For quite some time, I didn’t have a machine at home, however, so that after that first skirt I sewed on the machine at school, I did an outfit or two at home by hand. And then some more, including at least one embroidery-encrusted Folkwear pattern, on the old sewing machine my mom eventually gave me. So that’s apparently the place to go for a machine: Mom!

Now that I am much older and much taller, it’s become basically a necessity for me to either 1) walk around in men’s Levi’s and cowboy boots with something nice on top ALL THE TIME, even for formal wear, if I want the coverage I’m looking for, or 2) sew my own wardrobe. And men’s Levis do have their limitations… So that’s why I finally went with the concept of sewing a new wardrobe (and eventually having someone make nice shoes for me to go with the new image ).

I haven’t actually started sewing the wardrobe yet – it’s still in the planning stages – and it has been quite some time since I’ve actually sewn anything. But I still remember how, and I’ve been reading my mom’s old Vogue sewing book to figure out how to execute the effects I want (particularly the part about alterations and resizing, so I can feel safe disregarding the size when I buy).

So, yeah, here’s a recommendation for you:

The Vogue Sewing Book.

You should be able to get it at the Vogue web site (but they only ship to US and perhaps Canadian addresses). Otherwise, I bet you can get it on Amazon or E-bay. It’s a BIG book and exhaustively detailed about every step in the sewing process from choosing patterns to adding those little couture details that make the difference between ‘just solid’ and great workmanship.

I also have a book called

Couture Sewing Techniques (Claire B Shaeffer)

that I believe I got on Amazon and goes into even further detail about how to produce certain edgier effects than are discussed in The Vogue Sewing Book.

So yeah, I encourage you to try again. Start with something really easy – Vogue, for example, has a line called ‘Very Easy Vogue’. If I can give two top tips which will make a HUGE difference even to a beginner at sewing:

1. I’ve never had trouble sewing even seams, and here’s my secret:

Probably every sewing machine has guide lines on the throat plate (the part on the working surface that immediately surrounds the needle), corresponding to the amount of seam allowance. I just keep the edge of the fabric lined up with the appropriate line as I’m sewing.

On the other hand, I can speak from experience that while one may in the end get better results if one is able and has the time to sew entirely by hand, it is essentially impossible to sew even seams by hand unless the seamline is actually marked on the fabric. So here’s what I would do:

Use a tracing wheel and appropriately colored paper to be visible but not too visible (e.g. yellow rather than black on white fabric) to mark a continuous line. Then you can just follow that line and get an even seam that way.

Another thing: You need to pay attention to both sides of the seam (the top surface that you can see as you’re working, and the undersurface), because if the needle is not inserted at just the right angle, you can end up with a seam that looks perfectly even on top, but is a mess on the bottom.

2. This one will be short and sweet: Press each seam as you go (i.e. immediately after you sew it, before proceeding with the next one). Believe me, if you made up the same garment twice, once without pressing as you go, and the other time pressing as you go, you’d see the difference IMMEDIATELY.

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