Sewing Directory, The
Dec 13
This book would be a great guide for a beginner just getting to grips with their machine. It covers the machine settings, the feet, the different stitches, needles, fabrics, threads etc. It tells you how to thread a machine, how to wind and install the bobbin, how to sew zips, sew buttonholes, do applique, add piping, sew bias binding and many other techniques. There are easy to follow clear step by step photos of each stage as well a written instructions. For several techniques there are projects to encourage you to experiment and apply what you are learning in the book. You can also find a useful trouble shooting guide in the rear of the book as well as a glossary of sewing terms.
SEWING WORLD
Feb 14
Perfect for beginners this guide contains the answers to all of your sewing questions. It contains a concise but comprehensive overview of the basic components of a sewing machine as well as advice on equipment, fabrics and the fundamental skills involved when using your machine. Illustrated throughout with incredibly clear photographs and diagrams for each tutorial, this book is extremely user-friendly and shows just how rewarding and enjoyable sewing can be! With nine engaging projects placed strategically throughout the book you can utilise what you have learnt and gain confidence as you progress to more challenging techniques. An invaluable reference source for the slightly less experienced sewer.
Myshelf.com
Dec 13
If sewing machines look as complex as the controls on the bride of a spaceship, then this is the book for you. Learn how to get to grips with your new machine and embark on a lifetime of machine sewing fun!
I wish I had had something like this when I got my first sewing machine. It tells you what everything does on an average model, what all the feet and accessories are for and what your need to buy in order to get started. You can also read why you need these things (always a good idea) and all about different needles, how to work with all the fabric types and what thread is out there too. There are those useful staged projects with plenty of photographs that Search Press do so well, and these include how to do things like wind a bobbin, thread up an check tension. When you can do all that, get stuck into making lots of simple but useful and attractive items to practice skills like buttonholes, putting in a zipper, hemming and piping. It is true that the book that comes with your machine tells you some of these things and it does of course pertain to your particular model, but it certainly does not tell you all of this in such detail. There is even a chapter on free machine sewing, another on using twin needles and an exhaustive troubleshooting section. All of this might sound daunting, but everything is explained in remarkably few words and plenty of pictures, so I reckon that my eleven-year-old self on receiving my first sewing machine would have been happy with it. Ive seen lots of books on this sort of thing for beginners, but this is the most user-friendly.
Mumtopia
Dec 13
The Very Easy Guide to Using Your Sewing Machine takes the mystery out of sewing and helps readers to develop their skills and make the most of their sewing machine. Its an extremely comprehensive, user-friendly manual that includes nine great projects with step-by-step instructions and photographs, which help put what you read into practice. Making items like drawstring bags, a café curtain and a decorated guest towel will build every sewists confidence. Neither patronising nor overly complex, and backed-up with a glossary and trouble-shooting guide, this would help keep your sewing on the right track whether you are 16 or 69.
