Sew Subversive: Down and Dirty DIY for the Fabulous Fashionista - Softcover

Melissa Rannels; Melissa Alvarado; Hope Meng

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1561588091 ISBN 13: 9781561588091

Publisher: Taunton Press, 2006

Synopsis

Sew Subversive is about making fashion your own, whether it's embellishing or customizing off-the-rack clothing or transforming clothes that have lost that loving feeling. The three twenty-something co-owners of Stitch Lounge, an urban sewing studio in San Francisco, teach you, in plain, fun language, how to do it, whether you're hand sewing, machine sewing, or, in a few cases, simply wielding a pair of scissors.
The first three chapters lay the ground work: Hand Sewing Basics, You and Your Machine, and Gearing Up, which includes Fabric 101, how to set up a sewing space, and a run-through first project on the sewing machine. Then the fun begins with Embellishing and Customizing projects, including adorning your pant legs with ribboning, turning a computer-scanned image into an iron-on that you can apply to a t-shirt or skirt, taking in a skirt, or untapering a pair of pants (the authors believe tapered pants are the devil's work). Then move onto Refashioning: The Next Life of Your Old Clothes and turn a t-shirt into a skirt, a sweater into a halter top or legwarmers, or a pair of pants into a hip belt. There are 22 projects in all, some of which only require an iron and/or pair of scissors, while others can be sewn by hand, for those readers who haven't yet made the sewing machine plunge.

About this title

From the Author

We are three sew-positive ladies who want to spread the sewing gospel to the next generation of sewers. cases of potential new DIYers/seamsters completely intimidated by learning how to sew. No longer! Sew Subversive was conceived with the aspiring sewer/DIYer in mind. We break it down to the very basics of sewing (starting from the beginning with hand sewing) and provide a variety simple, low-risk projects using the clothes sitting in the back of your closet to encourage you to get out there and get your sew on!

Sew Subversive is not a book of fancy, precision sewing techniques or elaborate formal wear- quite the opposite! We encourage sewing in its easiest of form. You don't need to know your weft from your waft or how to make a perfect princess seam to start loving sewing. Mistakes are inevitable and imperfections will happen, but don't let that stop you! Grab a needle and thread and give it a whirl!

About the Author

Melissa Alvarado, Hope Meng, and Melissa Roeters are self-taught sewers and the co-owners of Stitch Lounge, a drop-in urban sewing lounge located in San Francisco. Kitted out with 5 sewing machines, 2 sergers, a cutting table, and other sewing related equipment, Stitch Lounge offers a wide range of sewing classes, from Sewing Machine Basics to Re: Fashion Class ("Take that baggy sweater that's been sitting in your closet unworn for 3 years and give it new life! Alter the neckline, or change the fit or even cut off the arms to make legwarmers!") to a weekend long workshop on Independent Designers and the Fashion Marketplace taught by local designers. In addition to classes, Stitch Lounge lets sewers buy time on the machines and bringing in your own machine is heartily encouraged. Please check out their website at www.stitchlounge.com.

Edition details

• Publisher: Taunton Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1561588091
• ISBN 13: 9781561588091
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192