Current mood:	complacent
Entry tags:	reference

Book Recommendations!

Book Recommendations!

Put your likes/dislikes/reviews here! I'm including the Laughing Moon video too, since it's the only one of it's kind that I know of.


My must-have list for corsetry:

Fabric Savvy or More Fabric Savvy by Saundra Betzina
I think everyone who sews should have one of these. The guides are wonderful, they categorize fabrics according to weave and fibers, then tell you how to pre-shrink them and which interfacings, presser feet, needles, threads, and seams to use. More Fabric Savvy has the same information as Fabric Savvy, as well as a few more fabrics and information on stains and burn tests for unknowns, so buy whichever you can get your hands on, not both.

Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing
This is another great sewer's reference. It has a wealth of information on how to sew practically anything, including demos of seam types and how to sew in zippers and other closings. It is a rather advanced book, though, so if you're a rare sewer, look at it at the library.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sewing or Sewing for Dummies
Reader's Digest is a wonderful resource, but it assumes you know quite a bit about sewing already, or at least have access to someone who can help you. These books don't. If you're a beginner that's learning on your own, get one of these. Their advice and directions in plain english are just fantastic. I still grab one of these books to put in an invisible zipper, and they're the first thing I loan to someone that wants me to teach them to sew.

Corsets and Crinolines by Nora Waugh
Every historical corsetier should have this. It has a wealth of patterns taken from period pieces in museums and private collections. They are only one size, but if you have access to a projector or enlarging copier, it's pretty easy to make them full-size then alter them. The book also has quotes about corsets and corsetry from period sources like newspapers and magazines and period pictures; it also has a narrative of how corsets were made in each time period and how they changed from corsets before them. Great for anyone wanting a historical commentary.

The Little Corset Book by Bonnie Holt Ambrose
I really like this book for beginners to corsetry. It's small and cheap, and gives a great, simple way on how to make corsets. It's not necessarily the best way, and the patterns seem incorrect for the periods described, but it's a great place to start. It gives one person's methods on how to construct a corset, step-by-step, and you can build up 'your' method from there. I've never made the patterns so I don't know how easy they are to alter or how well they fit.

Waisted Efforts: An Illustrated Guide to Corset Making by Robert Doyle
I recommend this book only for advanced historical corsetiers or people who have a solid background in garment construction and access to an instructor. The advanced alteration methods can be confusing unless you know what you're doing or have someone to explain it to you. It also has very few patterns, instead it uses patterns from Corsets and Crinolines and assumes you have access to that book as well. It has a very good historical narrative on how corsets were made and worn, but that information alone just isn't worth the price, IMO. If you're just out for that info see if you can read the book at a college library close by or on inter-library loan.

How To Build & Fit A Victorian Corset Laughing Moon Video
The woman on this video is about as exciting as a tree. She seems terrified of the camera the entire time, and she often reads (what I assume are) her cue cards in monotone. That said, she has some good information, especially about the Laughing Moon pattern. If you're more of a visual learner and absolutely NEED to see things done, get this video instead of The Little Corset Book.


Yes, I know this has been on the community many times, but it's never been put in the memories, so I'm making a big, permanent post for there.