Illustrated Guide to Sewing: Couture Techniques

I've been given the opportunity to review a few books in this line, and I chose Couture Techniques first because I knew I didn't have the slightest clue about what constitutes couture. And I was right! I thought couture was just a fancy schmancy term for "expensive clothing made by famous designers." But really, these garments are set apart for a reason. So much thought and care goes into how these pieces are created, resulting in well-fitting, long-lasting, beautiful clothing. This book was surprisingly easy to understand. I wondered if I'd just be wading through fashion-industry-gibberish accented by pretty pictures of clothing. Instead I found user-friendly charts and lots of great diagrams that teach you how to do everything, from choosing the right fabrics for your purpose to trouble-shooting common problems in clothing design. You won't learn how to draft patterns here, but you will learn a lot about fitting existing paper patterns to your measurements. It has never been quite clear to me how to execute those changes, and I'm certain this will be a valuable resource next time I'm working on my pieces. The only thing I actually missed were more pictures of the final products. Partially so I'd have a better idea of whether or not I'd like to attempt some of the techniques (a tie collar?? I've got to see someone looking cute in that before I'll attempt it!), but mostly because I like to look at pretty pictures I'd be surprised if any intermediate seamstress was disappointed in this book. It might be overwhelming for newbies, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to check it out. I could have benefitted from some of these tips long ago!