Learning to Sew, Part Two.

Continuing on from Learning to Sew, from last week, I will be reviewing another book that has helped me learn to sew.

This time I am going to look at another popular book:  Sewing for Dummies.  This is another good book that has helped me out quite a lot.  If you are familiar with the "For Dummies" range, then you will recognize the layout of the book, which can be quite helpful.  At the beginning of the book you have a handy "cheat sheet" which includes references such as a needle size chart, with what fabrics are best for different sized needles. And a yardage conversion table, for changing what yardage of fabric you need depending on the width of fabric. (This is a lot less scary than it sounds at first.)

Sewing For Dummies also has useful icons throughout the book, with tips and reminders, as well as warnings.

This is a book that if you wanted to, you could read from front to back.  But if you just wanted to look up a certain technique or look for a few hints and tips on a certain process, you can certainly dip in and out of it with ease.  This is the primary book I used when I first started to learn to sew, however it can be a bit intimidating as it does look a lot like a text book:

If you have just started, and have tried a few things, then I would say that the last chapter (The Part of Tens) is a definite must read! Ten Tips for Mixing Patterns, Ten Mistakes Beginners Often Make and Ten Sewing Fundamentals to Remember.  I should probably have listened to the advice given here about not attempting a project beyond your skill level.  I spent ten months avoiding my sewing machine because the first item of clothing I tried (a SHIRT!) had got me very confused and feeling a bit useless! 
This does have some projects included, but they are a bit old fashioned for me.  But if you do like the projects then that is an added bonus.