Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing [Paperback]

Roberta C. Carr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1993

Ideal for sewers with an interest in quality, style, and individuality, this book reveals techniques once only known to the seamstresses in the couture houses of Paris.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Palmer/Pletsch Publishing; First edition (May 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935278281
• ISBN-13: 978-0935278286
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential, March 20, 2008

By 

C. L. Messina (Columbus, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing (Paperback)

First, I'll state that I'm a new sewer but a technical person and can tell when a topic is over my head or is simply poorly explained. In my experience a well-written technical book makes the complex easy to understand. That said, I've been reading several haute couture titles to understand the process so that I can apply it to the garments I intend to create. I own and have read Claire B. Shaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques, High Fashion Sewing Secrets and Carr's Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing and believe it is worth owning all three as each has a technique the not covered by the other two. If I had to narrow it down to two of these three selections I'd purchase this and Couture Sewing Techniques by Shaeffer. If I had to buy only one I'd probably go with Carr's. Here's why.

First you have to discount the reviews which knock the finished examples (i.e. pictures of couture dresses). In most couture instructional books the dresses are dated and show little if any construction detail. One has to consider that any book will be limited in haute couture examples as even a hundred dresses would only a drop of water in a sea of creative fabric work that dates back over a hundred years. Also, fashion is subjective so no book can please every customer. What one reviewer finds heinous another may find appealing. These books are not meant to be art galleries, they are to instruct. If you consider them from a purely technical standpoint you'll get the most from them.

Second, Haute Couture is an expressive and sometimes experimental art. I'm guessing that some reviewers feel these books should tell you how to perfectly mimic current couture dresses but that would be like a painting book telling you how to copy a Monet. I don't expect a book like this to tell me what to make. What I do expect is for it to introduce and explain as many techniques as possible, suggest problems they can be used to solve, and put it all together so that I can make a finished product that helps me express my idea closely to the original concept.

Shaeffer's "High Fashion Sewing Secrets" comes off a little hodge-podgy (i.e. it lacks cohesiveness) and the page formats are hard on the eyes. You have to sort through a lot of miscellaneous, unrelated information on each page to get to the one technique she's trying to explain. Still, there are techniques not covered in the other books so it's a worthwhile third book to get after her other title and Carr's book.

Shaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques has a better format than her other title, has much more content (techniques) but is still not quite as clear, cohesive, or comprehensive as Carr's book. If you're an experienced sewer you may get more from this book than Carr's but, again, the cohesiveness is its weak point. I didn't walk away from it with that mental 'click' that gave me the confidence to put together that lingering vision of a garment. However, it does have many useful techniques not covered in her other title or by Carr.

Carr's strength is how she seams topics together that make the whole concept easier to understand. The editing and presentation is much clearer than any of the other books. True, the dress pictorials are dated and probably could have been omitted but the same could be said of Shaeffer's. I believe Carr's book is a good first step toward making your own haute couture creations and understanding how to tackle the problems of fine garment construction and fit.

63 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couture The Art of Fine Sewing by Roberta Carr, June 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing (Paperback)

This book is so good that I am going to purchase it. I checked it out of our local, public library and someone else must have loved it enough to cut pages out of it. Roberta Carr writes about what every sewer wants to know. She tells what a perfect fit entails. She describes perfectly how to make a "single-thread" dart, how to work with the forbidden BIAS, the dos and don'ts of buttonholes, etc. I learned volumes from this book.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Live Without ..., February 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing (Paperback)

If you are a lover of fine clothing and dressmaking this is the book for you. Roberta Carr's dedication to teaching techniques that elevate sewing from mundane to extraordinary is evident on every page. The extremely readable instructions and georgeous examples make this book a must have for home sewers who want to take their clothing construction to a higher level.