Graphic Arts

This is the only sewing reference you will ever need, with step-by-step photographs to show you how to sew absolutely everything!

Whether you are sewing clothes, making soft furnishings, or doing alterations, master every hand sewing and machine sewing technique with close-up photographs and clear instructions to demystify the trickiest techniques. Choose from 10 stylish projects to practise your skills. With in-depth coverage of tools, techniques, and fabric, this is the ultimate sewing bible for beginners and seasoned stitchers alike.

Fully illustrated and easy to use, this sewing book covers all the essential skills and techniques for successful hand and machine-sewing. It’s a must-have for beginners and expert stitchers alike.
Comprehensive step-by-step instructions cover everything from cutting out patterns to making sleeves and stitching hems. Accompanied by close-up photographs, clear instructions, and a glossary of sewing terminology to demystify even the trickiest technique. This book will help you advance from a sewing learner to a seasoned stitcher in no time.

Inside the pages of this sewing guide, you’ll find:

– Up-to-date techniques to help you master the art of sewing and develop your stitching skills.
– How to choose and use today’s sewing equipment, fabrics, and paper patterns.
– 10 new projects for stylish homeware and clothing.
– Step-by-step photographs and easy-to-follow instructions.

All the techniques and projects are graded by difficulty level, from the simple and straightforward to the more complex and challenging ones. There are 10 new, stylish projects to help you put into practice what you’ve learned. Explore in-depth descriptions on more than 100 tools, 250 techniques, and browse an updated visual directory of more than 50 fabrics. From basic sewing kits and cutting tools, to measuring tools and marking aids, this book will also help you get properly kitted out! Zoomed-in photographs of hand and machine tools show you the best equipment for the job and teaches you exactly how to use it.

We will guide you through every hand stitch, machine stitch, and sewing technique you’ll ever need. We’ve included the best way to seam and hem, and put in linings, fasteners, darts, pleats, and pockets, and how to create necklines, collars, and sleeves, so you can make your favourite bespoke outfits.
This is your complete guide to sewing absolutely everything, from altering clothes to home decor.

At DK, we believe in the power of discovery.

So why stop there? If you like The Sewing Book, why not try The Crochet Book and hone in on your creativity even more!

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As one of the most successful fashion houses in existence, Chanel owes much to the templates first laid down by its founder – Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel (1883-1971).

Some of her most celebrated designs, such as the two-piece suit, the little black dress and the quilted handbag, remain in vogue to this day. Chanel designed first and foremost for herself: by creating clothes fit for an independent and active lifestyle, she anticipated the needs and wants of the modern woman.

This beautiful book showcases a stunning array of Chanel’s most notable designs from her 60 years in fashion, largely drawn from the collections of the Chanel Patrimoine, Paris and the V&A. It examines the cut, construction, embellishment and provenance of the ensembles, as well as the design themes and motifs Chanel returned to throughout her career. Newly commissioned photographs of the selected pieces, together with archival images, capture the design evolution of this fashion icon.

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• Stunning images of global phenomenon Taylor Swift
• Revealing fashion insights from the bestselling author of Harry Styles and the clothes he wears
• Elegant hardback presentation including real cloth cover
• The perfect present for fans and fashionistas

Taylor Swift is the quintessential millennial. Free-thinking and creative, she navigates pop stardom with boundless charisma and a keen eye on her digital presence. She has become a truly global phenomenon but remains intimately connected with her fans. A born storyteller, her outfits mark the different phases of her whirlwind life every bit as clearly as her songs. From cowboy boots to cottage-core, Saint Laurent to sci-fi, onstage and on the street, her clothes are always carefully chosen to match the moment.

These pages reveal those moments in gorgeous photographic detail, with reliably astute analysis from the author of Harry Styles and the clothes he wears. The latest in a popular celebrity fashion series, this book charts the style evolution of a hyper-chic superstar at the vanguard of 21st-century culture.

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One of the most thought-provoking and influential designers in the world – she once declared ‘the only reason I’m in fashion is to destroy the word “conformity”‘ – Vivienne Westwood reinvented, changed and challenged the world of fashion for over five decades.

Celebrating 40 years of catwalk collections, this book records the inimitable creations imagined by Vivienne Westwood since her first runway show in 1981, as well as those designed by her husband and long-time collaborator, Andreas Kronthaler. Complete with an introduction and collection texts by Alexander Fury, and biographies written by the designers themselves, Vivienne Westwood Catwalk offers a rare opportunity to chart the development of a uniquely creative fashion house.

After Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Prada, Vivienne Westwood – is the sixth new volume in the best-selling Catwalk series, which offers an unrivalled overview of the collections of the world’s top fashion houses through original catwalk photography.

With 1300 illustrations in colour

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Make-up, as we know it, has only been commercially available in the last 100 years, but applying decoration to the face and body may be one of the oldest global social practices. Lisa Eldridge, one of the world’s foremost make-up artists―with a very large and loyal public following of her own―has written the first real history of the subject. Face Paint will explore the reasons behind make-up’s use, the actual materials employed and manufactured through the ages, the icons that people emulate and how they achieved their effects, the impact on women’s lives and the present and future of make-up from high profile practitioners artists to cosmetic breakthroughs. Along with the glamorous trappings, this is also about women’s history and the ways in which we can understand their story through the prism of make-up.

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A New York Times Best Art Book of 2019

“A riveting book . . . few stones are left unturned.”―Roberta Smith’s “Top Art Books of 2019,” The New York Times

This fascinating and enlightening study of the tie-on pocket combines materiality and gender to provide new insight into the social history of women’s everyday lives―from duchesses and country gentry to prostitutes and washerwomen―and to explore their consumption practices, sociability, mobility, privacy, and identity. A wealth of evidence reveals unexpected facets of the past, bringing women’s stories into intimate focus.
 
“What particularly interests Burman and Fennetaux is the way in which women of all classes have historically used these tie-on pockets as a supplementary body part to help them negotiate their way through a world that was not built to suit them.”―Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian
 

 
“A brilliant book.”―Ulinka Rublack, Times Literary Supplement

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Nicholas Biebuyck’s TAG Heuer Carrera is a luxurious, elegant ode to the legendary men and women’s watches.
 
Developed 60 years ago from the eponymous race that bequeathed its speed, drive, and virality, the TAG Heuer Carrera is a legendary and iconic timepiece that remains synonymous with competition, modernity, and luxury today.
 
TAG Heuer Carrera unfolds decade-by-decade to tell the watch’s extraordinary saga within this luxurious and elegant, yet authoritative, package. The book features a special binding and uses several inserts distributed throughout that reveal the iconic Carrera Collection DNA. Fans and collectors of the iconic watches will find more than 600 major references of Carrera watches from 1963 through to 2023, offering a complete view of the collection.
 
Includes Full-Color Illustrations

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This much-anticipated sequel to the classic volume Sneakers: The Complete Collectors’ Guide is a global survey of, and reference guide to, the very best and most collectible limited-edition sneaker designs that have been released over the last decade. The first volume was a phenomenal success and a key influence in the transformation of sneaker collecting from an underground subculture into a mainstream, multi-billion dollar business. Following publication of that book, sneaker brands began reissuing classic designs and creating shoes that would spur the second wave of sneaker collecting: limited editions and collaborations between the brands and invited artists, designers, musicians and cultural icons. This sequel showcases the very best of this new sneaker culture, featuring more than 300 designs arranged by brand. Each sneaker is accompanied by informative text and a ‘data’ box listing Edition, Pack, Year Released, Original Purpose, Technology and Extras. An essential purchase for both the hardcore sneaker freak and the first time collector, this book will also attract and seduce fashion and design aficionados.

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A special enlarged edition of the international bestseller Coco Chanel: The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon celebrating 50 years since Coco’s death, 100 years of Chanel No.5 and five years since the original release of this beautiful illustrated biography from globally renowned illustrator Megan Hess. Discover the story of Coco’s amazing early life, the iconic fashion empire that she built, and the legacy that the left behind, brought to life with Megan’s stylish and whimsical illustrations. This special edition features a larger format, beautiful new cover and a ribbon.

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Celebrate That Special Bond Between Men and Cars, and the Stories That Connect Them

Discover actor and director Ed Burns talking about his 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, a model he’d been dreaming about since his days pumping gas. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, whose favourite cars are trucks-he loves the wow factor of an International CV Series 6.6. Or Jay Leno on his 1955 Buick Roadmaster, big enough for him to sleep in while trying to make it as a comic.

Filled with stunning photographs of the whole cars and of the exquisite details that make car lovers’ hearts beat just a little faster, as well as more than 80 personal stories, it’s a joy for every reader who knows that a car is never just a car.

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In the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible knitting guru Hitomi Shida shares some of her favorite needlework patterns. Shida’s strikingly original designs and variations on every imaginable classic stitch result in intricate patterns that form the basis for beautiful and unique knitted fashions. This is the perfect book for the experienced knitter who is looking for new stitches that yield spectacular results! This Japanese knitting book features a wide range of rewarding and intricate stitches including: cables popcorn stitches twisted stitches edgings and many more A set of detailed, step-by-step diagrams show you how to execute all the basic stitches. Instructions and diagrams for a series of small projects offer practice working with large patterns, lacy patterns, pattern arrangement and round yokes among other things. The knitting projects include: A classic hat made using large patterns An elegant scarf in lacy patterns The ever-popular fingerless mittens Thick socks that can be made using various patterns A feminine collar using round stitching And much more! Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible represents a whole new adventure for knitters and is sure to become a valued reference for beginning knitters and experts alike.

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A design tutorial by Daniela Brambatti, Versace’s chief (design) illustrator, the book is an idea of couturier Fabio Marconi who, impressed by her drawing style and the precision with which she captures the flow of fabric over the body, convinced her to put it into print. Here Bambrilla reveals her fresh and innovative style, halfway between fashion sketching and illustration.

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Travel around the globe with Vogue’s most exotic fashion, travel, and lifestyle stories

Have fashion, will travel. That’s the vision behind Vogue on Location, a journey in itself through the many spectacular voyages that the magazine took over the years. Spanning a century, this remarkable book includes dispatches and travel writing by journalistic icons like Jan Morris, Truman Capote, Lee Miller, Lesley Blanch, and Frances FitzGerald, as well as stunning editorials from legendary photographers like Irving Penn, Henry Clarke, Helmut Newton, Arthur Elgort, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh, and Annie Leibovitz.

With historic reportage and landmark fashion shoots in far-flung locales like India, Iran, Morocco, Bali, Vogue on Location captures important moments in both travel and fashion history. An essential addition to any Vogue lover’s shelf, Vogue on Location is sure to inspire a sense of fantasy and flight.

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Bring a Parisian je ne sais quoi to your style, wherever you live.

Dress Like a Parisian is a wise and witty guide to finding your personal style, taking inspiration from how real Parisian women dress. With personal stylist and fashion blogger Aloïs Guinut as your guide, you can explore which colours, shapes and styles work best for you, whatever the occasion. Aloïs reveals Parisian style secrets, rejects restrictive fashion rules and shares her favourite shops and brands, demonstrating how you can use fashion to enhance your personality rather than shaping your personality to fashion. In the words of the patron saint of Parisian women, Yves St. Laurent, ‘fashions fade, style is eternal.’

This book is illustrated with photography shot on the streets of Paris plus illustrations by acclaimed fashion illustrator, Judith van den Hoek, who has worked with Elle, Hermes, Vogue, Prada and Grazia.

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Have you ever opened your wardrobe, filled with clothes, and felt you had nothing to wear? Have you ever bought a jumper that only lasted a few washes? Have you ever wondered if an item of clothing was actually worth the price for the quality?

Why Don’t I Have Anything to Wear? holds the easy solutions to these questions. In her five-step programme, Andrea Cheong will teach you how to break free from damaging shopping patterns, helping you to save money, shop smarter and create a wardrobe that works effectively for you. This simple guide will give you the tools and knowledge to confidently assess whether a garment you want to buy is value for money or a rip-off. Filled with fun interactive quizzes, checklists and decision trees, Why Don’t I Have Anything to Wear? will help you understand:

· How retailers can play mind games
· The difference between sustainable buys vs sustainable brands
· The value of the secondhand and rental market
· The different types of materials
· How to shop less to shop better, and so much more.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘I’ve been waiting for this book all my life and everyone needs to read it’ Claudia Winkleman

Anya Hindmarch is a mother of five, stepmother, entrepreneur and globally renowned businesswoman. In If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair, she shares what she has learned during her busy and eclectic life, what she still worries about, and what advice she has received along the way.

From practical tips and quick fixes, to profound observations about confidence and creativity, this inspiring handbook will show you how to live a little better – and why sometimes, the answer can be as simple as washing your hair.

‘Comforting, practical and beautifully personal. This book feels like your best friend telling you it’s all going to be ok’ Fearne Cotton

‘Warm, friendly, and packed to the rafters with excellent advice – I loved it’ India Knight

‘A charming mix of memoir and manifesto’ Grazia

‘A hands-on, practical guide to managing the stresses of daily life’ Evening Standard, Highlights for 2021

‘Warm and refreshingly honest’ Julia Samuel

‘I loved this book – it’s really unusual, surprising and inspiring’ Viv Groskop

‘A treasure trove of inspiring, down-to-earth and practical advice shared with humour and honesty’ Alexandra Shulman

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More than just How To Start Sewing, this book will help you start sewing, keep sewing, and sew better than ever before.

Whether you have been sewing for years, or just starting to learn how to sew, whether you are studying fashion design, or sewing for yourself at home, How To Start Sewing has been designed with you in mind. This is a sewing book you will want to keep beside your sewing machine for reference whether you are learning a technique for the first time, or reminding yourself of a detail you haven’t sewn for a while.

The Perfect Reference Book

For the more experienced sewer, How To Start Sewing is designed for quick reference. Forget trawling multiple books and videos to decipher sewing instructions, sometimes you just want a book that you know you can trust. Use our Table of Contents and Index to get right to the technique that you need. We have focused on the most versatile techniques and explained them step by step with detailed drawings and matching patterns. Use our troubleshooting guides to master your sewing machine, improve your stitch quality and solve recurring issues to raise your sewing skills to the next level.

A Sewing Course in a Book

If you have just started to sew, this book has been designed for you. Learning to sew can be both frustrating and rewarding, so you want a book that will start slowly, build your confidence and help you avoid common problems. Designed as a thorough sewing course, How To Start Sewing will walk you through the entire sewing process, from your first hand sewing stitches to your first complete garment. You don’t even need to have a sewing machine to start learning. Just like having a sewing teacher in your own home or studio, let us show you how to choose and use your first sewing machine, troubleshoot your way through common sewing issues and build your sewing confidence. Go easy on your budget by buying new equipment and materials only as you need it, then put your new supplies and skills to use in hands-on exercises. Don’t let the large size of this book intimidate you; everything is explained in straightforward language with practical examples. No prior experience required.

Practical Sewing Exercises with Patterns to Match

It’s frustrating trying to sew a new detail when your pattern doesn’t match the instructions. So inside this book you’ll find a whole library of small sewing patterns. Trace off the patterns, cut them out in fabric and follow the step-by-step exercises to sew seams, darts, pockets, zippers, vents, and plackets. Then you can create a reference folder full of your favourite techniques. Next time you forget how to sew the lining for an invisible zipper, or how to adjust the tension on your overlocker, you will have your test sample there to remind you. This pattern library is also the perfect reference for when you are pattern cutting your own patterns or amending sewing patterns.

Sew Like a Professional

Professional sewing machinists know where to invest their time and effort to get the best results and you can learn the construction principles at work and achieve a finish worthy of high-end ready-to-wear too. This book focuses on the most versatile garment details used in womenswear and menswear collections for you to apply to your own designs.

Designed for Different Types of Sewers

If you are a perfectionist, this book will suit your pragmatic desire to know everything about the how and why of sewing and build your skills and knowledge in a specific order. Or if you prefer to make mistakes first, and then ask questions later then we are here for you too. Just use our troubleshooting guides to tell you why you keep breaking needles and tangling your thread so you can quickly solve your issues and plough through your first projects. The sooner you start making mistakes, the sooner we can help you fix them.

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Fashion is a big bubble, and sometimes I feel like popping it.’ Alexander McQueen, 2009 This definitive publication on Alexander McQueen (1969 – 2010) invites you into the creative mind and world of one of Britain’s most brilliant, daring and provocative designers, and the many themes and references that shaped his visionary fashion collections. Accompanying the V&A’s landmark exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, and taking the key themes of the exhibition of tailoring, gothic, primitivism, naturalism and futurism, this comprehensive catalogue features previously unseen material as well as groundbreaking essays and feature spreads by multiple authors and leading fashion commentators. This kaleidoscopic approach explores themes central to the designer’s work and his collections, such as the psychology of fashion, natural history, the theatre and spectacle of his shows, and the key creative collaborators during McQueen’s lifetime. Alexander McQueen also offers an encyclopaedic survey of McQueen’s catwalk collections, illustrated with striking images by leading fashion photographers, and specially commissioned photographs that capture the breath-taking skill of his designs and awesome theatricality of his shows. Accompanies Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (14 March to 19 July 2015), developed and expanded from the 2011 blockbuster show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

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• A fantastic reference work for the novice or the seasoned watch enthusiast
• Fully illustrated with 470 colour photographs
• Brand-Agnostic. Features a vast array of timepieces from over 90 manufacturers

Despite the functional obsolescence of the mechanical wristwatch (our phones and computers tell more accurate time) the early 21st Century has seen a boom in the development, production, and appreciation of all things horological. Whether it is presented to the collector as an alternative investment, as a feat of micro-mechanical technology, or as a showcase of artisanal mastery, the mechanical wristwatch has never possessed more forms, functions or facets than it does today. The Wristwatch Handbook is written from the epicentre of a renaissance, a place in time between the Quartz revolution and the rise of the smart device – where the mechanical wristwatch is the antidote to the microprocessor and the permanent buzz of your inbox. From the multi-axis tourbillion, to the split-second chronograph, to the sidereal sky chart, The Wristwatch Handbook covers it all and does so with more than 470 rich illustrations from over 90 of the World’s leading brands.

The book is separated into two sections. The first section provides the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the mechanical movement. Its chapters explore power, transmission, distribution and regulation illustrating the basic concepts before considering the innovation and complexity that takes place further toward the cutting edge. From the fifty-day power reserve, to the constant force mechanism, and the 1,000Hz mechanical escapement, section 1 will allow the reader to understand and appreciate what is happening beneath the dial of their watch. Section two allows the reader to take this understanding and apply it to the vast range of complications (functions) that exist in modern horology. Each chapter showcases a distinct category of complication. For example, the regatta timer, pulsometer, and monopusher chronograph join a host of others in a chapter entitled ‘Recording Lapses of Time’; The power reserve indicator, dynamograph, and crown position indicator are featured in a chapter for ‘Power and Performance Indication’; The moon phase indicator, annual calendar, and planetarium can be found in the ‘Astronomical Complications’ chapter. Once the functional categories are exhausted, the final three chapters explore whimsical complications that have little regard for practical function, novelty time indication, and the ‘super-complicated’ watch – a rare breed of timepiece that houses an intimidating host of complications featured throughout the book. Upon completion of The Wristwatch Handbook the reader will be able to identify even the most exotic complication from across the room, and be able to share their appreciation and understanding of what makes it so useful and compelling.

The Wristwatch Handbook is “brand agnostic”, using only those watches that most aptly illustrate the given subject-matter. As a consequence the book places equal emphasis on the classic and the cutting edge, on watches produced in large volume or exclusive runs, by industry-leading technology or at the hand of a master. In doing so the book provides an unparalleled range of watches from over 90 brands, allowing the reader to determine for themselves which brands, complications, and styles they will build their collection from.

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From their heritage trenches and ubiquitous check to experimental red carpet looks, the House of Burberry is known worldwide for its covetable designs.

Sophisticated, simple, and quintessentially British, Burberry is beloved for its remarkable ability to straddle tradition and innovation. The allure of the ‘Burberry Girls’, like Cara Delevingne, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, epitomizes just what Burberry is about: aspiration, elegance and grace.

Featuring an exquisite range of photographs, from finished designs to close-up details and beautifully styled shots, this book pulls back the curtain on the story behind the brand. Touching on its humble beginnings in 1856, all the way up to its current designs, this invaluable reference is the definitive word on all things Burberry.

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The largest collection of the stunning pocket-sized fashion books in one luxury boxset.

Contains Little Book of Chanel, Little Book of Dior, Little Book of Prada, Little Book of Gucci, Little Book of Louis Vuitton, Little Book of Hermès, Little Book of Valentino, Little Book of Yves Saint Laurent.

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Are you looking for the perfect fashion templates to capture your creativity?

Fashionary have seen the stiff, impractical fashion templates available, and come up with a modern alternative. Their set of 100 pose cards are accurately proportioned, with practical poses that cover basic style to couture to sportswear – even including a built-in filing system to accommodate the busy fashion professional.

The guide book includes detailed step by step demonstrations of fashion sketching, beautifully drawn by fashion illustrator Connie Lim.

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Containing the stories of four legendary fashion houses, this collectable box holds a beautiful set of covetable style guides.

Exploring four designers who exemplify elegance and high couture, these little books of fashion follow these brands from their creation, moving through their style evolutions, the key looks that define them and their impact on the fashion landscape today.

Discover the story behind the red sole with the Little Book of Louboutin, the process of creating the world’s most iconic bags with Louis Vuitton, the craftsmanship behind the androgynous Le Smoking in Yves Saint Laurent and the genius behind the most exquisite couture with Schiaparelli.

Featuring hundreds of exquisite images and text by best-selling authors, these definitive guides to luxury style are the perfect gift for any fashion lover.

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