Feminist Felties: 21 Inspiring and Empowering Projects in Felt and Fabric

I recently had the opportunity to review a new @searchpress book called 'Feminist Felties'. I utterly adore the premise of this book which is built upon the notion of feeling solidarity with others through making with your hands which is both calming and energizing. As Missy Covington, the book's fantastic author, says: There was power in needle and thread . There is a wide range of projects and designs in the book ranging from the more traditional, suffragette symbols (such as the Fireband bracelet with symbols and colours inspired by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies) to some which are more tongue-in-cheek (such as the Uterus Christmas Tree Decoration)! After the introduction, Missy talks about the range of felts available, which tools are best for the projects, starting and finishing techniques and stitches to use. Then Missy presents 21 projects with each project accompanied by clear instructions, skill levels, required tools, stitches used and the patterns needed to create your own feminist felties! I can also see this book being fantastic for working with children and young people of all ages, sexes and genders by talking about the history of the feminist movement and the journey it has taken through creating with your hands!

This is a fun book..
With glue, felt and thread the designs aim to empower women through craft and while this book is called 'Feminist' Felties many of the projects make you smile and are very quirky.
21 projects, Pot covers, Pincushions and Key chains, all give a nod to the women's movement, and the pages are littered with quotes from various American feminists and movement trailblazers.
It is an interesting read as well as being a craft book, I loved the Badass Women badge and Rosie the Riveter coin purse is lovely.
Each design and project have templates to trace or photocopy, and there are recommendations for materials. There is also a stitch guide and the pages about working with felt and how to care for it is very helpful.
This book will not appeal to everyone, but it is well presented and the projects are useful usable and do send quite a strong message.

Missy Covington creates her own felt patterns and crafts for her Etsy shop, CraftSubversive. She is a corporate citizen by day and a subversive crafter by night.

Covington lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA with her husband and daughter.