Joi MahonDesigner Joi's Fashion Sewing Workshop: Practical Skills for Stylish Garment Design

I wish I could give this book 5 stars. I love the idea of the book, I visually enjoyed looking through the book but trying some of the exercises just did not meet my expectations.Chapter one-goes over designing and finding inspiration. I utilize these tools regularly before I got the book but its nice to be able to define what I was doing :) .Throughout the book she gives you activities to do and in this chapter, they are doable and relate very well to one another.She covers recognizing inspiration,designing your own storyboard,identify design elements,evaluating the design and sketch designs. She also goes over color theory.Chapter two-was about fashion sketching the exercises included Practicing the basic shapes,drawing flat garments,drawing more clothing shapes,creating a croquis,rendering a croquis, and rendering fabrics. I also think this section was good-I am not a fan of the actual drawing of designs but everyone has their own aesthetic :).Chapter 3 :Pattern-making by flat pattern-and this is the chapter where Joi begins to lose me.Rotating darts,combining darts,slashing darts,dart equivalents,seams,slash and spread,bodice back,skirts,skirt slash and spread,gores-godgets and circle skirts,sleeves,kimono and raglan sleeves,necklines and facings,collars,Jackets and coats,With that written all of that is covered in about 48 pages-which is a clear indication that either Joi knows some super short cuts to teaching people flat pattern making or the section was not in-depth enough. I go with the latter-She has design challenges for each section- the problem is, they will not be doable from this book alone. For example she has you add pockets to a jacket but never goes over how to make a pocket-or what the different pockets are and to be honest I was mad about not being able to complete the jacket because it was soo cute.(It wasn't because of the pockets :)She showed you how to do the majority of the exercises in about 4 steps?????. Was this a total waste I would say no-I think this section would be perfect for someone who is in the process of pattern-making and already has a steady foundation-I believe this section would simplify some things, but they would be things you already have some familiarity with.Chapter 4 Draping, drafting and computer generate patterning, I actually think she did a pretty good job with the basics of draping, the exercises she gives is two piece princess seam bodice,asymmetrical bodice,jackets, a-line silhouette,skirts with yokes, pleats and all the frills, asymmetrical skirt,extreme ruching,the ball gown-the drafting shows how to draft the sleeve and 2 pages for computer generate patterning. Again I think she did a good job explaining the basics of draping but I think the only piece someone could probably accurately drape from this book alone is a basic skirt, and that may be pushing it.In the skirt portion she has a little section (paragraph)for facings which includes the waistband-from her written section I would have no idea to fully make a waistband. and its little details like this that will lose someone. How to make a waistband on a skirt should have been clearly outlined in the book.Chapter 5:Designing for the real body which includes measuring-increasing and decreasing the bust curve decrease truing,sewing a fit sample, fitting for kids ,fitting for the aging body, sleeve fitting, She does not go over fitting anything other than the bust curve.Chapter 6 Joi's sewing workshop-types of sewing and sewing terminology,sewing machine know how,the right tools, Exercises include-pre-shrink sew in interfacing,preshrink fusible interfacing, a section on fabrics and fibers.Chapter 7:Design process start to finish-showing the process of designing to making an actual garmentWorksheet 1:shirt jacket evaluationEvaluating a seam which includes and exercise and conclusion.The appendix features a garment inspiration library.Resources then index.The trouble with books like these in my opinion is they do not have a target audience besides people interested in sewing related things.This book ranges from beginner to intermediate and some of the exercises are only achievable for the advanced seamstress . Which makes the information go from half of it being previously acquired,some of it being useful only with other resources and the other half undo-able. This is not a must have book-I think if you have the extra money and would like to purchase it-go aheadFor me it was not worth it as previously stated, I already utilized these things in my own design process,and I have multiple books on pattern making,fabric and fitting. Normally I give suggestions for books I would not know where to start besides the fact that it would have been nice in spiral bound. :( I did not rate it too low as it is supposed to be a workshop-which in reality is not going to cover everything in-depth and some things were useful.If I can help clarify anything please leave me a comment :)

I love Designer Joi's books. This one is in absolutely new, mint condition.

I checked this book out from the library and I loved it so much I decided to buy it! I have 50 years of experience and took fashion courses in college and I STILL learned a lot from this book!! I LOVE it!!!

A very good book,she goes into details,and if you like this book you will love her other book (Create The Perfect Fit) ,it is full of everything you need to know about adjusting patterns, and if you buy her Craftsy classes and have her books Then that’s all you need.Thank You... Donna

Book was well worth the money. Very well written and full of information.

I was really looking forward to this book and was a bit disappointed. It has some great information and I learned a lot, but there were also quite a few places where I felt more explanation or pictures were needed and I had a hard time understanding some of the concepts.

Fantastic book! Useful info I haven't found elsewhere

Book is very informative and helpful,awesome book

There are lots of opinions as to where fitting should begin. I chose this book because I knew I was about to fit a wedding dress for a g, milk engorged bust, and regularly fit a double j. Joi is the only one I know who has thought through the ramifications of a bust being different in four directions radiating from the nipple. This made a huge difference for me. My first pattern adjustment was on a fitted kimono sleeved dress, and was nearly perfect.I also fitted the same pattern to me and finally realised why standard patterns don't fit.So well done Joi. I have renewed enthusiasm to tackle my stash of fabric and patterns, knowing I can get them to fit properly.

it's a well written book, for someone who wants to have a little fun with designing!