Sew Subversive is about making fashion your own, whether it's embellishing or customizing off-the-rack clothing or transforming clothes that have lost that loving feeling. The three twenty-something co-owners of Stitch Lounge, an urban sewing studio in San Francisco, teach you, in plain, fun language, how to do it, whether you're hand sewing, machine sewing, or, in a few cases, simply wielding a pair of scissors. The first three chapters lay the ground work: Hand Sewing Basics, You and Your Machine, and Gearing Up, which includes Fabric 101, how to set up a sewing space, and a run-through first project on the sewing machine. Then the fun begins with Embellishing and Customizing projects, including adorning your pant legs with ribboning, turning a computer-scanned image into an iron-on that you can apply to a t-shirt or skirt, taking in a skirt, or untapering a pair of pants (the authors believe tapered pants are the devil's work). Then move onto Refashioning: The Next Life of Your Old Clothes and turn a t-shirt into a skirt, a sweater into a halter top or legwarmers, or a pair of pants into a hip belt. There are 22 projects in all, some of which only require an iron and/or pair of scissors, while others can be sewn by hand, for those readers who haven't yet made the sewing machine plunge. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Fashion hipsters Rannels, Alvarado and Meng are co-owners of San Francisco's Stitch Lounge, a drop-in sewing center where would-be fashionistas can rent sewing machines by the hour, take lessons and compare notes on design and technique. They are enthusiastic teachers and, in their first book, give beginning sewers all the basics, plus 22 tempting projects. Their mission "subverting" fashion is all about "embellishing and customizing clothes refashioning them to make them uniquely your own." This can mean anything from altering the fit of a blouse with pin tucks and sewing ribbon stripes onto an old pair of jeans to whipping up a sun dress out of a pillowcase. They start with a solid chapter on hand sewing (mending rips, hemming skirts), then tell you everything you've ever wanted to know about sewing machines but were afraid to ask. T-shirts are torn apart to make mini skirts, shoulder bags and tube tops. It's true that the results have a shaggy and informal look, definitely suited to a young audience, but the projects are quick and fun and get the creative juices flowing. With its casual approach and offbeat creations, this is definitely not your mother's sewing book. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Aimed at the young, urban twentysomething, Sew Subversive is a practical book about using basic sewing techniques to refashion clothing to create a unique look. In bright and breezy prose, the authors—all self-taught sewers who own a drop-in sewing studio in San Francisco—cover the basics of sewing and provide step-by-step instructions for such projects as decorating pants with ribbon, lace, or strips of fabric; turning a T-shirt into a skirt, a tube top, or a tote bag; and turning a pillowcase into a tank dress. This no-hassle introduction to basic sewing and refashioning is recommended for large public libraries. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Introduction	p. 2
Hand-Sewing Basics	p. 6
Threading Your Needle	p. 8
The Stitches	p. 8
Mending a Rip in a Seam	p. 10
Sewing a Button Back On	p. 11
Patching Things Up	p. 12
Hem It Up	p. 13
Moving on Up to the Machine	p. 17
You + Your Machine	p. 18
How a Sewing Machine Works	p. 21
Know Thy Machine	p. 21
Finding the Perfect Mate	p. 31
Learning to Use Your Machine	p. 36
Threading the Machine	p. 37
Filling the Bobbin	p. 38
Loading the Bobbin	p. 40
Bringing Up the Bobbin Thread	p. 42
Straight vs. Zigzag Stitching	p. 43
Changing the Needle	p. 44
Backtacking	p. 45
Turning Corners	p. 45
Working Those Curves	p. 46
Gearing Up For Your First Sewing Project	p. 49
The Gear	p. 50
Fabric 101	p. 58
Fabric 201: Shopping for Refashionable Clothing	p. 66
Notions: The Accessories of Fabric	p. 67
Setting Up Your Sewing Space	p. 68
Keeping It All Together	p. 69
Making Something	p. 73
My First Sewing Project: Pillow Cover	p. 74
Messing Up	p. 79
Making It Your Own: Embellishing and Customizing Clothes	p. 80
Make Your Printer Work for You	p. 83
A Skirt That Is Sew You	p. 87
Topstitching: Drawing With Thread	p. 89
Bye-Bye Boring Britches	p. 93
Cut It Out! Shirt	p. 97
All Ears-or Horns-Hoodie	p. 100
From Big + Baggy to Fit + Flattering	p. 105
Honey, I Shrunk the Shirt!	p. 108
Un-Taperfy Your Pants	p. 115
Refashioning: The Next Life of Your Old Clothes	p. 118
Tie One On in This Skirt	p. 121
Totally Tube-You-Lar	p. 125
Tote That Tee	p. 131
The Hippest Hip Belt in Town	p. 136
Get All Ruffled Up	p. 141
Score Some Pillow Talk in This Pillow Tank Dress	p. 147
Return of the Leg Warmers	p. 153
Summerize Your Sweater	p. 155
Winter Sweater, Meet Winter Hat	p. 159
Scarf Scrapbook	p. 164
Vintage Necktie Cuffs and Collars	p. 168
I'm a Sleeve to Wine!	p. 173
Refashion Yourself	p. 179
Resources	p. 182
Index	p. 184

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.