- How To Start Sewing: The How and Why of Sewing for Fashion Design: Sewing Techniques with Matching Patterns

I absolutely love, adore, & cherish this book. “ IT IS MY BIBLE “ This book is hands down the best sewing for beginners book you’ll ever buy in your life. It is well organized & extremely thorough. It feels like someone is holding your hand from start to finish. This book is extremely extensive & dense & will take about 4 months to read alone. if you are going to do the exercises as you read the book, it will take about 1 year to do. There’s only one thing that I don’t like about this book & that is it’s cheaply made. The cover & the glue that holds the book together is NOT GOOD. I wish the author would have spent more money on making a hardcover & used a high quality book covering & binding. I would gladly pay more money for that, the book started falling apart 1 month Into me reading it, but because the book is so amazing. I’m still going to give it 5 stars. I can tell the author was extremely passionate when writing this book because it is simply amazing. This book will assist in making my dreams of becoming a fashion designer come true because it is so easy to learn & loaded with over 600 pages of information, patterns, charts, button sizer & so much more . This book is simply amazing I also have have their “ how patterns work “ book & I love that book as well. I will continue buying books from this author for the rest of my life

I decided to buy this after I read rave reviews when I was looking for beginner sewing books for a friend. As I was looking through my own small collection of sewing books, my copies of “Singer Sewing Book”, “The Complete Book of Sewing”, “Couture Sewing Techniques”, and “Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing” all felt a little lacking on their own, so I decided to give this one a go, and I’m so glad that I did. I’ve been sewing for over 20 years and am an intermediate/advanced sewer. Reading through this book made me feel like someone had taken all of the things I’d ever read and learned through my own trial and error and compiled them into one comprehensive, surprisingly easy to read tome. It’s great for beginners to intermediate sewers because it covers things like fabric grain and using a sewing machine to pressing, construction and finishing, and even a little bit of pattern making. I also appreciated that, unlike many sewing books, this one is strictly focused on sewing clothing vs decorative hand stitching or other random sewing projects. This book teaches good sewing habits (except for putting the tread in your mouth if you’re having trouble threading it through your needle, which is gross and unnecessary) and has clear, easy to understand illustrations throughout. If I could only have one sewing book, this would be it. I think it’s that good.

This book is incredible! First off all, it's huge! 6 parts, 49 chapters, plus a part 7 which is a library of sample patterns. It goes into lots of detail for all the steps (even tips for threading a needle, needle types, how to press properly - the list goes on). Lots of illustrations that show all angles so you really understand what you're doing. Each new thing taught starts with a list of tools needed. It goes into detail about the tools and types. It explains preparation and then has exercises to practice the topics. And each section is followed by a neat illustrated list of everything you should know after going through the section. I love the fact that each chapter is blocked out on the sides and within the pages so you know where you are at and for quick reference. I'm just sad I did my typical ADHD jump into this hobby and quit when I got recklesslyin over my head. But this book has finally given me all the tools I need to finish all of my half done projects. And hopefully it will allow me to stick with this hobby long term.

I love this book, even though I've been sewing awhile now. You can use this book several ways - as a step by step learning guide with exercises, as a reference, or as a reader. I like that it introduces tools gradually, as you need them. No need to run out and buy everything at once, in case you decide sewing is not for you. It covers sewing by hand and by machine, how to read pattern markings, all about fabric choices, in addition to all the constructions techniques. The only (surprising) omission is that it doesn't cover bound buttonholes or welt pockets - but those have been easy enough to find elsewhere. The bonus with this book is that it contains mini patterns that you can cut out and sew to learn the techniques, before practicing on full size garments. When you're done, you can add to a sample book along with all the settings you used, so you can refer to them the next time you need to use that technique. Assembil has now even created the sample patterns in pdf form - no need to cut or trace them out of the book, just print them off as many times as you need. I have learned many new tricks using this book, including a lapped zipper for fly-front pants, and making covered buttons and snaps. The book itself is very comprehensive, with plenty of diagrams. Don't let the thick size of the book intimidate you, it really is thorough in taking you through steps for each technique. This book is geared toward garment sewing, but some of the techniques can be used by craft sewists.

I have a lot of sewing books, all the most highly rated classic ones. How to Start Sewing is my absolute favorite and the one I am using as an at home sewing course. The drawings are spot on...it is like having a teacher at your side the entire time. Both the drawings and text is very detailed and sequential and Enough to execute properly and not get lost. It truly covers I believe nearly all that a sewist would need to know about general sewing. It is not chatty or fluffy. It is not just a conglomeration of techniques like a lot of books. It truly is a sequential in depth course written for those who want to learn more in depth sewing and be competent at execution. Never do I need to ask myself “What do I need to know prior to being able to do this technique?” I will have already learned what I needed to know to be successful at the next technique, because it is already set up sequentially! It’s awesome. I can not say enough positive things about this book. After I finish using it as a course for learning to sew, it will become my go to reference. Which book would be the best choice for learning to sew? I believe This One!!! (I am in not affiliated or compensated by the publisher or author. I am just a grateful user. How to Start Sewing has been the Best discovery of my Sewing Journey.)

Paper is very white, not flimsy in thickness, print is large and black in an easy to read font. Pages margins are large so you can easily see all the print and don't have to mash the book to see the writing close to the binding. The content is exactly what it says it is, and although I have been sewing many decades, I felt the need to have a good reference book and this is definitely the one I wished I had 50 years ago. I am going to enjoy this book very much as I learn and relearn sewing, which I love. I also have the another book by this company, How patterns work and it too, is a delight and excellent reference. Actually I feel these two books alone would be great for sewing schools. Plain speaking with great explanations of the topic of sewing and pattern making to be found in both books.

This book is helping me daily learn how to sew the right way. I love the index and the of contents. Most anything you want to know about sewing is in this book. You can start from page one and go through the entire book like a sewing class. Each section has practice exercises. I even learned the professional way to sew a button on. That sounds simple but it really does matter how you do it. The only reason why I gave this 4 stars rather than 5 is because I think photographs would be easier to understand than drawings in some of the illustrations. But that is a personal preference.

This book is a must have for professional seamstresses as well as beginners wishing to learn the basics of sewing. It has illustrations of various sewing tecniques, ranging from basic patterns to more advanced stitching; the illustrations also show several exercises in order to master these techniques( although I will say that the book, having more than 600 pages, is too big to safely photocopy the pages; as others reviews have mentioned, it's best to cut out the illustrations of the patterns you wish to learn). My mother has been using the book in order to learn new advanced techniques and improve on the patterns that she thought had already mastered, while I've been using it to learn the basics of sewing for practical reasons( fixing holes in clothes) and for helping my mother with her work. Overall, an excellent book to learn all about the wonderful world of sewing

Explicaciones gráficas muy claras.

J’aime beaucoup! C’est exactement le livre qu’il me fallait! Contenu intelligemment organisé. Je n’avais pas envie d’un livre avec des exercices de vêtements que je n’aida envie d’avoir. Ce livre-ci donne des petits exercices, sur de tout petits patrons, bien catégorisés. Ça m’a permis de bien comprendre les différentes étapes et techniques nécessaires à la confection d’un vêtement. En plus les illustrations sont si bien faites qu’on peut quasiment faire les exercices sans lire! Génial!

Thanks Amazon for the book. Arrived in good condition with no damage. This book is for anyone who wants to understand how sewing works. There is a lot of reading but it is simple to understand and the language is encouraging for novices. I'm reading the book first and following along with the methodology and instructions. It's the most unique book out there that actually explains the sewing technique. Most books just dictate how to put a project together but never actually teach how to understand instructions, instrument, patterns etc. I like it and look forward to reading the pattern book as well. Clothes might be mass produced and cheap however I think learning a hard and extremely useful skill like sewing will always be handy any time any place. Thanks Assembil.

The books is well structured and written, and there are many exercises throughout to help the reader to get started and learn the skills in the process. Lots of graphical materials accompany the text, so the material is very clear. I would recommend this book primarily for people who has very little to no experience in the domain.

I like this book a lot. - Very complete, there is a lot of information. - Not just the how, but also the why of different techniques. Understand why you do what you do, including alternatives. - Nice, clear, black and white diagrams instead of photos -- see photo. (Some may not like this minimal style, I do) If you are just starting out, this book may be a bit overwhelming. There are more basic books out there, if you only need the very basics. But if you want a thorough course in sewing, here it is. Go through it from beginning to end, or dip in here and there to get what you want. Does not include whole garment patterns, only patterns for details (samples). Does not include information about creating your own sewing patterns or draping, which are more advanced topics. It does show you how to read existing sewing patterns, and how to make them from start to finish. See the assembil.com website for a detailed table of content of the book, or to download the samples patterns (to practice the different techniques described in the book and create your own samples library).