Mend & Make Fabulous

I took sewing in junior high. Forgot most of it (a long time ago). My husband is always asking me to mend his pants and shirts. He recently asked me to mend a sweater. Even though I crochet profusely, I wasn't sure how to mend his sweater. This book had the answers. Lots of good info if you need a refresher or just want to learn more. I ordered this before it released. Unusual for me. All my crochet magazines and newsletters recommended this book as well as quilting and sewing periodicals. Great source.

This book is just right for current era of disposable (cheap) fashion, the demise of home ec. and TV like Project Runway and The Great British Sewing Bee. It has the right balance of DIY, creativity and 911 sewing emergency. There is something for everyone in this little reference book.There are seven secions covering tears, seams, lining, hems and tailoring, closures, straps and color. Each gives you 911 basics like how to sew on a button and then ways to "Make It Fabulous" like embellishment with buttons. The information on garment care is good.The book is well-written and an easy read. The layout is clean and fresh. Really expereinces sewers probably have this info elsewhere, but it's a good book for those building a library. For those who aren't really into sewing, or clueless when it comes to mending, this book is what you need. Some of the 911 fixes do require a sewing machine.

This book was disappointing. I thought it would show step-by-step how to fix things. Instead it briefly shows how to fix things and then goes off on how to do embellishments and other projects. This book needs to decide if it's a how-to-fix-it book or an idea book because it unsuccessfully tries to be both and the result is a waste of time.

Excellent!!!

It was a so so book. There are others out in the market that provide similar or better examples of mending.

helpful

Just what I wanted. Thank you.

I'm always on the lookout for new books to recommend to my students (I teach sewing classes), but this book isn't very good. In essence, it's the same as  Sewing 911 , only not as useful.For starters, I can't tell what skill level this book is aimed at. It starts out extremely basic, as if it's for someone with no sewing experience at all, but it gets progressively harder, delving into things that no beginner would have the skills to attempt, like replacing a coat's entire lining.The book is decently illustrated, but that's the only good thing I can say about it. There's a lot of misinformation. Stitches labeled wrong. Steps performed incorrectly. Even advice that will ultimately do more harm than good!Some of the mending techniques are useful, like stitching a torn seam, or redoing a hem. However, many are last-ditch methods, only to be attempted if you can't afford to replace your torn shirt, and you don't mind a stiff patch, puckering, or visible stitching. Some of the "mends" claim to be invisible---as good as new---and yet the patched or stitched areas are totally obvious in the photos. (Granted, they used contrasting thread so you could see what was being done, but even if you used matching thread, the repairs would still be obvious because they change the way the fabric looks.) This isn't wholly the author's fault---some kinds of repairs are obvious, no matter what. But the author claims no one will be able to see these mends, which isn't true. I've done similar repairs on my own clothing, and no matter how careful you are, or how skilled you are, ripped fabric can't be fixed invisibly. There are ways of camouflaging repairs, but none of these are mentioned.Additionally, I was appalled by the author's recommendation of using bleach to brighten vintage clothing! There are ways to clean yellowed clothing that don't involve bleach. See, bleach doesn't fully rinse out, which means it keeps on eating away at the material, long after you've washed it. This spells certain doom for vintage lace or fabric, which is often fragile.I'll give this book two stars, because there's a few tips that might be useful. But there's enough bad advice that I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Whilst I am quite a proficient sewer, I dont have any older relatives to turn to for less common skills, and this book fills a gap so often left by books teaching you how to sew. It isnt just fixing holes though - also altering and torn seams, and much more. The fabulous bit is for when mending isnt enough, but you dont want to throw a good garment away. It says what else you could do with it.Lets face it, one or two mended or altered garments, and this book has paid for itself - total no brainer to buy this.

The book was exactly as I expected. I have seen it before. I just wanted to obtain a personal copy.

A lovely book full of ideas and tips

I can't believe that the autor worked for Burda USA: I should guess that Burda doesn't care much who is in charge there because this book seems written from the most amateurish blogger that could possibly exist. The book comes with big intriguing promises: learn tecniques to repair your clothes and embelish them, so that the "damage becomes a beautiful feature of the garment. Sadly this is just a series of clumsy attempts to repair clothes in an intuitie ineffective way. Just have a look at how clumsily the laces are being "repaired" by the author (creating an unsightly lump of cloth). The way she would repair a hole in woll jumper is a guaranteed recipe for disaster, making sure you ruin it forever. The book is full of fashion pictures that lure the possible buyer with the (false) promise "you will learn to do that and save your dress" but in reality they are only stock pictures or fotos taken from Etsy with no relation to the content of the book and the explanations. Last but not least, the book is ridiculously illustrated with bad, bad pictures that don't guide you really through the process of repairing a garment: they are not close ups so that you have to "guess" WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING THERE?!This book is really superficially "thought" and poorly written, appalingly put together. I luckily bought it very cheap in Amazon Market Place but I am giving away my copy...any taker?

I mendings che vengono pomposamente illustrati sono banalmente lapalissiani, in una maniera imbarazzante (del tipo: "per riparare un capo chiaro ci vuole del tessuto chiaro, invece per ripararne uno scuro scegli un tessuto scuro"); per contro le presunte idee di decoro dei capi sono spesso molto più complesse di quanto non si voglia far sembrare, le e relative immagini sono prese alla rinfusa da foto di fashion bloggers, che non hanno per niente l'aria di essere le autrici di tanto lavoro. Insomma non vedo come questo libro possa soddisfare qualcuno, essendo un'accozzaglia di poche idee ma ben confuse. Concordo pienamente con l'opinione di Stephanie: tempo perso.