Love at First Stitch: Demystifying Dressmaking (bestselling sewing book, learn to sew, sewing for beginners)

What an absolutely fantastic book this is, I have been looking for a book like this for ages. I was one of those people that did a "little" bit of sewing at school (when it was still traditional to do that kind of thing), and did a "little" bit of dressmaking in my late teens and early twenties, then other things got in the way, and 30 years later, finding myself once again inspired to have a go thanks to the Great British Sewing Bee, found much to my annoyance and surprise that I couldn't remember a single thing about it!. But never mind I thought, I will just get a book on the subject and that will be that. Oh no it wasn't!, as trying to find a suitable book that would cover everything I needed to know in a way that I could properly understand it, has been surprisingly difficult, and I have looked at many, in fact this is now my 16th sewing book would you believe!. It's not that there is particularly anything wrong with other sewing books, a lot of them are very nice and very thorough, but the problem for me has been that in the same way a cookbook tells you how to cook all the individual elements of a roast dinner, but doesn't tell you how to put the whole roast dinner together from start to finish and in some sort of order, that's what I found with the dressmaking books, lots of diagrams, techniques and how to's, but what I wanted was somebody who would walk me through the whole practical process of what was required to create a garment, in some sort of logical order, that at the same time would build my skills to enable me to then tackle any project, and that is exactly what we have here with this book. Don't worry either about the "style" of the projects, because even if they're not to your taste, it really doesn't matter, you wouldn't need to make any of them in order to still learn from all the given techniques, and because of the way she has laid out all the skills, you really feel at the end of it you could tackle anything, in fact the final chapter is entitled "What next", which even encourages you to toy with the idea of creating your own designs!. Of course you would not need this book unless you are a total beginner, and given I have now accumulated such an alarming amount of sewing books I thought it might be helpful - in case anyone else is struggling to know which books to choose - if I gave some hints as to which books I think are best for what purpose. 1. For a total and utter beginner, you haven't got a clue what to do a) Learn to Sew with Lauren (Lauren Guthrie) - is brilliant and gives all the basic information along with some clothing, accessories and home sewing projects, perfect to start with. 2. To follow on from above I would recommend a) Sewing machine basics & Sewing School basics (Jane Bolsover) - really good techniques, and some very good mixed projects. b) Sewing made simple (Tessa Evelegh) - mixed projects c) Elementary Sewing Skills Merchant and Mills - very simple very basic and is just dressmaking skills d) Love At First Stitch - (Tilly Walnes) - as reviewed 3. A bit more adventurous a) The Great British Sewing Bee ("From Stitch to Style" version) - lots of all round useful techniques and clothing patterns 4. If you want to get more advanced/in depth techniques a) The Sewing Book (Alison Smith) - step by step photo's of individual skills, very thorough b) Dressmaking Technique Bible (Lorna Knight) -very good handbook of individual step by step skills c) Complete Dressmaking (Jules Fallon) - excellent and well thought out all rounder 5. Aspire to be expert/would be able to use to tackle ANYTHING a) Reader's Digest complete guide to sewing (1970's version) - you could be a professional tailor with this along with home sewing as well! b) Vogue Sewing (1980's version) (I found both the 1970's version and latest reprint were a bit confusingly laid out) - I like this book very much, it makes me feel, well, "elegantly enabled" to accomplish anything!

Definitely recommended for the beginner dressmaker. Tilly is so easy to read and grasp what you need to know and practice. The patterns are very classic, and I hope to make them with the necessary adjustments for my figure. I bought the second hand book which is unmarked and includes three pattern pages for the six designs.

This book is fantastic! If you are new to sewing and want to begin making your own clothes then I cannot reccommend this book highly enough. There are a number of projects that can be made to suit your own style as the garments themselves are quite plain but can be created in a range of fabrics to your own choice. The instructions are really simple to follow with basic patterns and instructions for the more advanced sewer to in depth tutorials for the beginner. There are pictures to guide you all the way through and the language used is simple enough for anyone to understand but at the same time technical sewing terms are introduced gradually so as to provide you with a basic understanding should you wish to progress to other (less considerate to the beginner) patterns. So far I have made the first three clothing items out of the book and feel that my sewing skills have improved vastly thanks to the tutorial and I have three perfectly wearable items, something which I would not have expected before beginning!

The book is very easy to read and follow. It provides you with basic knowledge and understanding of sewing, enough to get you started. The patterns are very simple and tend to be boxy and short. Im quite tall and have an hourglass figure so I had to heavily modify every piece, and just ended up drafting my own patterns in the end. I did learn a bit from the book but just did not find the patterns suitable to my figure.

I've been sewing for years now but mostly stuck to bags and small items. I'd made one or two items of clothing but never with a pattern as they intimidated me. I bit the bullet and bought this book as it had great reviews. I REGRET NOTHING! It's filled with information but not crammed in as to make it boring, Tilly tells you how to do each skill but only as it is needed for the project. So by the time you reach the final project you've slowly built up your skill set and have two skirts, a blouse, pj bottoms and a dress under your belt, oh and a cute head scarf (great for those who can't sew straight lines). I love the fact you get patterns for each items, you only need to buy materials to sew the clothes. There are no cushions or twee looking projects most people might sew and then hide in a cupboard this is a book full of wearable items that are great basics but can be adapted to look fancier. Tilly even gives you suggestions of how to make a project your own, links at the back of the book lead you to some brilliant sewing blogs where you can find most of them have made a couple of her items up (a testament to how great her designs are) and then adapted them to suit their individual personalities and body shapes. I've so far almost finished the Megan dress (just waiting for my zip to come in) and nearly finished the Clemence Skirt, both with no major problems. I would recommend this book to beginners and more advanced sewers.

Love love this book. So far have made 2 Megan dresses and PJ's for myself and my daughter. So simple and such a great flattering fit. The patterns are easy to copy and instructions well thought out. Well done Tilly!!

Mai visto un sottotitolo più adatto: "demistificare cucito". Ti prende per mano e ti spiega una marea di trucchetti che avrei voluto avere quando stavo cominciando a cucire da hobbyista. Purtroppo tutto quello che trovi in giro sono sempre consigli super-avanzati, gente che ti dice che devi fare corsi annuali e tecniche avanzatissime che alla fin fine non servono se tutto quello che vuoi farti è un vestitino o una gonnellina semplice. Tilly ti spiega questo ed altro, compreso come non farsi prendere dal panico quando entri in un negozio di vestiti e non sai neanche cosa chiedere. O cosa aspettarsi quando compri cartamodelli vintage degli anni 30 o quando compri i cartamodelli delle grandi case o quando compri quelli dei piccoli designer indipendenti. Fino ai consigli tipo 'controlla prima con qualche tuo parente se hanno una macchina da cucire da darti prima di andare a spendere soldi!' (dove sei stata, Tilly, prima che comprassi la mia macchina e mi ritrovassi con 3 zie e 2 nonne che mi hanno detto la stessissima identica cosa: "ma non c'era bisogno di comprarla: ti davo la mia!!") La prossima volta che qualcuno mi dice "ah ma l'hai fatta tu questa gonna? Eh beata te che sai fare queste cose, io non sarei mai in grado" (successo veramente tantissime volte) gli darò questo libro, perché veramente prende cio' che è visto dai più come una cosa inarrivabile e la semplifica in modo da essere accessibile da tutti.

Beautiful put together book but a massive disappointment as the patterns are layered and printed on both sides. Tracing will be super hard so a bit of a waste of money.

got in excellent condition clear explanation and pictures

Ein sehr gutes Buch! Ich verfolge ebenfalls Ihren Blog, mag ihre Schnitte und musste es mal wieder haben, einfach, weil sie zu meinen Lieblingsdesignern gehört und davon gibt es nicht viele. Ihre Schnitte verleihen Persönlichkeit und individuelles, man fühlt sich gut darin. Leider wusste ich nicht, dass es eine deutsche Version gibt und mein Englisch ist nicht perfekt, aber ihr Buch ist ausreichend bebildert, klar erklärt, einfach erklärt, sodass es handlich eine echte Arbeitsanleitung ist, die Techniken am Model beim Nähen zeigt und wie man zum Ziel kommt. Man findet ein Haarband, 2 Röcke, 1 Freizeithose, 1 Bluse und Kleider. Mir ist wichtig, dass die Schnitte Basics enthalten, also Basisteile, die ich für jedes andere Kleidungsstück benutzen und es abändern kann und das findet man hier, es gibt Erklärungen zu Techniken, es gibt am Anfang ein Kapitel zum Nähen und rundherum, also was man braucht, um sich selbst und sein Talent zu entwickeln und zu fördern, ein Buch, was das Geld wert ist. Am Anfang gibt es auch eine bildliche Übersicht über alle Schnitte, so muss ich nicht andauernd wieder das Buch durchblättern muss und kann gleich schauen, wohin ich will. Ich habe nur ein kleines Bücherregal, 1 Fach fürs Nähen darin und wer es da rein schafft ist super und da ist jetzt dieses Buch, danke für ein tolles Buch, etwas von Tilly, etwas was ich mein ganzes Leben verwenden und wieder verändern kann, etwas, was mich begleiten wird und mir Freude, Spaß und immer ein Lächeln in meine Seele zaubern wird.