[.ca] The Complete Photo Guide to Sewing (ISBN 1589232267)

From Amazon.com:
Sewing garments and home-decor items does not have to be mutually exclusive; there are certain skills and fields of knowledge peculiar to each, and there are some areas of overlap. Remarkably, this extremely comprehensive, heavily illustrated volume manages to do justice to both apparel and decor techniques, from the rudiments of the sewing machine and other essential equipment to an exploration of fabric types, from taking proper measurements (of people as well as of windows and tables) to learning all the basics as well as more advanced skills for many kinds of sewing: women's wear, including tailoring; activewear, including swimsuits; babies' and children's clothes; window treatments, pillows, bed coverings, and table linens. The section on making custom alterations to store-bought patterns is especially helpful for garment sewers perpetually frustrated in trying to achieve a perfect fit. Novices will find this a very useful reference in understanding the often-cryptic instructions of commercial patterns; experienced sewers should have this guide on hand to help them achieve thoroughly professional results. --Amy Handy

This book is not complete:
It is a compilation of excerpts from the other titles in the Singer Sewing Reference Library. Since I have those books, this book just repeated (exact same text & pictures) information that I already have, only, as I said, not as complete, because they're just excerpts. I highly recommend the individual books in the Singer Series, which are much more informative, but I can't recommend this rehash. Also, I feel that the description should mention somewhere that the book is excerpted from other books, because then I would have known not to buy it.

Best for the Money:
I am a sewing teacher for adults. This is the book I recommend to my students as an adjunct to the class. The photos are excellent and nearly everything is included. Several of the reviews said you can't learn to sew from the book. Learning to sew or expanding your knowledge of sewing demands guidance from an instructor or other experienced person plus good printed references, too. To me, this is the best all around basic book in print today. It can always be supplemented with specialty texts and fliers available at fabric shops. Of course, if you already own the Singer specialty books this one will be a repeat and not as good for your needs.

Worth owning, but could be better.:
I'm a beginning sewer (*very* beginning) and I purchased this book to help me with all the things patterns don't explain. Some sections have been extremely helpful (zippers, hems) and some are disappointing (sleeves, collars.) In general, the big problem is that a technique that needs 5-10 pictures (including the finished product!) has only 2-3 photos of critical steps. Those are useful, but I often find myself struggling to imagine what they're trying to accomplish. I'm not aware of a better illustrated guide, so I'm still glad I purchased this book. As far as I can tell sewing is a lot like writing code -- you just have to screw it up by yourself in order to learn much. Maybe if I ever master one of the trickier things in the book, I'll videotape it and put the video on the web. ;-)

This an older Singer Sewing book renamed.....:
If you purchase this book, be aware that is was published under another name, "Singer Sewing Step by Step" in the early 90's. I'm glad that I checked it out of the library before purchasing, because I already own the other book...yes, it has some decent photos, but I would be cautious in recommending this to a beginner, as I was when I purchased the older version. Construction techniques are not thoroughly explained, usually only one or two pages of photos are devoted to any one technique (collars, sleeves, etc.). Personally, I was very frustrated by this. One would be better off using this as a complement to another book, such as the Readers Digest guide to sewing or the Vogue sewing book, both of which are excellent resources but lacking in photo illustrations. The book is a bit dated, too, but if you can get past that, it is not too bad.

Not for Beginners:
I bought this book with the idea that I could actually learn to sew by reading it. Not so. The book is a fine reference book with great pictures, but it is not for those of us whose greatest sewing accomplishments to date is figuring out how to turn the sewing machine on.