Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide (Creative Machine Arts) [Paperback]

Claire B. Shaeffer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Creative Machine Arts | Publication Date: December 1, 1994

This edition offers a comprehensive guide to the selection, wear, care and sewing of fabrics of all kinds. It has been updated to feature details on microfibres and information in the fast-changing arena of stabilizers and interfacings. Shaeffer examines the content and distinctive properties of each textile, from classic linen to novelty metallics, and from linings to waterproof fabrics. She looks at appropriate designs and patterns, and she shows how to plan and lay out a garment. The book contains a "clinic" for fabric problems, lists of equipment and glossaries.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Home sewers have their choice of many guides to clothing construction, but this title is unique because it focuses on fab rics and materials used to make garments. The fiber content of leathers, synthetic suedes, vinyls, fur, feathers, natural fab rics, and man-made fabrics are all de tailed. The section on fabric structure in cludes woven, knit, and stretch-woven fabrics, while that on surface characteris tics ranges from transparent and napped fabrics to felt, reversible, and quilted fab rics and fabrics with designs. After a de scription of the distinctive properties of each textile, techniques for sewing with professional results are outlined, with special emphasis on seams, hems, edge finishes, closures, and hand stitching. A fabric and fiber dictionary, sewing clinic, glossary, and bibliography complete the work. Illustrations from the collections of international design houses are scattered throughout the text. This comprehensive fiber and fabric dictionary is for all public libraries.
-Judith Yankielun Lind, Rose land Free P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Claire Shaeffer is a respected author, lecturer, college instructor and columnist. She frequently contributes articles to sewing magazines, and has authored many books, including Sew Any Patch Pocket, Couture Sewing Techniques, Sew Any Fabric and The Complete Book of Sewing Shortcuts. Claire Shaeffer makes her home in Palm Springs, California. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Krause Publications; 6 edition (December 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801986281
• ISBN-13: 978-0801986284
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #962,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Claire Shaeffer is a respected author, lecturer, college instructor and columnist. She frequently contributes articles to sewing magazines, and has authored many books, including Sew Any Patch Pocket, Couture Sewing Techniques, Sew Any Fabric and The Complete Book of Sewing Shortcuts. Claire Shaeffer makes her home in Palm Springs, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

143 of 145 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You need this book!, September 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide (Creative Machine Arts) (Paperback)

This is one of the few books which I regard as a bible in the world of sewing and fashion design. I was a clothing designer in the garment industry for 15 years and am now a professor of fashion design. I tell my students that they need to own this book if they are at all interested in continuing in the business of making clothes. This answers all those questions about how to handle, construct, and use different materials and fabrics.

117 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabric Sewing Guide, June 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide (Creative Machine Arts) (Paperback)

This book has become the most important book to me when making clothes. Using it before starting saves from many troubles. It not only explains how different fabrics behave, what threads and needles to use, but gives an extensive view also of the types of seams and finishes to use. The included hints are really valuable, giving a lot of inside information and experience. This book really saves time, material and patience.

74 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Updated Edition should be Updated, December 23, 2009

By 

Book Friend (Kensington, CT USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide (Creative Machine Arts) (Paperback)

I bought this book looking for a single resource of fabric characteristics and how to work with them. Since this is an updated edition from a previously published edition, I expected that the text within each fabric type would be updated. This is not so. In the beginning of the book, it indicates that the reader should refer to the appendices for the updated information on needle sizes and disregard what is in each section for reach fabric regarding needle sizes. It also indicates that the reader should ignore all washing tips to preset dyes and colors as this is no longer recommended. There are two other items called out in the foreword as well where the inline text is overridden elsewhere in the book. So, the text itself for each fabric type was not updated. As a "reference" book, where one would be going directly to the specific section for a particular fabric type, in order to get the correct information, the reader must remember that they must also reference overriding information located separately in an appendix. Because of this, I give this book 2 stars.