Reddit mentions of Taunton Press Book, Assorted

It's this one: https://www.amazon.com/Couture-Sewing-Techniques-Revised-Updated/dp/1600853358

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Couture Sewing by Claire Shaeffer. She also has more specialized books on the parts of Chanel-style suit, such as The Couture Cardigan Jacket and The Couture Skirt. Here's her Amazon page.

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Thomas Von Nordheim's Vintage Couture Tailoring is excellent. He did the structured costumes for The Phantom Thread.

I've only looked through it, but Zoya Nudelman's The Art of Couture Sewing had beautiful photos.

Roberta Carr's Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing has hideous examples but good information.

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For pattern making, Helen Joseph Armstrong's book is very popular. Books by Ernestine Kopp and Natalie Bray are others.

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No problem, let me know if you have any other questions. Pyrogirl mentioned this book, which I bought for a class. It's quite excellent and has good descriptions of techniques if you're interesting in high-end sewing.

In addition, the same author has a book about working with various types of fabric. You can find the page on lace here.

You may have some difficulty marking the lace as normal home-sewing techniques (wax paper, pencil, chalk, etc) dont like to show up on sheers. If you're up to it, thread-trace everything. This will yield the best results but can be time consuming as hell, especially if you're not used to hand basting. Otherwise, mark with pins or safety pins.

If you're working off of a commercial pattern, you can simply aline edges instead of marking stitch lines, but make sure to take a good look at the seam allowance before hand. Most commercial patterns have 5/8" allowance, more than enough to finish with a 1/4" french seam, but it's always good to check.

Bridal Couture by Susan Khalje has a great section about working with lace, as does Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Schaeffer.

I have been sewing for what seems like forever. I mostly sew clothing, corsets and costumes and have done a lot of embellishments. Not sure what types of projects you’re interested in but the book Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer is a must have for anyone wanting to learn hand sewing techniques as it applies to sewing clothing. Its beautifully illustrated, has clear photos and easy to read instructions to learn and apply any and all of the sewing techniques you would want or need to create a couture garment. The book shows everything from the most basic stitches to advanced techniques.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Couture-Sewing-Techniques-Revised-Updated/dp/1600853358/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/259-1357415-7367116?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1600853358&pd_rd_r=4d9997ec-7940-11e9-a9b2-57670b156927&pd_rd_w=NWeji&pd_rd_wg=fgcr5&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&pf_rd_r=397B75RS3KFC698DJWNG&psc=1&refRID=397B75RS3KFC698DJWNG

I personally don't think you are too old.

I used to sew for fun when I was 16, stopped after leaving school and began again at the age of 23/24. I have been steadily re-learning all of the techniques I was taught at school, and have been attending college courses on sewing and dressmaking too. I am now at the stage where I am working on my own project portfolio, but will happily admit that I am still learning lots of new things.

I will agree with /u/heliotropedit though. you do have to be completely 100% dedicated to learning everything you can.

You will end up spending hours and hours practicing the same techniques over and over again. You will want to quit at times and need to motivate yourself to carry on and push through to the end. You'll want to cry on occasions at how tired you are and how you feel that your work simply isn't good enough and how it never will be. You will see other people wearing beautifully crafted garments and feel angry at your own lack of skills. but when you finally break through and create a perfectly drafted and constructed garment, you will realise all of that time, pain, upset and sheer panic will have been 100% worth it.

But before you ever reach this point, you need to be completely certain that it is what you want to do, the tailoring profession is very difficult to break into and it takes true dedication and sacrifice and time (years) to make it.

NB a few good books to help:- (the first three books are good for beginners, the last 4 books are aimed at the more intermediate level sewers)

Easy Does It Dressmaking

The Sewing Book

The Dressmakers Handbook

Couture Sewing Techniques as recommended to me by /u/heliotropedit.

Couture Sewing: Tailoring Techniques

Classic Tailoring Techniques: Menswear

Classic Tailoring Techniques: Womenswear

I don't have a workspace, I just use the floor, but I can give you some book ideas. I've recently been really into learning about Haute Couture and Claire Shaeffer's books have been very helpful. I find her books super informative and easy to read, and I can easily see myself applying many of her techniques to every day sewing. The books I've enjoyed so far are Couture Sewing Techniques and Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide. I really want a hard copy of the latter as it's a fantastic reference, I have the kindle edition right now. She also has another fabric guide book that is much less detailed that is handy too. Another good book is Vogue Sewing which was one of my first sewing books and is a very useful reference for anyone, especially if you're following a pattern with unfamiliar techniques.

Also, don't be intimidated by the word couture. I know people generally associate it with super fancy difficult sewing, but Claire Shaeffer breaks down the techniques really nicely and I feel like I have a better understanding of how sewing works on a general level now. It's not scary and I'll definitely be using many of the techniques on my next project!

On a related note, I have a really excellent book on couture fashion that I'd recommend you know more about this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1600853358/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_2cwaCbDSE1186

I am SO with you. It drives me crazy when I can't get things to match up the way I want them to. Very precise cutting helps (I am so bad at scissors!), as does using tailor tacks instead of chalk/pen markings. The best way to get perfect matching seams is (after you have precisely cut and marked) to hand baste instead of pinning, and to always baste and ease your curves. Since all of that is time consuming I tend not to do any of it and then curse myself later.

Book recommendation!

For books I highly suggest the following books:
http://www.amazon.com/Couture-Sewing-Techniques-Revised-Updated/dp/1600853358/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372453039&sr=8-1&keywords=couture+sewing
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Photo-Guide-Perfect-Fitting/dp/1589236084/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

The first one is great if you ever have an interest in doing high end stuff properly, and the second one is just super useful. Great guide to altering existing patterns and making your own!