sewing this weekend

[Raven Foxx]

I'm loving the fact that it's going to be chilly this weekend. Something about sewing when it's overcast gives me a sense of home.

I remember being a little girl and my mom deciding it was time to sew. Going to the fabric store to pick out a pattern, feeling the fabric and looking to see which buttons are going to finish the job were always a magical time for me. Each fabric told a different story. Then we'd get home and she'd lay the fabric out on the kitchen floor, mark her lines, carefully cut out the patterns and I will never forget the time honored tradition of shooing the cats off of her fabric. She always had such a feeling of satisfaction and contentment when she was sewing. She would show me how the pattern fit together and created something beautiful. Sometimes, it was something I could wear. Like the time when I was 4 that she stitched me up a bikini. Whatever it was, it was always amazing.

This time it's just me. I'm home this weekend and I'm sewing this really hip rockabilly style dress. If I can swing it, I'm going to try to make a petticoat too! With supervision, my daughter is making her first pair of jammie pants. She watched me make a pair for her, and she has cut the pattern for the new pair.
I think this is a wonderful tradition and skill that is passed down from generation to generation. It's almost a lost art. I'm thankful to meet so many of you on here that still sew, like my friend Karin Scissorhands who has made at least two of her costumes for her different photoshoots.

Yes, my little girl will know how to sew, cook, clean, crochette, build an engine, race, accessorize like crazy and even play the guitar. The lucky guy that wins her heart is going to have to be something really special.

Anyways, if you sew i highly encourage you to find a young person to pass this skill on to. It is a gift that they will treasure always.

[PunkGirl_Inc]

Great story Raven.. It reminds me of my times with my mom sewing.. she mostly made clothes when I was little, and moved on to quilts.. I inherited her vintage patterns, which I still use today!! And anytime i have a question about fabric or zippers or button holes.. she helps me... And i cant wait until i have a daughter to teach!

[Poppy Fields]

Thank you for sharing this. There is something very special about the sewing experience, especially when it has such wonderful memories attached to it. My grandmother used to make me "spinny" dresses - tiered, so they'd open when I spun around - out of the most beautiful fabrics. Bright, bold, embroidered, ruffles in all the right places and always trimmed with some special ribbon or braid. I got to design with the scraps. I still have bags of them! Vintage velvets and brocades. Sigh.

I have a pink plaid (PINK PLAID!!!) dress in 1 year limbo. I matched all the seam lines aaaand then I lost 25 pounds. Adjust all that?!?! The pattern also lied about how long the dress is, so it's 3 inches too short. I could add a pleated edge... but it's plaid. So I just glare at it occasionally, all crumpled up in the corner of my sewing table.

[Wink Holliday]

I'm sewing pajama pants today, too! With on-seam pockets! Gotta have pockets.

My mom sewed a lot of my clothes when I was a kid, and I remember hearing the motor of her Singer chugging away. She never sat me down and taught me how to sew, but she's always on hand to lend me some advice when I hit a bump. I'm not a knowledgeable seamstress, but I've made a few skirts and at least parts, if not all, of my Halloween costumes for as long as I can remember. Oh, and I have one dress that's been in limbo since AUGUST just because I dread sewing the seemingly 200 yards of bias tape to the edges. And because secretly: I love the print of the fabric, but I'm not thrilled with how it's draping.