November 2, 2009

A new favorite book of mine

I have read through this book from cover to cover as though it were a best selling novel. I love it! Now, before I tell you why I love this book so much, I must say that I bought it with my own money. (Actually I bought it twice. I'll explain later.) No one payed me to do this review (unfortunately). =)

My favorite type of sewing/craft books are the kind of books that don't come with patterns, but instead teaches you how to draft your own pattern. That is how Design-It-Yourself Clothes is written. Cal Patch is the writer/designer and she gives the reader plenty of information on how to draft skirts, shirts, jackets, pants, and dresses with out overwhelming the reader with too much information. Cal's practical and direct writing is unbelievably beneficial for learning the basic concepts of pattern making. I feel the reader becomes equipped with the knowledge to make clothes that are tailored to their own body. Furthermore, once you understand the basic pattern making concept, you can add different design elements to basic patterns. The book also covers the slash and spread technique (adding fullness or flare to a garment), and the rub off technique (making a pattern from a finished garment).

Here are some of my favorites that I intend to make soon...

Hello cute little jacket! Wouldn't you look delightful with a Peter Pan Collar? Yes you would.


And then there's you sweet, unassuming, knit tee, that fits so perfectly. Come to Mama!


Oh my! You can not be ignored simple and sexy dress. What's that? Plaid with tights? Well why not!

So that's what I think about this book. As for buying it twice, (sigh) I did a stupid thing the other day. In a effort to de-clutter, I decided to recycle the magazines I hadn't read in the last 2 months. Well, guess what else accidentally got thrown into that pile? Yes! And it was trash day, which means the recycles went out too. I would have gone dumpster diving for it had it not been trash day. I did contemplate driving to the site where they dump the recycles, but instead decided to fill out a Borders Books online survey in order to receive a 15% off coupon. The discount provided a band aid effect that made me feel a little better about buying the book again. I do love this book! So much so, that I'd buy it a third time if I had too.
Let's hope not.

Cheers,
Jamie

11 comments:

My.Florentine said...

I love books like this too! Looks like I'll be adding this book to my wish list of craft book. Hmm, there's a Christmas just around the corner....

Mary said...

Great review! I'll be adding this to my wish list too!

jacqueline said...

That seems like a fun book! Thank you so much for this wonderful review! I think i might have saw it before in my favorite bookstore. Have a lovely merry happy week and love to yoU!

Anneke said...

I've seen that book on another blog too, and I really really like it, gonna add this to my wishes for Christmas.
Love
Anneke

Sarah said...

Would you recommend this to someone who's never actually sewn anything major out of a pattern before? Thanks!

Pretty Ditty said...

Hi Sarah!

She does focus mainly on pattern making; however, towards the end of the book she has a great section on sewing techniques. For example, in a section about making a skirt she will go into great detail on how to draft the pattern and then for the sewing instructions she will write "insert invisible zipper at upper left side seam." At fist you may think "how the heck do you do that," assuming one has never inserted an invisible zipper, but towards the back of the book there is an entire page about invisible zippers. So be sure to read through the entire book that way you will know where to reference certain sewing techniques.

To answer your question - Yes, I would recommend it if you want to make your own clothes.

Thanks =)

Kathryn said...

Excellent review! This book came up on my Amazon suggestions and I've been dithering about it. It's now going on my Christmas list!

Jody Pearl said...

Hi,
thankyou for the review! I'm wondering if photos or diagrams are used as part of the explanation and which would be your preference?

marisa said...

Thanks for the review! Most of my books have patterns and they can get tedious and lost! This looks great!

Pretty Ditty said...

Jody - Cal, the author, does have diagrams on how to draft the patterns. They are quite informative and easy to understand. However, she does not have photos nor diagrams of how to sew the garments together. The main focus is on drafting the patterns.

Thanks for the question.
~ Jamie

Kat said...

I am getting this book for Christmas off my boyfriend. I am so excited! I just wish it was Christmas already so I could start reading it!