Master seamstress Sandra Bardwell's Sewing Basics: All You Need to Know About Machine and Hand Sewing is the ultimate encyclopedia for sewing at home.

 

This thorough guide covers everything from choosing fabrics to operating a sewing machine to hand sewing, fitting, fine-finishing, troubleshooting, and more. Whether the sewer is trying to decipher the symbols on a printed pattern, line a pocket, work French seams, or fit a muslin, they'll find what they're looking for here, all precisely explained and illustrated with hundreds of step-by-step color photos.

 

Both for beginners learning how to hem and for more experienced sewers who need help mastering advanced techniques, Sewing Basics is an invaluable reference tool sewers will want to keep within easy reach for many years to come.