The Tailor's Needle

The Tailor's Needle
Author: Lakshmi Raj Sharma
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2012-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 8184757999

Cambridge-educated Sir Saraswati Chandra Ranbakshi is a towering public figure in early twentieth century India. A firm believer in the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, he also has faith in the virtues of the British Raj. As a result, he has to mediate between the Maharaja of a princely state and the Viceroy and strike a fine balance between tradition and modernity. This tussle between old and new values is reflected in his three children, the daredevil Maneka, the timid Sita, and their brother, Yogendra, who turns their father’s world upside down by falling in love with a lower-caste girl. A comedy of manners laced with intrigue and excitement, The Tailor’s Needle explores some of the great moral dilemmas of pre-independent India with wit and sensitivity.

A House of Tailors

A House of Tailors
Author: Patricia Reilly Giff
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2004-11-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375890556

SEWING! NO ONE could hate it more than Dina Kirk. Endless tiny stitches, button holes, darts. Since she was tiny, she’s worked in her family’s dressmaking business, where the sewing machine is a cranky member of the family. When 13-year-old Dina leaves her small town in Germany to join her uncle’s family in Brooklyn, she turns her back on sewing. Never again! But looking for a job leads her right back to the sewing machine. Why did she ever leave home? Here she is, still with a needle and thread—and homesick to boot. She didn’t know she could be this homesick, but she didn’t know she could be so brave either, as she is standing up to an epidemic or a fire. She didn’t know she could grow so close to her new family or to Johann, the young man from the tailor’s shop. And she didn’t know that sewing would reveal her own wonderful talent—and her future. In Dina, the beloved writer Patricia Reilly Giff has created one of her most engaging and vital heroines. Readers will enjoy seeing 1870s Brooklyn through Dina’s eyes, and share her excitement as she discovers a new world.

The Magic Needle

The Magic Needle
Author: Enid Blyton
Publisher: Bounty Books
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2014
Genre: Children's stories
ISBN: 9780753726464

A selection of short stories by Enid Blyton suitable for readers aged 5-8 years.

A Tailoring Manual

A Tailoring Manual
Author: Gertrude Strickland
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2013-01-25
Genre: Design
ISBN: 144748133X

A timeless guide dedicated to the art of tailoring women's clothing, this accessible manual is enriched with helpful illustrations. This comprehensive guide includes detailed instructions for making a variety of women’s garments. Each section breaks down the process step-by-step, ensuring that readers can easily follow along and develop their skills. With its clear explanations and practical advice, A Tailoring Manual empowers beginners to create beautiful, well-fitted clothing. It’s an invaluable resource for novice needleworkers and those seeking fresh ideas and inspiration. This book is a must-have for anyone passionate about sewing and garment making, offering both foundational techniques and creative insights into the world of women's tailoring.

Spin the Dawn

Spin the Dawn
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2019-07-09
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0525647015

Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping fantasy about a teenage girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars. And don’t miss Elizabeth Lim’s new novel, the instant New York Times bestseller, Six Crimson Cranes! “All the cutthroat competition of a runway fashion reality show and the thrilling exploits of an epic quest." —The Washington Post Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia makes the ultimate sacrifice and poses as a boy to take his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors in a cutthroat competition for the job. Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise. And nothing could have prepared her for the unthinkable final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the sun, the moon, and the stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined. Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this fantasy novel is not to be missed. "This is a white-knuckle read." —Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Tempests and Slaughter

Vintage Couture Tailoring

Vintage Couture Tailoring
Author: Thomas von Nordheim
Publisher: Crowood
Total Pages: 506
Release: 2013-06-30
Genre: Design
ISBN: 1847975887

Traditional tailoring is a fascinating craft, which has not changed for many centuries, however, the techniques are now known only by a few practising in the best couture ateliers and bespoke tailor's workrooms. Nothing feels quite so luxurious or sophisticated as bespoke clothes, but the tailoring skills they require are often seen to be shrouded in mystery and the clothes therefore only accessible to the rich and famous. This practical book reveals the trade secrets of couture tailoring and brings vintage couture tailoring within the reach of all. With step-by-step photographs and professional tips throughout, it shows how a ladies' jacket is made and thereby introduces a range of fundamental tailoring techniques. These can be used for garments for either gender, as well as other sewing projects: moulding fabric to shape with the iron; employing loose interfacings; hollow shoulder construction; pad stitching canvas; interlining and weighting hems;making tailored and bound buttonholes;.... and many more forgotten techniques.Written by a tailor of international repute, Vintage Couture Tailoring is dedicated to all who appreciate the highest standard of craftsmanship, and who like using their eyes and hands to produce beautiful garments.Vintage couture tailoring is practised by only a few establishments around the world today and this practical book reveals the trade secrets of couture tailoring. An invaluable guide for professionals wishing to further their skills, and for enthusiasts with an interest in traditional tailoring. Shows how to make a ladies' jacket from preparation through to assembly and reveals the exquisite finishing details that are the hallmark of couture tailoring. Superbly illustrated with 417 colour step-by-step photographs.Thomas von Nordheim is a tailor of international repute.

The Tailors of Tomaszow

The Tailors of Tomaszow
Author: Rena Margulies Chernoff
Publisher:
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2014
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

"Memoir of prewar life, the Holocaust, and the aftermath through the eyes of a child and the Jewish community of Tomaszow-Mazowiecki, Poland; personal tragedies and torture by the Nazis, illustrating life in the Blizyn labor camp and survival of Auschwitz-Birkenau"--Provided by publisher.

Sew Your Own

Sew Your Own
Author: John-Paul Flintoff
Publisher: Profile Books
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2011-05-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1847652778

What happens when a man, dazzled like most of us by hi-tech, happy to have his suits made by robots in New York, sets out to find the meaning of life? John-Paul Flintoff's improbable and very funny book charts a journey through call centres and allotments, rat-catching and Savile Row tailors, to some kind of enlightenment. It is also a book about a man who learns how to crochet - and how you might too. John-Paul Flintoff is a bit of a one-off: a man who embarks on a spiritual pilgrimage by outsourcing his life to Bangalore, then hooks up with Mormons and Buddhists (well, Richard Gere), on a quest for truth and fulfilment. His journey is like a twenty-first century Candide, learning that life's satisfactions, and some kind of response to the concerns of economic meltdown and climate change, lie in learning how to make things for oneself, and mending things that fall apart. Along the way, Flintoff paints pictures with Brit-art oddball Billy Childish, gets apprenticed in Savile Row, grows his own food and spins fibre from nettles. Daringly, he also turns his book over to his wife Harriet, who likes nothing better than a fancy spa and a shop at Liberty's. The results are comic, heartwarming and inspiring.