxic chemicals
- feel beautiful by perfecting your posture
- roll your own piecrust and find a slice of heaven
- fold a fitted sheet to crisp perfection
- waltz without stepping on any toes
Complete with helpful illustrations and brimming with nostalgic charm, How to Sew a Button provides calm and comfort in uncertain times. By doing things yourself, with care and attention, you and your loved ones will feel the pleasing rewards of a job well done.
Synopsis
Practical and empowering, How to Sew a Button offers more than 100 step-by-step essential tips for cooking, cleaning, gardening, and entertaining.
About the Author
Erin Bried is a Senior Staff Writer at SELF magazine, where she's penned nearly 200 stories, including 60 cover stories, in the past nine years. In addition to interviewing and profiling celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston and Sheryl Crow, she covers health, fitness, nutrition and psychology. Formerly, Bried was a Senior Editor at Glamour, a contributor at Golf For Women magazine and a Senior Editor/Writer at Conde Nast's Women's Sports & Fitness. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.