Here is a list of my favourite craft books, that have helped me on my journey to a self-made wardrobe. I will add to this page as I discover new books, so it’s worth bookmarking.
Making Clothes
General
Refashioned: Cutting-Edge Clothing from Upcycled Materials – This book shows interesting and beautiful apparel and accessories made with recycled and upcycled textiles. Lots of ideas here to inspire you!
Sewing
Alabama Studio Sewing + Design – Wonderful hand-sewn garments with patterns for a skirt, dress, top and sun hat and many ideas how to embellish them, no need for a sewing machine here. Natalie Chanin has three more books, all of them are worth checking out.
Alabama Studio Sewing Patterns: Custom Fit + Style – This book comes with a CD that combines all the patterns from the three previous books plus three new ones. You can print out the patterns and tape the pages together or have them printed out at a professional printer.
Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe – This is a book I’ve been using for years. It has three basic patterns for a skirt, a shirt, and trousers. The pattern for the trousers is great, I have used it with lightweight and heavier weight fabric and they fit perfectly every time., here is one example of a pair of trousers I made with this pattern.
Ottobre Design – This is a magazine dedicated to sewing for children. Each issue comes with over 40 patterns covering all age ranges from baby to teens. You can either subscribe to the four issues a year or buy single copies.
Fabric embellishment
Elegant Stitches – This book is for the embroidery lovers, it shows a lot of stitches to choose from, I use it all the time.
Stamp Stencil Paint: Making Extraordinary Patterned Projects by Hand – This book offers easy-to-follow-instructions on hand printing techniques like stamping, stencilling, and painting. This is a very inspiring book with beautiful projects, photographs, layout, and drawings.
Crocheting
200 Crochet Stitches: A Practical Guide with Actual-size Swatches, Charts and Step-by-step Instructions – As I don’t follow stitch patterns anymore, I just need books with lots of stitches so I can create my own patterns.
Dyeing
The complete guide to natural dyeing – Lots of techniques and recipes for dyeing fabrics, yarns, and fibres at home, I’ve been using it for years.
Macrame
Macrame Pattern Book – My new passion at the moment, I’m dreaming up sandal tops, will show you what I come up with, just need some practising!
Spinning
The Practical Spinner’s Guide – Wool – This is an essential resource book for spinners, all about different wool, preparing the wool and the spinning process itself written by a shepherdess.
The Practical Spinner’s Guide – Rare Luxury Fibers – That is so exciting, there is more than wool to spin and try out, love all these fibres and the endless possibilities to create yarn.
Spin Art: Mastering the Craft of Spinning Textured Yarn – This book shows you how to create beautiful yarns combining traditional and modern techniques, comes with a DVD!
Making Shoes
How to make unique leather sandals – Well this is my book, everything you need to know about making sandals with step-by-step instructions and lots of photos!
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase by going through my link (at no extra cost to you).