Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me preface this review with the fact that I have been sewing for most of my life. I am a big fan of Sarai's patterns, so when I saw that she was writing a book, I am sure that I pre-ordered it within an hour of the announcement. Upon receiving the book, I noticed it was packaged without the accompanying patterns, which, as a more advanced sewist, I was most excited about. Back to Amazon it went. However, I had a replacement in two days (big thanks to Ida in Customer Service. She was so helpful!) In my first run-through of the book, I was most impressed by the presentation of the book. 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 doesn't assume any background in sewing, and demonstrates hand stitching as well as the basic functions of a few machine stitches. For someone with a great deal of sewing experience, the techniques weren't a great deal of use to me. What I was most impressed with was Sarai's approach to "thoughtful sewing". Her chapter "A Precise Plan" highlights what a lot of beginning sewists struggle with: imbuing your sewing with your identity. Her notes on defining your style were beautifully thought out, and help beginning sewists actually think about what they want to sew, and why they should (because it fits in your wardrobe!). Sarai instructs you in creating a personal croquis to experiment with how a garment will look on you, which could save a new sewist a ton of stress in creating a garment that turns out the be unflattering. "A Fine Fabric" is, of course, the prettiest chapter, but not very ground breaking. Anyone with More Fabric Savvy: A Quick Resource Guide to Selecting and Sewing Fabric will already know all of the information presented here, and more (again, advanced sewist talking). I've noticed Sarai has a strong bias towards silk, which is all well and good, but I doubt most beginners will start with something so expensive. The patterns were the reason I bought this book, and I was not disappointed. Colette Patterns drafts for a C-Cup, which is a size above what most pattern companies draft for, and it's a huge step forward in accommodating the changing American figure. And pattern sizing is more similar to ready-to-wear, which I'm sure is a huge help for the beginning sewist. For me, many of the patterns fit pretty well straight off the block, with only minor adjustments to fit, which Sarai covers in the chapter "A Fantastic Fit". For those with more complicated fitting issues, this book may be a little lacking, but picking up The Perfect Fit: The Classic Guide to Altering Patterns or Fit for Real People: Sew Great Clothes Using ANY Pattern (Sewing for Real People series) will help with any fitting problem you could fathom. All in all, it was a lovely and well put together book, even if the material wasn't anything groundbreaking for me. If you're struggling with creating garments that you'll love, or a beginner who wants a unique and thoughtfully created first project, I cannot recommend this book enough. If you're more of an advanced sewist, I'd pick it up for the patterns and just because it is a lovely book to have around. I fully intend to leave it on my coffee table to hopefully inspire some of my non-sewing friends to learn!