Tag Archives: Laurence King Publishing

Book Report: Vintage Details

September 16, 2016 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , 25 Comments

Hello friends! Hope you are all well! Are any of you struck with the back-to-school feeling over the last few weeks? I am every year, but this year I’ve actually returned back to school full-time, and my first research assignment sent me into a flurry of excitement as I dug through the library for information about ancient weaving techniques! As I looked through books of textile research, I was reminded that I’d received a review copy of this book some time ago and had totally forgotten to share it with you in the hustle and bustle of packing and moving.

Vintage Details review | Ginger Makes

Vintage Details: A Fashion Sourcebook (Amazon affiliate link here; Indiebound link here) was sent to me by Laurence King Publishing. It’s a bit different from some of the books I’ve received from them- it doesn’t contain any sewing patterns, but it’s not really a textbook, either. What it is, essentially, is a 350-page visual dissection of 20th-century vintage clothing.

Vintage Details review | Ginger Makes

The book begins with a photo index of all the garments that appear in the book. There’s a shot of the front and the back, and a little blurb about the era, fabrication, and country of origin.

Vintage Details Review | Ginger Makes

I chose to feature one of my favorite outfits in this blog post, a linen coat and dress ensemble worn in England around 1927. As you can see in the photo, the page numbers for the detail shots are listed next to the original garment photos so if a garment piques your interest, you can easily find closeups.

Vintage Details Review | Ginger Makes

After the index, detail shots of the garments are arranged by feature (for example, necklines, as seen above), so you can browse by section and look for inspiration all in one place.

Vintage Details Review | Ginger Makes

Isn’t it wild that these motifs are printed? I wonder how common that was in 1927!

Vintage Details review | Ginger Makes

I really enjoy these detailed photographs- it’s a bit like visiting a costume exhibit in a museum, but without feeling too nervous that a guard will yell at you for getting too close to the garments! (Is it just me or are you also struck with a nearly impossible-to-curb desire to touch clothes in a museum???)

Vintage Details Review | Ginger Makes

This dress may be nearly 90 years old, but I could totally wear this today! It’s so timeless!

Vintage Details review | Ginger Makes

Look at the beautiful shape of that sleeve! Drool! The book includes sections on necklines, collars, sleeves, pockets, fastenings & buttonholes, hems, darts, stitching & fitting devices, pleats, frills & flounces, embellishment, surface, and construction.

Vintage Details Review | Ginger Makes

To summarize, if you are a person who loves to look at photos of cool vintage clothes, you’ll love this book. If you’re less inspired by photos and more into line drawings or touching physical objects, you probably won’t. But it seems like a book that would be really inspiring to those of you who enjoy hacking patterns and including unique details- there are plenty of things here to get your creative juices flowing! (I’m still daydreaming about a cream-colored jacket with a bias-cut striped collar… I forgot to take a photo of it and I’ve mislaid my camera, oops!). This also seems like a great book to request for your local library.

Here are a few more details from different garments that really intrigued me:

Vintage Details Review | Ginger Makes

If ever a sleeve was edible, surely this is it!! It is PERFECT.

Vintage Details review | Ginger Makes

I mean… that’s some mod goodness right there! Yes, yes, and yes!

Vintage Details Review | Ginger Makes

I basically want this pocket on ALL of my clothes.

Anybody seen any inspiring vintage clothing lately? Which details stood out to you?

Book Report + Giveaway: Girly Style Wardrobe

February 16, 2015 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , 10 Comments

Hi, guys! Hope you’re all staying warm if you’re in the northeast and enjoying a lovely holiday weekend if you’re in the States!

Today, I’m sharing a review of “Girly Style Wardrobe” by Yoshiko Tsukiori. Laurence King Publishing asked if I would like a review copy of this book, and even though I don’t have kids, I wanted to check out the book because I was interested to see Tsukiori’s aesthetic applied to children’s clothing (she’s written a couple of popular women’s pattern books). I really like the flowy, fun dresses that Tsukiori designs, but feel like I would look like a little kid in them. So, unsurprisingly, her designs are really nice for kids! This is a new English translation of a book that was published in Japan in 2007, so if the cover looks familiar, you may have seen the Japanese edition somewhere!

OK, so there are 28 patterns in the book, including tops, tunics, dresses, skirts, shorts, pants, a bolero, a smock, a little parka (my favorite!), a slip, a cap, and a purse. A couple of the “patterns” use the same block, but say, shorten the length (dress to tunic) or swap out long sleeves for short, but I think I counted 24 different designs (don’t hold me to that! I’m lousy at keeping track of things!). Like other Japanese pattern books, the patterns need to be traced and the seam allowance needs to be added. The sizing is based on height and fits approximately ages 3 to 10. There are a couple of patterns that you need to draw pieces for, like a tiered skirt that’s made entirely of rectangles.

Construction of these garments seems pretty straightforward. There’s nothing very complicated, but at the same time, the styles aren’t so simple that they’re boring. They include lots of pretty details like lace, gathers, pleats, and pintucks, and are styled in soft florals and pastels (I mean, the book is called “Girly Style Wardrobe”, so it makes sense that it would be a pretty feminine aesthetic). But I think it would be fun to sew these up in mod prints and bold colors.

With the huge caveat that I’m not a parent, this seems like a good investment if you sew for kids. There’s a wide range of styles, and at a retail price of 20USD, they’re a good value (you can even get it for $15 at The Book Depository or Amazon). There are even a few patterns that would totally work for boys, too, so if the little girl in your life has a brother, you could get a little more bang for your buck!

Like you usually see in these books, the instructions are fairly minimal, but there are lots of helpful diagrams. I really like sewing with visual aids like this… it’s easy to figure out how everything goes together, and I feel like I learn a lot just looking at the diagrams!

OK, as usual, I can give away a free copy to a U.S. reader! If you’d like to be entered in the drawing, please fill out the Google form below before Monday, February 23rd at 11:59PM EST and I’ll pick a winner using random.org! Good luck!

Book Report + Giveaway: Fabric For Fashion… The Swatch Book!!!!!

November 4, 2014 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , 57 Comments

Friends, I’m a fabric addict. So it should come as no surprise to you that I’m in love with this book! It’s the brand-new second edition of Fabric for Fashion: The Swatch Book! I had my eye on the first edition, but it’s been out of print for some time, so I was really excited to receive this from Laurence King.

The book is packed with information about different types of fibers, and it’s all very clear and well-organized. The book is divided into sections about animal fibers, plant fibers, and man-made fibers, and is subdivided into smaller groups within each section. It’s easy to navigate and find what you’re looking for.

But the stars of the show are the swatches! There are 125 swatches, an almost shocking amount! I’m not sure I could’ve named 25 different types of fabric, let alone 125, before picking up this book! But I really appreciate that they sampled so many variations of fabric because it’s the variations on similar fabrics that are really hard to tell apart, right? It’s really easy to tell cotton twill from silk charmeuse when they’re both in front of you, but can you tell the difference between silk habotai and silk crepe de chine? Cotton satin and cotton sateen? Lawn and organdie? You can with the help of this book!

I really appreciate that the book gives good information on which fabrics are more ecologically sustainable (hemp, ramie, and jute are three examples… none of which are easy to find in my neck of the woods!) and which ones need lots of processing. I also really like that the qualities and best uses for different fabrics are listed (so you can decide whether to use silk, viscose, acetate, or polyester satin for your garment, depending on whether you need your garment to resist wrinkles, be very colorfast, wash well, or mold to the body).

The swatches are, for the most part, undyed (read: beige). I was hoping for a rainbow of colors and prints, but the authors were probably right- you want to notice the qualities of the fabric, not the colors and prints! But dudes, I still love the swatches. I’m a touchy-feely person and when it comes to fabric, even more so! You can read pages and pages about a fabric’s qualities, but nothing is quite so telling as touching a swatch!

I really, really like this book and wish that everyone could grab a copy. However. The big drawback is the cost- $95 USD retail price (although you can preorder it from Amazon for $63). Yikes! I understand why it costs so much – it can’t be cheap to produce and assemble – but still, it’s expensive. Better put it in your letter to Santa and cross your fingers that you’re on the nice list, not the naughty one! Or request it for your local library- it’s a great resource!

Good news: I can give away a copy to a US reader (I’m sorry, international friends… I’ve got another giveaway coming up that you’ll be able to enter)! Please use the Google form below to enter. I’ll draw a winner on Sunday, November 9th.

One last item of business- I forgot to announce it earlier, but the winner of the Famous Frocks: The Little Black Dress giveaway is Sarah Moum! Yay!

What have you guys been up to lately? Picked up any good sewing books lately?

Book Report: Casual Sweet Clothes (+ Giveaway!)

August 13, 2014 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , 85 Comments

Hi, guys! It’s been kind of a gloomy week around here, with people noticeably feeling down and the weather cool and rainy. It feels much later than August, almost like fall has already arrived. I still have a bit of summer sewing queued up, but it feels kind of silly- how much wear will I get out of sundresses before the season changes? So I started thinking about fall sewing and remembered I have a book to show you!

Laurence King Publishing sent me a copy of Casual Sweet Clothes to review before its release on August 26th. It includes 18 patterns, and unlike some of the Japanese sewing books I’ve reviewed before, they’re mainly for separates. There are three dress patterns, but the rest are for tops, pants, shorts, skirts, and even jackets… 5 jackets! I think you guys know how I feel about jackets… love love love ’em!

Here’s the pattern that I was immediately smitten with, “flared jacket with raglan sleeves”. I love me a slouchy jacket, and this is just the ticket for early fall. I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I really like it. I can’t decide what kind of fabric I would use for this- what would you use? I definitely wouldn’t do army green. 🙂

While this dress would look TERRIBLE on me, I like the idea of colorblocking in two neutral colors. I’ve not really been into the colorblocking thing, but this kind of sparks my interest.

Laurence King provided a copy to give away to a US reader, yay! So if you’d like to enter the giveaway, let me know in the comments below! I’ll pick a winner with a random number generator. Let’s close the giveaway a week from today, Wednesday, August 20th at 11P EST.

OK, what’s on your fall (or spring) sewing list? What are you most excited to sew and wear in the upcoming season?

Book Report: Felt Dogs!

April 5, 2014 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , 53 Comments

Hi, guys! Before I dive into this post, I should warn you… you’re going to need your official Anti-Cute-Overdose Goggles to survive this! Put ’em on and let’s go!

Ready?

You might be a little confused about why I’m reviewing a book about needle felting, but this should clear it up:

Pugs!!! The very sweet Patricia from Laurence King Publishing thought I might like to review Felt Dogs, and boy, was she right!  All she had to say was “pug” and I was in!  How cute are these fuzzy little guys?!

I mean, seriously.

The book is a brand-new translation from Japanese.  It walks you through the process of making felt dogs from gathering your materials to finishing with the perfect button nose. There are multiple breeds, and multiple poses.

If, like me, you don’t know much about needle felting, it’s the process of using a barbed needle to shape soft, fluffy wool roving into firm shapes. You just jab and jab and jab, molding it as you go.  As far as supplies go, you don’t need too many- a needle, a felting mat, and something to protect your fingers, and then you just need roving. I’d love it if any readers who do needle felting could chime in with any good places to source these supplies!

I’m sure this isn’t for everyone, but I’m just loving these projects! You can make a beagle:

A chihuahua:

A corgi (my mom’s favorite!):

Or even a dachshund (paging Pretty Grievances!!!):

I can imagine a younger version of myself getting really into this. It seems like a great activity for older kids or teens who are responsible enough to handle a sharp needle.

Now comes the fun part! As usual, Laurence King has provided a copy for one of my U.S. readers! If you want to win the book, leave a comment letting me know you want to enter the drawing. I’d also love to know your favorite breed of dog!  I’ll close the giveaway on Friday, April 11th at 11:59PM EST and draw a winner right away. Yay!

And look- the book even gets the rare Pug Seal of Approval (usually reserved for plush pillows and Goldfish crackers)!

Patternmaking for Menswear Giveaway Winner!

November 25, 2013 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , 15 Comments

Hi, guys!  I’m a little slow posting this, but I hope you’ll forgive me when I offer you this token by way of apology:

To be perfectly clear, this little fella is included in the book so you can photocopy him and sketch garment ideas to your heart’s content and DEFINITELY not so you can make paper dolls of your favorite boy toys and dress them in every outfit you’ve ever wanted to put them in!  So don’t even THINK about making paper dolls with little tushies!

I was so pumped up to see how many selfless seamstresses want to make garments for the men in their lives!  I was even more pumped up to see comments from male sewists (bro-ists, if you will) who are looking for more options for their own wardrobes.  Sew on, bros and kind ladies!  I wish I could give a copy of the book to everyone!

Alright, after duplicate comments and comments from folks who weren’t entering, I counted 76 entries, so without further ado, the winner is:

#23…

… saro!  Why, you clever minx– you’re sneaking a little selfish sewing into this party!  No judgment here– the pea coat sounds scrumptious!  Send me an email with your address and we’ll get this shipped out!

Alright, guys, don’t be sore losers– here’s a little consolation prize for you, from the pages of Patternmaking for Menswear:

Man candy that delicious just CAN’T be nutritious, can it?  Don’t say I never gave you anything!  😉

Book Report: Patternmaking for Menswear!

November 14, 2013 By in boy stuff Tags: , , , , 97 Comments

Oooh, you guys– I have a super fun book to show you today!  It’s Patternmaking for Menswear by Gareth Kershaw, sent to me by my friends at Laurence King Publishing.

I was really excited to see this in my mailbox for two reasons– firstly, because I’m suddenly feeling comfortable enough with my sewing skills to want to sew for my fella, and secondly, because I’m about three-quarters of the way through my first patternmaking course at FIT and ready to delve more deeply into that world.  Folks, this puppy does NOT disappoint!

The book draws inspiration from the world of fashion, but the pieces are classic and wearable.

To make the projects in the book, you create basic pattern blocks, then use them as a jumping-off point to create patterns for different looks.   (I have to say, after spending a semester drafting for women, the lovely straight lines and dart-free lines of menswear really appeal to me!).

At the beginning of each project, the author lists the changes you need to make to the block and the techniques you need to learn.  It’s all laid out in a simple and straightforward fashion, which I appreciate.  The drawings and instructions are much clearer than the textbook my patternmaking teacher references (an older, out-of-print book with small, hard-to-see illustrations).

There are enough patterns and variations in the book to dress a dude really well.  Also, not to be TOO much of a superbrat, but lots of the details and skills included in the book translate to women’s sewing, too.  I would TOTALLY wear this shirt (I KNOW, I KNOW, I’LL MAKE SOMETHING FOR MY DUDE FIRST).  In the project shows above, you need to create cuffs, yokes, plackets, a curved hem– all kinds of things that would come in handy for guys and gals alike!  Did I mention that I would TOTALLY wear this shirt?

There are twenty patterns included in the book, and they’re a great mix of basics and hipper garments.  For example, there’s a basic buttondown and basic pants, but there are also cargo pants, a hooded sweatshirt, a henley, and a lovely trench coat.  This is about as much bang for your buck as you could possibly get sewing for guys– I don’t think you could buy 20 patterns on sale for the amount this book retails for on Amazon ($38!!!)!  I should also mention that I think this book would come in handy even if you’re not interested in drafting patterns from scratch.  If you want to change up favorite commercial patterns, there’s lots in here to help you update basic patterns and turn them into new looks.  Also, in case you were wondering, the book uses the imperial system– no metric measurements.

If I sound really excited about this book, it’s because I am!  And, the good news is that I have a copy to give away!  Sadly, I can only send it to U.S. residents, but I will plan a giveaway soon for international readers.  I’ll choose a winner at random one week from today, at 10P EST on Thurs., Nov. 21st.  If you’re interested, leave a comment below!  I’d love to know what you’d be most excited about making from this book!