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I like big books and I cannot lie!<\/h1>\nI like big books and I cannot lie!<\/h1>\nI recently posted a shelfie and got an email from a reader who asked for affordable recommendations for reference books for a budding costume designer.\u00a0 When I teach costume workshops, I find myself recommending the same dozen or so books.\u00a0 So if you are holiday shopping for books, here are my top picks for costuming books.\u00a0 I’ve included Amazon links so you can find out more detailed information about these books.<\/p>\n
If you choose to use the links below, thank you!\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>Your purchase helps support this blog.\u00a0 However, I do recommend supporting your favorite local book store. Small businesses are struggling and it’s great to support your local community of independent bookstores.\u00a0 If you are purchasing your books for yourself, always consider picking up a used book. Buying used books is good for the environment and saves money too – my favorite win-win situation.<\/p>\n If you would like to pick up one of my books, check out my Studio Davina Etsy Store<\/em><\/strong><\/a> for my current titles in digital and print.\u00a0 My print books are also available on Amazon and you can check out what’s available on my Amazon Author Page<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n When I teach costuming workshops, I always include a reference list of what I consider essential books. These are the tried and true publications that I will find myself referring to again and again. If you have purchased one of my DIY books, you will find much more comprehensive reading lists in the back of my books.\u00a0 But when I’m recommending reference books for a new costumer, I like to break them into three main categories:<\/p>\n The truth is, I own a lot of sewing books, but there are only a few I refer to over and over again. So if your budget is small, focus on picking up one all-purpose basic sewing guide.\u00a0 But if you have a slightly bigger budget, or already have a basic guide, check out the rest on my shortlist.<\/p>\n How to Use, Adapt, and Design Sewing Patterns <\/span><\/b>by Lee Hollahan – Link<\/a><\/span> Couture Sewing: Making Designer Trims <\/b>by Claire B. Shaeffer – <\/span>Link<\/a><\/span> Here<\/a><\/span> When I’m teaching costuming workshops, one of my most frequently said catchphrases\u00a0is “Think Like A Designer.”\u00a0 Design is a process composed of a series of choices.\u00a0 During the design process, you move through different phases from inspirational spark and research to sewing and the finished design.<\/p>\n These are the books that I recommend to help you build more conceptual tools for approaching design projects.\u00a0 These books will help you identify what skills you need to develop, help you build your own workflow for your design process, and help you learn to make faster and better choices during your projects. Here are my top three books in print today:<\/p>\n Fashion Design Essentials:100 Principles of Fashion Design <\/strong>by Jay Calderin –\u00a0<\/strong> Link<\/a> Fashion Design Course: Principles, Practice and Techniques <\/span><\/strong>by Steven Faerm<\/span> – <\/span><\/strong>Link<\/a><\/span> There are a couple of essential drawing techniques that every costume designer should know how to do. These don’t have to be works of art, but they should be very informative for you. If you only sew for yourself, think of them as visual notes.\u00a0 If you work with clients or sew for other people, it’s a way of communicating what’s in your mind.<\/p>\n Over the long 30 years of my career, my tastes and preferred style in fashion illustration have changed.\u00a0 Here are my top three books currently:<\/p>\n Fashion Illustration & Design: Methods and Techniques for Achieving Professional Results\u00a0<\/b>by Manuela Brambatti – Link<\/a> Figure it Out!\u00a0 Beginner’s Guide To Drawing People <\/b>by Christopher Hart – Link<\/a> Wanna spend a little more on fashion Illustration?\u00a0 <\/span>Check out these additional titles:<\/p>\n Do you have an essential that wasn’t mentioned here?\u00a0 Come join the conversation over in my Facebook Group “Studio Davina: Behind the Seams<\/a>” where we talk about my two favorite things, costuming and books.\u00a0 (oh, and I also post too many pictures of my cats!) Or follow me on Instagram<\/a> and drop me a line in the DM’s.\u00a0 I’m always looking for new references and resources, so thanks in advance for sharing your favorites!<\/p>\n I hope that you have a creative and happy holiday season!<\/em><\/strong> I like big books and I cannot lie! I recently posted a shelfie and got an email from a reader who asked for affordable recommendations for reference books for a budding costume designer.\u00a0 When I teach costume workshops, I find myself recommending the same dozen or so books.\u00a0 So if you are holiday shopping for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-pubs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/11-15-2020-Shelfie.png?fit=576%2C405&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YZtR-21d","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7763"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7820,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763\/revisions\/7820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Costuming Reference Books: Three Main Categories<\/h2>\n
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Sewing Books<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Readers.jpg?resize=216%2C194&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing –<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Link<\/a><\/span>
\nThis is the book that I personally use when teaching sewing.\u00a0 If you only get one sewing book – this is it!\u00a0 <\/span>Great info on using sewing machines, construction techniques, and finishing techniques. There are many other references that cover these essentials and really only need one in your library.\u00a0 <\/span>Here are links to a few other good all-purpose sewing reference books:<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>Costumer Technicians Handbook<\/strong> – by Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey – Link<\/a>
\n<\/span>This book is essential for anyone who is working or looking to work in a theatrical environment does a lot of cosplay, and wants to do more than \u201cjust sew.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>My second edition copy is so beat up, with raggedy edges, a broken spine, and coffee stains from years of use. Here are a few other theatrical and historic costuming books I recommend if you’re working in theater:<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>This is the book I use in my own costume design classes – very affordable at about $25 and useful for anyone who sews.\u00a0 <\/span>But this is especially great for adapting commercial patterns into custom dancewear. I highly advocate mixing and matching pattern pieces to create totally unique garments. This book will help you understand how patterns really work.\u00a0 <\/span>This is a great book for students and home sewists.\u00a0 <\/span>If you are looking for a more in-depth pattern making or draping book, check out these titles:<\/p>\n\n
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\n<\/strong>Many of the hand sewing techniques I use for belly dance costuming come from the world of couture. In this book, you will find all sorts of hand-sewing surface embellishment techniques and machine-sewn construction details adaptable for use on dance costumes. Love this book and refer to it for both design ideas and instruction methods. And it\u2019s a steal of a deal for under $20.\u00a0 Other great books by Claire Shaeffer in my collection include:<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>Design Books<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/FASHION.jpg?resize=216%2C217&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/h1>\n
\n<\/strong><\/span>This is referent book introduces different design concepts in a dictionary form.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This book expands on the basic principles and elements of design into a depth and breadth to inspire you to think like a designer.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/strong>Over the past three years, I\u2019ve been using this book for my \u201cThink Like A Designer\u201d workshops.\u00a0 <\/span>Although you might only be working on costumes for yourself, if you sew for other people, or have a small costuming business, this would be a great book for your reference shelf.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Deirdre-Clancy.jpg?resize=216%2C281&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Designing Costumes for the Stage and Screen <\/span><\/strong>by Dierdre Clancy<\/span> –<\/span><\/strong> Link<\/a><\/span>
\nI\u2019ve used this book when teaching costume design workshops for many years. I\u2019m actually thinking of picking up the latest edition to replace my battered old first edition. This is title is a textbook for theatrical costuming classes at the college level.\u00a0 <\/span>Highly Recommended!<\/p>\nIllustration Books<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Simple garment illustration<\/strong> – This will show the silhouette of the overall shape on a proportional figure, dress form, or croquis.<\/li>\n
\nFashion Illustration books vary in taste and style, and this particular book is to my “Taste” and drawing style.\u00a0It covers all the basics from establishing proportions of the body, to illustrating various textures of textiles and\u00a0 <\/span>I personally love the way they demonstrate skirt draping and ruffles.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/51vzHVBb3L._SX258_BO1204203200_.jpg?resize=216%2C279&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Draw Fashion Now <\/b>by Danielle Meder – Link<\/a>
\n<\/span>This is a wonderful illustrator who presents the same basic content but in the latest illustration style, you can spot in current fashion magazines and design house websites.\u00a0 <\/span>A great all-purpose fashion illustration book at a nice price.<\/p>\n
\nRather than a book specifically on fashion, this one focuses on the body and movement rather than on the clothing.\u00a0 Not geared specifically to costume and clothing, but it’s a fun book that I consider essential for learning body proportions.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s also quite affordable at about $18<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>Fashion Design Sketchbook: Women’s Wear Fashion<\/em><\/strong> by Irinia V. Ivanova – Link<\/a><\/li>\nWhat’s Your Favorite Costuming Book?<\/h2>\n
\nDawn Devine ~ Davina<\/em><\/strong>
\nNovember 16, 2020<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Essential-Costuming-Books-1.png?resize=580%2C959&ssl=1\")
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