Couture Sewing Techniques, Revised and Updated

I had started sewing maybe a year ago, just making little projects here and there, mostly just bags and things to organize various items in. Just recently (within the past 4 months), I had fallen in love with the design and construction of corsets. I had never used a pattern for any of the three corsets I have made to date and was very proud of my accomplishment, however, they weren't the quality I had wanted to produce. I had been stumped by the limitations of my $60 Brother sewing machine and haven't had the money to upgrade. I decided that I would learn sewing by hand, and make a completely handmade corset. I had researched different methods of stitching and pattern design online, but nothing that I had seen really made an impact on my style and design. So I decided to put up the $20 to buy a book about the finer techniques of sewing. This book is absolutely amazing, the incredibly informative and descriptive writing style, accompanied with beautiful graphics, photos and illustrated techniques was a godsend. The book actually flows through the subjects with phenomenal continuity, and allows you to basically practice as you go along, by illustrating step by step stitches, techniques, tips and tricks. The author has amazing knowledge and credentials, and many of the photos of garments are from her own personal collections. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to learn how to make clothes entirely by hand, or even just understand how different stitches and techniques will help you with machine sewing. Great book for beginners and amateurs alike, but would probably not recommend it for the advanced seamstress.

I am a home sewer at an intermediate skill level, always looking to learn more about garment construction. The reason I was drawn to this book was because I'm interesting in learning about advanced clothing construction techniques (not that I'll ever use them, but I just want to better understand how the "pros" do it). Plus, I very much appreciate well-made clothing, and am curious how that look is achieved. And lastly, I was looking to pick up tips on how to make my clothing look less "home made". I've been reading the book in bits and pieces (I don't see this as a book that I'll just sit down and read cover to cover). It's interesting to read about the history of couture sewing. And I'm starting to pick up little hints here and there that I can apply to my own home sewing. Just as an example: even though I have a nice, new sewing machine and a serger, I often resort to hemming by hand because I just can't get the look I want by machine (I just assumed I didn't have the right skill level to make all the necessary adjustments to the machine settings). Well, after learning that the overwhelming majority of couture sewing is done by hand, I now feel completely confident continuing to do hems and other pieces by hand for better control and a smoother look. May not seem like a big deal, but to me it's just one less area to fret over when sewing and I can feel confident about my approach. I am now reading about various seam finishes - another area that will come in handy for the home sewer. The book has great illustrations, and is printed on nice, heavy, glossy paper, which makes it a nice book for "show" as well. Looks impressive on the coffee table. : ) Yes, I know, a weird thing to mention in a book review, but there it is.

I was sewing with my mother when I was four. I am a good seamstress. I would have said excellent before I bought two of Claire Schaffer's books. I'm so excited, I feel like I did when I was finally old enough for home ec all those years ago. This book is great for anyone who sews, or wants to. Not only is it full of technique and information, it's enjoyable. Highly recommend this book.

A very complete technical guide with a treasure trove of information

I've had this book for three years. Now, I think I can write an informed review. As the title may imply, this is not a book for the novice, which is why I struggled with reviewing earlier -- I just couldn't understand it. While my skills may not have improved much in three years, my sewing knowledge has and that's what this book requires. Others have spoken to this edition versus the previous ones. I can speak to, as someone relatively new to sewing, how this book compares to other couture sewing books. This book is a must-have reference. It covers a lot within its 12 chapters. I do take issue with how things are covered. The book gives very clear step by step instructions, but the illustrations are a bit lacking. I like the updated approach taken in Shaeffer's newer books, Couture Sewing: Tailoring Techniques and Couture Sewing: The Couture Cardigan Jacket, Sewing secrets from a Chanel Collector . These text are easier to grasp because of the step-by-step photography. They layouts are cleaner and overall feel more modern. The DVDs are wonderful aides. To be fair to the publisher, I'm sure photography and DVDs would have added exponentially to the cost; I'm inclined to think it's worth it. Now, what's missing from the newer books is the history and background in Couture Sewing Techniques. It's that information that makes for good reading. It tells you why a particular technique is important. I like having that info. I guess if you are an experienced home sewer or professional, this book is a five-star deal. As someone who is self-teaching, this book is unnecessarily advanced in terms of presentation, not content. I'm hoping the next revision is more along the lines of her newer books.

This book is truly a costume designer/fashion designer's staple in their reference library. I read some of the other reviews and I totally disagree with some of them (designers) saying it is not helpful. Here is why. If you look at the pages there are ideas that you can go back to and just think about one little stitch that may transform a dress, shirt, skirt, or evening gown. Yes, Ms.Shaeffer wrote this book for everyone. But I have to tell you, if I read this book first and I was a beginner sewer I think I would need a very basic book to go along with this book just to reference back with this book. I loved looking at this book and all the detail on the clothes. Ms. Shaeffer explained everything clearly to the novice and to the professional. The price of this book is worth every penny. I would have paid 3 times as much.

I am in love with this book! I can't put it down! It is by far the best sewing/history reference book I have ever bought! Not only is it a great read, but it has so many interesting and unique finishes that I have never heard of or even knew how to do. I have been sewing for 14 years now and have always wanted to know more about hand sewing and couture in general. I also have been attending fashion college for 2 years and no teacher of mine has even attempted to show students some of the techniques that Claire Shaeffer has taught me. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone just for the great information and pictures of couture clothing, but you definitely need to know how to sew if you are going to use this book as a reference. So if you are an intermediate to an advance sewer this book is for you! It has taken me a really long time (and many expensive buys) to find a book that I not only found interesting, but was also able to challenge me and teach me some new tricks.

Claire Shaeffer is the expert providing education for the home sewist who wants to advance to couture sewing techniques. She is an excellent historian for haute couture and gives wonderful nuggets of information that one probably would not learn otherwise. This book gives detailed illustration and instruction in couture techniques. All of the supplies one needs have been listed and explained along with resources for finding them. I think this book should be the first one a home sewist would want to purchase because it covers techniques and how they should be used for all of the kinds of garments a home sewist would want to make. I would suggest Ms. Shaeffer's book devoted to the couture construction of a jacket as the next book to purchase. She goes into great detail and gives especially devoted detail to construction of the iconic Chanel jacket. I have all of her books in my library and value each of them for different reasons.

I like to sew by hand, and since couture still does a lot of handsewing there was a treasure trove on tips I hadn't found anywhere else. Also, I am used to very high quality clothes and I was always dissappointed with the quality of my finished sewing products. After reading this book I now know exactly what I did wrong and how to improve. I can highly reccomend this book, especially for hand sewers, but also for everyone else who wants to sew clothes of better quality.

I'm quite new to sewing but have found some of the tips in the book exrtremely useful. It would be useful to have some more photos to go with the instruction but I've managed to successfully follow the instructions for a gaping neckline and was extremely pleased with the results. Looking forward to using it to further improve my sewing skills.

Le livre et assurément excellent mais pas très pratique à manipuler dans la couture quotidienne, il est destiné àune couturière avertie, pour élargir sa culture des techniques . il ne convient pas pour une débutante.

fantastic book

I'm almost finished reading this one. I love this book.