Breathless features in the style sections of Time and The New York Times notwithstanding, it’s finally official. The national needlework fever has been given the big nod by the venerable kit/book masters at Workman. The publication of S.E.W.: Sew Everything Workshop, the Complete Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide by Diana Rupp ($26.95, 256 pp.) arrives just in time, as “beginners'” kute-kits dangerously abound, long on pre-fab styling and about as worthless, creatively, as the scrapbooking aisle.
We got our raccoon claws on this one quickly, as Workman has been tricking us into an education for decades with ahead-of-their-time releases like windowsill herb gardens and perfect plexiglass bird feeders. Never just another pretty face, Workman’s packaging and book design is always original, and unlike most tarted-up bookstore products, there is always at least a substantive primer within. We buy Workman because they publish books that invite us to try, and knowing that we really may not want the pesky, yet essential details, they manage to slip them in anyway in the form of sexy design and good writing. Kind of like your mom slipping wheat germ into the brownies.
S.E.W. doesn’t disappoint, with twenty-five designs for clothing, accessories, home, and gifts, as well as paper patterns for ten of them. An introduction which includes the “Ten Reasons Why I Sew” will reassure the doubtful reader, while the binder-like cover and well-designed layout commands interest. Never left hanging, one should be prepared to run up all of the projects with confidence by five chapters of detailed instruction that absorb even the most attention-deficient. The pesky part here, and this doesn’t surprise, is a lesson in the wonders of fabric. From the discussion of weave and weaving patterns to a boxed definition of drape and instructions for shopping for a first project, the basics are covered thoroughly here, whether you thought you wanted to know or not. You’ll be so glad you do.
Diana Rupp is a former fashion editor and founder of Make Workshop, a craft studio on Manhattan’s Lower East Side where she teaches crafters everything from yarn-dying to how to use a sewing machine. For those who can’t make it to New York, she has provided S.E.W., which assumes the reader has no sewing experience. For intermediates, the how-to material provides a good reference, and experienced sewers will skip ahead to the projects. Anyone with some curiosity and access to a machine will love this book, so put it on your list for someone deserving.
This article appears in December 7 • 2007.