The Sewing Book: An Encyclopedic Resource of Step-by-Step Techniques

What a great refereence for any person who likes to bettter looking home-sew nclothing. This comprehensive book illustrates and clearly explains all techniques needed to make professional rather than home-made garments. I've sewn forr many, many years and just return to making clothes for myself. I foune this book a great resource when I needed to refresh my memory on how to put in invisdible zipper, or do French seams. I just paged through it one evening and was imoressed by all of the information and how easdy is is to understsanc. Each tecnique is clearly illlustrated. I just know that this is going to get frequent use as I refresh my sewing skills and learn new ways to make better looking clothing. When combine with "The Fitting Book," which I also purchased, I am well on my way to vastly improved quality

I just love this book! I found it in a Barnes and Nobles, and even though there weren't any reviews on Amazon yet and even though it was pricier than some of its competitors, I bought it anyway. (That's pretty unusual for me.) Every time I open it, I'm grateful to myself all over again. It's just wonderful. Where to start? First, it's absolutely gorgeous, with an inviting color scheme and a pleasing layout that makes it super easy to read through. (Trust me, you don't want to skimp on the readability of your sewing book.) The book itself is both lovely and sturdy -- beautiful glossy pages and a binding that promises to hold up for a long time, yet easily lays flat.But my absolute favorite thing about this book is that all the lessons are presented in photographs, which means it's realistic. The truth of the matter is that when everything is drawn, a lot of the nitty-gritty details are left out. Then when you go to sew something, you get confused because it looks different than it does in the illustration. This book shows the fabric just the way it is -- raveling edges, not-quite-straight stitching, and everything -- which reassures me that I'm not doing it wrong.You visual learners will also love that this book is all pictures with minimal text. Have you ever read through a sewing book where it was mostly text? It's ridiculously confusing, full of technical terms and spatial references like "the curve on the side adjacent to the side closest to you." Yuck! Unless you already know how to do it, it's impossible to piece together. Which sort of defeats the point of buying the book. This book does it all in pictures which, I should mention, are superbly photographed. Some books have pictures where the camera is several feet away from the sewing machine and you can't see anything at all. These photographs are taken up close and have comments on the side with neat little arrows showing which part they're talking about. It's an ingenious presentation. I just can't praise it highly enough.Now, my limitations as a reviewer: I've not used this book extensively, nor am I an experienced seamstress, so I couldn't tell you how comprehensive the material is. Nor have I pawed through every other book on the market for comparison. All I know is that this book works great for me, and everything it presents, it does so spectacularly.

A very well explained book,didn't expect so much details, and it's a very good quantity book,no regrets

the GOOD:1. pictures are great. easy to follow (when she takes the time to include enough step-by-step pictures).2. looks nice. hardback. pink. pretty.3. extensive. it has things in it some other books of mine don't talk in detail about or mention at all (i.e. buttonhole hand-stitching)4. i have been using this book as my first go-to book as i proceed to make a dress. it is a good first go-to guidethe BAD:1. i still have to refer to other books on my bookshelf to get a better description of some things. (i.e. that buttonhole hand-stitching thing i mentioned before. her picture still left me with some questions so i had to refer to 2 other books until i found a better written explanation. then i had to practice on some other fabric since i had not done it before and had trouble at first understanding)2. sometimes i like another book's procedure better. when i need to install a lapped zipper for the first time, this book explained it fairly decently. but then i found a different procedure in another book that had more photos on how to do it AND i think the procedure sounds like it will produce a better result. i have not tried it yet, but it required more steps and i will do it on my actual dress. right now, i'm practicing on the muslin.the UGLY:1. have not found anything yet :)

I am happy I bought this book as a gift for my wife, who is really developing her sewing hobby. The binding quality is perfect, and the print quality is excellent. Highly recommended.

wow! what a great and useful book! This has everything you need from beginner level and beyond. I know this book will become my go to resource and much loved over the years!

I love this book, it’s helpful and has me inspired to make a living at sewing.

I am a 50 year sewer and this book is terrific. I not only learned more things, I can now loan it to a newby and they too can learn. It is very clear and well written.

The book was in excellent conditions even if it was used. It's a good book for those who start sewing. Short and clear instructions.

Best book for any one who want to sew

Just the book I need. Has just started sewing my own clothing and this book comes handy. Clear fotos with colour!

Just received this book today. It's full of lots of sewing information with step by step techniques. It's incredibly informative. I'd recommend it to anyone that sews or who wants to start sewing. It would be a great book for any student studying fashion as you can dip in and out of it and there is pretty much every technique you need in there, wish i'd had it when i was at uni! It begins by going though all the equipment you need and the importance of them eg different scissors, different pins different threads for different materials. It shows you how to measure yourself, how to change bought patterns etc etc it's full of lots of knowledge that you can't always remember so i'm going to use mine as my sewing bible! The projects at the back are useful to get you started if your not great at sewing and although some might think they are outdated i think it might be down to the fabrics used. Change the fabric make it a bit more funky and your own style and they will be great projects! It's well worth the money too. I'm sure i'll get my moneys worth and i'm sure it will be passed down in the family through the years!

I wanted a book that would show me, a person with ZERO experience, how to get started and know the basics of sewing. This book did that, and then some.Alison takes you on a whole journey of sewing, from basics to techniques, to mending and projects.The only thing I don't like is that the projects in this book are HARD. I was looking for some simple things to do, like a pillowcase or a bag, which I did do - but, I had to learn how to do it from the Internet.I recommend this book for those who have little to no sewing experience, to those with lots of experience! It's a huge book with lots of pictures and demonstrations.