A classic guidebook since 1970, Vogue Sewing, now fully revised and updated for today’s sewer, by Sixth&Spring Books, 2006, is a wonderful resource book for the sewing enthusiast. Whether you are a novice sewer with a need-to-know how and now, or the advanced sewer looking for an explanation of those couture techniques, this guide is definitely it! If you must have just one essential fashion sewing manual that covers a range of sewing topics with clear easy-to-understand illustrations, this manual will show you the sewing-how while giving you the sewing-why.

Vogue Sewing, Revised and Updated, covers everything today’s sewing enthusiast needs to know to make professional-looking garments by explaining the technical expertise that will elevate your creative sewing skills. For nearly a century, Vogue Patterns - trusted, knowledgeable, comprehensive - has been the benchmark for home sewers’ aspirations.
While providing advice on classic construction techniques, custom tailoring, and unique finishing touches, Vogue Sewing brings us information on today’s new sewing equipment, innovative stitches, high-tech notions, and modern interfacings and fabrics.

There are chapters on determining your body profile and fashion analysis do’s and don'ts, the world of fabrics and fiber facts (fabric width conversion chart), the importance of inner construction, understanding pattern sizing (charts galore), and so much more for the basics of sewing to consider.

In-depth yet surprisingly easy-to-understand chapters on achieving the perfect fit and preparing how to alter your pattern (Chapter 5) and specific flat-pattern adjustments for every body type are covered. The flat-pattern adjustment sections were extremely helpful and not just for simple length and width adjustments; jump to the advanced pattern alterations (Chapter 8) section for the most helpful of all alterations, the tricky bust line and bodice pattern adjustments.

Most chapters have helpful hints, denoted by a star-symbol, that are truly worth reading for their designer approach to common sewing problems and updated modern techniques. There are measurement conversion charts (yard to inches to meters), a helpful guide to those fabric care symbols found on the end of fabric bolts, fabric stain removal info, and a vocabulary of fashion terms.

There are interesting chapters on working with unusual fabrics such as leathers, suede, and furs, just some on lacey fabrics (a volume in its own right), disappointing only in the slight info on making the tricky, at times challenging, bound button hole, but over-all a delight in that this guidebook truly is a compendium of sewing knowledge; a sewer’s walk through the sewing garden – tools and rules explained.

Disclosure statement: This book was purchased by me, using my own funds, in 2012. I received no other compensation from the publisher or book author and this review contains my sincere opinions about the book.

Sew happy, sew inspired.