There was this corner drug store-emporium Sprouse-Reitz in the neighborhood that carried you-name-it: everything from Tiger Beat and Teen magazines, Brut and Tigress colognes, Maybelline, toiletries, jewelry, QT, the pharmacy department, Christmas decorations, stationery and underwear, tire pumps, eyeglass repair kits and fake flowers... even had a dining counter in the back! But my very favorite section was the sewing and fabric department...
Bolts and bolts of fabric. All kinds of sewing notions and trim. Those deep drawers of patterns. That long slanted table with the wooden rim that held those huge pattern books from McCalls, Vogue, Simplicity and Butterick. (I always bought those books when they went on sale. Lugging those home was a challenge!) Among all that was a rack of sewing books. I ended up buying each new edition of this Simplicity Sewing as they came out, gotta get the newest update.
During the 70s, everybody sewed. Every household had a sewing machine and daughters were taught to use it and to hand sew, mend rips, darn socks, hem, basic stuff. These sewing books took it a step beyond, like taking Home Ec class at home minus the pressure.
And fun! Lots of projects from potholders to tote bags and stuffed animals; sewing machine basics; how to measure properly; choosing, using and altering patterns; making curtains and decor for your room or the house, on and on, all with step-by-step illustrations and lots of photos; easy to understand for beginners to moderately talented seamstresses.
I highly recommend Simplicity Sewing as an inspiring intro to sewing. It's not for accomplished seamstresses; there's no info on tailoring, drafting your own patterns or working with difficult fabrics but it does help to demystify the sewing process and entertain while giving a sense of You Can Do This, Too!
Not a bad intro to sewing book for garment sewing, leading the reader through sewing basic garments beginning with a simple skirt. Instructions and illustrations are good, photos of projects are very, very, very 1970's!