Review on 👗 The Colette Sewing Handbook: Stylish Inspiration and Essential Techniques for Novice Seamstresses by Kristen Reid

Before I write this review, let me say that I have sewn for most of my life. I'm a big fan of Saray's patterns and when I saw her writing a book I'm sure I pre-ordered within an hour of the announcement. When I received the book, I noticed that it was packaged with no accompanying pattern, which was my biggest concern as an advanced seamstress. Let's go back to Raven. However, I had a replacement two days later (thanks to Ida from customer service. She was so accommodating!) When I first saw the book, what struck me the most was the book's presentation. The book is Colette through and through, from the writing style to the color palette, and the layout of the mini-tutorials was clear, the text concise. The book does not assume any sewing knowledge and demonstrates hand sewing as well as the basic functions of some machine stitches. For someone with a lot of sewing experience, these methods didn't do me much good. What impressed me the most was Sarai's approach to "thoughtful sewing". Her chapter "A Precise Plan" talks about what many beginners in sewing struggle with: putting your personality into sewing. Her style defining notes are beautifully thought out and help aspiring seamstresses think about what they want to sew and why they should do it (because it fits in your wardrobe!). Sarah instructs you to create a personal pattern to experiment with how the clothes will look on you, which can save a novice seamstress a lot of stress when creating clothes that turn out to be unflattering. "Beautiful Fabric" is of course the most beautiful chapter, but not very innovative. Anyone with More Fabric Savvy: A Quick Resource Guide to Selecting and Sewing Fabric already knows all the information provided here and more (even experienced seamstresses here). I've noticed that Saray has a strong fondness for silk, which is a good thing in itself, but I doubt most beginners will start with something that expensive. The patterns were the reason I bought this book and I was not disappointed. Colette Patterns makes C cup designs that are larger than most pattern companies, a huge step forward in accommodating the changing American figure. And the size of the pattern is more like that of ready-made clothes, which will certainly be very helpful for beginners. I think many of the patterns fit quite well the first time, with minor adjustments that Saray describes in the Fantastic Fit chapter. For those with more difficult fitting problems, this book may not be enough, but The Perfect Fit: The Classic Guide to Changing Patterns or Fitting for Real People: Sewing Great Clothes Using ANY Pattern (Sewing for Real People series) will help with any relevant problem that you might understand. All in all, an excellent and well-written book, even if the material wasn't groundbreaking for me. Whether you're struggling to create clothes you love or a beginner wanting a unique and thoughtful first project, I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you are a more advanced seamstress I would save it for the patterns and simply because it is a great book to have on hand. I firmly intend to keep it on my coffee table to hopefully inspire some of my non-sewing friends to learn!