Customer Rating:
List Price: $35.00
Best Price: $16.98 (new), $15.00 (used)
Availability: New (36), Used (28)
Author: Reader's Digest Editors
ISBN: 0762104201
Number of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2002-10-24
Publisher: Readers Digest

Customer Review

Great beginnings
by Customer A2S3ZLA5CZU4Q7 at March 12th, 2008
I wished I'd have bought this book first instead of Singer's complete photo guide to sewing. I checked out a copy from my library and realized that it was probably the best beginning sewing boook out there. The only other book I'd recommend is DK's Complete Book of Sewing. Both have their strengths and are very easy to follow but I thought Reader's was a little more thorough.

As for the reviewer who was disappointed that the book didn't cover the machine well enough, I've learned that an author could fill an entire book covering the subject and still not tell you how to use the machine you own or intend to buy. But who's to say you'll immediately begin machine sewing? Perhaps you may lean toward haute couture techniques and want to know more about hand stitching, which this book does happen to cover. If you're looking for a 'complete' guide in sewing you have to make editorial choices because the subject is too vast for any single book. That said, my expectation of a good beginner book is one that covers the most important sewing topics with enough depth to enable the beginner to actually create garments, which this book does. In addition, this book points the new sewer toward making well-fitting garments (tailoring techniques) which makes it a very good buy. In all, the topic choices are logical with better coverage than most without being too vague (like Vogue Sewing at times), outdated, too shallow or disjointed (like the Singer books). Again, the only other beginning book I've found worthwhile is DK's Complete Book of Sewing, but even in it you'll find that some areas could be fuller, as you should expect with a general sewing book.

So, where to start? Well, the library is a great, if not the best, place. If you have a machine, look over your manual. Seems simple/silly, but they typically give you enough to get started with a straight stitch which is often all you need. If you don't have a machine you may consider Fine Machine Sewing by Carol Laflin Ahles or All About Machine Arts. Both are great books to help get acquainted with your machine before you start tackling fabric, seams, etc.

Sewing is pretty much like the ocean- there's a depth suited for every taste. You'd be amazed at how deep it goes. That said, these beginner books will get you started but you'll find there is so much more to understanding how to make a well-fitting garment- which is good and bad. It's bad because all the topics can make your head spin and you might get quite frustrated before you ever make anything that suits your taste or even fits your body. The myriad of choices are good, however, because they allow quite a bit of choices, expression and individuality to the sewer. You can spend a lot of time and a fortune learning everything there is to creating garments/fabric decor, but before you spend all your money in one place it will pay to research what different directions and concepts all fall into play for something as common and seemingly simple as the clothes on our backs. Scour the internet, your local library and people who sew first, then think of what kind of sewing you intend to try.

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