Fabric Savvy: The Essential Guide for Every Sewer

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