Creative Publishing International-Sewing 101: A Beginners Guide To Sewing

by Quayside Publishing

Product Features

• Sewing 101 is a modern-day primer on the basic skills and techniques of sewing
• Geared toward the absolute novice and assumes you know little or nothing at all about sewing
• Features step-by-step photos useful sewing tip sidebars and a detailed glossary
• Softcover Spiral-bound: 224 pages

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1 x 9.1 x 11.1 inches ; 2.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: 1589230698
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,037 in Home & Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home & Kitchen)

Product Description

Sewing 101 is a modern-day primer on the basic skills and techniques of sewing. Geared toward the absolute novice and assumes you know little or nothing at all about sewing. Features step-by-step photos useful sewing tip sidebars and a detailed glossary. Softcover Spiral-bound: 224 pages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

407 of 411 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You gotta start somewhere, January 28, 2003

By 

Georgina "tville" (san francisco, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative Publishing International-Sewing 101: A Beginners Guide To Sewing (Hardcover-spiral)

This is a solid book recommended by the Sewing Association & after getting this I can see why. There is an intro the machine and hand sewing and then the all important hemming lessons. From there you start with t-shirts! Yes we're off and running already with garments. I was not prepared for this thinking I would be doing pillows and potholders and other nonsense, but no let's get practical. Garments like t-shirts, wrap skirts, pull on pants/shorts head the list. They tell you how to read the pattern and then guide you thru making the actual garment giving you hints and tips to making an easy & wearable piece.

After garments we go home dec and do the pillows, curtains and shades. There are enough projects in here to keep you busy for about 6 months at which point you should know the basics & know where to go from there on your own. Daunting, eh? Well I was impressed and got going immediately. I got really psyched and I think a project a fortnight is doable. They recommend making more than 1 garment of each type to solidify what you know so unless you're very industrious a project a week is a rough haul. This book is easy, approachable and most importantly, inspiring, so much so instead of using my old high school one I actually bought a brand new beginning machine (A Viking Huskystar 207).

If you've been thinking about sewing buy this book and take the plunge. Until I got this book I never realised how much was based on the simple t-shirt (pj's, sweats, turtlenecks). Enjoy.

240 of 241 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Before this book, I thought I'd never learn to sew, February 3, 2003

By 

"wendythedog" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative Publishing International-Sewing 101: A Beginners Guide To Sewing (Hardcover-spiral)

Sure, your sewing machine retailer may offer lifetime lessons, but what about actual sewing projects? Was the last time you attempted sewing in middle school Home Ec? This book is the answer. It is very well-written with useful photos and highlights important information in a way that it becomes your working knowledge. It offers detailed instruction for window treatments including Roman shades, rodpocket, and grommet curtains, as well as a few clothing pieces. It also offers a section on reading sewing patterns, which can be intimidating to the novice. Other books I've seen have too much information, that it becomes confusing. This is perfect. If you have recently purchased your first machine OR want to do more with your sewing machine than let it collect dust but don't know where to begin, this is the book for you.

191 of 193 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Light on the Basics, Heavy on Sewing Projects, August 6, 2005

By 

T. Hudock "tomnyc" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Publishing International-Sewing 101: A Beginners Guide To Sewing (Hardcover-spiral)

If you want to learn how to sew women's garments or home decor items, then this may be a good book for you. But if you want to learn sewing basics using a sewing machine, or want to also sew men's garments, then buy a different book. The "Sewing Basics" section is about 50 pages long, half of which consist of descriptions and photos of tools and supplies. Instructions for basic sewing techniques are limited and brief. There are no comprehensive instructions on the various types of stitches.

More than half of the book consists of "Home Decor" sewing, so, if that's what you're interested in, I recommend that you instead just buy the book "Home Decor Sewing 101" by the same author. I also bought this book, and while there doesn't appear to be overlap between the two books in regards to the projects featured, the Home Decor book is more comprehensive.

I would have given this book an even lower rating, but, it deserves a few stars simply for the nice layout and copious color photos that accompany every page. Additionally, the spiral binding allows the pages to lay flat when open, which is great for using right at the sewing machine.

In summary, if you want a book full of beginning sewing projects, then this book fits the bill. But if you're looking for a good beginner's sewing book with basic techniques, another book might be better.