for Sewn Products Entrepreneurs
Clicking on the cover images or book titles will take you to Amazon.com, where you can place orders for the following books.
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Products Manufacturing
by Kathleen Fasanella
Don’t think about buying The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Products Manufacturing, just buy it. It’s really the only book of its kind, and buying it also garners membership into the Fashion-Incubator forum, a community of both established and new design-entrepreneurs.
The Complete Photo Guide to Sewing
by Creative Publishing international
Over 300 pages of full-color close-up photographs of various sewing methods, tips and tricks. Even after years of sewing, it’s great to have nearby for technique reminders.
The Fashion Designer Survival Guide: An Insider’s Look at Starting and Running Your Own Fashion Business
by Mary Gehlhar
A practical resource for anyone looking to get into the crazy business of fashion. Includes setting up a business plan, product development, market research, sourcing fabric and materials, making sales, marketing and branding, and more.
Sewing Secrets from the Fashion Industry: Proven Methods to Help You Sew Like the Pros
by Susan Huxley
Sewing Secrets from the Fashion Industry covers how to choose equipment and tools to draping, from making your own patterns or altering commercial patterns to cutting tips and making muslins. It includes hundreds of photos and covers tons of detailed construction techniques.
The Business of Sewing: How to Start, Achieve and Maintain Success, Volume 2
by Barbara Wright Sykes
I haven’t read too much of this book yet, but I purchased it because of its rave reviews. It jumps into pricing right away, so if you’re starting or growing a sewing-services business, this may be a good guide to how to set your pricing, how to find and keep customers, and how to grow your product base.
Sewing for the Apparel Industry
by Claire Shaeffer
This hefty text book covers details from equipment to cost-effective methods of apparel production. As the book cover says, “Coverage includes basic machine and production skills; a complete treatment of seams; hems; darts; facings; plackets; interlinings; cuffs and waistbands; sleeves; closures; zippers; collars; pockets; bias; and linings.” And then some.
Small Design Company’s Guide to Wholesale Fabrics and Trims
by Fashiondex
This is a great resource, listing resources in the US for all kinds of fabrics and notions available for wholesale for small design companies. Money saving hint: When you go to the Amazon page, click on the More Buying Choices link on the right and purchase it for $15 less directly from Fashiondex.
The Business of Fashion: Designing, Manufacturing, and Marketing
by Leslie Davis Burns & Nancy O. Bryant
This hefty 600+ page hardcover covers the organization of the U.S. textile and apparel industries, business and legal framework of these companies, creating and marketing a line, preproduction processes, production and distribution, sourcing, quality assurance, and much more. It’s not a ‘how to’ book per se, but an overview that gives an insider guide to how things really work in the industry today.