As I looked around, I found an excellent one that contains fifteen different projects, all of which are explained in detail with instructions and pictures.
I've seen a lot of instructional books before, but they were not well received. Some people said that even though they had experience with sewing, they could not understand them enough to do any project.
What intrigued me about this manual is there is very little bad to say about it. All levels of skill have found it to be hugely helpful to them.
Given that fact, I decided to look closer and found that it included handmade items such as placemats, pin cushions, plushy toys, tea towels, hats, flowers and pillow shams. These are all items that you can use around the house and would be ideal for starting out.
The other thing I really liked is that the manual gives you patterns to use, photographs of the actual steps, and techniques that make the project easier to do and can be used when sewing in general. You'll find the tips will be like a cheat sheet to get more out of your efforts.
I can really see that beginners can do well with this method of learning. Not only that, they might be able to make something special for a friend or family member after having completed a couple of these projects.
| US Sizes | UK / Canadian Sizes | Metric (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 14 | 2 |
| 1 | 13 | 2.25 |
| 2 | 12 | 2.75 |
| N/A | 11 | 3 |
| 3 | 10 | 3.25 |
| 4 | N/A | 3.5 |
| 5 | 9 | 3.75 |
| 6 | 8 | 4 |
| 7 | 7 | 4.5 |
| 8 | 6 | 5 |
| 9 | 5 | 5.5 |
| 10 | 4 | 6 |
| 10.5 | 3 | 6.5 |
| N/A | 2 | 7 |
| N/A | 1 | 7.5 |
| 11 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 | 0 | 9 |
| 15 | 0 | 10 |
| 17 | N/A | 12 |
| 19 | N/A | 16 |
| 35 | N/A | 19 |
| 50 | N/A | 25 |