The Handsewn Wardrobe: A Complete Guide to Making Your Own Clothes from Patternmaking to the Finishing Stitches

by Louisa Owen Sonstroem

Overview

Discover the slow, quiet joy of sewing clothes by hand in this one-of-kind guide. 

Featuring step-by-step, illustrated instructions, this hand-sewing course-in-a-book shows you how to create nine wardrobe staples, including a t-shirt, button-up, and jeans, using simple hand-sewing and hand-stitching techniques. Author Louisa Owen Sonstroem shares her sustainable, empowering, and portable craft with gentle encouragement and guidance. Sewists of all experience levels will learn how to: 

   ·Draft a pattern to fit custom measurements. 
   ·Select and cut fabric.
   ·Construct each garment without using a sewing machine. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635866261
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	08/05/2025
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Louisa Owen Sonstroem studied design and patternmaking at Fashion Institute of Technology. She works in technical design and patternmaking, most recently for Eileen Fisher and Macy's. Louisa teaches hand sewing and patternmaking classes. She also started Patternmaking in Public Places (PIPP), an outreach project to democratize access to patternmaking skills. Louisa lives in Connecticut with her family, in a house filled with board books, dog beds, and lots of fabric.

Table of Contents

The Joy of Sewing by Hand

The Basics
Patternmaking
    Why Build Your Own Pattern?
    Getting Started
    Drafting Your Pattern
Hand Sewing
    Why Sew by Hand?
    Tools and Materials
    Suitable Fabrics
    Preparing to Sew
    The Stitches
    Understanding Fabric (and Cutting It)

The Clothes
Woven Boxy Top
Leggings
Gathered Skirt
T-Shirt
Hoodie
Undies
Woven Button-Up Shirt
Jean Jacket
Jeans

Resources
Further Reading
Featured Makers
Acknowledgments
Glossary
Index

Editorial Reviews

The absolute best thing about making something yourself is the feeling of power and accomplishment you get, knowing this beautiful, useful thing you’ve made came from your own two hands. With The Handsewn Wardrobe you’ll develop the skills and the confidence to make one of our most basic essentials, clothing, from scratch. Celebrate the artistry and satisfaction of making clothing that’s not just wearable, but meaningful and enduring.—Abby Glassenberg, Co-founder and President, Craft Industry Alliance

Louisa’s gentle encouragement and easy-to-follow, thorough instructions will empower sewists of all levels to slow down and experience the satisfaction of creating a handmade garment.—Nina and Sonya Montenegro, author-illustrators of Mending Life and founders of The Far Woods

As someone who is already aboard the hand-sewing train, I am thrilled that The Handsewn Wardrobe now exists to inform those who seek the skills to sew clothes any time and place! Let us not be tethered to our sewing machines!—Cal Patch, author of Design-It-Yourself Clothes

From the Publisher