Kirsten's Craft Book: A Look at Crafts from the Past With Projects You Can Make Today (American Girls Collection)

Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag
Review: This interesting craft book is part of the American Girls Pastimes series, and focuses on the sort of crafts that would have been done during the time of Kirsten Larson, 1854. The book has five chapters, each with three or four crafts: A Frontier Household (braided mat, dried herbs and flowers, and onion-skin dye), A Stitch in Time (patchwork pillow, bunny pincushion, and quilted potholder), Pioneer Playthings (yarn doll, chromatrope toy, and magic wallet), Swedish Traditions (midsummer wreath, Dala horse, and stenciled box), and Arts From the Indians (leather pouch, clay bead necklace, calendar stick, and owner stick). Each of these crafts is covered in one to two pages, and includes a list of materials needed and step-by-step instructions.

It's rather hard to rate this book. Some of the crafts are fun and well spelled out, whereas others are not. For example, the directions for making the Dala horse can be boiled down to "1) model a horse out of clay, 2) paint it red, and 3) paint traditional designs on it." I'm sorry, but these instructions are way too little to help in making such a thing.

So, I would suggest that you get this book through your local public library, rather than spending your own money on it. My daughter and I give it a very guarded recommendation.