Teach Yourself Visually Sewing

by Debbie Colgrove

Sewing is attracting lots of young people looking to express their individuality by making their own gifts and fashions. Fueled by popular home decorating shows like Trading Spaces and Design on a Dime, interest in making placemats, window treatments, and other decorative items for the home has risen as well. More than 100,000 people took sewing classes at Jo-Ann Stores in 2004! This book is like getting a private sewing lesson on every spread. It shows readers how to operate a sewing machine, choose fabrics, do a variety of basic stitches, and follow patterns. Proceeding at their own pace, readers see and learn how to hem and mend garments and make simple sewing projects, such as a messenger bag and a gift bag for a bottle of wine.

Debbie Colgrove (Elizaville, NY) has served as the sewing expert for About.com since 1997. She teaches 4-H sewing groups and has been employed as an assistant manager at a fabric store. She also has sewn for local manufacturers as an independent contractor and has produced her own line of sewn products. Colgrove has a wealth of experience on both home and industrial sewing machines.

Genres: Sewing, Nonfiction, Reference, Crafts

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[C.D. Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: This book is presented exactly the way the title reads: “Teach yourself visually sewing”. Many representational photos are added to convey the bulk of the idea presented. I only wish the photos and execution points explained more detail about how one should approach each point. For example, explaining why one aspect might be favored over another; which methods are considered best practices; and like the popular “add title for dummies” instructional series, bomb points, that should be avoided at all costs. However, in all fairness, I do believe attempting to convey animated sewing concepts graphically must be extremely difficult. Usually, one will learn via a master’s demonstration. And then, the apprentice sets out to duplicate what they've witnessed. With this thought in mind, I believe the author does a great job of introducing very general sewing basics.

Cons: This book is really created for the Genuine Newb’. If you are not a fledgling sewist, you might not reap the full benefits of the author’s intended audience. The book does a great job introducing basic seams, button-holes, fabrics, etc., and even strays into fitting concepts like easing and darts. However, it never truly jumps in regarding construction theory and or application. With this said, if you fit this Genuine Newb mold, by all means get this book. However, if you already possess a reasonable foundation around sewing in general, I’d recommend finding something with a little more tooth. – Pun intended.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for a beginning sewer because it shows you close-up photographs of real sewing machines, sewing techniques, sewing projects, etc. The photographs provide much more valuable visual information than simple black-and-white illustrations typically found in beginning sewing books.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for beginning sewing. Great photos to teach yourself and use for reference. I like using this book with sewing students.

[Maura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library and learned so much in so little time.