Rip It!: How to Deconstruct and Reconstruct the Clothes of Your Dreams

by Elissa Meyrich

Why spend tons of money on humdrum designer duds when it's possible to revamp a piece you already own to create a guaranteed original that looks, fits, and feels just the way it should?

Rip It! shows how simple and fun it can be to transform a tired wardrobe into hip, one-of-a-kind new looks without spending a dime. Elissa Meyrich, owner and teacher at the popular New York sewing boutique Sew Fast Sew Easy, has been passing her sewing secrets and style tips on to students for years. Now she shows beginners and experienced sewers everywhere how to customize pieces found at cheap chain stores, thrift shops, or the far reaches of a closet and create fabulous new designs. Rip It! includes everything you need -- basic sewing and alteration information; quick sewing methods; where to find supplies; advice on which fabrics to use; important cutting rules; plus illustrated layouts, drawings, and instructions that show you how











Cool, crafty, and brimming with creative ideas, Rip It! is a hands-on handbook that will show you how to give your clothes sass, sparkle, and your own signature style.

Genres: Sewing, Crafts, Nonfiction, Fashion, How To

208 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2006

Reviews

[Kori · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay book to start off with for recycled clothing ideas. Projects are kind of blah, and not really anything I'd feel motivated to make based on the pictures. The instructions, however, are clear, and this is a good stepping stone book if you're new to sewing or sewing recycled clothing. I'd reccommend one of the books from the Generation T series more (awesome, awesome books), but this book isn't bad.

[Cherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

B- I didn't really get as much out of this book as I had hoped - I think the drawings in weird colors (orange, grey, white, black) didn't really convey how great things could be.

[Lana. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros:
- Teaches one how to read a sewing pattern
- Many easy projects with diagrams along the way

Cons:
- Projects not very inspiring (seemed ill-fitting in the few photos with models wearing the projects) and are more "embelishment" in nature rather than deconstucting or reconstructing

A book for beginning sewers with a teenage fashion sense.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wowzers. Most of these re-construction ideas are absolutely hideous. I think a beginner teenage sewist might get excited by this mainly because it doesn't require new fabric or anything but still. Wow. Not cute.

[sara frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had some good basic sewing information in it, but nearly all of the patterns were hideous, IMHO.

[J Crossley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting sewing book. The author teaches you to redo clothes you have to create something new and interesting.

[Nixie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good instructions and overall inspiration for a beginner, but weird projects.

[Cathleen Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gift from Kw Sewists Guild swap. A quick read and I will dig into some of the resources.

[Kathy Rintelman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rudimentary. The styling is okay, the format and lessons are for a beginner or someone who hasn't sewn before.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great project ideas with more detailed instructions than a lot of the similar books I've recently looked at. The only drawback is that the few photographs are grey--the rest is illustrations. I imagine this made the book less costly to produce, but I love to look at color photographs of project ideas.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a useless recap of techniques any sewer already knows (and I'm not even a very good sewer), with very few project ideas (and no good ones at that). This book has absolutely nothing on Generation T.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few cute ideas, and some really ugly ones. I think teens would appreciate this more than adults.

[AJ Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first got it from the library and then bought a copy to have as a reference.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Few actual projects, kind of ugly and/or boring.