Book Review: Threads Sewing Guide

This book is billed as a complete reference. That's a little ambitious and, unfortunately, untrue for this book.  Comprehensive? Yes. Complete? No. The title of "complete" goes to the Reader's Digest Sewing book, The Complete Book of Sewing and Vogue Sewing. In comparison to the first two books, where this book excels are the Sewing Machine & Sergers chapter and Essential Tools & Supplies. That information is about the same as the Vogue book, but I prefer this book's photos to the drawings in the Voge book. The same goes for The Closures and Trim & Embellishments chapters.

The info is presented in a very easy-to-understand manner. The layout is clean and modern. The photos are beautiful. I like these better than those in the magazine.

Chapters I Love

• Darts -- Info on balancing darts that I haven't seen in other sewing books. (It is on one of the Threads' Industry Insider DVDs)
• Godets
• Serger Sewing
• Serger Stitches
• Tailoring
• Shoulder Pads
• Fundamentals of Couture Sewing (for the true beginner)
• Section XIV:  Sewing Specialty Fabrics
• Common Quick Fixes (mending & repair)

Disappointments

• Princess Seams -- there's no mention of how to sew these
• Clipping & Notching -- there's a new method covered in one of the Industry Insider DVD's that's not included here
• Easing Sleeves -- Nancy Zieman and I think Sandra Betzina use finger easing, which isn't presented here
• Pattern Alterations -- as far as general sewing books go, Vogue Sewing, Revised and Updated is better.

I guess this is a beginner/intermediate book. I would not choose it over the titles I mentioned earlier, but I think it supplements those nicely.