I have a lot of books about sewing, and quite a few about style, and even more books about fashion. I might have trouble letting go of books but luckily I found most of them used
Want to watch this post? The video includes images from inside the books so if a book listed here interests you, get a closer look at it in the video.
Here are my top sewing books – and for me that means the books I reach for the most. Because I have books about all aspects of sewing from fitting to hand stitching to sewing bags this post is going to show the top book (or two) from the most general categories. We can get into specialties like bag making later if you want.
General Sewing Books
The hands-down winner of all my sewing books, the Desert Island sewing book if you will, has to be Vogue Sewing.
This was my textbook in school. It’s a very thorough reference not just showing techniques but also a chart of needle sizes, how to do general pattern adjustments, and all the hand stitches you can think of. The writing is dry and straightforward. No editorial or opinions here just straight-up How To.
Runner-up general sewing book:
Sew…The Garment Making Book of Knowledge; Real Life Lessons from a Serial Sewist by Barbara Emodi
This book is as the subtitle says, one person’s lessons from sewing. It’s enjoyable to read and full of Emodi’s opinions. But I like what she has to say. There are a lot of good lessons in here but this is not the reference book if you need to know how to put in a center zipper or something particular. No, this book doesn’t even have an index (which is a bit annoying). It’s a book you read, and you think “Maybe I’ll try that” or “Interesting”.
Perhaps check this one out from the library to see if you like Emodi’s take on sewing. If you do, you’ll enjoy this book.
Books on Alterations
The Sewing Bible for Clothes Alterations by Judith Turner
I have only a few books on altering ready to wear. This is the one I check first. It’s basic in a good way. How to take in, let out, make longer, how to repair zippers, etc. Plus it shows both menswear and women’s clothing.
Clear illustrations and a clean layout make directions easy to follow. It’s a big claim to be the Sewing Bible but for clothes alterations, she might be right.
Patternmaking Books
Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph Armstrong
I don’t make a lot of patterns anymore. But when I did, this was the book. This was one of my textbooks in school. It’s clear, it’s well illustrated, it’s thorough but it is written in some form of shorthand. What I could understand with a quick reading in pattern drafting class, I now have to read over a few times and maybe doodle it first so I don’t think this is a pattern-making book for beginners, unless you’re enrolled in a class.
How to Make Sewing Patterns by Donald H. McCunn
Another really solid book about making patterns. Great information here and not as overwhelming as Armstrong’s book might be. Mine is an older edition I think I read that the newer edition has photographs instead of illustrations. This is a good book for helping you change the style of a pattern you already have. If you wanted to change the neckline and add a collar, or take out the dart and add a seam. McCunn will show you how and give you lots of ideas for other hacks.
Fabric Books
Claire Shaeffer’s Fabric Sewing Guide by Claire Shaeffer
When I bought this book at full price back in the early 1990s, I really had to think hard if I was going to get my money’s worth from it. Well, I have, many times over but not really until the last decade when I had to buy my fabric online after our local garment fabric stores closed. This book takes every type of fabric that was available to sewists (in the 90’s) and tells you its traits, how to care for it, how to sew it, what stitch, what size needle, what seams to use, what this fabric is best suited for, and any tips for working with this fabric. It’s a wonderful resource and one I grab off the shelf not only for my own questions but friend’s questions as well.
Fabric for Fashion The Swatch Book by Clive Hallett and Amanda Johnston
I received this as a Christmas present from my wonderful husband. I mean, how did he know I would like and use a book that identified fabric type by name, and characteristics and included a nice size swatch of each fabric to caress, feel the weight, stretch if applicable, or be repulsed by? Who wouldn’t like and use this book? Hmm, what is silk with spandex? Do I want to spend $50+ a yard on it? Is it opaque enough? Heavy enough? Oh, wait – let me see and FEEL if I like it before I even order a swatch.
Honorable Mention goes to Textilepedia a more affordable book than The Swatch Book because it does not have swatches but it does have up close, clear photographs of the fabrics to give you a pretty good idea of what you’re dealing with when you see “Wool Gabardine” as the only description.
Fabric Books Sub-Category; Working with Knit Fabrics
It may seem odd to have more than one book on so niche a topic as working with knit fabrics but, to me, knits were a different animal. When I learned to sew knits were not what everyone wore every day and the fabric selection at Fabric Mart reflected that. Wovens were the staple and what I felt most comfortable working with. So I had a confidence curve as well as some learning to master.
Sewing Knits Fit to Finish by Linda Lee
Lee’s book really broke it down for me in a way others didn’t. Maybe it was timing, being the last book on knits I acquired, I had already struggled through the others or maybe it was Lee’s plentiful and clear pictures and easy layout that had everything clicking for me. Whatever it was this is still the book I reach for when I need a little refresher or have a new question about sewing knits.
Sewing Knits with Confidence by Nancy Zieman
You can’t really go wrong with a Nancy Zieman book. Good information through and through. Zieman is very thorough though, and that’s what sometimes confuses things for me. I need one answer and she gives me five. And writing that seems strange because there very well could be five ways and you need to consider them all. Your fabric might be an unusual weight, have texture to it and your pattern needs an alteration, and you want to use a single needle, not a double. The paths do divide and Zieman has a map for all of them. Good book, but maybe not the beginner book for some of us.
Fitting Books
What topic do I have the most books in?
What part of sewing is the most complicated?
Same answer; Fitting
Everyone who has published a book or made a course about fitting has their own tried and true method and they are all different. When I’m in the middle of making a muslin and the fir is just not right I don’t have much patience to read the wrinkles or analyze every curve, dent, and flat part of my body. Or is it my quick sewing that’s throwing off the fabric? So hard to tell and I just want to start sewing the real garment.
The first book I grab:
Fast Fit by Sandra Betzina
This is a home sewer’s guide to some common fit problems and flat pattern alterations. I can usually find what I need or at least a name to my problem so I can look in the index of a thicker fitting book. I do wish the publisher had given Betzina a few more pages so she could have added more photos of the solutions or bigger photos. This is a good starting book and could be found in the library. Check there first to see if this book is for you.
The Vogue Sewing Book of Fitting, Adjustments and Alterations
This is another go-to first books. It’s an older book. My edition is from 1972. I found it used at my local used book store and took a $5 chance. Despite its outdated views on foundation garments – now called shapewear – and beauty its fitting and pattern adjustment information is still current and very accessible. Again, written for the casual home sewer it does not get in too deep but covers all the common fitting issues with nice illustrations and clear explanations.
Honorable Mention goes to Smart Fitting Solutions by Kenneth D. King
Funny title because I would be a lot smarter if I actually read this book. I’ve only panic glanced through it trying to answer my burning questions. There is a lot of good information in here. The photographs are abundant and the step-by-step method he shows on six different bodies is eye-opening.
Mending Books
Mend it Book; Creative Patching, Darning and Stitching by Kristin M Roach
I would have never thought I would own more than one book about mending. Really. It just doesn’t seem needed. But I do. And still my favorite and most helpful is this book. Roach wrote it before the big trend of visible mending took off. And even though this is by far the smartest book on mending I’ve seen, I think it gets passed over. Find this book before you buy any other mending book, and you will be able to fix almost anything in your wardrobe.