More Fabric Savvy: A Quick Resource Guide to Selecting and Sewing Fabric Completely Revised and Updated Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a sewing professional, and I also own Clare Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide, which is excellent and does cover more fabrics. However More Fabric Savvy is really the indispensible guide that should be right by your sewing machine. MFS is not as big, so one is more inclined to open it up and take a look at the suggestions. Also, the spiral binding on MFS lets it lie open flat so you can refer to it easily. MFS is a re-issue of the original Fabric Savvy, and it addresses all the shortcomings of the original - far more fabrics are covered. There is also an extensive list of alternative fabric names, so you can really find the details for any fabric one needs. The size of MFS means you can put it in your bag and take it with you to the fabric store, and I'd recommend doing this, as it will make you more aware of interlining needs, or fastening limitations, BEFORE you spend all your heard-earned money on the fabric of your dreams, only to find out you really need to spend an extra $40 (which you don't have) on silk organza to interline the garment. All the review for the original Fabric Savvy spell out the great features of this book - this edition really just fixes the few criticisms people had.

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America's best-selling quick guide to selecting and sewing fabrics is now completely revised and updated. More Fabric Savvy brings over 100 new tips, over 400 new color photos and drawings, the latest new fabrics, and entirely new and useful features, including a handy guide to stain removal. From Sandra Betzina, the dynamic host of HGTV's Sew Perfect, this easy-to-use reference belongs on every sewer's bookshelf.

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Laundry: The Home Comforts Book of Caring for Clothes and Linens Review

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(More customer reviews)"Home Comforts" has been so helpful and authoritative that I preordered "Laundry" as soon as it was announced. I was very disappointed to find that it consisted almost entirely of material taken from her previous book. If Cheryl Mendelson feels that she needs to revise "Home Comforts", she should go over the entire book and bring out a second edition.
If you already have "Home Comforts", you don't need to buy "Laundry"; and if you don't have "Home Comforts", you need to buy it. But I see little reason to buy "Laundry". I am returning my copy.

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For Cheryl Mendelson laundering is the best part of housekeeping. It's full of physical pleasures -- the look of favorite clothes restored to freshness and beauty, the tactile satisfaction of crisp linens in beautifully folded stacks. Good laundering preserves things you love and protects your pocket book. It doesn't take much time or effort. What it takes is knowledge, and Laundry is the comprehensive, entertaining, and inspiring new book on the art of laundering. Culled from the bestselling Home Comforts, with revised and updated information and a new introduction, Laundry is an indispensable guide to caring for all the cloth in one's home: from kitchen rags to bedding, hand-washables, and baby clothes to vintage linens. Mendelson offers detailed guidance on when to disregard labels, removing stains, making environmentally informed choices, sewing, and storing clothing and fabrics. A much-needed antidote to the standard-issue how-to manual, Laundry celebrates the satisfactions of ironing, folding, and caring for clothes and linens. Both pragmatic and eloquent, Mendelson provides beginning and veteran homemakers with a seamless combination of reliable instruction, time-tested advice, and fascinating personal narrative. As a farm girl in Pennsylvania, Mendelson -- who is a philosopher, lawyer, and professor, as well as a homemaker, wife, and mother -- received a classic domestic education from her grandmothers, aunts, and mother. Laundry combines the best of the traditional lore they taught her with the latest in technical and scientific information. Writing with infectious love and respect for her subject, Mendelson is sure to instill in readers a newfound affection and appreciation for the art of laundering.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Fabric Savvy: The Essential Guide for Every Sewer Review

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(More customer reviews)Let me state my one request for a change and then proceed with my sincere, gushing praise: In the next edition, I hope Ms. Betzina will include a phonetic pronounciation next to the name of every type of fabric she talks about.Now, let's get started on what's right about this book, which is EVERYTHING. The binding shows this book is a workhorse. It's vinyl coated hardbound, with a covered spiral binding. In other words, it opens flat and won't fall apart with use.The format: a generous lower margin allows you to prop it open (flat!) in a stand to refer to as you work. Each type fabric is presented in alphabetical order and on two facing pages--it's all there when you're working, you don't have to skip around. An photograph of the garment made of the fabric is included--so you can see the subtle difference between silk dupioni and shantung...and an appropriate garment for the fabric. Under bold, clear headings are listed the recommended needle, closure, layout, marking, cutting, interfacing, thread, presser foot, closures, stitch length, preshrink, pressing, hem for the fabric. There are also fascinating tips to improve your sewing and interesting facts about the fabric. I'll never use the same old needle and thread again, and now know what would make some of my garments look couture perfect rather than homemade. This truly is an essential guide for EVERY sewer.

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The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes: Personalize Your Craft with Organic Colors from Acorns, Blackberries, Coffee, and Other Everyday Ingredients Review

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(More customer reviews)Sasha Duerr's The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes is a warm-hearted and generous book which swiftly ushers the reader into the world of useable color that is already at our fingertips. As it turns out, dye-making that's good for the earth is also the simplest, most direct and easiest way to create color. In addition to being packed with dye recipes using ingredients you can find in your kitchen, back alley-way or any other gone-to-seed urban area, the Handbook is a fully-illustrated manual for sustainable living at its most sensual and joyful, and a comprehensive introduction to the Slow Textiles movement, in which Duerr is a key player. Her scrupulous attention to all aspects of the color-making process and how it affects our health and the health of our beloved planet provides us with an abundance of useful and unexpected tidbits and activities, like how to build a solar oven out of cardboard and aluminum foil, how to plant a space-efficient spiral dye-plant garden, and how to felt your own laptop case out of wool fresh off the sheep! When you pull on the threads at the edges of this book, you find yourself seamlessly integrated into a whole way of life, one where color and clothing and food and community relationships all flow together in delightful and mutually beneficial ways.
This is absolutely the best manual to have whether you're a beginner or a seasoned dyer in search of a healthier and more holistic dye practice.


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J.J. Pizzuto's Fabric Science 9th edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is for my class textile technology and design. There is probably more information in here than I will ever need to know this quarter but I will be holding on to it after this class because it is such a valuable reference. The information is easy to find and presented in a format that makes it easy to understand. There are great definitions and many illustrations throughout. The new edition has a lot of information on sustainable fibers and textiles which is the main thing that I am interested in.

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In response to universal requests by faculty and students, Fairchild Books has returned the Fabric Science textbook to its original three ring binder format. With the increasing emphasis on textiles as a major global industry, Fabric Science, 9th Edition, continues the long tradition of meeting the needs of both students and professionals in the textile, fashion, and related industries. The best-selling introductory text is for students and professionals who need a solid understanding of basic textiles. In this new edition, Cohen and Johnson address the effect of textiles and textile products on the environment throughout the text as well as a standalone chapter. They address the variety of career opportunities in the design, production, marketing, and merchandising of textiles, apparel, and home products associated with the world of textiles. New chapter Textiles and the Environment and discussions throughout the text on the effect of textiles and textile products on the environment New section entitled Industrial Fabrics focusing on fabrics engineered to meet special performance requirements such as seat belts (transportation), bandages (medical), protective clothing (safety), inflatable building (construction) Pronunciations of fiber names in other languages Four-color throughout including new and revised line drawings New section Speaking of Textiles includes list of phrases relating to textiles and textile products used specifically in the industry More comprehensive coverage of nanotechnology CD-ROM includes study questions to encourage direct application of the material covered and assignments to provide a learning experience with practical industry application

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