Chic and Simple Sewing by Christine Haynes

Sewing Made Seriously Simple: a book review!

By Cortney Heimerl

Get your copy HERE

When I was learning how to sew, my mother was always my resource for answering the technical questions of dressmaking: What is my size exactly? How do I put in a zipper? She walked me through seam finishing and attaching buttons, creating gathers and making dress details with lace and so much more. I would recommend her as a sewing instructor to anyone, but if the chances of you all making it to Portage, Wisconsin to hang around her farm for a few lessons seems a little far-fetched, I would recommend buying the book Chic & Simple Sewing instead.

The author Christine Haynes, is obviously an accomplished seamstress herself with a penchant for creating precise and easy-to-follow directions complete with descriptive illustrations that glide the sewer from step one to step done in no time. The front of the book is all about starting with the basics. She starts with setting up a sewing area (and finding good ways to store it) and moves on to discuss tools of the trade, fabric choice and sewing pieces that reflect your personal style. Next she describes basic techniques, which happens to be my favorite part of the book. It easily answers the many technical questions that may intimidate first-time sewers and carefully explains all about seams and gathering, buttons and elastic, etc. The techniques are described in detail and even a seasoned pro would love to get her hands on this section as a reference. The rest of the book is made up of the patterns: dresses, skirts, tops and jackets that use the same simple directions as the beginning of the book. The best part? The designs are actually ones that you will be excited to wear. Most are simple enough to make in less than a day, but complicate enough to keep your interest and inspire you to plan your date nights around your sewing schedule. (Hot pink baby doll dress to the movies with Tom on Saturday!)

If you have always wanted to learn to sew your own clothes, this is the perfect place to start. It is fun, informative and incredibly easy to follow. As long as you have the time to learn, I think that this book will create many successful sewing ventures that only my mother could walk me through years ago.