Sewing: Just What You Need

Take control of needle and thread with this stylish little introduction to the practical skills of sewing

Do you need to sew a button back on? Or let out your pant legs? Or cut fabric from a pattern?

Sewing is a highly satisfying and useful skill, but it can look forbidding from the outside.

This handy guide breaks everything down for you so you can pick up the fundamental skills one by one, leaving you confident to take on repairs, alterations, and even make simple patterns from scratch.

You’ll learn how to how to fix a button, hem, sew a buttonhole, add a pocket to a garment, and how to sew a pleat. There are hand and machine stitches, and you’ll pick up the basics of dressmaking too: how to measure, check fit, and adjust a garment or pattern.

The author of numerous craft books and editor of the technical section of Marie Claire Idées, Marie-Noëlle Bayard is an outstanding teacher whose experience enables her to pass on the basics of the different needlework techniques simply and precisely.