The Dressmaker's Technique Bible: A complete guide to fashion sewing

If you are into sewing and want to learn how to make clothing, this is an excellent little book to help you on your way. I love that it is spiral bound. All art and craft books should be spiral bound in my opinion. This allows you to leave the book open and read while your working without having to hold the pages open.The pages are chock full of techniques. For instance, it will teach you several different techniques just for sewing a hem, Serged hems, rolled hems and more. Then there is another chapter on Fasteners. From buttons to zippers, snaps, hook and eyes and more. The book is well illustrated showing how to do each technique. I'm new to sewing apparel, and this book is going to help me immensely. There's even a section on embroidery and other decorative techniques. Great book. I'm very happy with it.

Really found this book to be an inviting, encouraging, complete as well as easy-to-use reference. The spiral type binding allows the book to lie flat,too - so I'm not fighting holding the book open while handling fabric and pins! The drawings / illustrations are large and clear (to me with age 49+ eyes) and the layouts of each page make finding what I am looking for not so burdensome as my other older traditional text - type books (everyone knows that Vogue tailoring book from the 1970s - wonderful but try holding it open while you work!) I sewed during my junior high years, and off and on thereafter - never with the ease and ambition and skill my mother had (she made all my clothes in high school, and all my school uniforms in junior high - beautiful work). I found this book to be both factual and encouraging as I pick back up on a skill I always wanted to perfect.

I've been sewing for 40 years now and this book is wonderful, this book is a bible for those newbies and for the oldies in sewing. Dressmakers gives every detail for everything from tools to choosing fabrics: from felting to beads: from lining a jacket to sleeves, this Dressmakers Bible has it all. There were things I had forgotten and this book reminded me how easy they were. I recommend this book to every sewer out there.

I agree with the other reviewers who suggested that this is a good reference for a new or returning sewist. There are clearly better books for some topics covered in this book -- The guide to fabrics, for example, isn't in the same class as  Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide .It also isn't comprehensive in how it presents techniques. For example, in the discussion of making your own bias tape (easy, cheap, not hard), it only talks about the most basic technique (cutting it out and sewing it together). It doesn't talk about alternative techniques including a continuous bias tape technique, which I find to be much easier.I find that I return to this when I need a refresher on how to do a technique that I've done before. Just the other day, I wanted to do a french seam on a blouse I was putting together. I haven't done one in a few months so I peeked at the helpful diagram on page 57 and away I went. It fits nicely on the small bookcase next to my sewing table, so I like to keep it handy when I'm working on projects. Please don't misunderstand, I like it really quite a lot, it just isn't the only book in the library.

Great book Purchased to showy students....easy to read,understand ..lots of pics

This book is a great easy to read and understand directions. I will keep and use for referral when needed.

The book covers everything a beginner needs as well as being a refresher to someone like me who did a lot of sewing 20 years ago and is getting back into again.

very useful and has all sorts of tips and tricks. I really liked that it had a section on different body types and what types of clothes fit that body type!

I haven't had a chance to read this book yet but skimming through it, I can see it being a tremendous help to me in the very near future! Thank you!!

I recently became interested in sewing but as a novice needed all the help I could get. I bought this book to give me a basic knowledge of all the techniques and equipment I would need. Although much of this information is available online I like having something solid to hold and this book is truly excellent. I bought 'Dressmaking' and 'The Sewing Book' by Alison Smith alongside this and if I was pushed to pick one I'd take this one. The illustrations are very easy to understand and follow. Because it has a ring binder it sits open nicely without needing to weigh it down, I'm sure this will be very useful when your hands are full of fabric! It may not be as extensive in its coverage as 'The Sewing Book' but if you just want the basic techniques that are easy to follow and get going then this is by far the best one.

Es perfecto para toda esa gente del sector textil que está estudiando inglés. Porque, a parte de los conocimientos técnicos, al ser el idioma original el inglés las expresiones son auténticas.

The book is used but in great condotion as advertised. It is a simple but comprehensive guide - all the things expexted. Very pleased.

Just recieved this book today and I'm so impressed. Althought I know how to do all the different types of seams and I'm not a beginner, I had forgotten a few of them. This is a great book for inspiration and makes you want to take the extra time to use different techniques instead of just sticking to old faithful. The only problem was that some of the pages were stuck together as its a ring bound book, so I tore some of the little bits holding it together. If you pull the pages apart as if you were reading from back cover to front before you read it I find they dont rip as easily.