One of the standout features of "Sewing Love" is the emphasis on creating a capsule wardrobe. The projects include tops, bottoms, dresses, tunics, and outerwear, all with simple yet timeless designs that allow for ease of movement. Ishida's instructions are clear and methodical, supported by step-by-step illustrations that make the sewing process approachable and enjoyable.

For anyone looking to delve into sewing or enhance their existing skills, "Sewing Love" is an invaluable resource. Ishida demystifies the pattern-making process and provides a solid foundation for creating custom-fitted clothing. Her gentle, encouraging tone makes the book feel like a supportive friend guiding you through each stitch.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

In this garment-making primer, Ishida shares her own story alongside step-by-step instructions for creating clothes for the body you have right now. The 15 patterns are designed to look good on different body types, and of course, you can tailor them to your own body.

Includes:
Lookbook with photographs of the projects on diverse models
Primer on basic sewing, pattern drafting (slopers and muslins), and fitting
Step-by-step illustrated instructions for all 15 projects and variations
Heartwarming personal essay on the author’s journey to body positivity

I’m a largely self-taught sewist, which is great because I can create new things and figure stuff out, but the drawback is that I don’t necessarily understand the method and some of the nuances of more complicated things like garments. This book is a great mix of using what you have and the technical instructions for understanding and creating the pieces. Definitely recommend for even beginner sewists.

I thought this was well done. The instructions were easy to follow, and the author’s tone was encouraging. Made me want to start some new projects!

This was not at all what I expected! I went into this title thinking it would be a good introductory book on garment sewing but instead discovered a wonderful resource for creating slopers with a good bit of body positivity thrown in. I will note, however, CWs for fat shaming and ED in the introduction.

The content was well written and easy to understand. The pictures are informative and make the process approachable.

I have sewn a few garments that can be worn outside the house. The rest have been home wear only. I have had more success with smaller projects and thought this would be the next step up.
I found the introduction and the story that went with it quite interesting. I even found the instructions reasonably simple to follow. That is until I tried to draw them out. I tried a couple of times but seem to be missing something because they did not come out right. I have since lost access to the timed version, so I cannot verify where it was that I was going wrong. The Kindle version is too warped for it to make sense to me.
There are some very simple patterns within the book that look easy to follow and make. Maybe a more experienced person would get more out of this book than I did.
This book comes with ways to take your own measurements, note them and prepare slopers for the basic parts of a garment. Then the author uses the slopers to piece together a more complete picture.
If you want to try making the pattern for yourself before sewing, this might help.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own experience with trying to use the book.

Sew with love
Sanae Ishida, author of sewing books as well as books for children, presents her book "Sewing Love. Handmade Clothes for Any Body", published by Sasquatch Books. The book is divided into three main parts: 1) The Love Story, 2) The Foundation, and 3) The Projects. There are fifteen projects including variations (tops, dresses and tunics, bottoms, and outerwear). The book contains not only a content list but also a project list. Ishida underlines that it is for ANY body. Here goal is to help her readers to "learn to draft patterns and sew clothes that fit your unique body" (back cover).
This is not only a book about sewing. Ishida is very honest about her own journey that led her into sewing and writes in an encouraging style. The book is presented with great photo and design. Ishida also uses not only slender models but shows that the projects can be adapted to various body sizes and types. I really like her statement: "Every single body is magnificently, wonderfully distinct" (p. 63). The book includes very detailed step-by-step explanations for the various projects, a list of resources, an index, and a conversion table for inches/yards and centimeters/meters. I really appreciated the book and long for the time to create my own slopes for my sewing. I recommend the book for every body who struggles with custom-made patterns that just do not fit their bodies and for those who like simple designs. It is a book for beginners and for those who have advanced knowledge in sewing their own clothes.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#SewingLove #Netgalley

With detailed instructions this book is an informative read for those interested in learning to sew. If you have the basics down, then this will only enhance the skill.

This book is a very enjoyable introduction to sewing. Focusing on the love of sewing and loving yourself. Highly recommended.

Sewing Love is a great pattern making book. The pictures are simple enough to understand and the instructions are easy enough to follow if you are already familiar with some pattern making. I felt that the book was a bit too much about loving your body. I got the book because I love to sew and that’s what I’m reading it for. I really wanted to skip over all the self image chapters. Will definitely be referring to this for making markups.

Sewing Love: Handmade Clothes for Any Body is is a tutorial sewing guide with instructions for drafting patterns for clothing which really fits the reader's style and body written by Sanae Ishida. Released 23rd June 2022 by Sasquatch Books, it's 288 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. The book also includes a wonderful message of kindness and body positivity and meets readers where they *are* honestly and respectfully.

The fabrics pictured are gorgeous. Pure cotton, linen, and blends. It's full of photos with models of different shapes and sizes showing the designs in the book which helps to visualize the drape and silhouette of the finished garments. The author has included resource links and lists for sourcing fabrics and further info and instruction.

I did not finish any of the garments, but a close read-through of the construction notes didn't turn up any glaring mistakes. The included tutorial diagrams are good, and on a par with those included with commercial patterns.

I really liked a lot of the designs here and there are numerous subtle details which are not immediately apparent. The style is absolutely not fussy or overly fitted. For me it's five strong stars especially given the reasonable and gentle positivity for meeting readers where they *are*. So much of commercial fashion is so very toxic that I've heard 5 year olds (girls) saying they want to be on a diet.

This would be a superlative choice for public or school library acquisition, maker's groups, classroom instruction, and home studio.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I wish I had discovered this book years ago when I first began sewing garments for myself. First, it starts off with self body love. Don't we all need more of that? Your numbers are just data that will help you make proper fitting clothing. If you can master making slopers (and this book gives every detail in how to do exactly that!), you could save so much money not buying patterns that usually need to be altered still. I highly recommend this book.

How does a sewing book become a comfort read?

Beautifully laid out, explained, and written. It was my first time reading a book like this where I felt seen and understood in terms of how I feel about clothing and my body. Yes, I learned a lot too - but my real love for this title comes from the fact that this made me flat out emotional. What an experience! I recommend it for any sewing level, and especially if you're looking to feel good about what you're putting on your body.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read inexchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Sewing Love is a guide book full of photographs and easy to follow instructions to sew your own clothes. The author works with the sloper concept within this book and the diagrams and photos helped to explain this without it feeling overbearing or too intimidating to understand.
The book itself is broken down into three sections - different clothing and styles, sewing basics and different projects ideas. There's loads to learn and have a go at in this book and I definitely want to try my hand at a few of the sewing projects.

A wonderful manual for any level of sewer. The explanations are succinct and the photos are excellent. As a I long-time seamstress, I learned learned a lot from this book. The styles shown are not what I, as an older woman, would wear, but they probably are suitable for a younger woman. In spite of that, this is a good reference for any home sewer's library.

I just started garment sewing about 6 months ago and even though I wish I had this book when I first started, I'm grateful for it now and looking forward to owning a print copy! The author's wonderful, honest introduction about sewing one's clothes as an act of independence and appreciation for one's body resonates deeply and the glossary of sewing terms is absolutely fantastic: concise clear text and images to illustrate each term.

The "look book" includes images of with women of different sizes, shapes, and ages wearing the clothing that the book guides you through first making patterns and then making the garments. With a mix of bottoms, tops, and dresses, this book includes the wisdom and encouraging text to help new and experienced sewists draft the patterns and create their own capsule wardrobe.

4 stars (would have been 5 if the whole book wasn't completely in imperial measurements).

FIRST IMPRESSION(S):
This book is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I love the timeless feel of the colourways, layout and photos. I also absolutely love the timeless quality of the clothing, with so much room for personalization (through both creating your own personal pattern foundations based on your own body, and fabric choices + any embellishments you might want). I will be ordering a physical book, and can already see how essential it will become in my tiny sewing library.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS BOOK:
* I LOVE that the author teaches us how to draft slopers for our own bodies, make muslins from each, and then how to extend that to creating patterns that fit our own unique bodies. Many of us sewists make our own clothing so that (unlike RTW fashion) it fits our own bodies well. But there can still be a lot of grading between sizes, or extending the pattern dimensions to meet smaller or larger body sizes. In this book though, we use our actual measurements to make the clothing pattern pieces - which is an amazing skill that can be extended far beyond this book!
* I love that the designs are simple, to allow the sewist to choose how subtle or wild they want each piece to be (via fabric choice, embellishments and/or sizing choices). Plus, all the pieces just feel/look so classic.
* The photography and design for the book are classic, stylish and swoon-worthy!
* Sanae Ishida's writing is so relatable, and her instructions are 100% clear. I knew nothing about creating slopers before reading this book - and now I am super confident that I can do it (as soon as summer fades into fall and life gets a bit slower!!).

WHAT I REALLY DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK:
* Imperial measurements! I mean, can we all just agree that imperial measurements are ridiculous?! And if you want to reach audiences outside of America, and the younger generations - AT LEAST use both metric and imperial (if you absolutely have to). This is 100% why I am not giving this book 5 stars.
* Just because the author doesn't find bust darts essential, doesn't mean that they are not advantageous to other sewists and/or to create curvier lines. I found this assumption (mentioned more than once) to be exclusive rather than inclusive.

CONCLUSION: This book is absolutely ESSENTIAL! I mean, the only thing better than sewing your own wardrobe is to first create your own patterns from your actual body measurements, so that they fit wonderfully!

I am super grateful to the author Sanae Ishida, Sasquatch Books and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This guidebook for creating patterns and sewing a capsule wardrobe promises to not only give greater confidence in sewing, but also foster body positivity. As the author very logically points out, commercial clothing is designed to fit someone's body--not yours--so why berate yourself when clothes don't fit off the rack?

I haven't sewn for decades, but this book convinced me I might be able to try again. Unfortunately, for me, the biggest barrier to sewing is the difficulty in finding reasonably priced fabrics. But I really like the idea of making my own clothes again, and SEWING LOVE is the best companion piece for starting. #SewingLove #NetGalley

An excellent guide to self-drafting patterns for beginners. The instructions are thorough and clear, the patterns are simple yet useful, and Ishida's advice is helpful. The invocations to love your body aren't particularly helpful, nor do they add anything to the book, as people of all sizes and shapes will find making their own patterns an improvement to trying to fit into clothing designed for ease of manufacture and not comfort of the wearer. Similarly, the emphasis on largely shapeless designs is helpful for an introduction to pattern drafting, but coupled with the comments about body positivity they come off as rather condescending, as if people who don't fit the often odd sizing of commercial patterns shouldn't try to wear anything fitted or more defined than a tent. Still an excellent resource, though.

This is the book I have been looking for as a beginner sewist! Ishida's careful and patient explanations of measurements and drafting were really helpful as someone who is getting into sewing but doesn't understand the process and terms referenced in patterns in times.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is fantastic. I love the stories and the body acceptance message. It's something I've never seen in a sewing book before. The instructions for creating slopers is thorough and much less intimidating those I've come across before. The patterns are simple and beautiful.

I can't wait to buy a physical copy of this book and try everything out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for the advanced copy.