Beginning Inspiration

Hello

I am sitting here drinking my morning coffee after I finished mopping the kitchen floor and I looked at my sewing area.  Needless to say,,,my area is  the dining area in my kitchen.  I have very limited space, but I have learned how to make it work for me.  If making and designing your own clothes is priority for you, don't let space or lack of new found gadgets get in your way.  Sometimes being resourceful brings out the creative side in you and makes you work even harder to make fantastic items.  

While out shopping for fabric this week, a lady asked me if I could purchase what I was making just as easily as making it.  This is a question that I am asked a lot by people who don't sew and I don't mind it.  Because my response always gets a very wide eyed fascinated look.  So, by the time I finished my last word  this lady was excited and ready to go.  Her next words were "Can you help me get started?"  I agreed to help her and then there were several other women who got interested in our  conversation.  So, I had a team of women that wanted to know more about sewing.  I had to be honest and give my best opinion because some of the women who said they had always wanted to sew, but,,,, Yes, BUT...I just told them that a sewing machine is something that is handy to have around.  But,,,BUT, if you do not plan on making good use of the machine, don't invest in a $200 or above machine.  That is a total waste of money and then you end up resenting your purchase, which then ends up on Craig's list :-(.  Purchase a machine that is a little lower in price.  Walmart carries a baseline Singer and Brother for $100, give or take a few dollars, that way you can get a feeling for what sewing is and is about.  Start off with small simple patterns that are quick and easy to make, i.e. simple curtains, place mats, napkins.  Even though we are adults, our attention span and patience are not good when it comes down to learning a new hobby or craft.  The object is to create something you like that has a personal flare, not to overwhelm yourself with more advanced patterns that can frustrate you into quitting.  Once you find that you actually like sewing the move into a more advanced area of sewing.  Simplicity makes great patterns for beginning sewers.  I suggest, 

4206 Child/Girl Separates

2753 Home Decorating

1695 Learn to Sew Misses' Pull-on Skirts

2147 Learn to Sew Misses' Dresses

2061 Learn to Sew Misses' Knit and Woven Pants

2226 Learn to Sew Misses' Skirt

2314 Misses' Skirts

2346 Men's Vests


I also suggest that you take a look at the Easy Stitch-N-Save line of patterns from McCalls.

M6725  Misses' Skirts

M6724 Misses' Dresses

M6676  Girls' Top, Dress And Shorts 

M6680 Misses 'Skirts 

M6682  Bag 

M6586 Misses' Ponchos


There are hundreds of thousands of patterns out there, but for beginners it is safe to start off slow, small, and a lot of patience.  I can not express patience enough.  I am not the most advanced person in the world and every day is a learning process for me.  Sewing has a lot to do with what's inside you that you want to express outwardly to the world with color, style, and taste.

By now you may still want to ask what it was that I said to my stranger lady friend that kind of changed her mind.  Well, first I told her that if the world ended and I was one of the last people standing and there was a piece of fabric around,,, I would be in a corner market.  Because everyone would still have their mental faculties just less of the physical material things that we are all used to.  Then I told her that even though you see these items in the store,,,they are all generic.  Everyone has one in the basic colors that are being sold in the stores, but mine will belong solely to me and unless there is another seamstress who just happens to like the same item and the same material, I will still be the only one with this particular blouse in this particular color.  I also told her that it takes/ costs less to make some types of clothing than it does others.  The texture of the fabric and type of fabric makes a big difference in the cost, but at least you have your own options as to how much you want to spend.  

Well, good luck to all of you who love sewing seams just as much as I do.  Prepare to have a great weekend!!!!!

Dellia


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