Clothing Books

I have made a number of items from this book - the granny square hat with earflaps and the matching vest, a cardigan (I think you call it a jacket in America), and two dresses. I always find Candi Jensen's patterns are completely accurate and reliable, and the finished item looks EXACTLY like the picture in the book. The guages are spot on and as I am in Australia, I can't always find her recommended yarn but have never had a problem with substituting - you just must make the time to do a couple of swatches to get the guage right. I would rate myself as an experienced crocheter, but I have used her patterns when teaching friends how to crochet and one friend made the cute little boys striped t-shirt and another friend made one of the simpler boy's vests and they also did very well and were thrilled with the results. So if you want a book that is easy to follow and offers plenty of patterns to choose from from beginners to advanced, this is the book for you. The selection of truly adorable outfits are outstanding, and the baby blankets are just fantastic. I have alot of crochet books for children and this is by far my favourite. Will suit you for both boys or girls - some of the best corchet patterns for boys I have seen, and the girls dresses are really pretty.

These designs are adorable. Wish I had found this book years ago. Highly recommended!!

This book is a joy of patterns that are new and different. Not the same old afgan type sweaters and blankets.

I couldn't decide which one to make first.

I was looking for a pattern for a little girl's crocheted dress, and found the perfect one and more in Candy Crochet. The designs are GORGEOUS. Some (ok most) crochet clothing seems cheesy, which is why I've stuck to blankets in the past, but these are some seriously wearable designs, and just amazingly beautiful. Plenty of designs for boys too. The instructions are excellent, and the photographs of the finished products are helpful.

I love this book! So many cute things for babies and toddlers--girls and boys! The first thing I made I used the yarn used/shown in the book, but I would suggest using more readily available, less expensive yarn when able. I had to order the shown yarn via the internet as it was the only place I could find it, and it was very costly.

I love all the books by Debbie Bliss. Lots of patterns and Ideas. If you love her yarn you will love the books too.

Another great Debbie Bliss book...Some really beautiful patterns in this book...Just remember that the end results will come out lots bigger than you think...Very generous sizing...

....and I mean it. This one is really good. Like many other knitters I have been burned by Bliss' designs often. Her designs do tend to repeat themselves from collection to collection and the pictures, while cute, never show the designs properly. Well, this collection has b&w pictures of the items next to the instructions after the color pictures which are huddled in the front of the book. (I'm talking about a hardcover copy and am assuming that the paperback is identical). The designs are charming and definitely classics. I am buying my own paperback copy and finally returning my library copy. I also recommend the book Knits for Kids by Lena Stengard. This one is a keeper

I just counted, I have 7 books by Debbie Bliss. That is probably why I found this book to be a bit less enchanting than I had expected it to be.

I like her books - enjoy the layout and can always understand the instructions. However, within the body of her work, this set of designs just seemed a little too similar to some in her other books for me to get excited. As a stand alone book, it has charming styles.

I still give it a 4 for good instructions, photography and cute styles.

Bliss designed a great variety of styles, all attractive and all, sadly, only in children's sizing (many would make truly lovely adult sweaters). Difficulty level is not high -- some are fairly simple to make and the others are well worth the effort. Some are rugged sweaters, others decorative. Sweaters for boys and girls, too. The photography is nice and instructions are clear. Really a fabulous book.

After not sewing for about 15 years, I decided it was time to make some nice pants. My body had changed and I had difficulty identifying the myriad fitting problems. What a disaster!!!! Of course, I had invested hundreds of dollars in wonderful material and there it sat. I bought this book and went to work. This lady knows her stuff. My pants are fab and I finally understand how to fit pants to my body. I encourage any sewer at any level of accomplishment to get this wonderful book. The language is clear, the drawings and photographs are explicit and specific and address the process of making pants in a modern way. Lynn, wherever you are, thanks for a great book.

If you are looking for a book that will tell you everything you want to know about making the perfect pants with good diagrams as well, this is it. I can't think of a single situation that it doesn't cover.

This book may be thin in size but it is MIGHTY in the information contained. I'd taken a leave of absence from sewing and changed shapes in the meantime - older patterns didn't fit anymore. With the help of this book, I'm back in business AND have learned all kinds of things I wish I had learned years ago. Can't say enough good things about this very easy to understand, logically presented book. Way to go Lynn.

For fitting and making pants, I have found the "Easy Guide to Sewing Pants" an invaluable source. The book delivers a goldmine of information that really works. Ms. MacIntyre's meticulously thorough instructions are presented in clear, concise easy-to-grasp prose that I found a constant source of pleasure when I need to search for answers. This classy book sets high standards and is a cherished addition to my sewing library.

The "Easy Guide to Sewing Pants" is the only book you will ever need to have a great pair of pants that truly fits you perfectly. I had tried many different approaches over the years but never achieved the fit I needed until I bought this book. Ms. MacIntyre's diagrams for fitting problem areas are clear, easy- to-follow; and best of all, they work! Her step-by-step instructions on how to make design changes to your basic pattern will give you many different looks with having to go through the fitting process again. I was so excited when I made a style change to my pattern and didn't have to worry about whether they would fit. No more frustration!! If that's not enough, I also found Ms. MacIntyre's construction techniques to be absolutely the best and gave me very professional results. The "Easy Guide to Sewing Pants" is a "must" for any sewer's library.

I would advise anyone, not just someone in fashion to read this! We all lack motivation and inspiration at times but Daniel really pushes you to open your eyes and dig deep to regain that inspiration. Other than being an amazing designer, he is an amazing person, and an awesome book writer!

FASHION INSIDE OUT: FROM INSPIRATION TO RUNWAY AND BEYOND is a treasure trove pairing fashion images with fashion history and insider observations. From where fashion begins to how styling works and how trends are created, interviews with designers, producers and industry pros makes for an outstanding presentation highly recommended for any college-level fashion collection and many a general public library.

This book offers a behind the scenes view of a young fashion designer. The photography is beautiful and complements the text admirably.

I initially purchased this book as a fan of Project Runway and to satisfy my curiosity about the fashion industry. However, having read it, cover to cover, I must admit it compliments being a photographer tremendously. The sections on sketching and designing illustrate the differences between 7 head and 9 head length sketches. This opened up a whole new perspective (9 heads elongation) for composing a more flowing angular photo image.

The book also presents very valuable insights from "famous" people in various aspects of the industry. While a few of the interviews seem begrudgingly short, a few are real gems of their techniques.

While this book may be 70% redundant for people in the industry, for this photographer it was insightful and interesting. I highly recommend it to students, and devotees.

I'm a big fan of Project Runway (though I didn't discover the show till the middle of the 3rd season)
I always wondered how they could make such beautiful clothes from just a sketch. Well now I know! You can tell the book took lots of time, blood, sweat and tears to put together. Beautiful inside and out. Love th flocking on the cover.
This book is not only great eye candy (the photography is fabulous) it is very informative. Gives great advice to us amateur seamstresses. I love sewing! But want to go beyond Simplicity and Vogue patterns.
Great job!
The picture on 26 and 27 is what heaven must look like. Said one sewer to the other!

Too many authors of fashion/costume history get really stuffy, even pedantic in their published expertise. This is not that kind of author - she presents in a conversational format historical facts, quotes, a general timeline, and many reprinted photos, drawings and paintings showing fashion or something interesting to do with our favorite topic. Since it's written more like Vogue than any textbook, it's easier to digest and remember, and wholly entertaining at the same time. After all, what is fashion history but a record of the everyday clothes people wore during their lifetime, the same way we look at our bluejeans. This source of endless fashion trivia was a surprise gift from a friend and has become one of my favorite rainy day reads. And there's something for everyone: clothing colors of Egypt - the popular and the magical (p. 50), a medieval recipe for toothpaste (p. 138), a credit for the first owner of black satin sheets in the 1570's (p.177), Madame de Pompadour's deathbed act of cosmetic vanity (p. 227), the origin of men's trouser cuffs (p. 273), several references to fashions inspired by the silver screen (p. 348), the Edwardian revival of the early 1970's (p. 392), and a zillion more bits of tid. You'll find yourself saying "hmmm! never knew that!" pretty darn often. This book provides justification for saying "everything old becomes new again" and a fun perspective on constantly changing fashion through the ages. Especially appropriate for younger readers who couldn't make it through a textbook approach to clothing, or for those of us who like to read in bed without dozing off. Keep an eye out for this volume and snap up as many copies as you ever find.

This is it; The Book, the one that made me fall in love with the history of clothing and fashion. You have to take everything with a grain of salt, but the easy-to-approach format with the pages divided into `articles' sort of like a newsletter, the fun graphics, and interesting historical tie-ins make this one of my favorite fashion history books. If you're looking for an in-depth historical study this is NOT for you. However, if you are looking for a fun, irreverent frolic through the togas, doublets, and surplices of times past pick up a copy of this when you find it, it's well worth it.

A fun, funky and thoroughly entertaining way to learn about clothes from the past and their role in history. Get your hands on this book!

Why do people wear what they wear? This book tells all! Did blondes have more fun in Ancient Rome? In 40 A.D. laws were passed requiring Roman prostitutes to dye their hair blonde. Ever wonder what the Gauls wore into battle? They died their mustaches blue, put on their horned helmets and went off to war stark naked from the neck down! Why did LOuis XIV make high heels and stockings an essential for the well-dressed man? (He wanted to show off his great legs!) This book is a riot... buy it!

40,000 Years of Fashion: Let There Be Clothes is one of the most humorous costuming books it has been my pleasure to read. It is a campy romp through the history of fashion from the prehistoric fur bikini to the hottest and hippest of the retro 90's. 40,000 years is not to be used as a serious research book, but it's fantastic for the vintage fashion enthusiast that is looking for the short take on a long subject. Fashion tips and social quips relevant to each century gives this book its charm

This is one of the best & most helpful fitting books I have come across in a long, long time...Nancy Zieman is an awesome teacher...

After watching Nancy's show on PBS on pattern fitting, I bought this book. It is very detailed and easy to follow.

A good basic reference for those making their initial foray into sewing using paper patterns. Loads of advice and instructions on how to modify patterns and with drawn illustrations to make things clearer. The author's pivot-and-slide method offers up a simple approach to pattern alternations and once understood, you should be able to go on from there.

Clear photos. Very useful information. Will use regularly as I alter patterns. Good purchase.

One of the best books on pattern adjusting I have seen. Uses the pivot and slide technique. Excellent diagrams with information on adjusting for pretty much any type of adjustment you may need to make. Well written with easy to understand instructions. Great for your reference library.

My 19-month old loves all of the karen katz books... twinkle toes was her fave for about 3 months. I got this one because now she's really into princesses and babies so I thought this would be a good combo. I'm not sure if she really understands what princess baby is up to (trying to stall going to bed) but she asks for it to be read before bedtime almost every night. For such a discriminating customer, that's a good thing!

I bought this book for my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. We first had it from the Library. She had the book memorized in a day. It is so cute to hear her tell the story in her sweat little voice. We love it!

My daughters are 3 & 1 they enjoy the large colorful illustrations. My younger daughter especially likes the lift-a-flaps.

I was told it was a great book for all little Princess's to have. Nicely Illustrated.

My 20 month year old daughter loved this book! SHe constantly gets it out for me to read! Karen Katz is the best! My daughter loves all the books of hers we have and my son enjoyed the ones I got him. The manners one is great!

This is one of the best books ever written on the subject of Elizabethan Costuming. It mainly contains all of the details of Queen Elizabeth I wardrobe but it has unique points in the society that surrounded the dresses. This book helps to explain the Gloriana image that became so popular and it helps us to understand all the little details that went into the dress of the period. Detailing costumes using portraits and explaining how the fashion progressed makes this book a must for anyone interested in Renaissance Faires and the nobility. The only drawback is that very very few of the portraits and pictures are in color. I think a total of about 7 are in color the rest is in black and white. The only way to make this book more appealing and usable would be to put all of the portraits and pictures in color, but that would make the book even more expensive. After this must have book the 2nd on the shelf should be a J. Hunniset book (the lady who did all the costuming for Elizabeth R and The Six Wives of Henry the VIII produced by BBC). Next, any Janet Arnold book. Last, would be the Norris book: Tudor Costuming and Fashion (although most of this book is very outdated it is nice to look at). All of these are must haves and will make a well rounded library. Dispite the high price of the book it is worth posessing. Enjoy.

This book is amazing. Huge, and packed full of information. An essential refernce work if you are seriously considering doing anything with elizabethan fashion. The author has poured years of scholarship into this work and it shows. It's not really a coffee table picture book. Instead it is full of carefully culled facts for the serious student or anybody curious about 'real' English Tudor costume.

For the historical costumer focused on 16th century clothing, this is the "bible" hands down. Big, expensive, and filled with the usual detail that is the hallmark of Janet Arnold, this is one very worthwhile investment for the serious costumer. This book has one tiny drawback, in that it focuses entirely on women's fashion in the 16th century as viewed through the wardrobe accounts of Queen Elizabeth I and some of her contemporaries. Therefore, it has nothing to say on the topic of men's clothing, which is an unfortunately neglected aspect of 16th century research.

Much of Janet Arnold's most important contributions to the costuming community are addressed in this book, making it extremely valuable. She presents each section with satisfying detail, raising very few questions that remain unanswered. The photographs accompanying the text are also invaluable, as many of them are not available in other books or to the general public for viewing. If only there were more color images...

If you can afford the book, you won't regret buying it.

For years I heard how this was _the_ book to buy if you were into Elizabethan costuming and wanted authentic items that could be documented. The book is good for that, and I enjoyed the style that Ms.Arnold wrote it in.

But I have two major gripes with the book-both regarding the quality of graphics and images in it.

First off-in the whole book there are only about 5 pages in color. The rest of it-including hundreds of portraits, examples of extant clothing pieces and pieces of embroidery were all in black and white. I complain about that because, with so many of the portraits quoted as examples it would help if they could be seen clearly. (Many of them are too dark to have reproduced well, and a few are quite horrible.) And the photographs....

If they could reprint this book and possibly include more color plates it would be a much much more valuable resource. As it stands now, it is a good source, but not all that I could have hoped for. Instead I have begun a search for color reproductions of the portraits cited in the book. A long tedious job but one that I think over all will make it a much more solid resource for my needs.

I bought this as a gift for a friend who helped a great deal with my wedding, advising me of dress styles, hair styles, fashion from this era, dances, music, food, and everything in between, as well as arranging all the flowers for the wedding! She was a godsend! When I gave her the book, her jaw dropped and she was so excited to get it... she said she had been wanting it forever. As I consider her quite knowledgeable about the subject matter of this book, and as it came highly recommended by her, I would say that it's a great book to have if this is something you are interested in as a serious hobby or more.

This book is a must for anyone who is a student of textiles, fashion and style. The photographs, attention to detail and amazing colors provide great ideas for adding some creativity to any mundane wardrobe. The rich and original combinations of color and design are a refreshing change from the prescriptive wardrobe choices bombarding us in department stores. The book is beautifully designed with interesting narrative, documentation and layout. A great addition to any fashion addict's library!

Loved, loved this book. The comments, the photography and most importantly the crediting of designers to each style was extremely well done. This rare bird of fashion serves us notice that we should embrace our individual style and glory in it and not follow the herd or be shy about manifesting our true "feathers".

This book reminds all its readers that true style grows from individuality. In a time were you would recognize a stylist's style easier than the style of a designer, Iris Apfel's approach to and interpretation of fashion is the light at the end of the tunnel, she certainly has nudged me into the one or the other "true to myself experiment". Iris Apfel's witty introduction perfectly accessoirizes the clothes and jewellery presented, not only poviding background information on how this exhibition came to life but also shedding light on a certainly most interesting and colorful life in a warmhearted and humorous way. This book most certainly will be a longterm occupant of my coffee table.

I had never heard of this person, Iris Apfel, until I saw this book in a bookstore in Pasadena, CA. And I thought I knew everyone!( from years of reading Vogue magazine) For those of you who want something different and beautiful to look at, new fashion, idea inspirations, this book is for you. She is on a design level on another stratosphere. A simply beautiful book to look at. This woman is brilliant!

Fabulous book. I saw the exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum 3 times, and I was so disappointed that there was no catalogue. I was thrilled to see this book whole browsing at The Strand. The price on Amazon was a real bargain.

This book provides a wealth of industry information for anyone in the business, or for someone interested in the manufacturing sector of the industry. Not only does it have philosophies, vocabulary, and facts but it has real life stories on professionals in the industry, their success stories, and how they got started. It is informative and inspiring!

This book is all about the real world of fashion. I loved the book. It is written by people working in the fashion industry today, telling future designers what to expect, just how the business runs. It doesn't dwell on fashion from 100 years ago, it is about today and tomorrow. The book also tells you about skills needed, jobs opening up, and even more importantly, what you have to do to develop the skills and get the job. It is easy to follow, practical, and even though I have finished the course, I still use this book in 3 other classes!

I'm using this book in a course right now, and for the first time I understand how the fashion business runs! This book has been a wonderful source of first-hand information, I love it.

I've wanted to pursue my love of apparel design, but have held back because it felt like too "foofy" of a career choice. I was pleasantly surprised, reading this book, to find out what a practical business this is. Artistic ability and design talent are really a small part of what those in the fashion business need to survive; most of the rest is an understanding of marketing, merchandising, global economy, quality control...in other words, business skills. I wish I had known this as I was graduating from high school--I could already be employed by now! I am using the information in this book to evaluate design programs, and feel confident that I can now go into this field with my eyes open. Fashion and apparel aren't as glamorous and superficial as they might seem: there's a lot of hard work and business savvy that makes up the bulk of the field.

I bought this book and I loved it! It is easy to read and understand the business in fashion world. Lots of useful advise from the famous people for those who wants to go into the real world of fashion business.