Sewing School

Kids can sew too! This inspiring guide includes 21 fun sewing projects for children ages 5 and up. With easy-to-follow illustrated instructions and cut-out patterns, young crafters will quickly be sewing up colorful pillows, potholders, dolls, blankets, and more. These kid-tested projects require only minimal supervision and most can be made using simple hand stitches, so no sewing machine is required. With plenty of encouragement and helpful tips, Sewing School ® helps young sewers develop their skills while sparking a passion that will last a lifetime. Also available in this series: Sewing School ® 2,Sewing School ® Fashion Design, Sewing School ® Quilts, and Sewing School ® Box Set.

For kids who have mastered hand sewing, machine sewing opens up exciting new possibilities! Sewing School ®2 offers 20 creative projects designed for children ages 7 and up, including cloth pencil cases, purses, wall pockets, and even a fabric guitar. Illustrated step-by-step instructions show kids how to thread a sewing machine, select an appropriate stitch, and choose fabrics and patterns that evoke their own unique style. Suggestions for creative variations open up endless possibilities for kids to imaginatively personalize their fabric creations.

This book takes the mystery out of the sewing machine, holding first-time stitchers by the hand and showing the easiest ways to get the most from their machine. This book takes the mystery out of the sewing machine, holding first-time stitchers by the hand and showing the easiest ways to get the most from their machine. In the climate of “make do and mend,” sales of sewing machines have soared, but many are only accompanied by a difficult-to-understand technical manual. Here, Jane Bolsover provides a comprehensive guide for beginners. Starting with an essential overview of the sewing machine, learn how to thread it and wind bobbins, why tension is important, and which needles to choose. There's information on the basic sewing kit you will need, plus advice on which fabrics to choose and how to cut out. The chapters then build into a complete sewing course, and at the end of each chapter is a simple project to consolidate the skills you have just mastered. The projects include items for the home, including a cushion cover and a lampshade, stylish accessories, such as bags and scarves, plus great clothing basics, such as an A-line skirt and a simple shift dress. Also included at the back of the book are two full-size pull-out paper pattern sections.

The best-selling authors of the Sewing School ® series are back, introducing kids to the creativity of stitching patchwork, appliqué, and quilts. Using dynamic how-to photos and step-by-step instructions written for ages 8 to 12, Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle teach a variety of techniques using both hand and machine sewing. The 15 projects range from decorative to practical, including an appliquéd family crest wall hanging, a patchwork pet bed, a crazy-quilt journal cover, and a quilt made from recycled T-shirts. Every project features encouraging suggestions for making truly one-of-a-kind items that express the creative spirit of each young maker.

Crafty kids love to show off what they make, and what better way to do that than to wear their own one-of-a-kind handmade clothes! The authors of the best-selling and much-acclaimed Sewing School® series are back with a complete course in sewing clothes, specially designed for kids aged 8 to 12. Starting with the basics, Sewing School® Fashion Design teaches kids how to make three essential garments: a top, a pair of shorts, and a skirt, and then encourages them to build their skills and customize each piece with options for changing the neckline or sleeve length and adding their own decorative touches. With step-by-step photos and actual kid-created examples, the approach is friendly and forgiving — no fussy fitting or difficult techniques. All the necessary pattern pieces are included for a wide range of sizes and body types, along with guidance on selecting fabric, cutting accurately, and adjusting the fit. With a wardrobe of their own making, kids will feel great about what they wear!

This is the only sewing book you'll ever need. Every tool and every technique you require for making your own home furnishings or clothing is closely and sharply photographed, carefully annotated, and clearly explained. The Tools section begins with the basic toolkit, opening up into everything you could possibly need - every type of cutting tool and machine foot is shown. This section also includes information on patterns - how to measure, how to use, and how to adjust them. Gallery spreads appear throughout the substantial Techniques section and showcase darts, zips, pleats etc, as well as showingkey stitches. Plus, you can bring your acquired and refined skills to fruition as you make some of the 25 home decor and clothing projects at the back of the book. With The Sewing Book on your shelf, you''ve got every sewing questioncovered. Written by a passionate stitcher and teacher, with her own sewing school, eagerto produce a one-stop sewing bible for her students, this book leaves no hem unturned. You can dip in at any level - whether you''re new to sewing or refining your art, whether you want to repair an old skirt or create a new one, whether you want to spruce up a curtain or design one from scratch. And with a Foreword by U.S. sewing teacher, Diana Rupp, this book has it all sewn up.

Based largely on nineteenth and twentieth-century representations of Chinese dress as traditional and unchanging, historians have long regarded fashion as something peculiarly Western. But in this surprising, sumptuously illustrated book, Antonia Finnane proves that vibrant fashions were a vital part of Chinese life in the late imperial era, when well-to-do men and women showed a keen awareness of what was up-to-date. Though foreigners who traveled to China in the early decades of the twentieth century came away with the impression that Chinese dress was simple and monotone, the key features of modern fashion were beginning to emerge, especially in Shanghai. Men in blue gowns donned felt caps and leather shoes, girls began to wear fitted jackets and narrow pants, and homespun garments gave way to machine-woven cloth, often made in foreign lands. These innovations marked the start of a far-reaching vestimentary revolution that would transform the clothing culture in urban and much of rural China over the next half century. Through Finnane's meticulous research, we are able to see how the close-fitting jacket and high collar of the 1911 Revolutionary period, the skirt and jacket-blouse of the May Fourth era, and the military style popular in the Cultural Revolution led to the variegated, globalized wardrobe of today. She brilliantly connects China's modernization and global visibility with changes in dress, offering a vivid portrait of the complex, subtle, and sometimes contradictory ways the people of China have worn their nation on their backs.

In 1884, a Japanese sailor named Hamanosuke Shigeta made his way to the eastern section of downtown Los Angeles and opened Little Tokyo's first business, an American-style café. By the early 20th century, this neighborhood on the banks of the Los Angeles River had developed into a vibrant community serving the burgeoning Japanese American population of Southern California. When Japanese Americans were forcibly removed to internment camps in 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entrance into World War II, Little Tokyo was rechristened "Bronzeville" as a newly established African American enclave popular for its jazz clubs and churches. Despite the War Relocation Authority's opposition to re-establishing Little Tokyo following the war, Japanese Americans gradually restored the strong ties evident today in 21st-century Little Tokyo--a multicultural, multigenerational community that is the largest Nihonmachi (Japantown) in the United States.