Dressmaking: The Easy Guide | Helen Rhiannon | 9781782218913

Dressmaking: The Easy Guide

Author: Helen Rhiannon
Publisher: Search Press
Publication: 23 June 2023
ISBN 13/EAN: 9781782218913
Size: 216mm x 280mm
Pages: 160

Create bespoke garments that fit and flatter!

In this comprehensive, informative book, Helen explains how to create beautiful, customized dresses for every shape and size. Choose the exact size that fits and flatters you from a bespoke sizing chart that takes into account differences in body size across bust, waist and hips.

Trace off your pattern pieces, then create a sample (toile) in calico which you can then adapt to create the dress of your dreams, in your own choice of fabulous fabric.

There are four style options each for sleeves and necklines, including a flared sleeve, a capped sleeve, a sweetheart neckline or a boatneck; and five skirt options, including a fitted pencil-style skirt, a zhuzhy circle skirt, and an A-line, with or without pleats.

You can also choose to add a sweet, classic Peter Pan collar, or inseam pockets, to your garment. Alternatively, you can even create a skirt as a separate garment, simply by adding a waistband or facing.

The language of sewing and dressmaking is demystified at the beginning of the book, as well as the equipment you need to get started.

Nothing is left unexplained; and stunning images of the finished dresses, on a mannequin and on a model, are interspersed throughout the book to inspire your own finished pieces.

Table of Contents
Introduction 6
Tools 10
Your sewing machine 14
Sewing know-how 18
Fabrics 24
Sewing language 32

GETTING STARTED
Sizing 40
Pattern cutting 48
Adjusting your blocks 52
Making your sample 60
Altering your sample 74

MAKING YOUR DRESS YOUR OWN
Adapting the pattern 92
- Necklines 92
- Sleeves 104
- Skirts 122
- Drafting a collar 136
- Drafting pockets 139

Finishing your dress 142
- Constructing your garment 142
- Zip closures 146

Separates 154
- Tops 154
- Skirts: adding a waistband or facing 156

Taking it further 159

Index 160

About the author: Helen Rhiannon
As a fully qualified teacher and lecturer, Helen Rhiannon set up the All Sewn Up sewing workshops in October 2010, designed to help people learn and develop new skills, and to be creative. She runs sewing workshops regularly, teaching people how to make items such as bags, cushions, toys and garments. Her expert tuition has attracted students from as far afield as Spain and Saudi Arabia. For more information on Helen’s work, visit www.allsewnupwales.co.uk where you can also find a wide range of tutorials and Helen’s YouTube channel.

Helen is also an award-winning fashion designer specializing in bespoke wedding dresses. She creates beautiful, timeless, handmade gowns from her home in Swansea, Wales. Helen has gained a solid reputation for her superlative dressmaking skills and her bespoke bridal wear.