Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes

Photo of the book cover of Joi Mahon's Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes

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This review features Joi Mahon‘s Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes. The subtitle of her book A Complete Course on Making Clothing for Fit and Fashion promises a solution to the problem many of us have. Fit! Read to learn more about the book.

Contents

What Does It Take to Design and Sew Your Own Wardrobe?
A Chronological Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes
How Does the Book Support the Learner on their Journey to Making Clothes for Fit and Fashion?
My Take-Away from Joi Mahon‘s Book
Who is Joi Mahon?

Disclosure: Ad. Joi Mahon’s Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes is a book of my choice from Landauer Publishing. The author and publisher do not endorse the post. I wrote it entirely myself, and it represents my own 100% honest opinion.

What Does It Take to Design and Sew Your Wardrobe?

Joi Mahon wrote the book to provide an ultimate guide on how to sew your well-fitting clothes. She argues that we have access to technical equipment today. When someone has a love for sewing and fashion, they can teach themselves with an illustrated, complete course on making clothing. Therefore, her book encompasses

The basics of sewing,
The structure of garments, and fabrics needed for them, as well as
How to achieve fit.

In other words, she covers the techniques for your entire sewing journey. You need to practice to advance your skills, and remember that part of the journey is to learn from your mistakes. There are many reasons why you should learn how to sew!

A Chronological Illustrated Guide To Sewing Clothes

The author breaks each topic into its steps and describes them in detail. The illustrations complement the articulated instructions well. These concepts help to avoid the frustrations of the more visual and abstract learners. In six chapters, she covers the basics of sewing, the selection and preparation of fabric, achieving the right fit, sewing classic garments and pants, and discusses the details of garment construction. Each chapter is broken down into the various aspects of its topic.

The Presentation of the Material

Joi Mahon structured the book in such a way that you do not have to read it cover-to-cover to get started. Readers can easily find relevant topics for their sewing projects. For instance, when you have a balanced body shape, there is no need to adjust for a whole or small breast, a short or long torso, or lengthen/shorten a high-low hem. In other words, you read what you need to learn to adjust the fit to your body. Analogously, you won’t need to know how to sew in a zipper when you sew a garment with only buttons. Also, when you only sew solid pieces, why read about matching patterned fabrics?

In other words, the book lets you determine the pace of your journey. You will not have to learn all the skills before sewing and designing your first clothes. The author succeeded in breaking down the clothing-making processes into manageable chunks. Therefore, you can get advice at any point in your DIY project when you need it.

How Does the Book Support the Learner on Their Journey to Making Clothes for Fit and Fashion?

The book presents information efficiently and logically, utilizing both text and illustrations to provide guidance. For instance, when you get stuck on sewing a sleeve in, you just read the respective section. Then you can work your way thru the instruction step-by-step. The written text is like a teacher telling you what to do. The illustrations are like a mentor showing you how to do it. All you have to do is try to do it for yourself.

example page showing and explaining the first steps of sewing in a sleeve — Photo of a page showing the written explanations of the first few steps to sew in a sleeve, as well as how the sleeve should be handled in the steps. Two additional pages cover the next steps for sewing in the sleeves (not shown here). The photo above serves only to give an idea of how the illustrations support the step-by-step information, which is broken into small, easy-to-understand chunks.

Let me also give you two personal examples.

The book helped me to recycle an evening gown.
Achieving fit was my sewing problem, at which I got stuck ages ago. When I saw the illustrations in Joi Mahon‘s book, I immediately realized what I had been doing wrong all these years!

I wish I had had this book earlier!

photo of a page with explanation and illustration of how to alter fit — Example page of achieving fit for a bodice you want to design and sew. This photo serves to illustrate that designing is also covered.

My Take-Away from Joi Mahon‘s Book

The author thoroughly covered all kind of sewing know-how needed to sew and design your own well fitting clothes. Indeed with this book everyone who loves sewing can learn to sew. Beyond the beginner level, the book will be a real problem solver on the way to your own fashion design. Therefore, it is a Must-have for everyone who want to learn/advance their sewing skills.

The release date for Joi Mahon‘s Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes is available as an e-book for $14.99, a paperback or a spiral-bounded version on Amazon, Target, and at Barnes & Noble for $19.99.

Who is Joi Mahon?

author Joi Mahon holding a piece of fabric standing in front of a sewing machine — Author Joi Mahon in her studio.

Joi Mahon is a McCall Licensed Pattern Designer, an award-winning designer, a fit expert, and a fashion entrepreneur. She founded the Dress Forms Design Studio, LLC, owns The Sewing Factory Design Studio, and created Designer Joi’s Perfect Pattern and Fit Club, a private Facebook membership program. Furthermore, she serves as a brand ambassador and the founding instructor of the 2021 Nancy’s Notions Wardrobe Builder Fashion Sewing Program on YouTube. Other books written by her are Create the Perfect Fit and Designer Joi’s Fashion Sewing Workshop.