Sewing and Designing Resources

I just wanted to share  some of my favorite resources for fashion design and sewing.  I love books, maybe it is my age or desired learning style.

Books

Our local chapter has collected a great many books that are available to check out for a month at a time to any member of ASG.  To access and browse the library, you need an account on “librarything.com”  It free to use, and you can catalog up to 200 of your own personal books for free.  For more than 200, it is simply $25.00 (not per year, just $25.00!)  If you don’t want to create an account you can always email library@planoasgsews.org  asking if we have a specific book and we are happy to be your librarians.   We have books on fashion design, garment construction, quilting, embroidery and even fictional and non fictional reads that have sewing as a topic.  An example of types of books are the textbooks on pattern design and on fashion draping from Helen Joseph-Armstrong; books by Claire Shaeffer, Roberta Carr, Nancy Zeiman, Peggy Sager, Sandra Betzina, Loraine Henry and many more.

I recently found a great resource for books that are out of print, out of copyright.  These books have been scanned page by page (so each page or chapter is a jpg or a pdf ).  The scope of books here are amazing.  The digital collection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library    Here is an example Laughlin, Clara E. (Clara Elizabeth), 1873-1941, Editor The complete dressmaker, with simple directions for home millinery  D. Appleton and Company, 1907

You  will find the sewing books under “the human ecology collection ” and further organized under “all sewn up”    I have found great tailoring, dressmaking and millinery references at this site.  Just like in a library, I could get lost and spend hours and hours in these collections.

Then jumping again to a totally different medium-video – YouTube.   My favorite channels are Arthur Porter – leather    Silhouette Patterns  Threads Embroidery Library SewToFit

Others I haven’t regularly watched but look interesting  Professor Pincushion Missouri Star Quilt Company

Group reviews, questions, and feedback

My all time favorite is PatternReview  15 years of reviews and over 400,000 users worldwide.  Free and upgraded memberships available.  Want to see thoughts, pictures on a pattern, class, store, machine?  Check it out here, plus contests and other sewing connections.  Facebook sewing groups are my next resource, note many of these are closed as in the admin needs to admit you to join.  Just a precaution against spammers and trolls.  Some are general sewing, others are topic specific, some are company/designer specific.  Local group DFW sewing (Dallas/Ft. Worth)  ;  PDF Sales and Promotion ; The Sewing Curve ; Sewing Bags & Accessories ; Swoon Patterns Group ; We Sew Retro Show & Tell ; Stashbusting Sewalong 2016  and so many more!

And the best of all are American Sewing Guild neighborhood groups, special events and national conventions.

On line Classes

Of course, Craftsy.  My favorites so far – Angela Wolf, Beverly Johnson, Suzy Furrer, Janet Pray.  I can’t wait to get my discounted (ASG membership benefit) access to University of Fashion

These are some of mine.  What are your favorite resources?