A fashion expert’s techniques, tips, and tricks for transforming your favorite garment patterns—one small detail at a time! Add or remove pockets. Adjust the neckline. Create new cuffs. Swap a zippered back to a button front. With step-by-step instructions, clear illustrations, and how-to photos in this guide, you’ll learn professional design alterations for your favorite men’s, women’s, and children’s commercial sewing patterns. Whether you have basic sewing skills or are a confident dressmaker, you can learn to be your own fashion designer! “Each chapter focuses on a specific topic, and Mallalieu provides a concise explanation and expert tips, as well as numerous diagrams and photographs . . . Skilled sewists interested in altering their favorite patterns will find an abundance of advice.” —Library Journal

Even the best sewists will encounter problems, snags, and little glitches in their work. Expert sewist and author Nicole Vasbinder's Sewing Solutions is an indispensable reference filled with invaluable advice you can trust. Organized by stages, you'll find: • Detailed advice for the sewing process, including pros and cons, and basic considerations of working in each step. • An easy-to-follow layout providing basic information as well as step-by-step techniques for making bias tape, sewing trims, buttonholes, zippers, hems, and more. • Easy-tonavigate color-coded cross-references available for quick referencing. • Troubleshooting tips that advise how to deal with every sewing situation. Whether choosing the right tools, reading patterns correctly, or everything in between, Sewing Solutions will prove to be an essential sewing companion.

"Get a few new tricks up your sleeve! Learn to alter existing patterns using fashion-industry methods; add stylish details like pockets, plackets, and zippers with how-to illustrations and photos, with lots of sewing tricks and tips; change up waistlines, shirt yokes, necklines, sleeves, cuffs, and more to adapt your favorite garment or develop your limitless fashion wardrobe." -- Back cover.

The fabric-lover's guide to cloth offers preshrinking instructions and advice on layout, marking, interfacing, and hemming.

Packed with computer-aided designs, information on new types of fabrics, and specially commissioned photos, this comprehensive guide maintains its original appeal, while enticing a whole new generation of readers.

An invaluable resource, Dressmaking will guide you through all the stages of making, altering, and customizing clothes. Starting with the Tools and Materials, you will learn what you need to buy and how to use it. The Fabrics chapter demonstrates the drape and weave of fabrics and explains the best uses of each. The Patterns chapter covers everything from understanding a pattern to altering one. In General Techniques, close-up photography and guiding annotation to explain key techniques step by step. A section on Basic Patterns and Variations then guides you through creating six garments. Patterns and detailed step-by-step instructions are provided for a skirt, dress, shirt, tee, jacket, and pair of trousers. Instructions are also given for possible variations of each garment. Finally, chapters on Alterations and repairs and Customizing offer practical tips for repairing worn items and inspiration for modernizing tired pieces. Packed with essential advice and inspiration, this is the dressmaking bible that no budding seamstress should be without.

Japanese craft books are loved the world over for their beautiful and practical design, unique aesthetic, and their clear, meticulous and educational instruction. Translated into English for the first time, Stylish Dress Book contains 26 projects for beautiful dresses and blouses. Elegant and loose-fitting, the pieces in this book are designed to be worn in any season and are suitable for women of all ages. The easy-to-follow instructions are accompanied by detailed diagrams and gorgeous full-colour photographs. The full-sized pattern sheets have been adapted for Western sizing and run from AU 6 - 16. IMPORTANT CORRECTION: Correction: The sleeve pattern piece for Dress Y, pictured p. 34, How to Make p. 82, is missing from the pattern sheet. Clik the link in the left side navigation pane to download the Y Sleeve pattern piece.