For those of you who have managed in the past to find the right pattern and the perfect new fabric, only to give up in frustration when the fabric doesn't behave like anything you've used before, Fabric Savvy is here to help. Author Sandra Betzina, host of Home and Garden TV's Sew Perfect, has wrestled with just about every fabric out there, and she's lived to tell about it.

Perfectly suited to beginning and experienced sewers alike, this excellent guide devotes, in alphabetical order, two pages to each of 85 fabrics. For every material Betzina highlights a multitude of topics, including fabric facts (bulky/drape/breathable/how fabricated), suitability (types of projects), sewing tips, lay-out (and why it matters), interfacing, stitch length, seam finish, closures, and hemming. The categories are thorough, as is the scope of fabrics addressed: waterproof breathables, tencel, and lame, to name a few, along with 14 types of silk and 8 wools.

Color photographs accompany the descriptions of fabrics and projects, while helpful illustrations further explain the techniques used. Finally, Betzina offers a glossary of fabric terms and a thorough listing of contact information for fabric and alternative pattern companies, making Fabric Savvy a necessary resource for any sewing enthusiast. --Molly McElroy


From Library Journal
Betzina (No Time To Sew, LJ 12/96) is the author of the Power Sewing series and hostess of HGTVs Sew Perfect. Fabric Savvy is a guidebook to 85 different fabrics available to the home sewer, from African mudcloth to wool melton. Each fabric is given a two-page spread that includes information on recommended thread and needles, stitch length, presser foot, finishing, seams, marking, interfacing, cutting, types of hems, topstitching, and closures as well as basic information about the fabric and the types of garments for which it is suitable. Recommended for general purchase by public libraries.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM OUR EDITORS

In this alphabetically organized reference, Sandra Betzina -- the host of HGTV's Sew Perfect -- catalogues 85 different fabrics and provides sewers with the pertinent information for each, including the best needle size and thread, which markers to use, how to preshrink (if necessary), how to topstitch and hem, and much more. Each listing is accompanied by full-color illustrations, while black-and-white drawings at the back of the book show readers various seams, details, closures, and hems.

FROM THE PUBLISHER