Twinkle Sews: 25 Handmade Fashions from the Runway to Your Wardrobe

I bought this book after reading great reviews. The styles were great. I don't mind taping together patterns to sew. The dress in the back cover is the one I sewed. I went to print out a size 4, then checked their sizing and printed out a size 0. I had looked at the size 4 PDF File and saw there were 88 papers. A lot, but I could live with that. I pulled up size 0 and it said 175 pages! 175 pages?? Almost twice as many, shy just 1 page! I looked closely at the pages and determined they had been duplicated in the file. I chose to print the first 88 pages to see what happened. I did get all the pattern pieces and also got 8 random pages that fit with nothing. Just a random check of the files included on the disc by the author or publisher would have shown them this error. Thank goodness I did not press Print and get 175 pages! The fit of the dress was poor by any standards but I was able to adjust it. The instructions were amateurish and incomplete by any standard. I have been sewing most of my life so I was able to complete the dress I wanted but I feel sorry for any sewer with less experience attempting this dress.

I am a big fan of "Twinkle Sews" and her innovative designs. They are current, edgy & classy. Women of all ages can wear them. I am 50 and Wenlan Chia's designs are flattering on me as well as on my 20 y/o daughter.However, a word of caution: this book is not for beginners! You must have a good basic knowledge of clothing construction. Otherwise you may find this a frustrating experience. I've been sewing since 1974 so had no problems with the "interesting" directions...in other words, that means you'll need to wing it.A few other words of wisdom: 1. all fabric yardage requirements are based on 60" width, so you'll need to adjust accordingly. 2. all seam allowances are 3/8" or 1/2" (unless indicated otherwise). 3. the author is correct-invest in quality fabric. It really does make a difference. 4. That being said, I would suggest making a muslin first - you can keep it for future use. 5. If the garment is fitted across the chest, this appears to favor smaller busted women (of which I am one!) so if you're busty, you'll need to adjust your pattern before cutting.So if you're experienced, buy this book and have a ball. It has unleashed my creativity that has carried over to my other projects. It will do the same for you.

Twinkle Sews has several lovely designs,which can be altered into one's taste quite easily. The book includes blouses, skirts and dresses, all of which are original and fashionable. Each design is well introduced and the pictures are clear and in good quality. There is also a rating, of how difficult each desing is, visible among each design, but it is quite misleading. The "easiest" pieces are actually quite difficult and the "advanced" ones do not differ from "intermediate" at all. The "how-to" parts have also several mistakes and typos. I have made 3 clothes according to this book, and not one of them has been that easy, but rather time consuming and include many steps.However, the patterns have to be printed (there's a CD included) and put together. This means printing tens and tens of A4 papers and taping them together according to the markings, which are luckily clear. I have, however, found that the patterns do not follow the size map that well, I have been forced to modify each pattern though I have used the smallest size which is one size smaller than the size map suggests me to use. This makes the process of making the clothes quite painful, since first you have to print, then tape the pieces together, cut them, fit them, fit the patterns to fabric, cut and only then starts the sewing.The actual sewing info is super clear, even too clear so that even simple stitches sound difficult. For a non-native english speaker, the used terms and confusing, since there is no coference when referring to interfacing or the actual top fabric.Otherwise, if the reader is quite advanced in sewing, the book is great for inspiration and if one can make patterns self, the designes are very beautiful and worth the effort. However, for a newbie sewer: this book is not for you!

Some of the patterns seem to never go out of style while some of the patterns are a little outdated. At the same time, I have seen a lot of cropped tops at the stores lately so maybe they are coming back in style. Either way, the patterns are nice and you can modify them to fit your style. You can always make some longer in length or more snug. I plan on making a lot of these pieces once I have more time.

The price was great but the description promised more which made it feel grossly misleading. It was a great disappointment. It gets three stars only because the price was so low. Thank you.

I've been searching for and buying as many sewing books as I can, and I came across this book and fell in love with the dress on the front! I think it's so far the best collection of patterns (the most exciting part, if you ask me) that I've seen. I haven't made anything yet, but I do plan on making almost everything in the book. There are a few things in there that I was disappointed to find weren't things you could make, but the things you can are super cute. Something else to keep in mind if you want this book is the items are all kind of baggy. the most fitted things are the dress and the skirts in the first section. all the other shirts and (very short) dresses are loose fitting and don't have much shape (but they have great details). But one great thing is she encourages you to alter the pattern and change the fabric, and even suggests a few completely different types of fabric that will also work with the garment. The blouse that is my absolute favorite in the book... isn't a pattern in the book... BUT it is available on [...] in their patterns section (unfortunately you have to buy it). One thing this book is lacking patterns for is a nice pair of pants.Overall, I'm extremeily happy with this book, and I know I'll be using it over and over!

I sympathise with the frustrations of other reviewers. The download will never be my pattern form of choice, but to be fair to the publisher it's hard to see how else so much detail, number of patterns and sizes could be presented.I see several reasons for choosing this book, so to redress the balance, here they are:If you, or someone you sew for, (probably someone young, but not necessarily) is in love with this designer's looks, you can learn so much from the book about cut, fabric and detailing. If you have sewing experience, you probably have patterns for basic shapes of skirts, blouses, dresses, and by looking at the pattern diagrams, instructions and the gorgeous photographs, you can probably work out how to adapt them without needing to download and print from the CD. Since I was a teenager I have found inspiration for creating my own clothes through looking at the designers and working out my own interpretations. To me, this book represents a generous sharing of ideas.Finally, consider the fact that the money you might spend buying the book wouldn't go very far when buying 'Vogue' patterns - or 'Vogue' magazines for that matter.These are first impressions - I hope to report back when I've sewn my first Twinkle-inspired creation...

Oooh so many things I want to make in this book and cheaper than anywhere else by far. There aren't that many really good dressmaking books around these days. Absolutely fabulous and very inspiring

Fabulous designs! LOVE the Dark Secrets top.

Love the designs,although I think it's more for a sewer who has a bit of experience under her belt. I do wish the patterns had print outs instead of coming with a CD (and having to print them directly- it's all a bit of a waste of paper, tbh). Overall, good patterns that aren't too over the top.

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