Need a good sewing book for a beginner?

Question

I bought a new sewing machine, I CAN NOT sew at all I don't even know if I am gonna be able to use this thing. I would love to learn how to make my own clothes. I know I can't do that just yet, i am sure i will have to start with smaller projects first since I have not clue what I am doing.

Does anyone have any recommendations of a REALLY good and helpful book for a beginner?

Answer 1

Several possibilities:

1) Simplicity's Simply The Best Sewing Book.  Meant for no-experience newbies; home dec sorts of things rather than garments.  Should be able to find a used copy fairly reasonably.

2) Connie Crawford's new "Studio Sewing Skills" video takes a brand new learner (she'd literally never sewn before) from threading a machine through construction of a camp shirt.  Connie taught sewing, patternmaking and draping at FIDM for many years before forming her own company.  

http://www.butterick.com/item/CC770.htm?...

and the pattern used: http://www.butterick.com/item/B5047.htm

Too new (June 2008) to find used, most likely.

3) Crawford's Guide to Fashion Sewing: starts a bit beyond "how to thread a machine", focussed on garment construction methods slightly modified from ready to wear sewing methods.  Much more straightforward and time saving than the usual home sewing methods, and better results, imo.  

Takes you through all major garment types, including lining jackets and vests.  Wish I'd learned to sew this way from the start... would have saved me years of frustration.  Standard textbook for fashion students, will be a little pricey even used; worth it, imho.

4) Reader's Digest Complete Book of Sewing.  The classic home sewing manual.  You may wind up wanting two copies, one from the 70's and a current one, because of different coverage.  Should be able to find used copies cheaply and easily.

5) Two more videos you should know about for a bit farther into your sewing career: Mary Roehr's Pressing to Perfection and Cecelia Podolak's Fearless Pressing.  Pressing is not the same as ironing -- pressing flattens seams, removes bulk, shapes fabric.  Someone who knows how to press a garment can make a mediocre garment look great, and even a poorly sewn garment look ok.  Borrow them from your library (or I think Smartflix may have them.)  Both also worth owning, imo.

The main thing you need to do is to make up your mind to ruin a few pieces of fabric.  Doesn't even have to be good fabric -- off the dollar table at Walmart or that old dead sheet from the rag bag.  The ladies in the fabric department at Walmart (if you've still got one) mostly sew and like fabrics, so if you tell them you're a raw beginner and ask them to help you find some "on-grain" easy fabric to practice on, I'm sure they can help.  ("On grain" means the yarns in the fabric are at 90 degrees to each other, instead of skewed.  Never assume you can straighten skewed fabric).

If you don't have an iron, I recommend the Black and Decker Classic as an inexpensive but good choice.  If you need scissors, Fiskars are pretty good for cheap, but I far prefer Kai -- you want "dressmakers", as big a blade as you can afford -- the bigger the blade, the less choppy the cutting, the easier the sewing.  http://www.kaiscissors.com/category.php?...

(N 5250 or N5275 would be my suggestion)  About twice as much as Fiskars, and worth it, imo.

I start beginners out with sewing on paper.  Don't bother to thread up the machine.  Get a piece of paper (junk mail is fine) and put the right edge of the paper at the 5/8"/15mm mark.  Lower the presser foot and start sewing, trying to keep the paper feeding straight.  Watch the edge mark, not the needle.  When you get to the corner, stop with the needle down, raise the presser foot, pivot 90 degrees, lower the presser foot and keep sewing.  Try to use just your right and left index fingers for steering the paper.  When you can sew

straight lines, cut some curves on your paper and learn to follow those -- both inside and outside curves.  When you're happy, thread up and try fabric.   Paper is easier to sew on than fabric, and learning to steer with your index fingers teaches you that the feed dogs (the little grabber teeth under the presser foot) do a nice job of transporting fabric by themselves -- you don't have to clutch it to r****d the movement of the fabric or pull the fabric through.  You'll need to use a little more of your hand to control fabric instead of paper, but this is one of the best beginner exercises I know of.