From sewing box to sewing machine, this inspiring and enlightening introduction to a useful and enjoyable skill explains all the fashion and furnishing techniques you need to know. Perfect for complete novices and filled with clear instructions and clever tips, it’s an indispensable guide to everything you need to know about sewing. Starting with the essential items for your sewing box through to the core skills, it provides a wealth of know-how that will give you the confidence to make and customise clothes and home furnishings. From stitching neat seams and inserting zips to basic quilting and embellishing, key techniques are presented in an accessible way alongside 20 gorgeous projects that will help you to consolidate your skills including a simple bias-cut skirt, a tailored cushion, and a lined tote as well as useful basics such as a curtain, blind, child’s dress and customised T-shirt. Whether you haven’t used a sewing machine since your school days, or you just need a helping hand to master some of the trickier techniques, this complete guide to sewing has it covered.
Tessa Evelegh is a writer and stylist specializing in stitchery of all kinds, crafts, interiors and gardens, with more than 30 titles to her name. These include Window Workshop, Simple Home Style and Sheer Style. Prior to going freelance, she spent eight years at Family Circle magazine, overseeing the dressmaking, interiors and fashion departments. Her work has been published in the Daily Telegraph, Homes and Gardens, Ideal Home and Woman and Home. An enthusiastic dressmaker since the age of five, when she ‘cut her teeth’ on dolls’ clothes, she still makes and customizes clothes, home furnishings and upholstery. Tessa lives in South London and has two (almost) grown-up daughters who also love to ‘make their own’.