Sewing For Dummies by Jan Saunders Maresh
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Book Reviews of Sewing For Dummies
Book Review: Sewing for Dummies
Summary: 4 Stars
Good book, covers most of what I wanted. Also bought "Teach Yourself Visually Sewing (Teach Yourself Visually)"Book Review: sewing
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great book for review or beginning, nice to have on hand.Book Review: It's just okay
Summary: 3 Stars
I give this book 3 stars, which means "okay," because that's exactly how I feel about it. It's a decent reference for some sewing terms and basic techniques--not great, but it will give you the general idea.
The biggest thing that I do not like about it (aside from the annoying "for Dummies" trappings: puns/plays on words, a self-conscious "accessible" style, and frequent attempts at humor) is the really abysmal editing. It's actually unclear which edition the author is writing when, at the beginning of the book, she mentions that she does not cover sergers much but gives more serger-specific advice in the second edition--because this IS the second edition, and there is precious little serger-related instruction to be had. I was confused. In a later section, she promises to show three techniques for gathering ... and goes on to describe TWO. Then, mere paragraphs after that obvious editing oversight, I looked forward to learning what a pin tuck and shell tuck were, only to be disappointed when she only covered the plain tuck despite an introductory paragraph promising information on all three types. I actually checked to see that I wasn't missing pages!
Additionally I found some of the instructions very difficult to follow. The illustrations it does have are pretty helpful as sewing illustrations go, but there is more than one place where more illustrations are necessary, in my opinion.
In all ... if I knew of a better reference book I would have bought that one. I am about to go check Amazon for a better-reviewed book! Also I would like one with slightly more up-to-date learning projects; maybe it's just me but a vest made out of placemats just doesn't appeal. The window treatment techniques are also pretty dated--I was somewhat surprised to see a publication date of 2004 since all the photos seemed so mid-nineties.
I don't like this book much but perhaps its direct style (if scattered and only passably organized information) could help some. It's not a big deal either way; I mean I am sorry I spent $20 on it but I will probably turn to it in the future just because I have it.
Book Review: Disappointing for this complete beginner
Summary: 3 Stars
I have recently begun teaching myself to sew. I taught myself knitting over the last several years and always keep the Knitting for Dummies book by my side as a reference for anything I don't know. So when I decided to learn to sew I bought myself a simple machine and this book. I've been sewing for a couple of weeks now and have read probably 3/4th of this book and I'm disappointed with it. I don't think the instructions are very clear for a newbie and many of the topics are covered way too briefly. On my first pattern, for example, it instructed me to "narrow hem," a common sewing task. Looking in the index of this book there is no entry for narrow hem. I knew I had read something in the book about using a narrow hem foot in order to make a narrow hem, but when I looked for detailed instructions for how to do that, I found nothing. I had to resort to a google search to find clear directions for doing a narrow hem both with and without a special foot.
I also find many of the directions unclear and there are not enough illustrations or the illustrations are not clear enough for me to understand what I'm supposed to do. And I think I'm better than average at understanding written instructions since I managed to teach myself to do quite complex knitting from mostly written instructions.
The projects in this book are ok, but most of them are not my style. They have a country craft feel to them that is too old for me. I prefer hip, youthful, DIY style projects. I did find her instructions for a basic pillow cover useful, but again, I wished the instructions were more clear in a couple places. As for making a vest out of placemats, I think I'll skip that one.
I found the manual that came with my machine more useful in actually getting me started sewing. This book has helped some, but from now on I'm going to rely on the internet for instructions. And I'll probably be buying a different book with more appealing starter projects.
Book Review: Definitely not for "dummies"
Summary: 3 Stars
I usually LOVE the dummies series and find it very useful for new subjects I want to just dive into. This book is useful, but not as a first reference for someone who has never done more than the occasional needle-and-thread wobbly patching most of us did in College.
The good:
1. Very thorough subject coverage - everything from clothing to arts & crafts, to home decor (in fact, I think if they broke this up into two books - one for clothing only, and one for the rest, they would have done themselves a big favor).
2. The step descriptions are broken down into mini-steps very well (I think).
The bad:
1. hardly any illustrations at all. Where there are illustrations, they are very basic, mostly restricted to the type of stitch described rather than an illustration of the step-by-step process.
2. the level of terminology-knowledge assumed by the book is insanely high for beginners.
3. There is insufficient internal cross referencing - the writers seem to assume you will read the book from cover to cover in the right order, and that you will remember everything you learned from one chapter to the next.
4. The section on "Quick fixes and alterations" which is boasted about in the book description is far from comprehensive, and the steps described are skimpy - largely without internal references to where within the book these steps are described.
This will be a great 2nd book, I think. But until I reach that level I'll have to find something else.