How to Sew Clothes: Learn with Intuitive, Super-Hackable Patterns

I just received this book today and it is like another reviewer said, "a complete game changer"!! I have made 5 or 6 garments so far (I consider myself a beginner sewist for sure). This book is changing my sewing life already! It's written beautifully and the pictures/illustrations are top notch. There are patterns printed and ready for use in the back of the book. What I love most about this book is all the extra details. That's what makes it perfect for beginners. What makes it perfect for experienced sewists is the fact that you can take a single block and make SO many pieces of clothing with it. The book goes into all the hacks and options for a single top. It's truly wonderful. I will gift this to other sewists in my life!

This was purchased as a gift for a new seamstress. It includes patterns providing an easy, stylish wardrobe that can be worn anytime, depending on the fabrics chosen and clear directions for making them. I'm noticing some reviewers are having issues with the patterns being double sided. Don't cut the patterns. Purchase either Swedish tracing paper, which can also be basted to check the fit, or purchase the more economical medical table paper (the paper you sit on at the doctor's on the examining table) which is available by the box. Both are sold on this website. Swedish tracing paper is available by single rolls. Medical table paper is usually a box of twelve. The tracing paper is used to trace the original pattern so you don't have to cut it. This also allows for multi-size patterns to be customized for various body shapes. I tape the original pattern sheet to a window, usually just at the top edges of the pattern. Over this, I tape a slightly longer piece of whichever type tracing paper I've chosen, again, just at the top, placing the upper edge of the tracing paper slightly above the upper edge of the original pattern so they don't stick together. Taping at the top edge allows you to lift the tracing paper if you need to verify something on the original pattern, especially useful for double sided patterns when all the lines can be confusing. I smooth the two layers flat against the window. If the piece is really long such as for pants or a long dress, I may tape a side or part of the bottom of both the original and the tracing paper to keep them from shifting. The window acts as a light table so you can clearly see the lines of the pattern underneath the tracing paper. If you have sliding glass doors, they work great for extra long pattern pieces such as for pants and long dresses. I first trace the grainline with a ruler, any shortening/lengthening lines, then trace the pattern piece itself, putting in the pattern name or number, piece number, size, all in pencil. Tracing the grainline first acts as a check so you can see if the paper has shifted during tracing. After tracing, double check your lines to make sure the tracing paper didn't move and retrace if necessary. Repeat with a new piece of tracing paper for each pattern piece until all pieces needed have been traced. If a piece is wider than the tracing paper, tape a second sheet/s until wide enough.. I remove the tracing/s, then remove the pattern from the window. If done tracing, I carefully fold the tape over the original pattern edges so it won't cause the pattern to stick to itself when refolded later on. I, then, replace the tracing/s on the window. I use a flair pen to go over all the pencil marks so they are easy to see for cutting out the pieces afterward. Flair pen bleeds through paper, so you don't want to use it first, as it will make marks on the pattern underneath Once all your pieces are re-traced with flair pen, check that you have labelled each one, then cut them out and place them on the fabric according to pattern directions. You may want to squirt some window cleaner on a rag to remove any flair pen marks and tape residue from the window. Happy sewing.

Love this book and that it comes with patterns!

My only complaint is I didn’t buy it sooner. This book was an absolute game changer. I was completely new to sewing when I got this book 7 months ago and I’ve sewn nearly a full wardrobe at this point. It was so helpful and beautifully done to boot. I’ve bought for two friends now and they love it also. The photo is the box top and was the first thing I had ever sewn. I regularly get stopped by people telling me how much they love my top and to ask where I got it. I’m always beaming with pride to tell people I made it. I also love how hackable these patterns are, the options are truly endless.

this book has helpful info and cute patterns but the patterns are printed double sided. if i’d have known this i wouldn’t have bought. how am i supposed to cut out the patterns to use them if they’re double sided? i will just have to go through the trouble of copying them—which is even harder without a PDF to print. kind of a waste considering i bought the book to not have to deal with printing patterns

The contents look great and I can’t wait to dive in and start sewing. However, the book arrived looking like a disgruntled warehouse employee drop kicked a few times. I’ll fix the spine, and a few ruffled pages and bent covers won’t ruin it for me, but I'm bummed that I got a copy pre-thrashed. 😔

I’m so thankful I stumbled upon this book and @allwellworkshop on Instagram. I ordered the book and have been thumbing through it for a couple of weeks, and have read everything up to the point of the first project. I finally found the courage and felt the encouragement from the writers to cut into my fabric and go for it, and came out with this beautiful top after only a couple of hours. I can’t believe I made something that feels high-quality and a staple in my wardrobe on my first attempt! This book is so comprehensive and well-written for someone who has felt intimidated by sewing for years. I appreciate the detail, the photos and illustrations, and all the patterns in one book, and I can’t wait to make so many more things! Thank you so much ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm new to sewing and have so far only made one pillowcase and one tote bag, and I needed a book that would help me step up -- very gently -- to braving wearable patterns. If you're a beginner, this is definitely that book! A good quarter of it focuses less on technique and more on mindset: how to enjoy sewing, how to make (and unmake) mistakes, how to allow sewing as a practice into your life without needing an entire dedicated sewing station or expensive extras, etc. I was also delighted to find that there is a pocket in the back of the book that includes fold-out ready-to-cut patterns for the clothing in the book, since that's one of the more intimidating parts of sewing for me. This is as gentle an introduction into making wearable garments as I could imagine. I am going to try making a box top this week!