Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time: The Ultimate Dressmaking Guide

So many books these days are aimed either at complete beginners or at more advanced tailors wanting to learn about time-consuming couture techniques involving much tacking, interlining, padding and hand-sewing. There’s very little on the market for sewers who have basic sewing skills and want to make clothes but who do not have the inclination or time to master advanced pattern-drafting skills. Such sewers just want the knowledge and confidence to make a variety of unfussy styles for their everyday wardrobe without having to buy multiple expensive patterns, most of which use very similar bodice blocks or skirt blocks. With commercially bought patterns, you’re often paying for a pretty picture, or unneeded trim suggestions, unaware that at least half of your pattern is already in duplicated elsewhere in your stash. Sometimes, all you want is the skirt pattern, but you have to pay for an unwanted jacket and trouser pattern as well — for the same price as this book! This book lets you make any kind of dress or skirt you want, with easy to follow instructions. You can mix and match bodices, skirts, sleeves and collars to achieve a huge number of different looks. The basic blocks fit together very cleverly without any extra input. But for the more advanced or adventurous sewers, there are instructions for how to adapt those basic pattern blocks to create any design you can dream up. The book gives you the basic recipes, which you can add to vary according to taste and skill. This is a practical “how to” book which not only demystifies the whole process of constructing a dress but also makes it much easier to understand than other books on the subject. It doesn’t blind you with science or go into massive technical detail — no need to! Just trace your pattern and get started as per the instructions. The finished garments modelled in the photos show the high quality that can be achieved from good fabric and relatively simple patterns — unlike the shapeless garments made out of plastic found in today’s rough and ready fast fashion.

I love this book so much! I'm only really a beginner, sewing for just under a year, so I would recommend it if you've had a little experience sewing. I've had the book for a couple of weeks and already made plenty of dresses from it. The only things to be wary of (and this could be my own fault) is when you do a pattern drafting of your own such as the circle skirt, she explains it but the way she explains it is much harder than it needs to be and, in my case, way way too big. For the skirt pattern alterations you just need to make sure that the pattern is just over 1/4 of your waist size (I made one particular skirt that wrapped round me twice). What I've found is I can read what she says and if it doesn't make sense to me or the pattern I've drafted is way too big, then I go and look it up myself, for example making the circle skirt, so it's not really an obstacle. I would highly recommend this book because it has all of the basics e.g. basic bodice (which she shows you how to turn into a blouse too) and basic skirt and then various necklines. Then you can get more complicated bodices and draft more interesting skirts. I feel with this book you can make almost any dress you see (I've already got a pinterest folder filled with dresses I want to make.) I also think it's a great way of advancing your skills at your own pace. I can't say how much I love this book enough, it's the best sewing book I've ever bought.

In buying this book, I shouldn't need to buy another dress pattern - ever! It has every type of neckline, sleeve and skirt style you might ever want in a dress, for any occasion, even a simple wedding dress, with instructions for lining too. The patterns come in 12 sizes, so cater for a range of body shapes. The editor clarifies the dressmaking process making it accessible for beginners and more experienced sewers alike. I expect tracing the patterns to create my basic designs and fit to require an up front investment, which you might expect if you want to achieve a good fit. However, the pattern pieces are squeezed onto 3 large sheets in black & white, and overlap, each with 12 size lines - I expect tracing to be tricky, although haven't tried this yet. My last point if that each of the sizes is provided with measurements, but it's not clear what ease is included, or what the finished sizes are. Again, this can be resolved by investing time to build a pattern based on personal measurements. None of this is a problem, but whereas the author points out many women used to make many of their own dresses, given today's busy working lifestyles, for me this will require patience and tenacity over several weekends.

This is an excellent book that incorporates all aspects of dressmaking into one easy-to-read reference. In addition to the mix-and-match pieces (bodices, necklines/collars, sleeves, and skirts), the book also has sections on techniques (including installing zippers), linings/facings, fabric basics, and fit. The funnest part is being given the tools to be creative with dress design in a detailed, but clear, way. As a lover of vintage dresses, there is enough information here to keep me occupied with hobby dressmaking for years. The best part of the book is that it shows how you can modify any of the bodice designs to come up with the look that you're after. The author shows you how to shift darts, turn darts into gathers, turn darts into pleats, color block through pattern modification, etc. Suddenly, I can look at any dress and understand how a basic bodice (sloper, as I think it's called in the industry) can be modified to create that particular look. Suddenly, I have a totally different set of eyes when I look at dresses (Modcloth, anyone?), and I know that I have the tools to create the pattern for the design. As everything perfect in life, the book has a few flaws. First, the section on pattern fitting (which most of us have to do) is quite short, and, as the author herself states, is not very comprehensive. But it does have fit basics, such as bust adjustments. If you are new to adjustments and fit, a second reference on pattern fitting would be great to have on hand. Make sure that you know what adjustments you need for your own body, given the sizing of the pieces, before attempting all the splendid pattern modifications that the author describes! In particular, definitely be sure to get a great fit with the basic bodice by making as many toiles as you need before heading into pattern modification candyland. Second, there are so many awesome dress photos in the book, but none of them say anything about the type of fabric used for the sample. For those of us who are less experienced, seeing how different fabrics look off the bolt and on the body would be very educational. Not a complaint, just a wish. Third, if you are new to dressmaking, the instructions are very clear. However, there is not a section where a single dress is created step-by-step from start to finish. If you are not detail-oriented, it is easy to miss small, but crucial things as you flip between sections (which the author is very good about referencing, but still...). But if you are an adventurous beginner, definitely go for it. All in all, this book is wonderful! I am so glad that I bought it. For the intelligent sewer who would prefer to design rather than follow a pattern - this is it. PS As others have stated, you will be doing some tracing to be able to use the patterns.

Beautiful book with basic pattern n thier is technique how to manipulate it into new designs frm basic. Step by step technique shown how to sew it brilliant book for beginners .

Libro fantastico per chi ha già confidenza nel confezionare abiti. Il risultato finale è pari, se non migliore ai vestiti esposti nelle boutiques a caro prezzo. Potrete avere tutti i vestiti che avete sempre sognato in un unico libro! Mi ricorda tanto il "gira la moda" con qui giocavo sempre. Se in alcuni punti le misure vi sembrano inesatte, consiglio di usare tessuti molto elasticizzati.

Yes, you will have to draft, and you will have to fit your pattern, but instructions are clear and I know I'm going to learn a lot on the way. And it gives you so many possibilities: collars, sleeves, skirts, bodices.

J'ai de l'expérience pour dessiner mes propres patrons au lieu de les acheter tout prêts, et généralement c'est ce que je fais - mais pour les créations moins "personnelles", comme des petites robes d'été, c'est sympa d'avoir déjà quelque chose de tout prêt à simplement tracer et couper. Bien sur, il est recommandé d'ajuster les patrons basiques à son corps avant de commencer, mais le livre contient des instructions pour ce faire. Ayant une toile basique à vos mesures, les modifications seront toujours les mêmes pour tous les patrons et toutes les combinaisons que ce livre permet. Les instructions de montage sont sommaires mais assez claires et bien illustrées.