By the Book: Six Stitchy Reads for Sewing Fiends
- Words by Peppermint
Are you a sewist with space on your bedside table simply longing for a book to fill it? Are you going on holiday and need an engaging read to distract you from the pain of being separated from your sewing machine? Or are you simply a voracious reader with a passion for fashion?
It can be hard to search for “sewing books” without being inundated with pattern collections and technique textbooks (not that we don’t appreciate them, in their place) so we’ve put together a curated collection of books that are actually books – fiction and non-fiction – for the edification and enjoyment of sewing enthusiasts.
NON-FICTION
THE DRESSMAKERS OF AUSCHWITZ
In the heart of the Holocaust’s most infamous death camp, 25 young inmates were selected to design, cut and sew beautiful fashions for elite Nazi women while surrounded by mistreatment, squalor and the hanging threat of the gas chambers. Historian Lucy Adlington follows the fates of these remarkable women – exploring their bravery, bonds and resistance – and showcasing the power of fashion history to uncover new and fascinating perspectives and insights into our past. Not to sound like a movie trailer, but if anything deserves the descriptor “an unbelievable true story” it’s this tale.
THE POCKET: A HIDDEN HISTORY OF WOMEN’S LIVES, 1660-1900
Barbara Burman and Ariane Fennetaux
“What has it got in its pocketses?” It’s the question Gollum and the rest of us are always asking and it’s the question that Barbara Burman and Ariane Fennetaux are here to answer. Endlessly fascinating in its finite focus, the book looks at women’s tie-on pockets and the things they kept in them to generate incredible insight into the social history of women’s everyday lives – from duchesses and country gentry to sex workers and washerwomen. It’s a meticulously detailed masterpiece of material culture and microhistory, stuffed full of fun facts, feminist thoughts and support for Big Pocket Supremecy.
DRESS CODES: HOW THE LAWS OF FASHION MADE HISTORY
Do dress codes give you a sense of security or cause clothing confusion? Does anyone know what constitutes business casual or white tie? Law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford takes us through the laws of fashion and the customs of clothing from medieval sumptuary laws to 1920 bans of bobbed hair and the roots of the Zoot Suit Riots. Richard reveals throughout history, the fashion police have been far from fictitious and that far from frivolous, fashion reflects the struggles for power and status within society, even today!
Read More: Netflix and Sew – Our Favourite Sewing-Inspired Television Shows
FICTION
THE DRESSMAKER
True Peppermint fans might say, “Hey, didn’t you already recommend The Dressmaker in your sewing films roundup?” Yes, but this time it’s the book – it’s totally different! No shirtless Hemsworth in here unless you have a strong visual imagination. Fabulous fashion designer Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town of her birth with a trusty Singer sewing machine in hand and a heart set on revenge! Relive the classic Australian Gothic tale of love, hate and haute couture but this time in the cinema of your mind!
THE DRESS THIEF
Set among the glamorous golden age fashion houses of Paris in the 1930s, The Dress Thief follows Alix Gower, an aspiring designer with a terrible secret – in order to support her family, she copies high-end designs for the lucrative knockoff market. Offered her big chance at legitimacy and living her dream at the terrible price of one last job – stealing an entire spring collection – Alix fears how quickly everything she’s worked for could fall apart at the seams! A riveting and romantic novel that tackles themes of intellectual property and the origins of modern fast fashion.
THE GOWN
The scene is London, 1947, the harshest winter in living memory, postwar Britains burdened by shortages and rationing are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Meanwhile, Princess Elizabeth is getting married to her cousin (both third and seventh!). Our heroes, Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, are embroiderers at a famed Mayfair fashion house whose friendship is tested when they are selected to take part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown. Meticulously researched and richly detailed, you’ll feel prepared to pick up the embroidery needle at the end of this book!
READ IT? RECOMMEND IT!
A few extra recommendations from our beloved sewing community…
The Forgotten Seamstress, Liz Trenow
The Seamstress of Sardinia, Bianca Pitzorno
The Sewing Machine, Natalie Fergie
The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison, Meredith Jaffe
Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle, Clare Hunter
The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History, Kassia St Clair
The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, Virginia Postrel
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle, Jennifer Ryan
Read More: Grab the Popcorn – Here are 11 Films to Inspire Your Sewing
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…. Which means we are officially entering party season. Work parties, friend-dos, family get-togethers and then we’re straight…
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8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
If your fingers are twitching for some crafting, take a peep at this massive list of marvellous makes that can be whipped up in a flash, put together by our Sewing Manager Laura. Ok yes, it was originally a roundup we created for easy Christmas gifts, but now it can be your blueprint for easy craft wins to go on your 2026 making must-do list!
If money and time are slim for you right now – as they are for many of us – these 22 projects will help you avoid the chaos and consumerism of the malls, scratch that creative itch and produce a fun me-made make that won’t break the bank.
Link in bio! 🪡🎨✂️
#PeppermintMagazine #MeMadeGifts #DIYs #EasyWins
"I, like so many of my fellow sewists, live a life of endless lists of ‘to-sew’ patterns, fabrics and garments. My stitchy to-do list is longer than my arm and it ain’t getting any shorter. There are just so many wonderful surface pattern designers, indie pattern-makers and small businesses who I want to support, that I am simply never short of inspiration for garments I’d like to sew. But you know what just does not seem to make its way to the top of the list? Pyjamas. Jimmy-jams, PJs, jarmies. They just don’t rate highly enough for me to commit time and fabric to them. I mean, barely anyone even gets to see them. The ratio of bang vs buck is low on the ‘thanks-I-made-it-ometer’."
You’ve probably heard it from your Nan: always wear nice undies, because you never know what might happen! (And who might catch a glimpse.) But just in case the unexpected happens while you’re slumming it at home in your washed out tracky dacks, Peppermint sewing manager Laura Jackson’s adding pretty PJs to her list of preferred ‘ghost outfits’… Because shuffling off this mortal coil can be perfectly stylish, too.
Read more of `Haunt Couture: Why Laura Jackson Decided To Up Her Pyjama Game` at the link in our bio!
Words and photos: @Laura_The_Maker 💤
#PJPatterns #MeMadePJs #Pyjamas #GhostOutfit
STAY SOFT ☁️
We love when some of our friends collide! And this collab between @SueChingLascelles and the legends at @DangerousFemales is a goodie.
From Sue-Ching:
New year, new mantra babes, because we tried being tough and it was exhausting. So now we’re going to lead with kindness and compassion and see what happens. We have nothing to lose! So let’s stay soft this year. Love ourselves and each other.
New limited edition tee designed by me for @DangerousFemales. 100% of the profits go to supporting DV services. Available NOW and did I mention limited edition? Such a cutie reminder for the year we’re going to have. The year we deserve to have.
BIG LOVE ya big SOFTIES 🤍
Sue-Ching x
Photos by @AMRPhotographer_
#DangerousFemales #DVAwareness #StaySoft
Furred, feathered, fishy, scaled… The pets we choose are as diverse as our personalities. (And apparently, quite often we resemble each other.) But they all deserve to be cared for in ways guaranteed to keep them safe, healthy, and happy. Basically, to be loved – something most of us pet lovers go to great (often expensive) lengths to achieve! (Looking at you, ginger furball, claiming my just-washed bathrobe as today’s fave bed…)
But if you’re concerned about the environment, you might experience cognitive dissonance about the impact your favourite fluffy’s having on the planet. Our pets’ needs are complicated: food, toys, bedding, accessories, and… wait for it… poo patrol paraphernalia. Turns out pets have quite the carbon paw print! So, what to do?
Start by picking more sustainable pet products and eco-friendly pet accessories, and thinking outside of the (litter) box about waste disposal. We’ve gone digging to find some (by no means all!) of the brands that keep both pet welfare and planet front of mind.
Read more at the link in our bio!
🐶🐱🐍🐹🐤
#SustainablePets #AnimalPawPrint #CarbonFootprint #EcoPets
