Rachel Low - Girls Guide to DIY Fashion: Design & Sew 5 Complete Outfits--Mood Boards--Fashion Sketching--Choosing Fabric--Adding Style

Publisher: Amy Marson

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Art Director / Book Designer: Kristy Zacharias

Editor: S. Michele Fry

Technical Editor: Alison M. Schmidt

Production Coordinator: Rue Flaherty

Production Editor: Katie Van Amburg

Style illustrations by Monica Lee and instructional illustrations by Tim Manibusan

Photo Assistant: Mary Peyton Peppo

Photography by Nissa Brehmer, unless otherwise noted

Published by FunStitch Studio, an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am incredibly grateful to so many people who have been on this journey with me. I cannot tell you how lucky I am to have such supportive and loving family and friends. Thank you.

To my sister: Words cannot express how grateful I am to youfor being there when I did not think I could get this book done; for cheering me on to keep going in my many moments of doubt; and for being my go-to when I needed some editing, creative input, and encouragement. Most important, thank you for being more than a sister.

To my dad and Cindy: I would never have had the opportunity to write this book if you had not believed in me and encouraged me to take an idea on paper and make it real. I love you both!

To Hallie, Kim, Heidi, Meredith, Ari, Josie, Liz, Judi, and Emily: Thank you for being so patient and understanding when I repeatedly said I was too busy to get together and for being my cheerleaders. I am so proud to call you all my friends!

To my Pins & Needles team: I greatly appreciate all your support, hard work, and creativity.

To Monica: Not only are you an incredible friend, but you also helped bring my vision to life through your divine illustrations. You are one of a kind!

To Michael Miller, Riley Blake, and Robert Kaufman: Thanks for being so generous and providing all the amazing fabrics I used in the book.

To Ute: Thank you for your perfect patternmaking.

To the entire C&T Publishing team, especially Kristy, Michele, Nissa, Alison, and Roxane: Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be an author and for helping me bring to life my passion for sewing, crafting, and DIY. I feel so lucky to be able to share my enthusiasm and expertise with young readers to encourage their creativity. Thank you for your guidance and your patience with me as a first-time author.

To all my students: You are my inspiration!

To Molly: Thank you for being my best friend and watching over Pins & Needles each day.

To Tamar: You helped give me the courage to open Pins & Needles and follow my dream.

And finally, to my mom: Thank you for always loving and supporting me. I only know how to stitch because of you! I know you are smiling and would be so proud of me!

Introduction

HI, GIRLS! WELCOME!

Im so glad youve decided to learn how to sew, craft, and bring your amazing creative ideas to life! When I was your age, I dreamed of being a fashion designer. I wanted to have my own accessory line based on a little black suede bag with a fabulous sparkly crown on the front that my grandma gave me. I created a notebook and drew the different shapes, colors, and prints I would offer. I hope you are just as excited about being creative and designing! I feel so lucky to be able to help you begin your stylishly creative journey.

I created this book and all the projects in it just for you. I was inspired by the students at my sewing and crafting boutique, Pins & Needles, in New York City. My students are all girls your age who love to sew, create, and style.

I divided the book into five outfits for different occasions: school, hanging with friends, parties, sleepovers, and summerall the times that I know you love to put outfits together for. I also have a section where I show you how to create your own mood board and illustrate your designs.

The projects combine sewing machine, hand-sewing, and other DIY (do-it-yourself) techniques. If youre a new stitcher, Ill show you how to use the machine. You can also start with the projects that dont need a machine, such as .

In this chapter, I share some important and helpful tips for making the projects in this book.

Remember, dont get hung up on making perfect seamsthat takes lots of practice. I designed all the projects in the book to be fun. So have fun!

Happy stitching and creating!

xoxo Rachel

I designed this book with girls ages 714 in mind. I want it to be a guide to get them started sewing and crafting and, of course, being creative. Detailed instructions and accompanying photos take them step by step through using a sewing machine and other stitching and crafting tools to complete the projects. This will give your new stitcher the foundation to sew and make things. Most importantly, I want this book to inspire girls to express their personal creative style through the mood board exercises, through fashion illustration, and, of course, through how they individualize each project with their fabric and material choices. I share some to follow when using the sewing machine and tools and also stress that they should ask an adult for help when needed.

Some things I want you to remember:

Be open. This is all about exploring something new.

Be confident in your ideas. You are a creative star!

Be patient. Everything takes practice and time.

Be careful. Always have an adult nearby to help you with any of the more challenging steps and when you are using certain tools.

Be imaginative. This is the time to really let your imagination go wildthere are no rules in sewing.

Be mindful. Take it slowdo not rush through your projects. It is not a race, and it is important to take the time to complete all the steps.

Be creative. All ideas are good ideas.

Be stylish. Give your project your own personal creative signature.

Be happy. Have fun!

Be YOU! Most important is to be YOU and be proud of what you are designing and making.

TOOLS AND SUPPLIES

Lets go over some of the basic sewing and crafting tools. This was one of my favorite parts of learning to sewgathering my tools. You can decorate a shoebox or shipping box to keep all your basic sewing supplies in.

Basic Sewing Supplies

Pull together these basic sewing supplies so you have them on hand for each of the projects. For most of the projects, special materials and tools will be needed in addition to these basics.