The Sewing Place

Good Sewing Books


Lilian

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2017, 23:27:45 PM »
What sort of sewing are you looking for, Dressmaking or general household?  I only have old books, but one by Ann Ladbury called 'Sewing' cover all sorts, hand sewing and machine sewing.  I am not au fait with any modern books.

Someone else will probably be more help  :)
Willing but not always able :)

UttaRetch

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2017, 07:10:50 AM »
I can recommend both books by Alison Smith.  The sewing book is by way of an overview, but 'Dressmaking' is devoted to garment making.  There is some overlap, so you need to decide which is more useful to you.



Readers' Digest also do well regarded sewing books and you can sometimes copies in charity shops.  The illustrations may be a bit old fashioned, but the information is sound.

I passed up the opportunity to buy a Vogue 1970's sewing book for £1.50 and regret it now.

Edited for updated information.


« Last Edit: April 10, 2017, 08:47:05 AM by UttaRetch »

Holly Berry

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2017, 11:09:51 AM »
If you're looking for fitting books I would recommend the Palmer Pletsch series. They do Fit for Real People, and one on trousers(pants), jackets and knits. I have learnt such a lot from these books.

If you are looking to draft your own patterns, for beginners Natalie Bray.
Procrastination get behind me

Efemera

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2017, 12:49:51 PM »
Best book I've used is the Vogue sewing book..I must have bought it 30 years ago, if I do need to know anything it's usually in there.

UttaRetch

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2017, 15:39:56 PM »
I let this



published in 1970 go.  Of course, it was gone when I went back to the charity shop.  :(

DaisyChain

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2017, 09:05:26 AM »
As others have said, the Alison Smith books and Vogue Sewing are excellent. I also really like this Lynda Maynard book. It’s got lots of detailed photos on how to finish edges. I refer to this one a lot.  8)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dressmakers-Handbook-Couture-Sewing-Techniques/dp/B00M0KBLQU/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492070030&sr=1-7&keywords=couture+sewing+techniques

b15erk

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2017, 09:33:12 AM »
Reader Digest, Fit for Real People and several very old sewing books which I also refer to now and again.

I have a lovely book called The Art of Manipulating Fabric which is full of useful and decorative techniques - lots of heirloom stuff, but other really neat stuff as well.

There's a cracking little overlocker book too, but offhand I can't remember the name.

Jessie
Jessie, who is very happy to be here!!  :),  but who has far too many sewing machines to be healthy, and a fabric stash which is becoming embarrassing.

Holly Berry

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2017, 10:15:01 AM »
There's a cracking little overlocker book too, but offhand I can't remember the name.
Jessie

Is it the Singer one? I have this one and it's excellent, even though I don't have a Singer overlocker.
Procrastination get behind me

b15erk

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #9 on: April 13, 2017, 10:33:41 AM »
No, it's this one: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fabric+manipulation&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=_zbvWPXmHNHHXu7kqYgE#q=overlocker+books&safe=active&tbm=shop&spd=5522997681626573536

It taught me a lot when I started to use my overlocker.  I think a lot of people use the Bernina workbooks as well.  I think Morgan put a link up to them, on the old TSF.  I'll see if I can find it as a lot of people found the workbooks very useful.

Jessie
Jessie, who is very happy to be here!!  :),  but who has far too many sewing machines to be healthy, and a fabric stash which is becoming embarrassing.

Marniesews

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2017, 10:42:59 AM »
No, it's this one...

There's a long list of books on that link, Jessie. I have the small Sewing with Sergers book by Gail Brown and Pati Palmer which is all black & white inside but full of useful info so I wondered if that was the one you meant?
Hopefully back more regularly! Ballroom sewing may be permanently paused but bag making is the current focus.

Marniesews

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2017, 11:29:23 AM »
Like Lillian, my all time favourite book is Ann Ladbury's Sewing but I do have other favourites too. I agree with Utta about Alison Smith's books and you can often find these in The Works at very good reductions so well worth checking there if you're on a budget.

A small pick of my other favourites would include:
Claire Schaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide, not only to help with identification but lots of useful information on best uses, construction advice/techniques and practical sewing settings (most appropriate needles, threads etc.)
Lynda Maynard's The Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques which has so many examples that can be incorporated into everyday sewing projects.
Time Life's The Art of Sewing/ The Professional Look It's part of a series and a good set to look for in second hand book shelves. It's very much diagram based but very understandable for that too.
Julie Cole's Patternmaking with Stretch Knit Fabrics is one of very few I've found for knit fabrics but has proven to be just what I needed. It gives three different versions of each block for low, medium and high stretch which is perfect for me as I wanted them for casual knits for me and my DD but also for tight-fit lycra dance costumes too and there's a big difference between the two!  Expensive certainly but it's opened up a world of opportunities.

I'm attaching pictures as, if you're anything like me, you'll recognise the cover more easily than the title or author.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2017, 11:31:42 AM by Marniesews »
Hopefully back more regularly! Ballroom sewing may be permanently paused but bag making is the current focus.

b15erk

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2017, 11:59:47 AM »
Sorry MS.  It's Sewing with Sergers by Gail Brown and Pati Palmer.

I thought it was very good.

Jessie
Jessie, who is very happy to be here!!  :),  but who has far too many sewing machines to be healthy, and a fabric stash which is becoming embarrassing.

UttaRetch

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #13 on: April 13, 2017, 12:08:26 PM »
If you are into tailoring, there a couple of rather nice little books with lots of good photographs: Tailoring: a step-by-step guide and; Tailoring from the Singer sewing reference library series.  I bought both of these from charity shops.

Holly Berry

Re: Good Sewing Books
« Reply #14 on: April 13, 2017, 13:17:12 PM »
Sorry MS.  It's Sewing with Sergers by Gail Brown and Pati Palmer.

I thought it was very good.

Jessie

Yes, I've got that one too
Procrastination get behind me