Vintage Craft Book Feature: Time Life The Art of Sewing Series (1975)

Another of my many needlework hobbies is the collection of vintage craft books. Found in dusty corners of second hand shops, in pride of place in used book stores, these old tomes often contain beautiful nuggets of crafting wisdom, and a heaping helping of vintage charm. Reviving the techniques, tips and retro projects is just one more way for us to bring back the wonders of the handmade.

Time Life The Art of Sewing Series - 1975

There's no way to cover all 12 books of this fantastic series in one post, so I've pared it down to a few of my favorites. These books are wonderful resources for the home seamstress, covering all kinds of topics from altering and designing to construction techniques and embellishment.  Each of the books are covered in real fabric, giving the whole series a very tactile appeal. The information inside is all very good, even if it is delivered in a somewhat surreal way:

           

These books are full of fun images like this, and I love it. Even without the great instructional resources these would be wonderful coffee table tomes.

         

Some of the garments pictured don't have real instructions, but blurbs about how they are made provide a decent starting point for anyone interested in recreating them. 

I'm not sure if women's sports wear got better from 1890 to 1970, or just more weird. Either way, all the instructions you need to make these kinds of 'sporting' garments are included in "The Sporting Scene."

What I can confirm is that these slipper boots are the epitome of awesome indoor footwear.