Say goodbye to sewing F.A.I.L.s (followed-all-instructions letdowns)! Perfect your professional handmade style with garment-making sewist Barbara Emodi by learning methods to understand common missteps and how to avoid frustrating mistakes. Plus, salvage your sewing “oops” with tips and tricks to recognize and rescue immediate errors with easy fixes. Each strategy is geared toward making every project a successful one! The comprehensive instructions and techniques are for every skill set, so even experienced sewists can learn surprising new ways to make facings, bindings, plackets, pockets, zipper openings, and more. If something you’ve sewn doesn’t turn out, flip through this book and find a F.A.I.L. (Followed-All-Instructions Letdown) that matches your issue! Sew garments with guided expertise on how to create beautiful details every time Step-by-step instructions teach you when it’s best to ignore what’s written in the pattern, and what to do instead for easier, more accurate sewing Master bound buttonholes, men’s sleeve plackets, welt pockets, fly zippers, and so much more

Experienced sewing instructor and blogger Barbara Emodi shares her sewing wisdom to help readers get started, get started back up, or hone their existing garment-sewing skills. Not a sewing reference book as much as a book of experience, this is a book that will make a novice sewist say, “Oh, so that’s why you do that,” make a practiced sewist think, “Now that’s a neat trick,” and make a very experienced sewist smile and say, “That is sooo true!” Take advantage of her thoughts, tips, and tricks on the benefits of sewing, the importance of fit, basic techniques, available tools, patterns, and materials, and so much more. • Droll, well-informed, readable, interesting, and useful— the how-to book of sewing wisdom you always wanted • Get the inside scoop on sizing and alteration, patternless sewing, what to sew and what to buy, and many other topics, with mini lessons sprinkled throughout • Tips and ideas on choosing and using the best fabric, gear, and sewing machines

Presents an illustrated guide to sewing tops, T-shirts, skirts, and pants with tips on measuring, patterns, materials, construction, customizing, pleats, zippers, hems, and more.

Get invaluable advice from sewers like you with this handy reference. This practical reference guide features the best hands-on sewing tips culled from the popular sewing website PatternReview.com, a community of more than 200,000 members. You’ll also find special how-to features by PatternReview.com’s master teachers and pattern designers, including Kenneth D. King, Susan Khalje, Sarah Veblen, Shannon Gifford, and Anna Mazur. Best of all, these words of wisdom—more than 1,000 tips in all—will provide you with new solutions to the trickiest problems and show you how to save time, money, and materials. Praise for 1,000 Clever Sewing Shortcuts & Tips “A must-have book for every sewer’s library. Whether you’re a burgeoning beginner or a seasoned seamstress, this book will teach you more than a few new tricks. Honestly, I couldn’t put it down! It’s packed full of creative tips and great ideas, shared as always, sewer to sewer!” —Margo Martin, Executive Director, American Sewing Guild, Inc. “The only thing better than a good tip is more good tips, no? It’s all very well to get an expert’s tips, but what’s really needed when tip gathering is a hive-mind’s best discoveries, and there’s no busier, buzzier sewing hive than Deepika’s PatternReview, so you KNOW they’re in here, those tips you haven’t head, haven’t yet tried, haven’t yet imagined. Welcome to the Hive!” —David Coffin, former editor of Threads magazine and author of Making Trousers for Men and Women

Easily solve a multitude of sewing machine problems with this handy guide. Kick tension problems to the curb and say goodbye to presser foot problems! This pocket-size guide helps you troubleshoot your sewing machine on the go. A comprehensive chart of common issues will help you quickly diagnose the issue at hand and find the remedy to get your stress levels back to zero. Master needle nicks, tricky threaders, and baffling buttonholes once and for all! This portable guide is perfect to take along to retreats and classes so readers can quickly get their machines back up and running. All the information you need to resolve common issues for stress-free sewing Quickly find the facts with a troubleshooting chart for sewers and quilters Solve tension and presser foot problems, mastering buttonholes, needles, threaders, automatic thread cutters, and more

Imagine knitting a beautiful sweater without the stressful obstacles of sewing, seaming, and grafting. Welcome to Knitwear designer Kristen TenDyke's world of Finish-Free Knits! While exploring these 20 designs, you will discover stitch-free solutions to previously frustrating obstacles needed to finish a design. Kristen will teach you to knit sweaters with no assembly required. Through clever planning and some simple techniques, the projects in Finish-Free Knits are shaped and joined during knitting--without sacrificing the pockets, buttonbands, shaped collars, and more that is accomplished in most designs by sewing together separate pieces. In addition, learn how to shape armholes, join pieces as you go, use short-rows for shaping, and more. Once these stress-free finishing techniques are learned, you will enjoy the freedom to apply variations of each method in projects beyond the book. With Finish-Free Knits you can avoid the dreaded "Some Assembly Required" phrase forever.

Ghosts of the past haunt the crafters of Gasper’s Cove Two generations ago, Winston Churchill’s greatest lie washed ashore in Nova Scotia. Before anyone can recover what was lost, a bus tour director is found murdered, and Duck, an ex-con with a soft spot for animals, is arrested. Promising Duck’s heartbroken cat she will find a way to bring him home, Valerie sets out to find the real killer. Are ingenuity and creativity enough to save Valerie and the crafters from rum runners, murder, and the burden of their secrets? The second book in this cozy mystery series set in the world of the fictitious yet immersive Gasper’s Cove, where crafting and community collide Mystery lovers and crafters alike will adore immersing themselves in this story featuring seamstress and empty-nester Valerie Rankin and her efforts to give an innocent man a second chance at life A perfect gift for anyone who loves mysteries, crafting, sewing, or simply a great read

Valerie Rankin is back in Gasper's Cove as a mayoral election brings chaos to the small town. A corrupt political scheme controls the town, and Valerie’s cousin, Darlene, an ex-hairdresser, decides to run for mayor. With the help of Valerie and the Gasper’s crafters, the group crafts a successful campaign. However, false rumors quickly spread about Darlene. Valerie moves to confront mayoral opponent Mighty Mike Murphy only to find him dead with one of her own stenciled campaign signs next to his body. Afraid that she or Darlene could be framed for his murder, Valerie must hunt down a killer before it’s too late.

A lot has changed at Rankin’s General. Valerie becomes the new manager, while her cousin Rollie opens a B&B with his librarian lady friend, Catherine. The Gasper’s Cove Crafters eagerly plan a weeklong sewing and crafting retreat at the new B&B, only to discover a disastrous double-booking with a food truck rally, a corporate getaway, and a secretive romantic weekend. Valerie, determined to restore order, faces missing items, a misplaced fiancé, and potential murder suspects. As chaos unfolds, unexpected help arrives, but at what cost? Valerie’s most ambitious project yet may be her last.

Waste not, want not. This crafty guide perfect for anyone looking to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Nowadays, many of us “outsource” basic tasks. Food is instant, ready-made, and processed with unhealthy additives. Dry cleaners press shirts, delivery guys bring pizza, gardeners tend flowers, and, yes, tailors sew on those pesky buttons. But life can be much simpler, sweeter, and richer–and a lot more fun, too! As your grandmother might say, now is not the time to be careless with your money, and it actually pays to learn how to do things yourself! Practical and empowering, How to Sew a Button collects the treasured wisdom of nanas, bubbies, and grandmas from all across the country–as well as modern-day experts–and shares more than one hundred step-by-step essential tips for cooking, cleaning, gardening, and entertaining, including how to • polish your image by shining your own shoes • grow your own vegetables (and stash your bounty for the winter) • sweeten your day by making your own jam • use baking soda and vinegar to clean your house without toxic chemicals • feel beautiful by perfecting your posture • roll your own piecrust and find a slice of heaven • fold a fitted sheet to crisp perfection • waltz without stepping on any toes Complete with helpful illustrations and brimming with nostalgic charm, How to Sew a Button provides calm and comfort in uncertain times. By doing things yourself, with care and attention, you and your loved ones will feel the pleasing rewards of a job well done.