The Complete Book of Sewing New Edition

With step-by-step instructions and illustrations of everything from the different types of scissors to the method for facing a waistband, this sewing manual, revised from the 1996 original, offers beginner and intermediate sewers a wealth of information. Hosegood starts with equipment, moves on to working with patterns and covers threads and fabric types; she then moves into actual sewing: handstitching, making pleats, finishing sleeves and applying pockets, among numerous other topics. There aren't any actual patterns, but there are plenty of color drawings and photographs to guide sewers on their own projects. Each section contains brief introductory remarks, definitions (e.g., the difference between a knife pleat and a box pleat) as well as a sidebar of related techniques. For anyone who needs more guidance than a store-bought pattern provides, this should prove a useful resource.