Hey, y’all!

Recently, I’ve been in a bit of a pickle. (Only figuratively speaking, of course.) I don’t have a new sewing project to share with you, and I couldn’t decide on which book to review next. Eventually, I decided to merge my sewing and book posts together into one post about my favorite sewing books! So here you are, my sewing friends, five sewing books I’ve found helpful to have.

1. Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing

This book really is the complete guide to sewing! It is so full of practical information for sewing enthusiasts. From all kinds of sewing tools to fabric types to how to fit a garment, this volume truly is a wealth of sewing info. I’ve heard that the older copy is better, but I still have yet to learn everything this book has to teach. Definitely one of the best everything sewing books out there! I highly recommend it!

2. Better Homes and Gardens: How to Sew for Children

This book is a bit more specialized than the first, focusing on sewing children’s clothing. However, most of the info in here, such as how to attach a sleeve, is practical information than can certainly be used on more than just children’s clothes. I know I have certainly benefitted from the sleeve illustrations. This book is the best I’ve found on explaining the wonder that is the sleeve.

3. The Dressmaking Book by Adele P. Margolis

Much of the information in this book is a bit more advanced than I’m ready for, but I’ve still found it to be a helpful guide whenever I’m trying to tackle a more advanced sewing project. It also has practical sewing exercises and lessons for beginners. While I haven’t used this book much, I’ve still found it quite useful both for advanced and beginner knowledge. (I performed several of the beginner exercises to re-introduce myself to sewing after several years of not sewing.)

4. Creative Clothing Construction by Allyne Bane

I love coming up with my own creative clothing designs, but more often than not, I’m a little uncertain how exactly to bring my designs to reality. This book holds a wealth of information on how clothing is constructed. How to draft a pattern, how to cut the fabric, how to put it all together and bring your own design to reality. I’ve consulting this book many times while drafting patterns for my dress designs.

5. The Complete Book of Tailoring by Adele P. Margolis

I have to admit that I have a lot to learn before I actually know how to tailor clothes properly. To be entirely honest, I haven’t really ever attempted to tailor anything. This book is honestly too advanced for me. I have found some of the instructions helpful, however, even though I haven’t really had the opportunity to put them to use. Besides, it’s good to have a basic knowledge of something before you actually need to put that knowledge to use. I expect to consult this book more as I sew more.

Conclusion

So there you have it – a selection of my favorite sewing books. Some of them are written more for beginners while other are specialty books for more intermediate/advanced sewists. (And no, sewist is not in the dictionary, but it has been around in use for a while. I just thought it would be awkward to use the word sewers for the obvious reason.)

Have you used any of these books?
What are your favorite sewing books?

P.S. You can also follow me at my other blog, Kenmore Pines 1, here.
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