Beginning sewer book

[bridesmom]

My DGD age 9 has a strong interest in sewing, but she lives 7 hours away from me. Her mom can work a sewing machine, but is also a beginner. I'd like to get her a really good beginner book, any suggestions?

[temom]

My very favorite that answered ALL my questions was Sew With Confidence by Nancy Zieman. It covers how to lay out a pattern, needles, grain, selvage, seam allowances, you name it, she covers it. It is very easy to read, and she also includes directions for quite a few projects to get you started.

[sewingmom]

I bought one aat Hancocks for children but I am not that pleased with it. Chloe (11 yrs old) didn't find it to interesting.

[bridesmom]

Do you remember the name of it? I have 2 that I bookmarked but am just not sure. I did send the links off to DD as she knows how advanced DGD is. Darn I wish they lived here, it would be so much fun to teach her. Course with Skpe we can always link up but I sure find that skype is really iffy with its connections. I had thought about the Sew with Confidence, I have her Serge with Confidence and really liked it.

[sewingmom]

Laura, I am on-call this weekend but I will try to look it up and send you the name. It is 12:07 pm and I have a twin pregnancy to scan in the morning around 8:00 AM so it will be later tomorrow. I do remember the book has an orange colored hard cover. It does have a few small projects with instructions .

[LeapFrog Libby]

I personally love Nancy Zieman when it comes to instructions. She uses easy simple language and her instructions are always crystal clear. I do not have that particular book of hers, but I have several others. The one I loved was 10, 20, 30 minutes to sew. Some of those things you never think about. That book tells you in you only have a few minutes to sew, just what tasks fit the time slots.
Another beginner book I thought was well written is the Readers Digest Learn to sew book. Its a coffee table size book. Suggest to your Daughter that she get it from the Library.

[ninifav]

Sewing for Dummies is great...

[kjh9835]

I had a whole set of Singer Sewing Reference Library books, bought at auctions and thrift shops. Sold them during a cleaning sweep....wish I hadn't and plan to get them again just to have on hand. Lots of tips, tricks, etc. I think there's 20 in all and I gave anywhere from $1-5 each, even had some duplicates that I gave away.

They are now sold under a different name but are essentially the same books. Try the Cy DeCosse label, for some reason, I think those are the ones I'm talking about. I also have a Vogue Sewing Book from 1970 which has interesting info in it, $3 from a consignment shop.

My girls are interested at times but I do not have the patience to teach them, I'd rather do it myself than explain it but they at least know how to make curtains, pillows and hem pants.

Kathy

[MartySews2]

Laura, I like the Vogue/Butterick Step-by-Step Guide to Sewing Techniques for teaching sewing. It is in paperback form & covers everything with lots of line drawings explaining the steps & uses very simplified language. I use it a lot as well as a lot of my vintage books. I guess I have close to 200+ sewing books going back to 1910. I started collecting them in 2002 plus have a good assortment of videos & DVDs too. Sewing books are what I mostly read when I cannot sleep as it helps with my memory loss issues. It has also given me the confidence to try new things that ordinarily I might not have tried. I also like Nancy Zieman's Essential Guide to Sewing. It's excellent for a beginner whether adult or child.
Marty

[DorothyL]

Marty, I like the Vogue Butterick book too. I'm a Sandra Betzina fan too but I guess she's not really for beginners.

Dorothy