Costuming Bookshelf Tour with a Side of Rant || Beginner and Intermediate Book Recommendations

Hello Friends!

The time has finally arrived for me to re-organize my Costume books as I have purchased one too many to sit on my desk without making me insane! So I re-organized it and then did another bookshelf tour. I also went on a bit of a rant about people suggesting that brand new people to sewing start with very expensive and confusing to new people books. I gave my best beginner and intermediate book recommendations and then flipped through the 4 most popular suggestions (listed below) and gave my opinion on why I think those books are better suited for late beginners or intermediate sewists!

I hope you enjoy!

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People and Things Mentioned:

As many books as I could reasonably find are listed in my amazon store here:

The books I specifically flipped through are:

More info on when the rest of patterns of fashion will become available for a decent price here:

Just in case you are interested here are the other two books:

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Things people ask me about (affiliate links):

The CoCoVid Master Playlist:
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(Please keep this to just letters, unless we discuss it first. I love that people want to send me things, but I have a house full of things and not much room for more, so I would like to make sure I really want the thing before you spend money sending it to me! Thank you!!)

Noelle Paduan
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San Jose, Ca 95119

[bernadettebanner]

Ahahhh to be fair I have no evidence of Janet Arnold having said the thing about the books being intended to sit out on tables--I've only ever heard her successor Jenny Tiramani say that. 😂

[alexisn]

“What is that? Mid butt crack?” This is why I’m a subscriber.

[makermaryh]

I love your explanations and flip through. This reminds me of.... Cook books.
*Reader digest sewing. = better crocker red plaid book. (Learn the basics, how to cook.)
*Janet Arnold = America's test kitchen / cooks illustrated (get super nerdy and precise, refine your techniques)
*Sketchy/closeup and detail = Joy of cooking / Julia Child-Mastering the art of French cooking. (Gormet Chef detail and textbooky)
*Pinterest recipes = fashion plates (pretty pretty pictures for inspiration.)

!! It all depends on where you are in your cooking & sewing journey!!!

[suzanneirving]

Every time I see a copy of the Readers Digest book I buy it to give away because it is the best learn to sew book I have ever read. I am a seamstress.

[Nessi-dances]

If you are new to sewing and have a machine: read the manual! Then test out everything it does, you dont have to "make" anything, just practice threading and running the fabric though. If something goes wrong/could be better - google/youtube *your machine* and the issue/'how to...'.
Sewingpartsonline has good video tutorials of how to use presser feet!

[Geordin]

I started sewing just two years ago af 24. I found the Better homes and gardens book at the thrift store and several other antique sewing manuals from the 50s and before. Those types of books literally hold your hand the whole way! They are great! The only problem is the language, I am good at reading "proper english" and had a rough time with one book from....I think it was from close to 1930. Once I got used to the way it spoke though, it has been super helpful!

[denisebennett]

Beginning to sew is daunting enough without being faced by those books.

[AngelaG-ltmy]

Woohoo! Thanks for the heads up. I checked the School of Historical Dress website and they are preparing color versions of Patterns of Fashion 1-4 to release in 2021.

[ThePixiixiq]

For costuming in detail I have one of those clear plastic sheets with grid on it. I made the grid in illustrator and printed it on the OHP-sheet so I can just lay it over the page I want to make. It really just made the book plug and play ^^

[katherinesykes]

Sorting by size is a totally valid option! Due to space limitations, that is exactly how most of my books are sorted too! I've also got a shelf overhaul coming up, secretly looking forward to it as it is an excuse to look through my collection and find things I've not seen a while. Also, thank you for the common sense book suggestions!

[Spacebuny]

I do have a pet peeve and a hint for the soft cover books. I hate that they don’t stay open so you can see close printing to the binding; especially if you have it laying open on your sewing table. I take my books like these to something like Kinko’s/Fed-Ex Office. There I have the spine cut off, as close to the spine as possible. Then they bind them with spiral binding. I don’t loose any of the info AND it’s more user friendly. They lay flat and you can make notes in them etc . 😀

[NoonshadeDawnthief]

I watched this video just because I enjoy your videos and hanging out but this has been so helpful because the books that so many people suggest make me choke and panic. And if I'm completely honest, I've been actively avoiding buying Patterns of Fashion just simply because I do not have a cutting table or a sewing machine... I have the floor and my hands... I don't think Janet Arnold would be happy if I kept them on the floor and neither would I! XD Books live in bookshelves. It keeps them safe from damage.

[karen]

I'm a librarian and have shelved by size. In the library. It's much more pleasing to the eye than seeing larger books shelved sideways. Of course, I then put them in alphabetical order by author then title; or in Dewey then author then title order if they were nonfiction.

[annh.]

I too learned to sew with the help of "Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing" and recommend it for a beginner, they also have one for needle work that has a lot of wonderful information. These books are great, and unless you have, or have had, a sewing mentor it is very difficult to even know what you don't know!

[tpauling]

I sort books by size but that's because I have cheap ikea shelves and large/heavy art books that need to go on the bottom because of their weight.

I have a book problem with dreams of having a dedicated library room. Someday, my extremely esoteric books will come out of storage in all their classical glory.

[hoonduthevw]

I learned to sew by reading dress diaries and trying to replicate what those costumers were doing. Oddly enough, the first sewing book I ever bought was Patterns of Fashion 4 lol. I was also lucky enough to have people I could ask for advice in my local SCA group.
Because all the sewing I was doing was for historical reenactment purposes I pretty much never used a sewing machine, which is bad in terms of speed of production but excellent for making you really good at hand sewing. I only properly learned how to use a sewing machine and overlocker when I went to fashion school

[skluv]

I just found out that my library has an AWESOME collection of sewing books! I have Patterns of Fashion 1 on hold right now and I'm really excited to pick it up along with Creating Couture Embellishment. Yay libraries when you spent all your $$ on fabric!

[geekynewfie]

I haven't done any costume/fancy dress sewing yet, I'm a quilter 😀 But I enjoy your videos, how you're honest about the good & ooopsie moments, your sense of humour & your geeky nerdy pride! (I'm an HP, sci-fi, manga, dragon loving, LotR addict)
And seeing you flip through a book or magazine & sigh with bliss, joking that it's like porn, oh yeah that's my kind of humour hahaha

[joannecarroll]

Totally 100% agree with you, you need to learn to walk before you can run. We had an old Singer treadle with the coffin lid when I was born & I wouldn't leave it alone, so I was given working miniature metal machines as a toddler. Then I too learned to sew from my Gran, before I started school - nearly 50yrs now. You build on those skills every time you sew. Lately I've encountered many new blogs and YT channels, each fully-armed with their new books, new sewing machines and plenty of inspiration, but sadly none with any sewing skills. While their enthusiasm is truly admirable, it's not great viewing if they don't learn to sew first. I don't imagine it's much fun for them either; struggling with learning the basics of sewing, while juggling basic video production and beginners costuming all at the same time.

[ambrosiata]

I agree with you one those books, it's almost a little mean to recommend them to beginners. They are more like #lifegoals but a bit down the road type of books.