Customer Reviews

Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Wonderful reference book for fabrics, how to sew them and their qualities. I wouldn't be without this! Covers everything from fur thru to stretch knits.

This is an excellent resource book to have in your sewing reference library. This book will not specifically will teach you how to sew. This is for someone who has a good background in sewing, and is now venturing forth sewing more difficult and specialty fabrics. The book gives very comprehensive details as to weave, fiber characteristics, care instructions and the best sewing methods for each type of fabric. It has a very complete section on available interfacings. It also has a great section on hand sewing techniques, and their applications. This book does not explain specific sewing techniques (e.g. setting in a sleeve), but it does tell you which sleeve design (set-in vs. raglan) would be best for a particular fabric. I think it is a great book.

Much better and more complete than Sandra Betzina's books on the same topic. Chock-full of everything you want to know about any kind of fabric and tricks on how to sew them.

The first thing the struck me about this book is how big it is. It's bout the size of three regular books stacked together and it's heavy! Inside is a veritable encyclopedia of fabric... 525 pages of densely packed information. Despite it's size this isn't a "coffee table" picture book. It's serious stuff.

Claire Shaeffer starts her book with the words: "I know I am obsessed..." and proceeds to prove her point. Bless her, this is an amazing effort! It's well-organized and consistent. Color-marked sections are easily seen from the side of the closed book and there is a comprehensive index. For example, in the Fabric Types section, each general category is introduced with a general description, a bullet box of Fabric Characteristics, and a Sewing Checklist. Then she continues on to Garment planning and Sewing Notes. Under Sewing Notes she breaks out Layout, Cutting and Marking, Stitching Tips, and Pressing. Sidebars with hints and color photos are interspersed throughout. Under the general categories and sub topics with even more detailed information and tips including garment care and so on. In a word, it's very comprehensive and incredibly useful!

I didn't find the clothes in the photos to be distractingly out of fashion. Most are classic styles that you still see. There are a couple that hark back to big hair and shoulder pads but generally speaking she did a remarkable job of picking timeless styles that age well and never really go "out." However, that isn't what this book is about. It's about how to deal with that hateful fabric you just had to buy and then couldn't figure out. It's about optimizing your investment in time and money so that your handcrafted garments are the best they can be.

I checked out the first edition of this book from the library probably 10 years ago. I fell in love with it and actually returned it late. Eek.
Being a beginner sewer at that time, it was a HUGE time and frustration saver for me.

After going to design school I found it odd that this text had never been referred to in class, and thought about it from time to time. With each project of different fabrics, I grew a little more frustrated when I didn't have the right combination of needle, thread, stitch length ect.

So I bought it and was pleased to see that it was much less expensive than I anticipated.

Like the "two star" reviewer mentioned....with it being "updated" you'd hope that the actual pages were corrected or updated however they are not. I'm still grateful this book exists and over time I'll just correct the pages according to the appendices.

If you are a design student or a serious sewer, I suggest this book in addition to "Professional Sewing Techniques For Designers", "Patternmaking for Fashion Design" and "Draping for Apparel Design." Collectively these books are my bibles. HOWEVER, be aware that there is word that there are drafting/draping errors in the latter books mentioned above.

Packed with info to answer just about any question you might have for sewing different fabrics: fabric characteristics, which presser foot to use, needles,threads, machine settings, info on stabilizers and interfacings, plus sewing techniques and more. This book would be helpful not only for a beginner, but also for very experienced sewers.

This is a great fabric reference book. It is a little over-my-head as I am a relative beginner. I found Betzina's "Fabric Savvy" a little more basic and useful for my own level right now. However, I got this used and believe it will be a great reference as I grow in my skills and for anyone else who is a little more advanced. Ms. Schaeffer certainly did her fabric homework and shares it with us in detail. Will be very useful in the future!