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First Time Sewing: The Absolute Beginner's Guide
Learning how to sew has never been simpler! Like having a personal instructor at your side, this beginner's guide teaches you to sew stitches both by hand and with a machine.
Filled with detailed descriptions of materials and tools, the easy step-by-step instructions for all the basic sewing techniques will have you creating projects like aprons, pillows, and even pants and shorts in no time.
These simple projects will introduce essential sewing skills like hems , seams , balancing tension , and how to use a pattern : With First Time Sewing , you will soon be stitching amazing gifts and projects with confidence.
Filled with detailed descriptions of materials and tools, the easy step-by-step instructions for all the basic sewing techniques will have you creating projects like aprons, pillows, and even pants and shorts in no time.
These simple projects will introduce essential sewing skills like hems , seams , balancing tension , and how to use a pattern : With First Time Sewing , you will soon be stitching amazing gifts and projects with confidence.
128 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2014
512 people are currently reading
476 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 1, 2021
Read or skimmed the first half of the book but skipped most of the projects.
This is a hard book for me to review because the fault may not be with the book but with myself. Some (maybe most) of my concerns aren't with the book's writing quality but with the format of the book. For one thing, I read, and this review is for, the epub version. I took a look at the PDF version and it's much more approachable. The hardcopy would probably be more accessible still as it would be easier to page through and skip forward and back. But I think it's fair to ask for a well-formatted epub, and I am writing an honest review of the version of the book I chose to read.
Even more important, text instruction doesn't lend itself to a physical craft, like sewing, for me. Like, I learned more about how to start using a sewing machine from this Jo Ann video on Youtube than I did from the entire book when I first read it. As well-illustrated as the book was, I still had no idea how to operate a sewing machine when I finished the first half. With the Jo Ann video I have at least a fighting chance at loading a bobbin in the machine.
So for whatever reason, this book did not work for me at all. The first half of the book overloads you with information concerning what the parts of a sewing machine are, what fabrics are available and what kind of stiches you can make and what they're good for. It tells too much. At the same time, it uses words like "bobbin" without defining them.
The second half was full of projects I skipped because they didn't interest me.
In a book aimed at absolute beginners like me I think a better approach would be gently ease you into sewing through a myriad of interesting projects, explaining terms and techniques as they arise. And not just explaining techniques, but explaining WHY those particular techniques are used where they are.
That's what I wanted from this and similar books, and I'm coming away disappointed.
tl;dr: The formatting of the epub obscures its pedagogical value and results in information overload. For sewing, I think video instruction more suites my learning style.
This is a hard book for me to review because the fault may not be with the book but with myself. Some (maybe most) of my concerns aren't with the book's writing quality but with the format of the book. For one thing, I read, and this review is for, the epub version. I took a look at the PDF version and it's much more approachable. The hardcopy would probably be more accessible still as it would be easier to page through and skip forward and back. But I think it's fair to ask for a well-formatted epub, and I am writing an honest review of the version of the book I chose to read.
Even more important, text instruction doesn't lend itself to a physical craft, like sewing, for me. Like, I learned more about how to start using a sewing machine from this Jo Ann video on Youtube than I did from the entire book when I first read it. As well-illustrated as the book was, I still had no idea how to operate a sewing machine when I finished the first half. With the Jo Ann video I have at least a fighting chance at loading a bobbin in the machine.
So for whatever reason, this book did not work for me at all. The first half of the book overloads you with information concerning what the parts of a sewing machine are, what fabrics are available and what kind of stiches you can make and what they're good for. It tells too much. At the same time, it uses words like "bobbin" without defining them.
The second half was full of projects I skipped because they didn't interest me.
In a book aimed at absolute beginners like me I think a better approach would be gently ease you into sewing through a myriad of interesting projects, explaining terms and techniques as they arise. And not just explaining techniques, but explaining WHY those particular techniques are used where they are.
That's what I wanted from this and similar books, and I'm coming away disappointed.
tl;dr: The formatting of the epub obscures its pedagogical value and results in information overload. For sewing, I think video instruction more suites my learning style.
June 29, 2022
A very good sewing instruction book for beginners. Basic techniques are well-explained with good photographs. The book concludes with some simple project ideas and tips.
January 5, 2026
It is completely a beginners guide to sewing
Goes over a lot of basic information. Some of it I was already well aware about. Some others were information I was not actually aware about--and I had been doing stuff in a completely different way from what the book was saying. The book's way seems like it might be better (will have to check)
It does give some example projects, though half of them expect you to have a pattern to use with them. Which I guess is helpful for a decent set of instructions to go along side those
I will be attempting a few of the projects in this book. From what it looks like the instructions appear complete... but I shall see if there are any missing parts as I go along
Goes over a lot of basic information. Some of it I was already well aware about. Some others were information I was not actually aware about--and I had been doing stuff in a completely different way from what the book was saying. The book's way seems like it might be better (will have to check)
It does give some example projects, though half of them expect you to have a pattern to use with them. Which I guess is helpful for a decent set of instructions to go along side those
I will be attempting a few of the projects in this book. From what it looks like the instructions appear complete... but I shall see if there are any missing parts as I go along
September 13, 2018
This is a great read for a beginner! I’m just getting into the best parts of starting to sew! This includes all the tools, tips, in-depth look into the use of patterns, seams, hand stitching & hemming! The projects are adorable & also incorporate using patterns (not provided)! I have enough personal experience, to see how the projects throughout the book make sense step by step! I haven’t done them yet but can’t wait to try them out!
March 31, 2020
This is the perfect book for someone coming to sewing knowing virtually nothing. I was able to read through the main instructional portion in an evening, which primed me for being able to tackle more detailed books.
August 23, 2022
Borrowed a bunch of sewing books from the library after a frustrating weekend project. This was my first read- quick skim in less than an hour. Some good projects to try with tips. Will have to come back to reference when doing a project.
February 12, 2025
Learn To Sew
Wonderful book with all the basic notions and feet information for a beginner. Easy beginner projects to learn from and apply all your newly learned skills. With this book, you can start sewing well and just keep going.
Wonderful book with all the basic notions and feet information for a beginner. Easy beginner projects to learn from and apply all your newly learned skills. With this book, you can start sewing well and just keep going.
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May 17, 2020verry usefull
Read
June 23, 2020very informative!! i unfortunately do not have access to a sewing machine at the moment, but I can't wait to try out the projects from this book ^^
December 13, 2020
This is a good read for beginners! It has the basic information needed to start sewing.
May 15, 2022
a decent resource
December 25, 2016
boring and complicated at times
July 22, 2025
Learning to sew
As I help my granddaughter learn to sew, this book helped me to refresh my skills and it will help her to better understand many of the tools used to complete a project. Very helpful.
As I help my granddaughter learn to sew, this book helped me to refresh my skills and it will help her to better understand many of the tools used to complete a project. Very helpful.
February 1, 2017
This was a good book for those who have used a sewing machine before. It has been a while since I used a sewing machine and this book helped refresh my memory. I got a littks confused when the book started talking about finishing off the edges but I think I will be able to figure it out. As a bonus this book comes with 8 different projects that one can do to help improve their sewing skills. It wasn't something that I was looking for but I guess it is nice to have if I ever get bored and want something to do.
October 10, 2015
I cheated when I read this book: I didn't actually work through all of their projects, I just skimmed through quickly to give myself practice with sewing jargon and diagrams. I liked it a lot for its instructional style. However, some of the projects are presented like this: "Buy a commercial pattern for this item, then follow our instructions too." I would have found that pretty frustrating if I had bought this book to work through it from cover to cover.
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September 1, 2016Help is here
This book covers so many sewing topic's, recommended for beginning and intermediate sewers, you will not be disappointed but pleased.
This book covers so many sewing topic's, recommended for beginning and intermediate sewers, you will not be disappointed but pleased.
August 18, 2014
Basic sewing instruction that I will use for my classroom teaching.
January 15, 2015
Go through the basics. I learned something new.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews