Jennifer Forest

Welcome

Welcome to the website of Jennifer Forest, I am the author of the best selling book, Jane Austen's Sewing Box. 

Inspired by the arts and crafts in Jane Austen's novels, I have joined history and craft together in a new way - using research into these Regency craft skills to create beautiful and useful projects today.  

Why love history?

"The past is another country". My journey exploring the past has been the ultimate travel experience, catching glimpses of other times and cultures, their motivations and their stories. And along the way, I discovered an interest in historical design, mainly architecture, interiors, fabrics and dress. 

Why love textiles?

I don't need to explain this to anyone else who loves textiles - fabric, threads, wool, paper, tools, the methods, the colours, design, the potential of creating and the finished product. 

Why love Jane Austen?

How can you not love her writing for her wit, character portrayals and her well crafted sentence?  But her novels are also more to me, they take me on that historical journey to another country, another world. 

Jane Austen was telling stories about her turbulent world, at the level she knew, where sometimes love does mean that a daughter of a baronet can marry a rising naval captain. (Persuasion) 

Jane Austen's Sewing Box

For all lovers of craft, history and Jane Austen, the beauty of the Regency era is brought alive in Jane Austen's Sewing Box.  

18 projects including sewing, needlework, netting, painting, paper craft and knitting are drawn from Jane Austen's novels. Each project is accompanied by:

• extracts from the novels,
  
• historical background explaining how and why women were making the item,
• full colour photographs, and
• illustrated step by step instructions to allow you to easily make your own Regency inspired project. 
  

Using a range of techniques and readily available materials and tools, the projects are easily accessible for all skill levels and interests.

Jane Austen's Sewing Box is published by Murdoch Books.

Jane Austen's Sewing Box can be purchased in all good book stores and ordered from a range of online stores, including  Amazon, with delivery usually under a week for the USA and Indigo Books in Canada.

A photo of the book cover and a book synopsis (PDF) can be found here.

To contact me, send an email.