The subtitle for this useful book is "Design ideas and essential skills for stylish and professional results," and this is a good description of what you can find in here. Make a whole houseful of window treatments, bed and table linens, cushions and more, as well as learning about your sewing machine and what it can do.

I love the way this book starts with a guide on how to use it, and how the pages are laid out to enable you to get the most out of them. The first chapter is all about the tools you will need, not just for sewing, but also things like curtain poles, pillow bats, various tapes and pelmet boards, to name a few. The next chapter is all about the stitches you need to know about and when to use them—seams, hems and methods unique to this type of work, such as lead weights. Then it is on with the projects; there are a lot of these, guidelines on how to make all kinds of practical and pretty things for the home.

Measurements are not always given, as these are going to be different every time, but everything else is and in as few steps as possible, so nothing looks too daunting to tackle. There is always a combination of words, diagrams and photographs as well as skill level numbers, what you need and anything else you need to know. There is a chapter on decorative details such as tassels, pipings, etc and another of designs for curtains, blinds, valances, cushions, etc. and how skilled you need to be to make them, what fabric to use and how to measure up. Finally there is a directory of fabrics, their care and uses and how to handle them when making up. There is a glossary and list of fabric manufacturers’ headquarters, as well as where to buy hardware, trimmings and more—some of which are in the UK and others in the US—plus websites and sewing magazines. This is a fairly exhaustive book as you can tell, and I haven’t seen a better one on this subject—highly recommended for telling you what you need to know directly and simply.