""Reference for sewers with step-by-step instructions for fitting test garments on the body, then transferring adjustments to paper patterns before cutting out and sewing the final garment"--Provided by publisher"--

A celebrity dressmaker's guide for craft-capable fashionistas explains how to combine basic sewing skills with creative touches to create unique results, demonstrating how to transform classic 1950s-style cocktail dresses into flattering personalized garments. Original.

From autumn's bursts of orange and red to spring's lush greens, summer's long-lasting golden light and winter's cool whites and grays, the changing seasons provide endless artistic inspiration. InSewing for All Seasons, author Susan Beal offers 24 beautiful projects imbued with the spirit of each season. Home sewists will enjoy stitching a cozy patchwork throw for autumn, a bright gardening apron to welcome spring, a colorful picnic quilt for summer, and soft woolen slippers for those chilly winter nights. With how-to illustrations, helpful templates and patterns, tons of color, and eye-catching photography, this book will leap off shelves and inspire crafters all year long.

Appliqu Your Way goes beyond traditional quiltwork with 35 sweet stitching projects from crafter extraordinaire Kayte Terry. Master decorative stitches, create original templates, and much more. The book is designed for easy use with a lay-flat Wire-O binding and a handy back pocket that holds pattern and template pieces. No more wrestling with a copy machine to enlarge or shrink! Stitchers will find everything they need to create a Gone Dotty A-line Skirt, a Reverse Appliqu Market Tote, a Felted Faux Bois Scarf, and 30+ more projects ranging from the sublimely simple to the ultra-chic.

A nostalgic tribute to the modern "slow movement" features patterns for aesthetic hand-crafted pieces that enable traditional sewers to be eco-friendly and mobile, in a volume that includes such options as fashion pillows, aprons and practical totes. Original.

A practical illustrated guide to techniques, tools and troubleshooting from a couture dressmaker. This book is a beautifully presented and comprehensive resource for dressmakers new to the craft and for those who want to take their skills further. It features scores of step-by-step sequences showing every kind of technique, from using and adapting paper patterns, to couture-inspired seaming techniques that will take garment-making skills to a new level. Some notable and practical features of the book are: - all photos illustrate the sewer's perspective from above, whether hand sewing or using a machine - fine details (such as a small notch) are shown in close-up photo call outs - photo annotations point out important details - lengthy descriptive captions leave no opportunity for confusion. The contents cover the full breadth of dressmaking. The following are just a few of them. - Sewing Kit -- the tools and materials required, including a sewing machine, overlocker/serger, and how to choose and use them - Preparation -- Natural and synthetic fabrics, how to choose fabrics, prepping and handling, pre-washing, types of thread, interfacings, understanding and sizing a pattern - Cutting -- Laying out and pinning fabric and patterns, weighting, marking, and tacking - Making - Pressing is not ironing, creating shape, open and closed seams, pockets, openings and closures, zippers, sleeves and cuffs, collars, yokes, waistbands, decorative features, sewing jersey - Finishing -- Bound edges, facings, hems, and linings - Resources -- Metric/imperial conversion, sewing machine needles sizes and uses, common seam allowances, and US, UK and European size conversions. Other valuable topics covered are the anatomy of a stitch, correcting thread tension, fixing stitches, working 4-thread jersey, what selvedge is and how grain lines work, how to measure yourself (and why), how to alter a pattern to fit, making a toile (a personalized, muslin, fitting dress). Dressmaking: The Indispensable Guide is an essential reference.

More and more women are making their own clothes but there are few comprehensive references available. For the most part, dedicated sewers have had to adjust standardized patterns or muddle their way through foreign-language books. In Practical Pattern Making two pattern-making experts and designers introduce the basic techniques of creative pattern design for clothing. It is intended to help fashion students, designers and enthusiastic sewers develop and create a variety of styles, regardless of complexity. The book uses photographs, examples, diagrams and templates to explain all of the techniques, formulas and professional tricks to create a custom-tailored skirt, suit or dress. The tutorial style poses questions that encourage problem-solving. Features include: - How to measure the body, with 13 illustrative photographs - Blank professional worksheets to copy and use - 40 scaled pattern templates with all markings - How to draw and mark a sized pattern with darts, pleats and so on - Modeling and draping to design and fit a pattern - Working with fabric grain and bias - Photos of garments in process and finished - The 40 garment selections begin with a basic skirt and progress from a fitted jacket and suit to an asymmetrical balloon dress, flounce dress, tissue dresses and more. All require just a few pattern pieces.

Complete instructions for creating 10 different heirloom pieces, including multicolored crib quilt, unusual quilt with rings arranged in "Barn Raising" pattern, classically styled quilt with three mitered borders, eye-catching single ring placemat, dramatic Amish-style wall hanging with black background, and 5 other projects.

Think of the money you can save by recovering your favorite chair instead of replacing it. This book covers all of the basic techniques you'll need to reupholster outdated furniture. From wood footstools to over stuffed chairs, there's a good variety of projects you can accomplish with the help of this bestselling book. The fantastic how-to photos and easy-to-understand text make this a must-have for anyone interested in learning upholstery.