Burda Style For people who sew

A friend of mine is moving from sewing crafts to clothing… if you could recommend her a book, a blog or a pattern – which would it be?

Jan 3, 2013, 12.01 AM by BurdaStyle Support

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  Jan 3, 2013, 08.46 AMby QueenFashionista

  I would recommend Youtube. I personally have learned so much just from watching tutorials. There are courses on youtube as well. WestValleyCollege channel on youtube offers fashion/ clothing video lessons.
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  Jan 3, 2013, 09.39 AMby sewingfan1

  I found this book really useful: A guide to fashion sewing by C. Amaden-Crawford 2nd ed . – (New York) : Fairchild Publications, 1994 . – 0870057480 and of course, Burda magazine as it has such a range of patterns in each edition for inspiration and clear guidance as to which are easy and which need more skill. It was the Burda mags that got me started on sewing. Plain Tshirts or basic skirts without many seams were probably the best clothing items to begin on for me.
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  Jan 9, 2013, 07.18 PMby Linda74Sews

  So many places to learn, so little time! There is a treasure trove of sewing tutorials in a gazilion places on the internet. Burdastyle is a good place to start. Also try www.craftsy.com which sells classes, threads magazine (www.threadsmagazine.com) has great tutorials. Go to Amazon for a great selection of books that offer go instruction for new sewists. The Burdastyle handbook is a good one. Invest in a few trade magazines – Threads, Vogue patterrns, Sew it all - all offer great instructions and inspiration. I teach new sewist to sew and understand what you are facing. Just remember it isn’t rocket science. Have patience. You need to build a set of fundamental skills and then layer new skills as you tackle more projects. At the very least, take a few classes at Joanns, nearby fabric stores, adult ed, ect. Hope this helps. Let me know if you want more info.
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  Jan 12, 2013, 05.06 AMby jenss-1

  Although person to person learning is best, I would recommend checking out the threadsmagazine website for video tutorials. I remember that they had a series for beginners covering basic skills. I would get some general books, whatever looks good to that person, and is geared towards basics. Go to a real bookstore and look at them. I have some old home-ec textbooks from the 50s and 60s (mostly “inherited”). They only deal with very basic seam finishes (pinking, e.g.) and I still tend to refer to them because they have fitting information. Once someone learns how to sew a seam, basic fitting concepts are important, and at least understanding them a little will add to the beginner’s satisfaction, IMO. I mean basic fitting, like how to let out darts and adjust waistband size, etc. Maybe FBAs come later. It’s important not to overwhelm either. Sad to say, I would not recommend Burda patterns despite their superior drafting. I would recommend something from the big 4, designated as for a beginner.