Comments on: “Embrace Your Inner Dressmaker”

By: sewingplums

sewingplums — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:20:12 +0000

Wow – thanks Sewmodest – how amazing, I’ve never received an award before ! It will take some thought – hope to write about it next weekend. Best Wishes for your sewing.

By: sewingplums

sewingplums — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:19:26 +0000

Well Lynn, if you enjoy making the silk jackets, why not go on making them. Have a special closet full of clothes to admire rather than wear. It took me a long time to realise that retirement doesn’t have to be about doing something useful all the time

By: sewingplums

sewingplums — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:18:23 +0000

Thanks for your interesting comments Sara. Your idea that we go through phases is a good one. I made a lot of clothes from aged about 5 – 35, including many Vogue Designer special occasion dresses, and the first level of professional dressmaker training. Then ‘life intervened’ for about 25 years, and machines, techniques, fabrics, tools have changed – so I think of myself as an ‘expert beginner’. Going from a hand-operated straight stitch machine to a computerised machine with 100 decorative stitches was rather a shock Now I’m rebuilding confidence in techniques and pattern making, and learning about fit and styling for a different life, body shape, colouring. It helps to enjoy learning, as sewing has near infinite learning possibilities !

By: Sewmodest

Sewmodest — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 14:50:44 +0000

Your blog is one of my favorite to read, so I have nominated you for a blog award, if you like you can get it at http://farhanasews.blogspot.com/2012/12/i-got-award.html
thank you for the inspiraton

By: Lynn Mally

Lynn Mally — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 13:53:22 +0000

Since I retired a year and a half ago, my sewing style has changed. I love to make silk jackets and since I was a college professor I always had a place to wear them. Now a few times I have laid out a pattern with beautiful fabric and asked myself just when it would ever see the light of day. So now I am concentrating more on things I can wear day to day.

By: sara

sara — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 12:11:53 +0000

Great post! It’s true that for us who sew, it’s not just about putting together a wardrobe that suits us, it’s also about sewing what we like.
I went through several phases since I bought my sewing machine 5 years ago.
First a learning phase. I was very enthusiastic about trying new techniques and challenging myself with complex projects. I sewed a lot, not worrying much about how the garments I was sewing fit in with my lifestyle, or if they went with other items in my wardrobe. During that phase, I made a lot of wadders, but that’s ok, as I was learning.
Then I reached a point where I felt much more confident in my sewing and decided I should sew all my clothes, except for underwear. Again, I was being very enthusiastic, but not very realistic. I ended up with many holes in my closet.
So, for the past couple of years, I’ve been planning seasonal capsules, which include purchased items, and this is working out quite well. I don’t always make everything I had planned, but that’s ok. It will always be a work in progress. And I don’t always follow the plan exactly. When I find fabric I must have, I don’t always have a garment in mind when I purchase it. So I’ll look at patterns for a while until I find the right one. So this garment might not actually be in my original plan, but I usually find a way to work it in.
I used to buy fabrics I liked without thinking too much about how they would work with the rest of my wardrobe, but now my purchases are much more reasonable. Even if I don’t know exactly what a piece of fabric will become, I have gotten much better at purchasing fabrics that fit within a color scheme, and that aren’t all dress-weight. I get less excited about bottom-weights, but I do need them!
As far as patterns are concerned, I’ve been sewing more simple shapes, perfecting TNTs that I know suit my body and my lifestyle.
Of course, now I suddenly really want to sew a pretty, sophisticated dress. I guess after sewing many basics, I need to add some spice to my wardrobe. As I said, a work in progress…