sewing in a straight line
Please scroll to the bottom of this post for book errata.
Hooray! I’m super excited to announce that after a long wait, my book, Sewing in a Straight Line, has finally hit the shelves!
You can finally buy it now, and get a copy in your hot little hands!
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble (including a Nook version)
- Borders (including Kobo e-book version)
- IndieBound (independent retailers)
Ready to take a peek inside?
Sewing in a Straight Line is a collection of 26 projects for home decor, gifts, quilts, clothing and accessories that can all be made by simply sewing straight lines. My inspiration for this book came after many years of people telling me they’d love to learn to sew but they just didn’t know where to start. One day it hit me that so much of what I sew is super easy to make — in fact, much of it is sewn with straight lines only. And anyone can sew a straight line! So I set out to make a book that would show readers that they can make cute projects even with very simple skills.
My goal was to design projects that were cute and stylish, and that didn’t look like they were simple to make. I wanted to create a resource of good, basic pieces you’d return to again and again (and learn to customize to your own taste), like curtains, duvets, quilts, small gifts, simple clothes, and accessories. I also wanted to teach readers new skills, so once you get comfortable with the basics, there are lots of projects designed to teach you new stuff, like inserting zippers, working with specialty fabrics, and more.
Want to see some of the projects in action?
Check out my book videos! Each one will show you step-by-step how to make a project from the book, plus give you a peek at some more of the projects. (Special thanks to Coats & Clark for their sponsorship!)
Sewing in a Straight Line by Brett Bara – How to Sew the Easiest Zippered Throw Pillow from Rarebit Productions on Vimeo.
Sewing in a Straight Line by Brett Bara – How to Sew a Skirt in One Hour from Rarebit Productions on Vimeo.
Sewing in a Straight Line by Brett Bara – How to Sew a Round Bowl with Straight Lines Only from Rarebit Productions on Vimeo.
BOOK ERRATA
Despite the best efforts of the author and publisher, sometimes mistakes happen. Below is a list of errata that have been discovered in Sewing in a Straight Line. If you have questions, please email me at hello [at] brettbara [dot] com. Thank you!
The Sewing School Skirt
On page 65, section #1 “measure + cut,” in the SKIRT BACK paragraph, the first line should read:
Divide A by 2 and add 18″(46cm) for measurement C. [Correction is in bold.]
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Woo hoo! I’m inspired! My couch will be very happy (and comfy) with a stack of new zippered throw pillows.
Congrats, Brett!
I love straight lines! You can do amazing things. It satisfies the little bit of engineer in me as well.
Meredith
I love your teaching sweetness! Everything looks so easy when I see you working and it’s a pleasure trying to do what you teach .
SIMONETTA
I can sew a straight line. I want to make that quilt. Love your show. We get it on CreateTV.
- Thanks for this! Following along because I’d like to start seiwng, but not sure exactly how to get started. I can stitch, so I hem things, but the whole seiwng thing seems a little out of my reach. This might make it easier. Thanks for the recommendation!November 16, 2010 5:39 pm
I love the way you teach! I was sent over here by LindaMade and would love to learn how to sew items that fit well– I think that is the best part of creating hand made clothing, you can tailor the fit to your body! I know how to do this with crochet, but would love to know how to do this with sewing. Thanks!
I watched your show for the first time in rerun a couple of weeks ago. Loved it!!! I was so excited to find a Kniting show which showed the work up-close. I have set my DVR to record every show. Thank you, thank you!
hope to win a copy of your new book love you on tv linda stoutenger
Anyone tried the maxi dress? My daughter used the directions and proper measurements and it is huge. It did not gather up small enough. She is a size 2 with a 32″ bust, and it would probably fit a size 12. We spent hours marking lines, winding bobbins, not to mention cost of fabric. Not worth it. Next time we will just buy a maxi dress.
hi Sandra – so sorry you and your daughter had trouble with the shirring! I have learned recently that some models of sewing machines don’t produce a very gathered type of shirring — this was news to me! You might try googling your particular model of machine + “shirring” to see if you can get any help from other people out there. Sorry that I can’t help with particular sewing machine issues, I wish I could. good luck! Brett
The measurements suggested for your “Shirred to the Max” dress don’t seem to work. I followed them exactly and ended up with a wonderfully made sundress faaaaar too large. When I reduce the measurement by many inches the skirt becomes too fitted. Do you have any suggestions? Taking an entire circumference and repeating it by cutting two rectangles in that width even sounds like it would turn out too large. Please let me know as I do like the shirring aspect and the dress itself looks great–if only it fit!
hi Megan – the full dress circumference is in fact meant to be double your body measurement – that gives you a really full skirt, and the shirring should make the fabric pull in enough to fit the bodice. After shirring, is your bodice REALLY pulled in from the elastic? It should be really gathered in and elastic-y. If that’s not what you’re getting, maybe you’re having some shirring issues? Sometimes shirring can be tricky. Feel free to email me a photo of your bodice at hello [at] brettbara [dot] com and I’ll let you know if the shirring looks correct!
I just bought your book and I love it. I can’t wait to get started on one of the many projects I want to try. The hard part is deciding which one to start with.
I absolutely LOVE the bird fabric panel in the Sewing in a Straight Line project DIY duvet cover. I have spent all morning looking online for it or something similar wit no luck. Can you please please tell me where I can find it?
Thanks!!! Love the book! So many cute, quick, and easy projects!
hi Liz! That’s an Echino fabric. I bought it a while back so I’m not sure if it’s still on the market, but you might be able to find it by Googling. Good luck!! xo Brett