A reader commented on the Miki Fukai post asking me how I learnt to sew and how did I manage to produce my make-shift DIY garments. Want the ugly horrible truth? I can’t for the life of me sew AT ALL! If anyone actually did a close up shot of my garments, they’d see flaws everywhere. I don’t possess any technique or skill, just a brainful of ideas. The one thing I know is how to use my mother’s old singer. If you put me on any other machine, I’d be frantically lost. Since my mother is not in town enough and leaves me to my own devices, it’s just me, some needles, many hours of trial and error and sore eyes afterwards.
However, the trick I use is to think of shortcuts and ways to avoid complex sewing procedures. Since I’m the one wearing what I make, as long as nothing falls off mid-walking, I’m fine with a bit of shoddy sewing, or some discreet glue-gunning/velcro sticking action. I do know I can’t carry on in this haphazard manner so I have taken to educating myself a little and being a bit smarter about embarking on DIY projects (of which there will be MANY more over the winter months….you wait and see!). I read a brief review about this book called "Yeah I Made it Myself: DIY Fashion for the Not Very Domestic Goddess" by Eithne Farry and thought it might be a useful starter book.
My personal opinion is that unfortunately, though this book has many ideas and is written in a witty, humourous way, the level of instruction is pretty poor. The cartoon-like illustrations don’t help either. The lack of photos means that it’s hard to see what the finished product is meant to look like with just a few basic illustrations. Call me old-fashioned but I like my instructions spelt out to me in a textbook kind of way. However, it does have a few nifty ideas, like easy dress that require minimum outfit. It has inspired me to expand on what is shown in the book but other than that, I don’t think the book serves its purpose as a beginner’s guide to sewing. 
My next tome of self-education on sewing will be ‘Sew U’ by Built by Wendy founder, Wendy Mullin, which looks very promising indeed. It’s been touted about in the press and judging from the reviews, I think this one might be less of a clanger. I’m very intrigued as to how this one pans out, since I’m a huge fan of Built by Wendy clothes so I think as well as providing instructions on basic sewing skills, it will hopefully show innovative ways of clothes customisation. Included in the book are also three patterns for basic pants, shirt and skirt which is a bonus. I may even advance onto using ACTUAL patterns (previously, my idea of pattern cutting was attacking a piece of fabric with pinking shears with a vague shape in mind). If you any of you have this book, is it a yay or a nay?
i’m not sure the bbw book is out yet, but i can’t wait to hear what people say about it. i’m fairly new to sewing, i mean i’ve made a few dresses and some shorts, but i’d like to see what wendy has to say. maybe she’s got some inspiration/insight for me.
I have Sewing Basics http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764155962/ which I bought when I bought a sewing machine (which I’ve used exactly once in the two years I’ve owned it). I haven’t tried any of the projects yet, but it seems to be a pretty easy to follow book with nice photos. It teaches techniques one at a time with a project for each new technique.
i have seen about 5 reveiws now for that sew u book and they are all very positve. i have acually been planning on getting a copy for myself. i do sew alot but maybe this book will help me with somthing that is lacking in technique
thank you so muck susie:) i ll get a book, and i ll try to make my diy fantasies reality:)
A prvvocatioe insight! Just what we need!
after i posted that comment i was so inspired that i went out and bought sew u. after paging through it i think it is wonderful.
chapter 1:getting in gear
chapter 2: fabrics, notions, and trims
chapter 3:patterns
chapter 4:prep and cutting
chapter 5:machine sewing
chapter 6:skirts
chapter 7:shirts
chapter 8:pants
chapter 9:plan b-the tailor
its funny that you made a post about this, but I just got Sew U today in the mail!
I pre-ordered it from amazon. It’s not bad, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you really want to master some techniques without at least some vague notion of what to do beforehand. Sewing is really difficult to learn from a book, my mom is teaching me in person. It’s got some decent tips for beginners, though.
i would like to point out, though, that BBW’s actual clothing items are always, always ill-fitting and very stiff. i live right near the nolita-area store in NYC and stop in at least once a season with the hopes that my memories of BBW’s poor construction are wrong, but i’m always disappointed. i’d be very interested to see wendy mullin’s book to see what exactly is going wrong in the design-to-product process, but i’m not sure i’d adhere to any of mullins’s advice.
does anyone else have a take on BBW’s quality? i’d love to read it.
I’ve just recently started to learn how to sew. My teacher recommended me this great extensive book on sewing basics called ‘New Complete Guide to Sewing’ and it’s amazing! I really think this is one of the best that’s out there. Check it out. 🙂
I am also self taught, and I found that learning from books is nye on impossible as the drawn instructions never look like the how the actual garment would look, so I just buy things I like the shape or look of and take them apart and see how they are constructed. The best way of all is for someone to show you personally, so classes are by the far the most successful way to learn.
lO0O0L….got to get that book…insted of take’n my projects to the tailor next door… ;p
I am going to stay tuned for your sewing education. I’m trying to get up the nerve to start sewing myself.
I taught myself to sew when I was in my early 20s, pretty much just from patterns actually. I knew how to operate a machine, and just bought a bunch of thriftstore patterns and fabric and winged it. It is a little tricky at first – but it can be done. You just need to have patience, and not be afraid to rip out mistakes. This was in the early 90s when NOONE sewed / knit their own stuff, so I had nobody to ask for help from, and it didn’t really occur to me to look for books. It took me ages to figure out some basic things – but you learn by mistakes and keep plowing on!
The best advice I ever got was to “Sew through it,” ie don’t get hung up on small mistakes, especially when you are beginning.
I’ve made up one of the BBW patterns with Simplicity – the blouse (on my blog) – and love it. It’s very simple and stylish. I disagree with the poster who says her stuff is badly made – I’ve bought her clothes for years and find they are really solid.
Thanks for all the tips everyone! Hopefully you’ll get to witness my sewing odyssey!
the patterns look very modern and not dated/ugly
If you really want a good sewing guide with very good pictures try the Reader’s Digest Guide to sewing. It is key to get the original version because it has the best pictures and instructions.
ACL
i just bough sew u its terrific as a starting point i.e. how to make stuff, but more from scratch then adjusting 😀
Enihniteglng the world, one helpful article at a time.
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