Learning to sew from sewing books

Sewing is something that has been done by mankind ever since they have put skins together to cover themselves. As their knowledge of creating fabric by weaving textiles improved, so did the method of sewing them together. Sewing continues today, both in a commercial fashion as well as with the home sewer. You can teach yourself to sew and create your own clothing. Learn more on sewing in this article.

Beginner

Books like The Complete Book of Sewing; Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts: Basic Techniques for Sewing, Applique, Embroidery, Quilting, Dyeing, and Printing, plus 150 Inspired Projects from A to Z; Stitches and Pins, a Beginning Sewing Book for Girls; and Simplicity's Simply the Best Sewing Book are good books for the beginner. They teach beginning techniques upon which the sewer can build his craft. Books that also teach how to use a sewing machine are also helpful.

Intermediate

When you have learned basic skills, you can move on to more advanced sewing techniques, such as books on how to alter the clothing that you buy to make it into something that you like. You can also buy books that teach you how to work with patterns. Books such as How to Make Sewing Patterns, The Perfect Fit: The Classic Guide to Altering Patterns, and PatternReview.com: 1000 Clever Shortcuts and Tips will help you not only to become a better sewer, but will also start you on the way to making your own clothing from scratch.

Advanced

The advanced sewer will be able to tackle even more complicated sewing projects thanks to all of the books that have come before. Books like How to Use, Draft and Adapt Sewing Patterns, from store-bought patterns to drafting your own, Couture Sewing Techniques, The Art of Manipulating Fabric, and Draping for Apparel Design will continue the sewer's education. With these techniques under one's belt, the even more technical and challenging sewing projects can be attempted, such as sewing garments from Elizabeth Arnold's Patterns of Fashion: Englishwomen's Dresses and Their Construction can be attempted. In these books, Arnold provides line drawings of garments from the 1600s to the modern era, as well as an accompanying pattern drawn on graph paper where every square equals an inch. Not only will the sewer have to draft patterns from the book, but the patterns will also have to be sized up to fit the wearer.