Book Review: Sewing Made Simple

Hey Everybody! I have a ton of sewing projects lined up over the course of the next few months, so I decided to get a book review up for those of you that might not yet be well versed at sewing! Sewing Made Simple is a great sewing primer by Tessa Evelegh, and is published by one of my favorite independent publishers, Chronicle Books . I would highly recommend it not only for sewing newbies, but seasoned vets, as it is full of great tips, and has about 20 projects that utilize and build upon the skills shown including clothing and home decor projects.



From a purely aesthetic standpoint, it is a beautiful book, with great photography and the kinds of special details I come to expect from pretty much all Chronicle Books. No white borders here, your pages are trimmed with lovely fabric prints in colors and patterns that will inspire you to pick up the book and start sewing as soon as you lay eyes on it. There are also tons of full color photos, as well as some cute, hand drawn diagrams.

There are some really great sections on sewing machine anatomy and tips on buying a sewing machine (which I actually found incredibly helpful as I inherited my current machine from my mom when she bought her new one, but I have been thinking about the possible upgrade to a machine that does more stitches and fancy-pants work like one touch buttonholes and the like). It definitely helps you to get a starting place for what you may need or want in the wide world of sewing machines! If machines aren't your thing, there are also lots of tips and techniques on hand sewing (including "must know stitches" complete with diagrams!).



The total sewing novice will appreciate all of the labeled and numbered photographs the book provides you with on different types of threads, needles, scissors, buttons, etc. Heck, those who have been sewing for years may have their eyes opened to something you just never used before because you didn't really know a good application for it!



My favorite part of the book is that every section has helpful little tip "bubbles" that give you a tip or trick on how to make a technique easier. If you used to steer clear of zippers, or pin tucks, it might have a tip that makes them your new favorite thing (I know I'm excited to try out pin tucks on lots of new projects!).

My one and only gripe for the entire book is that some of the patterns in the back need to be taken to a copy store and blown up to a usable size. I love instant gratification, so to have to go someplace to get my patterns blown up before I can use them is a little irksome. Other than that I think this is the perfect book for anyone that sews or wants to learn!


Chronicle Books provided me with a copy of this book for review. All statements and opinions above are my own.