"The Fashion Designer's Handbook" by Marjorie Galen. Workman Publishing, 2012.

Young girls love fashion. They love Project Runway. They love expressing themselves through what they wear. And they want to be fashion designers. It’s the No. 1 dream job for girls ages 8 to 12, according to The New York Times. Here in one kit is everything a girl needs to know to start designing and sewing clothes—a lively, full-color book that comes with a doll-size dress form, 24 reusable patterns, rick rack, embroidery thread, a tape measure, and a piece of fabric printed in three vibrant patterns.

The Fashion Designer’s Handbook and Fashion Kit features 33 projects that range from super easy dresses for 11 1⁄2-inch fashion dolls (including Barbie) all the way to “girl-size” projects for the designer to make and wear herself. It shows how to think and work like a designer—from finding inspiration to sketching to developing a personal style. Getting to know fabrics, fibers, and materials; working with patterns; and creating original designs using the dress form.