Sewing books makes such a great reference in your sewing journey
and in your learning.
And it is kind of hard to know sometimes what ones
are good books to use.
And that's why in this video,
I'm going to break down my favorite sewing books that will
really actually help you on your own sewing journey.
Welcome. My sewing friends.
It is wonderful to see your smiling faces here.
Again. If you are actually just new welcome,
my name is Evelyn Wood and I'm the creator of vintage
sewing school.com.
And well,
when you are asked three times the same question in a
week, you know,
it's time to make a video about it.
And that is,
I was asked,
what are your favorite sewing books?
So here we are my friends.
Now I wanted to make this video because well,
in the context of what's sewing books will help you in
your sign journey,
because I think that's obviously why people are asking what are
my favorite books to have on hand,
because we all know sometimes you want a reference offline.
You don't want to have to log on and find your
answer. Sometimes it's nice to have books as a reference.
So I've broken these down into three categories.
The all-rounder,
the fit and specialty books.
And I have my three favorites in each of these.
Now these are just books that I own.
There are obviously many books out there that I don't have.
So maybe there are better ones.
And that is, I'm going to look at the context of these,
of what I like about them.
So you can have a more critical eye when looking for
your own books and what might be useful for you.
A lot of these books are older and out of print,
but I do have links to some of these that you
might still be able to find in print linked down below
in my Amazon store.
That is a affiliate link.
I thank you for using them.
It doesn't cost you anything,
but every little bit does help to support me and this
channel to make these free videos for you.
So thank you for using them.
So basically what I look for in different books is skills,
not projects.
Bottom line,
that is my whole philosophy of sewing.
That is the way I teach at Vintage Sewing School.
It's about learning the skills that we need,
not just projects.
And so that's one of the first things you'll find in
all of these books.
And so,
because I think we're either want to learn from when we're
learning from the scratch,
all the things that you need to know that no one
tells you about.
And then also when you're using them,
because you're mid project and you're stuck on something,
and then you want to go to something as a reference
to help you through whatever it is that particular issue you're
stuck on.
So they have a view that I have.
It's the way that I,
I think that we are all so,
and that is the way that I teach.
And I,
that's what I look for in a sewing book.
So that's bottom line.
What I look for,
but let's break this down into the categories.
Let's start with the sewing all-rounder.
This category is what I also call sewing what I want
in Vintage Sewing School.
It is all the things that you want to know about
sewing, that the pattern on envelope doesn't tell you about.
So they cannot absolutely go past as a sewing all-rounder.
My most recommended above all is the Reader's Digest
Complete Guide to Sewing.
This one is like the Bible.
If you do not have this one,
you absolutely must get it already.
I have linked this one in my Amazon store.
So if you can,
there are different versions of this particular book,
but get the older one.
It is the better one,
but any a good,
but the old one even better.
Let's take a little peak.
First thing you'll notice is the size.
This is one big thick book.
And when you come inside,
one of the first things I always look at is the
chapters and how they are categorized.
So because that's how you're going to go searching for content,
right, is by category.
So this is basically the sewing Bible.
It has everything preparing to so basic stitches seam finishes like
how to actually,
you know,
all the tools and everything that you need,
that you didn't know,
you needed all the parts of your sewing machine threading tension.
Like all of those basic things that you need to know
when the patent just says,
stitch, this has finished the seams.
You go to stitches in here,
you go to finish seams in here and it will tell
you what to do.
It also goes on fabrics and structures,
pattern adjustments.
This was like,
as I said,
this is like the Bible,
how to fold fabrics on the line,
cutting layouts.
It really just goes through everything.
And it's very logical and it's very easy to find different
information. So this one also has your basic sewing things that
you want to know everything.
And then things like pin tucks or finishing hymns,
how to do colors.
So when you get stuck on different,
you know,
sewing projects or sewing skills,
the way through you can look these up and find them
in here,
I cannot recommend this one enough.
This is the only one you get.
This is the one that you should get.
Some of the others are,
this is another one of my all time favorites.
This is The Vogue Sewing Book.
So this one is from 1975,
and it's just lovely.
Any of,
any of the older books,
usually anything pre sixties is what I look for because they're
built more like this around skills that you need,
not just project after project,
after project,
we want the skills.
And so this one really goes into designing and making your
own clothes and color schemes,
very flattering,
not flattering.
I don't think we really do that anymore.
You know,
a glossary of 10 stain removal,
the undercover story.
It really,
you know,
flat pattern adjustments for fit.
It is really,
really great showing you how to match plants,
essential seams trimmings.
And I also like to make sure I like the pictures
and that they are understandable.
And as something that makes sense in my mind,
if I can see straight away,
that's a good sign.
Again, the sheer size of this,
you can just tell there's so much information.
You've got an index at the back to help reference and
find the things that you're looking for as you need it.
This is a really great book that I love having in
my collection,
another sewing around her and the oldie,
but goodie is The Pictorial Guide to Modern Home Dressmaking.
Now, there is the same at series of this in needle
craft and knitting.
I have both of those as well.
And I believe there are different print versions.
Obviously this is quite old.
So they usually do judging by the pictures in here,
I'd say early forties,
at least that's the style of the pictures.
Again, one of the first things that I look for is
of course,
the size and the contents have a look at the categories.
I love how they've broken this down into fittings,
your sewing machine,
pattern drafting,
making, finishing processes,
tailoring renovations,
there's all these older books.
There's always parts on garment renovations,
or as we like to call it,
these days is thrift flips or refashions.
That is always in these older books,
which I love again,
this particular book breaks it down into all of your basic
sewing requirements,
your needles,
your sewing machine,
different fabrics,
how to cut out your fabric on grain,
doing your tailor tax,
how to mark out your fabric is everything that you need,
how to fit the different stages of being everything that you
know, I just love.
And the way that I look at sewing is just like
these books are presented.
And then when you're ready for sleeves,
it's got the category and sleeves how to actually solve them
and do pattern making just brilliant.
And of course these older books are fantastic illustrations as well.
So this is another one that I really,
really love as a great sewing over rounder.
Let's move on to the next category and that is fit.
So once you're past the basic sewing stages,
you want to start trying to make pattern alterations for fit.
And this is where a good book is your absolute reference
point, because it's the kind of thing that you want to
look for.
You want to see this problem,
go look at this.
And now you do need to learn basic pattern making before
these books probably make sense.
But once you know your pattern making all you need is
what I call the pattern hieroglyphs.
So just the pictures of the pattern alterations and you're set.
So this is one of my favorites.
This is a Fast Fit and it is a wonderful book.
It's laid out very,
very well.
Again, you can see all the categories when you're looking for
fit. You're looking for problem areas,
length back shoulders,
you know,
your sleeves,
your neckline,
upper body pants,
skirts, it's all broken down.
And then each of those is like a large waist,
a knocking knees,
a broad back in narrow back.
So it's all broken down.
So you can really easily navigate and find the problem and
then have the solution.
I liked that these ones,
obviously there's a lot of sizing at the front,
but it is quite step-by-step and they show you the actual
pattern alterations,
and you can see the changes that before and after.
And so it's really easy to look at the pictures and
navigate your way through.
As I said,
the pictures make sense when,
you know,
pattern alterations of hand-making to begin with,
but over time,
trust me,
they will make sense to you.
So this one is really,
really set out and I think with fit,
that's the kind of thing you're looking for.
So another book in my collection that I love is this
one, it's a Figure Analysis.
So this is actually a TAFE book where I went to
college is TAFE here in Australia.
Now I wasn't lucky enough when we,
when I went to college to get a fancy book like
this as was like printed out and bound together,
that looks like these days they do.
So this one is really great.
And it's basically the same thing.
So a full burst,
a full burst,
different versions of how to navigate those fitting problems,
a great index pictures of like the problem,
what it looks like,
and then your pattern alterations on how to fix it.
Just really,
really great.
So it's the kind of thing that you want to obviously,
again, look for in index or contents and figure out and
find the alterations that you need.
And they lay them all out really,
really well.
So if you can get your hands on any sort of
textbooks like this on fit,
that will be fantastic for you.
And I also came across this one,
it's a magazine and McCall’s How to Fit Book.
This is fantastic.
I'm going to guess mid eighties by the leotard on the
front. So this one is wonderful.
So no scrap that look at these pictures,
seventies, for sure.
Okay. So this again is really set out really well.
What if bus starts are too high and not pointing to
the bus apex,
here's what to do.
And then your pattern alterations that you need to make.
And again,
when you know,
pattern altering,
you'll see these pictures and just be able to understand what's
going on and where you need to do.
Of course,
then you read through it and it all makes sense as
you go.
And so it's really laid out really well.
What if this do this?
I think that's really important when you're looking for books on
a fit and it's just pictures of the problem as well,
because it's hard to identify when you're starting.
So that's what I look for in books for fitting.
And I think you definitely need one of those in that
category, in your bookcase.
There are many great ones that I don't have as well
that I've seen that I know are going to be fantastic.
So do keep your eye out,
but look at the way it's structured.
The next category is specialty.
So I think after your basic sewing,
like you sewing around her and a Fitbook,
what you really want is then specialty,
whatever it is that takes your particular fancy.
And so some of mine are,
it could be on a thrift with it,
a needle,
for example,
this is one of my favorites.
So this is completely on altering garments.
Now this is quite an old book,
I think from the forties,
from memory it's probably in here somewhere 1954.
And it is about The Complete Book of Mending.
This is one of my favorites.
It is,
you know,
all of your things that you need equipment.
And it just goes through all different techniques and situations of
mending, depending,
you know,
machine hand,
sewing, all this sorts of things.
Dunning refashioning is really just a wonderful little book.
And so this is a great specialty book for,
you know,
for me for dining and for mending clothes of all kinds.
Another specialty that I like is Katurah sine techniques,
this particular one,
The Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture
Sewing Techniques.
I found actually I found all of these second hand.
This one is really great.
I love these spiral bound.
So it actually sits flat on your sewing table.
So then nothing better.
So I think something on more high-end techniques is definitely something
that most of us will look for.
And I love this one.
It's obviously a modern book,
but it's laid out really,
really well.
The fantastic pictures,
which I think is a lot nicer to some of our
eyes that we're used to photographs like this rather than hand
drawn drawings.
So that can be nice if that's what you like to
see, then look for photographs,
that things that make sense to you always look for things
that make sense for you.
So it just covers like different things.
So if you have a look in the contents,
you'll find that it's sort of broken down into,
you know,
your toolkit,
bindings and finishes,
which are a lot of it underpinnings and different categories and
fabrics to really kind of understand what you're doing.
Certain, you know,
button on garment sections,
the couture waistband,
for example,
and just step by step on how you can use some
different techniques that maybe you had waistbands,
for example,
in your,
you know,
sewing, you're,
you're sewing around at the basic waistbands,
but this is how you can step up different techniques,
I think is really valuable as we progress through our sewing,
that we want to have a look at and there's no
one way to do anything.
So you'll want to see many different versions of how to
do things just like this,
that will give you great ideas.
So something on some high end tailoring with pictures that you
like is something that you think you're really want as well.
Another one in this category,
I think is when you really get to progress down your
sewing journey,
you'll start looking at pattern cutting and drafting,
and that is changing the pattern,
not just for fit,
but for style.
And so this is one of my favorites.
This is the Commonsense Dresscutting and Drafting Guide for
Adults. I actually think that this one was a textbook in
the 1950s for a school,
I think because I found many copies of these over time
and that's,
what's led me to believe it.
This one is laid out really,
really well.
This one is from the 1950s,
there are plenty of modern books on dresscutting.
I like this one because it's just,
wow, it's really,
really cute.
And of course has a bit more aesthetic too,
a little bit more what I like.
So of course there's measuring charts that there's the front simple
stitches, but what you want this kind of a book for
is your pattern alterations.
So like this one,
it shows you a picture of,
so taking your block pattern,
your start-up block,
and then how,
what adjustments that you would need to do to the pattern
to create this style.
So you're no longer looking for changes for fit,
but for style.
And it just goes through different ones.
And so it's obviously best to get a drafting book on
styles or an aesthetic that is similar to you.
So maybe it's a vintage one,
if you're into these types of books or a modern one,
or just whoever it is that has that kind of same
sort of style that you like to be able to replicate
those styles on your own garments is probably what you want
to look for.
I think if you cover off a sewing rounder and then
get a really good book on a fit,
and then from there a few specialty items,
depending on what you like to so will really be the
staples in,
at your sewing bookcase.
That will just really be that resource you need on hand.
And remember,
look for sewing skills,
not just projects I think will really help you out.
So tell me which book has been the most helpful in
your own sewing journey?
I would love to hear it because what books do I
need to add to my sewing collection?
I would love to hear them bill.
I remember read those comments because it will be absolute gold
of resources down there.
Thank you very much for watching.
And until next time,
happy sewing, bye.