Favorite sewing books
Every sewer can use some help now and then. So what are your favorite sewing books? Please leave a comment below and let us know! Tell us why you love it, too.
Here are a few reader suggestions:
Barbara Schleis Erwin: “I have many favorites. Here is one that comes to mind because of the step-by-step and pictures it provides. ‘Step-by-Step Home Decorating Projects (Singer Sewing Reference Library).’ ”
and ” ‘The Home Furnishings Workbook: An Authoritative Guide to All of Your Home Furnishing Problems‘ by Maureen Whitemore. Great reviews. Worth every penny.”
Susan Bryant Kendrick and Marion Wilson both recommend “One Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects” by Patricia Hoskins. It’s a great book for whipping up quick gifts or doing some scrap-busting.
Robin Jackson suggests “Barbara Randle’s Crazy Quilting with Attitude.“
I personally like “Singer: The New Sewing Essentials” for the basics provided on everything from sewing tools to seam finishes.
I also have “High-Fashion Sewing Secrets from the World’s Best Designers” by Claire B. Shaeffer, which provides info on everything from tracing off patterns of existing garments to linings to fancy collars.
If you’re interested in pattern-making, the book I used in class was “Patternmaking for Fashion Design” by Helen Joseph-Armstrong. It’s an expensive but thorough text, and for draping, we used “Draping for Fashion Design” by Hilde Jaffe and Nurie Relis. For more information on textile science (which is actually pretty interesting — did you know you can burn a thread from a fabric and determine what it’s made out of?), try “Fabric Science” by Arthur Price, et al. Finally, for those ready to tackle pattern grading (making one pattern into various sizes), try “Essentials of Pattern Grading” by Moira Doyle and Jason Rodgers.
Another text that I found extremely helpful is “Guide to Fashion Sewing” by Connie Amaden-Crawford. It’s a great go-to source for how to assemble garments, especially helpful if you’re designing your own. It gives detailed instructions for all kinds of techniques.
For garment-fitting help, I have “Fitting Finesse” by Nancy Zieman and for alterations, I have “Altering Women’s Ready to Wear” by Mary J. Roehr.
Are you interested in starting your own business and want the low-down on the fashion industry? Kathleen Fasanella, a pattern designer, has the inside scoop in the very-helpful book “The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Sewn Product Manufacturing.” I can’t tell you how helpful she is with all of her insider secrets. You can buy it here. (I’m not paid to recommend it. I just own it and have appreciated the information Kathleen shares in her book and on her website, Fashion Incubator.)
