Sample page from Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter

Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter (image subject to copyright.)

My creative mother read to my siblings and me almost from birth, and I grew up surrounded by piles of books. When we got tired of the ones we had all over the house, Mom packed us up for a trip to the library in Richmond, Virginia, an incredible place with the most delightful children's section. A huge glass case in the center held book-themed displays that changed every month. I'll never forget one that left me starry-eyed: a whole array of tiny fabric mice, wearing intricate clothes and posed as if they were embroidering a tapestry. That was in celebration of Beatrix Potter month at the library, complete with prints from The Tailor of Gloucester, which is, to this day, my very favorite children's book featuring sewing. So many of the books my mother read to us as children celebrated creativity--from gardening to sewing to knitting. It's no wonder I grew up itching to make lovely things! I now read many of the same books to my own children, and I thought it would be fun to put together a post featuring the favorites that have stood the test of time and continue to inspire and delight.The Tailor of Gloucester is a book to linger over, each illustration filled with such incredible detail and lovingly executed by Beatrix Potter, who got her inspiration from a waistcoat in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington, London, where she grew up. The waistcoat is on display every now and again at the V&A, but if you book a private viewing appointment, they'll also bring it out for you to see. Potter took the setting for the tailor's shop from a real shop in Gloucester that today houses a museum you can visit (with a Tailor-centered gift shop--oh, joy!). You can tell this was the author's own favorite book. I mean, look at that illustration on the right (with a copy of the note that originally inspired the tale). Each stitch is there in perfect detail![gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="12511,12513,12514"]Because I can't praise this book enough, above are a few more illustrations to show the exquisite attention Potter gave to every detail. I adore it! If there's ever been a key book to inspire historical costuming and tidy workmanship, this is it! Be sure you get a facsimile edition of the original and not one of the re-illustrated versions that seem to be rampant today (and so wrong-headed to me--Beatrix Potter books are all about her illustrations!).If you love Beatrix Potter as much as I do, you'd probably also include Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the story of the prickly hedgehog laundress, on your list of favorites. I love the whole idea of little Lucie looking for her lost pocket-handkins and stumbling upon Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle ironing clothes belonging to various animals (cock robin's scarlet waistcoat among them). I love Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's tucked-up overskirt and her mob cap with the prickles poking through like "hair-pins sticking wrong end out." Her skill with the iron makes even that hot chore seem appealing (and, yes, I did used to ask my mother if I could iron things after we read this story!).

Have you noticed sewing animals seem to be a theme? 😂

Next on my list of childhood favorites is the late 1940s Disney edition of Cinderella. This came out before the 1950 cartoon movie, so the pictures differ a bit from the film, but how I love the pictures! I had a fascination with miniatures and dollhouses when I was a girl, and I am sure this book fed that love. Cinderella stitches outfits for her mice friends, and they, in turn, make her a glorious yellow and white ballgown (I've always liked this one better than the pink and white one shown in the movie). I was thrilled to find this exact copy in a South African bookshop to read to my children, and the illustrations still delight me. Two of my daughters hand stitched clothes for their stuffed animals after I introduced them to this book![gallery link="file" columns="2" size="medium" ids="12496,12497"]Another sweet story that features a girl sewing is Don Freeman's Corduroy. The little stuffed bear with his missing button becomes the beloved companion of Lisa, who mends his overalls after spending her savings to purchase Corduroy from a big department store. Be sure to follow them both into the next story, when the little bear realizes he doesn't have a pocket and gets lost in the laundromat. Lisa to the rescue again, with her trusty needle and thread!While we're on the subject of toys and dolls, I have to mention the darling Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field. Based on an actual 1830s-40s doll the author found in an antiques shop, the illustrated book follows Hitty on her imagined adventures in the real world. I love the beautiful, detailed illustrations of her clothes and accessories. When I fell in love with historical fashion, I started out by sewing authentic outfits for my mother's 1950s Madame Alexander Wendy-kins doll and making soft-sculpture dolls with historical gowns, so Hitty was a definite inspiration for me![gallery link="file" columns="2" size="medium" ids="12519,12520"]

And now...a sewing frog!

Next on my list of must-have sewing inspiration books is Frog and Toad Are Friends, which my mother read to me as a child, and which I have read to all of my children over and over again (along with its sequels). The story of Toad losing a button off his jacket and searching high and low for it (while Frog and various animals find all the wrong ones) is my favorite of all the tales of the two friends. When my boys protested me teaching them to sew on buttons and hem their own pants, I reminded them that Toad could sew, and so must they![gallery columns="2" link="file" size="medium" ids="12516,12499"]

No animals sew in this book, but an ox is kissed on the nose!

Babara Cooney illustrated many of our most beloved books, and Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall is definitely one of them. Set in the late 1820s-1830s, this story centers around a New England family on its rural farm and all the beautiful things they produce throughout the year, which the father takes to Portsmouth Market to sell. We've had many wonderful discussions about how economies functioned prior to the Industrial Revolution and how people learned a diverse set of skills to produce what they needed, plus extra to sell. Ox-Cart Man is a showcase of creativity, from spinning flax into linen to embroidering to weaving shawls and much more. I love the whimsical drawings (and the accurate clothing for the time period!).

Ah, back to sewing animals again!

Mother Bear drapes a skirt on her dress form

When I was pregnant with my firstborn, a friend introduced me to the wonderful Little Bear series by Elsie Holmelund Minarik with its warm, Victorian-esque illustrations by Maurice Sendak. I've worn out two copies of these fabulous stories, and my favorite character is the wry, capable Mother Bear, who has a treadle sewing machine and a dressform and makes her own clothes and some for Little Bear as well in one winsome story. High fives to Maurice Sendak for his spot-on grasp of mid-to-late Victorian fashions for men and women, translated onto the bear family with perfection. Be sure to look out for Little Bear's imaginary princess in her reform-influenced gown!

A sewing mother...at last!

A book I stumbled upon about a year ago that features sewing has become a firm favorite in our house. Brave Irene is about the daughter of a seamstress who must deliver a ballgown to a duchess when her mother falls ill. Not only do we get the delightful illustrations of Irene's mother making the gown, but we follow Irene on her difficult journey through a mischievous snow storm that whisks the ballgown away. I won't spoil the story, but this one's a definite keeper!Now, I'm not much of a knitter, but I have loved Jack Kent's Socks for Supper ever since my mother read it to me (and it always made me crave milk and cheese!). In this heart-warming story, a poor couple have nothing to eat but the turnips they grow in their tiny garden. They try to think of something they can trade for milk and cheese from a local farm, and the answer is a pair of socks...but they have only one spare sock. The wife starts knitting (from a borrowed source of yarn...I won't spoil it for you!), and the couple enjoys the milk and cheese they receive in exchange for the pair of socks. Then the wife knits another pair...but what will happen when the yarn runs out? This cute book has been out of print for a long time, but you can occasionally find a good used copy on Amazon or Abe Books. Well worth the search!

A whole family of stitching women!

Almost every historical costumer I know cites Laura Ingalls Wilder as an inspiration or influence when it comes to sewing. I'm definitely in that club, having grown up on the books and having read them to my own children many times. You've got the stories of Laura and Mary's nine-patch quilts; Laura's Ma-made rag doll, Charlotte; detailed descriptions of corsets and hoop skirts; Laura's thankless task of basting shirts together when she worked in town for the local seamstress; and Ma's "fearless" cutting into Laura's beautiful fabric for her wedding gown. Garth Williams' wonderful illustrations depict many of these sewing moments, but Laura's own words are what bring them vividly to life. I always itch to make something beautiful after reading these books.

Puffed sleeves! Give me all the puffed sleeves!

Naturally, no sewing book list would be complete without Anne of Green Gables! I first read the series when I was 11 or 12. At that time, I had a rather muddled picture in my head of the "puffed sleeves" Anne coveted so badly. It wasn't until the 1985 miniseries came out that I had an "ah-ha" moment and fell headlong in love with historical fashion. The attention to detail left me in ecstasies (and still does, all these years later!). I re-read the books with a whole new set of pictures in my head, and I have to confess I can never see anyone other than Megan Follows as Anne or Jonathan Crombie as Gill. My girls also adore "Anne-with-an-e," and we've enjoyed reading and watching this wonderful story over and over.

Time to put all this inspiration to good use!

Now, if you've read a lot of creativity-inducing books and have a child or two ready to dive into real sewing, where do you go from here? Read on! I've got a couple of wonderful resources that have served us well for years.If you're looking for a sewing book that will inspire and teach hands-on creativity to even very young stitchers, the Mary Frances Sewing Book is a wonderful resource. Each chapter in the book teaches a basic sewing skill by providing the young sewist with patterns for doll clothes and ample illustrations to help guide fingers new to sewing. This is a fantastic activity book to work through. My oldest two girls went through the book a few years ago with a group of friends, making lovely wardrobes for their 18" American Girl dolls. It's a great idea to teach hand sewing prior to machine sewing, as it provides a good base of focus, concentration, and attention to detail. Once that is established, your sewing enthusiast is ready to move on to more advanced projects on the machine, and I have a wonderful vintage eBook just for that!The Sewing Book is a 1913 manual put together by Butterick. While it includes basic hand stitches, it doesn't use doll-sized garments for instruction. Instead, patterns and instructions are provided for a girl's own clothing, from petticoats to dresses to aprons. If you've got a budding historical fashionista, this book is a marvelous place to start her off. Projects are more involved than the ones in the Mary Frances book, so this is definitely a follow-on for a more experienced beginner. There is a real sense of accomplishment the first time you make yourself something to wear. I've never forgotten the first complete dress I made myself (from a sheet!). Yes, I put the sleeves in backwards and the skirt on upside-down, but Mom handed me the seam ripper with a smile and taught me that mistakes are only new beginnings and often lead to something even better. She was right, and I am very thankful for all the years of creativity that began with books and illustrations and continued on to needle and thread. Thanks, Mom!I hope you've enjoyed this tour through some of my favorite books. I would love to hear about your favorites. We are always looking for new ones to add to our collection. Be sure to leave your suggestions in the comments below!

Give Kids the Sewing "Bug" with Books!