A while back I promised to share posts of vintage sewing books for anyone who might be interested in the books themselves or just curious to get a glimpse of some vintage-style sewing and fashion.
The New Revised Edition Sewing Made Easy by Mary Lynch and Dorothy Sara, published in 1960 is the very first vintage sewing book that I read and I can't praise it enough!
I'm including all the contents of the book in photos so you can peruse all it offers.
The material it covers is extensive and if you're a novice sewer it's perfect for guiding you along dressmaking, step by step.
It takes you through all the steps needed to make a garment from the getting ready to sew stage which includes buying a pattern, choosing fabric, etc, to all the sewing techniques you will need to put together -a whole range of- garments.
There are styling tips and tricks of the late 1950s - early 1960s included and advice on building a wardrobe according to the particular requirements of the time depending on
wether you were a housewife, business woman, teacher, receptionist, salesclerk or hostess.
There's a chapter on taking care of your clothes to make them last longer and look their best, a chapter for remodeling clothes, one for sewing for your family and mending and yet another for making alterations to ready-to-wear clothes.
The chapter on sewing for the home includes how to make curtains, tea-towels, closet accessories, laundry bags and a whole number of fascinating projects for the home.
One of my favourite chapters is the Accessories And Gifts You Can Make one. There's a variety of bags, hats (you can see the turban further down in the photos), dickeys, cuffs, belts, a peplum, slippers and some toys!
Overall, I love this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.
It's just full of wonderful things to make and it gives you all the necessary knowledge of how to make them, all very clearly explained.
It should be a great book for beginners but also for the more experienced sewer as well as any vintage fashion and/or sewing enthusiast, as it offers all sorts of vintage patterns and instructions for making wonderful vintage items.
If you're a sewer -of any level- and you've read through the book review, what do you think?
Does it look like a book that has merit at your particular level?
Please share your thoughts.
I'll be posting more vintage sewing book reviews regularly on the blog.
Please come back for a glimpse of vintage sewing goodness ranging from the 1920s to the 1980s.
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