Sew Subversive is about making fashion your own, whether it's embellishing or customizing off-the-rack clothing or transforming clothes that have lost that loving feeling. The three twenty-something co-owners of Stitch Lounge, an urban sewing studio in San Francisco, teach you, in plain, fun language, how to do it, whether you're hand sewing, machine sewing, or, in a few cases, simply wielding a pair of scissors.

The first three chapters lay the ground work: Hand Sewing Basics, You and Your Machine, and Gearing Up, which includes Fabric 101, how to set up a sewing space, and a run-through first project on the sewing machine. Then the fun begins with Embellishing and Customizing projects, including adorning your pant legs with ribboning, turning a computer-scanned image into an iron-on that you can apply to a t-shirt or skirt, taking in a skirt, or untapering a pair of pants (the authors believe tapered pants are the devil's work). Then move onto Refashioning: The Next Life of Your Old Clothes and turn a t-shirt into a skirt, a sweater into a halter top or legwarmers, or a pair of pants into a hip belt. There are 22 projects in all, some of which only require an iron and/or pair of scissors, while others can be sewn by hand, for those readers who haven't yet made the sewing machine plunge.

"Fashion hipsters Rannels, Alvarado and Meng are co-owners of San Francisco's Stitch Lounge, a drop-in sewing center where would-be fashionistas can rent sewing machines by the hour, take lessons and compare notes on design and technique. They are enthusiastic teachers and, in their first book, give beginning sewers all the basics, plus 22 tempting projects. Their mission — 'subverting' fashion — is all about 'embellishing and customizing clothes — refashioning them to make them uniquely your own.' This can mean anything from altering the fit of a blouse with pin tucks and sewing ribbon stripes onto an old pair of jeans to whipping up a sun dress out of a pillowcase. They start with a solid chapter on hand sewing (mending rips, hemming skirts), then tell you everything you've ever wanted to know about sewing machines but were afraid to ask. T-shirts are torn apart to make mini skirts, shoulder bags and tube tops. It's true that the results have a shaggy and informal look, definitely suited to a young audience, but the projects are quick and fun and get the creative juices flowing. With its casual approach and offbeat creations, this is definitely not your mother's sewing book. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Whether it's embellishing or customizing off-the-rack clothing or transforming clothes that have lost that loving feeling, "Sew Subversive" is all about making fashion personal. The book covers the basics of hand and machine sewing and offers 22 cool projects. 195 color photos. 186 color illustrations.