Book Review

I love sewing and craft books and I am always getting a new one. My newest book is SEW U Home Stretch The Built By Wendy Guide to Sewing Knit Fabrics. This is a great book for a beginner sewer who wants to start sewing knits or an advanced sewest who just wants to expand a bit on designs. The first part of the book is a guide to choosing knit fabrics patterns and equipment for sewing knits. And then a guide to various techniques for finishing a knit garment. After that is a very detailed guide to sewing a basic crew neck t-shirt.

The book comes with three patterns for basic knit garments. A crew neck t-shirt, a raglan shirt and basic knit dress patterns are found in an envelope at the back of the book. The patterns come in XS to L. There is a chapter covering construction for each of the three looks. But my favorite feature of the book is that each chapter expands on the basic garment to show how you can change the basic look by altering the pattern. It first shows construction and cutting for the basic garment and then shows six variations that you can achieve by changing the neckline, length or other parts of the basic look.

The last chapter covers recycling or using old t-shirts to make new garments with. I love sewing with knits. And as Wendy comments in the book sewing with knits is easy and most of the time easier that sewing a garment with woven fabrics. This is because knit lend themselves well to basic styles with few seams. And most of the time you don't need zippers or buttons because of the stretch of knits. You can make a fitted top without a zipper and still be able to get it on and off.

I can usually sew a t-shirt in an hour or so and I love that kind of quick results. I have several knits in my stash and I could use some new shirts. I think I will be making some up in the next week or so. And I am going to try getting a bit creative and changing the basic pattern. I like to wear tank tops layered under jackets or sweaters in the winter. I could use some of those in every color. And a new knit dress to wear with tights or leggings when the weather gets cold. I can't wait to get started.