If you do a lot of sewing or only a little, the chances are that you will occasionally need to look up how to fix, use or adjust something on your sewing machine, or you might be looking for a new or old technique or maybe you have simply forgotten something really basic – whatever – while the internet is invaluable for many things – I really think that nothing beats having a really good reference guide by your side.
I have a couple of tried and tested over and over again favourite books that I couldn’t do without, The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Colette Wolff
and the Encyclopedia of Sewing Machine Techniques by Nancy Bednar
– and I think The Sewing Bible by Ruth Singer
is also very good.
Recently though a few new sewing techniques books and how to use your sewing machine books have been added to my library and I think you might find them useful too.
Ready, Set, Serge by Georgie Melot Krause Publications (2009)
If you have a serger or overlocker sewing machine chances are you are not getting the maximum benefit out of it. I have one that my mother gave me and I have used it extensively for sewing clothes, but it is time consuming to thread, if something goes wrong I don’t really understand how to fix it. It has been put away for a while and even though I occasionally have an urge/need to use it – it feels just a bit too hard. I know many others feel the same way – its a complicated machine and seems a bit overwhelming sometimes. When I do get it out again I will be keeping this book close at hand at all times. An extensive how to get to know your machine, including what presser feet you might need and what they are used for, how to clean and look after and remember how to thread your machine. Plus all sorts of nifty tricks I never knew you could do – like piping, gathers, binding, zippers and elastic.
The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook by Charlene Phillips. Krause Publications ( 2009)
If you own, use and love an older style sewing machine then this is a must have book, or if you happen to be a collector or just an admirer of vintage sewing machines and other gadgets then you will love this book too. There are a mind boggling array of presser feet and other gadgets for these older style machines, allowing you to get all sorts of different effects and do different styles of stitching all without a computerised sewing machine. The books starts out with a bit of history and then quickly moves into how to purchase a good quality second hand/vintage machine, how to determine the ‘shank type’ so you can go ahead and purchase presser feet that will fit your machine. And then there are the chapters on the different types of quirky and useful presser feet.
There is a bias cutting gauge and a really neat binder presser foot – which folds and holds the binding on each side at just the right spot while you sew – no need for pins! – the adjustable tape-stitching presser foot is available for new machines too – I think I might need one of those. There is a pin tucker foot, a ruffler (which looks crazy complicated but isn’t really). There is a set of hemming feet, an edge stitcher (which allows you to accurately attach lace or trim and hem at the same time). Gathering and shirring feet, zipper and cording feet, freemotion, quilting and walking feet, the buttonholer and quite a few more too.
Simplicity How to Use a Sewing Machine. Anova Books (2010)
Anatomy of a sewing machine is explained with clear diagrams in this book. With the first half of the book dedicated to getting to know your machine and how to thread, look after, adjust tension and fill the bobbins, you can be sure this will be a good reference for when you get stuck. The second half of the book goes on to explain a few basic sewing techniques – like hemming, zippers, attaching sleeves, buttonholes etc. If you only want one reference book, this book covers a broad range of skills required to get you started.
Claire Shaeffer’s Fabric Sewing Guide (2nd edition). Krause Publications (2008)
Considered by many to be the essential book for those dealing with fabrics, and working in the sewing and fashion industries. Three quarters of this book explains in great depth how to handle and use different types of materials and fabrics, detailing how different fabrics behave, how to sew and cut and finish in the most appropriate way. I can’t tell you how meticulously detailed this book is – and thus why it is so huge. It begins with a basic introduction – although this basic intro is more than most sewing books include. Then the book is divided roughly into four main parts - 1. Fibre content (cotton, wool, linen etc) 2. Fabric structure -(twill, plain weave, denim, stretch, knits etc). 3. Fabric types - (sheer, mesh, lace, open weave, napped and piled fabrics etc). There is a section on interfacing, linings and battings before 4. sewing techniques – which should be a whole book on its own.
