Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Art of Couture Sewing - Book Review

To tell the truth I have avoided this book for a long time.  After the last book with "couture" in the title it made me shudder with shame at the misuse of the this word.  This book however was a happy turn around.  Although it did not give me any new information or great detail on actual couture sewing it did explain it very well and go into examples, details and the History proper which made me feel much less angry about the title.


For the Introduction to Couture it had several different designers spotlighted with a brief history of them.  I really appreciated that and found it informative. 


The pictures throughout the book were great and modern.  The illustrations however were a bit generic.  I would of preferred a more plain mannequin type figure then these California sassy girls.  The how-to illustrations however were spot on and gave good details.  Sometimes I prefer the illustrations on how-to's then pictures.  You can exaggerate and add more detail in a drawing that can help further explain the process. 


This is on my list of books I must get.  It has such a wealth in instructions and tips.  It covers pattern drafting, draping and even illustration.  If I were a full time teacher I would even consider to make this a required text book for my students.  It is that good to me.  I think aside from the scary title it is a great book through and through.  I mean it does into great detail in Bias draping in the photo above, better then I have seen in any other book so far.  I will say that this is no book for beginner's you need to already know basic/intermediate sewing skills and might have to brush up on your fashion terminology before taking on this hunk of a book.

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