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82 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully Clear Detailed Sewing Book, April 28, 2009
I can't say enough good things about this book. I saw it in a borders bookstore, pretty much right when it came out, flipped through it briefly and knew I had to have it. There are clear, step by step, close-up pictures of every sewing task. This is exactly what I've been looking for.
I've been very frustrated by other sewing books or magazines that don't have clear photographs, or have ambiguous illustrations of sewing techniques. I wish that Amazon had the look inside feature on this book so everyone could see the photos. It starts off with showing a basic toolkit, plus extras to fill it out, then pictures and descriptions of all kinds of sewing tools. Then an index of fabrics and how they are made. This section seemed a little skimpy to me, but not terrible. Next is a section on how to lay out your patterns, which is a big plus for a beginner like me. Then it moves on into the techniques section, first with hand sewing, then machine sewing. I would say that the book is heavily bent towards apparel sewing, but you can apply these techniques to all kinds of projects.
There is a projects section at the back of the book, simple designs in plain fabrics, don't expect anything mind-blowing. Things like a pillow, an apron, etc. There is also a glossary of terms and an index at the back.
The best thing (besides the photos) about this book is the cross-referencing. Someone obviously took a lot of time to make sure that the reader wouldn't get lost. Every technique is rated on difficulty, and as you progress through the book, on the bottom of every page is a list of previously learned techniques that are applied on that page, plus the page number they are on. This really gives you an idea of how to build on previous knowledge, and all the little techniques that make up a more complicated one.
I am very pleased with this purchase, and know it will improve my sewing.
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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I LOVE this book!!, October 22, 2009
I just love this book! I found it in a Barnes and Nobles, and even though there weren't any reviews on Amazon yet and even though it was pricier than some of its competitors, I bought it anyway. (That's pretty unusual for me.) Every time I open it, I'm grateful to myself all over again. It's just wonderful. Where to start? First, it's absolutely gorgeous, with an inviting color scheme and a pleasing layout that makes it super easy to read through. (Trust me, you don't want to skimp on the readability of your sewing book.) The book itself is both lovely and sturdy -- beautiful glossy pages and a binding that promises to hold up for a long time, yet easily lays flat.
But my absolute favorite thing about this book is that all the lessons are presented in photographs, which means it's realistic. The truth of the matter is that when everything is drawn, a lot of the nitty-gritty details are left out. Then when you go to sew something, you get confused because it looks different than it does in the illustration. This book shows the fabric just the way it is -- raveling edges, not-quite-straight stitching, and everything -- which reassures me that I'm not doing it wrong.
You visual learners will also love that this book is all pictures with minimal text. Have you ever read through a sewing book where it was mostly text? It's ridiculously confusing, full of technical terms and spatial references like "the curve on the side adjacent to the side closest to you." Yuck! Unless you already know how to do it, it's impossible to piece together. Which sort of defeats the point of buying the book. This book does it all in pictures which, I should mention, are superbly photographed. Some books have pictures where the camera is several feet away from the sewing machine and you can't see anything at all. These photographs are taken up close and have comments on the side with neat little arrows showing which part they're talking about. It's an ingenious presentation. I just can't praise it highly enough.
Now, my limitations as a reviewer: I've not used this book extensively, nor am I an experienced seamstress, so I couldn't tell you how comprehensive the material is. Nor have I pawed through every other book on the market for comparison. All I know is that this book works great for me, and everything it presents, it does so spectacularly.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great addition to my book collection, October 28, 2009
This review is from: The Sewing Book (Hardcover)
the GOOD:
1. pictures are great. easy to follow (when she takes the time to include enough step-by-step pictures).
2. looks nice. hardback. pink. pretty.
3. extensive. it has things in it some other books of mine don't talk in detail about or mention at all (i.e. buttonhole hand-stitching)
4. i have been using this book as my first go-to book as i proceed to make a dress. it is a good first go-to guide
the BAD:
1. i still have to refer to other books on my bookshelf to get a better description of some things. (i.e. that buttonhole hand-stitching thing i mentioned before. her picture still left me with some questions so i had to refer to 2 other books until i found a better written explanation. then i had to practice on some other fabric since i had not done it before and had trouble at first understanding)
2. sometimes i like another book's procedure better. when i need to install a lapped zipper for the first time, this book explained it fairly decently. but then i found a different procedure in another book that had more photos on how to do it AND i think the procedure sounds like it will produce a better result. i have not tried it yet, but it required more steps and i will do it on my actual dress. right now, i'm practicing on the muslin.
the UGLY:
1. have not found anything yet :)
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