Sewing to Save Money

This is the last post in my series Sewing 101. It one of several posts planned through out my learn to sew series regarding saving money by sewing.

Many old sewing books begin by making some sort of statement to the effect of, "It is good economy to be proficient at sewing."  Let me state right up front, if you think you are going to learn to sew in order to save money on making your entire wardrobe, you are dead wrong. The time, materials and equipment needed to learn to make all of your clothes from panties to overcoats far out weighs the cost of smart shopping in the first place. The proliferation of cheap ready to wear fashion has changed the balance of the equation for "Will I save money if I learn to sew?" The answer is sometimes.

Learning to sew requires investment in time and equipment and an ability to self-evaluate one's own limitations. It can be a fun and rewarding hobby and sometimes, it can save you money.

Here's what I have learned about saving money and sewing.

Sometimes there is a time and a place in your wardrobe for cheap clothing. For example, a sports team tee shirt, or gardening clothes are examples where a sale at a discount store or a rummage through a thrift shop will be far cheaper than sewing your own. A fashion fad or holiday wear to an exotic climate are other examples. I will not be sewing my ski anorak or my swim suit; they was purchased inexpensively at a discount sports store and are worn only during a two week holiday once a year.

Sometimes high quality retail goes on sale and is well worth the cost. Blazers, overcoats, and tailored slacks, all fall into this category. It is well worth learning enough about clothing and clothing construction to be able to recognized good quality at retail and consignment shops. Thankfully, the modern Internet provides a lot of information about how good quality clothing is constructed and how is should be finished. This allows a savvy buyer to make informed decisions about their wardrobe without actually sewing any of it.

Sometimes sewing make perfect sense. You can save a lot of money by learning simple repairs. Learn to sew on a button neatly. Hand stitch a small rip in a seam.  Secure a fallen hem. All of these will save you money and extend the life of your garments. These sorts of repairs only require the kind of equipment that will fit in a small box and they will pay for themselves easily. However, repairs do take patience, time and practice and yes...the button sewn on to your coat with dental floss in the airport lounge will look exactly that ...sewn on by a left-handed drunken monkey, but you will not have lost the button. Take care of it properly as soon as you can.

Learning some simple tailoring will save you money. Learn to hem pants and skirts. Shortening and lengthen blazer sleeves is well worth the time, if you have purchased a garment that can be altered in the first place. Moving buttons, shortening and lengthen skirts and adding adjustable elastic to waistlines will help with extending the life of children's clothing.

Sometimes there is no other choice but to sew if you have a figure that is hard to fit. For me, blouses and fitted dresses fall into this category. I prefer the fit of blouses that do not gap at the bust nor drape over the shoulder line, to get this I sew.

Sometimes sewing is well worth the investment. Home decor is still by far the easiest place to make a high impact on your budget. Curtains, duvet covers, pillow shams, table linens are all easy projects that at most require patience, accurate measuring, and straight line sewing. This is a great place to get started to see if you like the creative sewing process and build your bank of sewing skills before moving on to clothing. Even in this area you should be honest about your skill level. Cotton valances in a child's room, a bed skirt, or a holiday table runner are great beginner projects. Velvet lined two story drapes for the drawing room and a plaid slip cover for the lounger in the den are not the place to start.

Sometimes you need to sew to exactly what you want. Style and fashion is dictated by store buyers. What happens if this season's colors and styles are not yours. Do you prefer eggplant when the world is wearing lilac? Are hem lines just too short? I know my middle aged knees need a bit a fabric to my skirts, but heaven help me if the hemlines are thigh high at the retail store. This is when I sew.

Remember that sewing will bring you high quality garments that can far out last cheap ready to wear. If you find good quality cotton sheets at a consignment shop, nightwear made from these will last for years and still look good after many wearings. A fully lined wool tweed pencil skirt should not be compared in price to a polyester-blend Worthington woman's suit from JCPenneys. It just isn't in the same category. It should be instead compared to an item in a high-end designer boutique or from a custom atelier. It is only then, when comparing apples to apples that savings are made by sewing.

Finally, do not walk away from reading my first series on learning to sew thinking that I have purposely set about discouraging you. On the contrary, I think everyone should learn the basics of sewing. I think everyone should read information about how clothes are constructed and what makes good quality fabric from bad. I think everyone should be proficient with small hand sewing repairs and simple machine alterations. I also think many people should learn to make or at least alter simple curtains and other home furnishings. But do I categorically, believe that you will save money by sewing your own clothes over shopping smartly? No! It is a balance in which your own love of sewing with its emphasis on creativity must be greater than the money saved on each and every project. Sewing is my hobby, I spend time and money on my hobby, just as someone who paints watercolors or scuba dives, and sometimes I save a bit of money on my wardrobe.

Reflections on Wardrobe, Idea Notebook, and Lifestyle

This post is the seventh in my series Sewing 101. We are nearly to the end of my first sewing series.

If you have been following along,  you have had some time to edit and review your wardrobe, collect images for an inspiration notebook and think about your lifestyle parameters.  You should never consider that these three projects are of the type that once completed they are forever finished. We are not the same people we were 10 years ago and we are not going to be the same people we are now. These areas, wardrobe, inspiration and lifestyle, should be re-evaluated on a regular basis. You may decide that you need to do this every season, but you should at least think carefully once a year about your clothes.

Now you need to take what you've learned about yourself and your clothes, and make some shopping goal and sewing goal lists. Why both? Because if you are learning to sew, you should not be making jeans, you should be buying them and if you already own five straight black skirts, you should consider a print blouse instead.

Let's consider this example.

After cleaning out your wardrobe of all the clothes that don't fit,  you find you're lacking in real basics. You need a raincoat, blue jeans, a skirt for work, a blouse, several tee shirts and PJ's. Here the priorities should be buying the coat and jeans and all your work clothes. Some of the tees and PJ's could make perfect beginners sewing projects.

Look at your idea notebook and lifestyle parameters to narrow down what types of clothing you will need to buy or sew.

A city raincoat that works with your business suit is very different that the barn coat you wear on a farm or the waterproofs you need to wear while running. Jeans for night-clubbing are very different than jeans used for carpentry work. Write up your shopping list with these parameters in mind. See how this focuses your clothes shopping and reduces impulse buying.

Here's my cardinal rule for clothes shopping and fabric buying. DO IT ALONE! Only you and you alone can take the time to make good decisions. Leave everyone at home, don't combine shopping for clothes with other errands and please don't shop with your friends. Make a date with yourself and keep it.

BUT.....What happens when you are out with friends and everyone gets sucked into shopping? We've all done it and it can be a lot of fun, but how do you avoid buyers regret and still not be a "party pooper" by not buying a thing. Make a list now for your purse or wallet. There are things that can be purchased "with friends" that won't be wasteful of your time and dollar. I find hosiery, accessories, and tee shirts or simple blouses the easiest to put on this list. I list sizes and colors on my 3x5 card and stick to it. For example, nude pantyhose are a yes, black smiley face toe socks are a no. A solid color tee within my color family is yes; a novelty print tee with a tie-dye background is a no, even if it's in the 2 for a $10 bin.

You should use these same criteria to develop your shopping lists for your first sewing projects. I find the fabric store much more difficult to negotiate that the shopping mall. It takes very little for me to fall off the crazy cliff and acquire very inappropriate yard goods just because they are beautiful when in all honesty I do not need a gold lame or cashmere wool.

So the moral of this post is plan now, write your lists and do far less crying later.

The Cost of Your Clothes

Now that you have cleaned out your wardrobe, it's time again to look at your wardrobe with respect to cost. The total cost of your clothing can be quite surprising for many people. It really doesn't matter what income bracket you are in, most people who haven't thought carefully and constructively about their clothes are in for a surprise when it comes to cost.

For this exercise, you will need a piece of scrap paper along with a pen or pencil. Go into your closet and look at each item. Estimate in round figures what you spent for each item. For example, think $50 for these jeans, $10 for this tee shirt, those are $100 shoes, go slowly and carefully adding up items. For each $100 dollar, make a tick mark on your paper. Don't forget the underwear, the swimsuits, the off-season clothes, the coats in the front hall closet, make a guess at what each item costs. When you have finished, add up the tick marks. Surprising, yes? It doesn't matter if you have a $3000, $30,000 or $300,000 wardrobe, if you are unaware of the cost of your clothing in relationship to your economic means the total can be a rough shock.

Many people make arbitrary rules about their clothing. I will only buy designer clothes. I will wear nothing that I haven't made. I only buy from thrift stores. I never buy anything at full price. I always shop at Neiman-Marcus. I feel these rules are rigid excuses not to take conscious control over our clothing choices.  We are letting some one else decide what we a going to wear. The designer has his vision, the major department store's buyer has narrowed your choices. The thrift store find has been filtered through someone's closet and then through the store's manager. Even by choosing to wear only clothes that you have made, limits you to the patterns and fabric available in your area. Think about any "rules" you have about your clothing. Are they limiting you?

Finally, before you close your closet door, let's consider how you can get the most from your clothing dollar. It will not matter if you learn to sew or not. These thought exercises will serve anyone who must shop for clothing.

Cost vs. Wearing
Consider your cost per item versus the number of times that you wear the item. Your $75 dollar jeans are a bargain if you wear them twice a week. That's 72 cents a wearing if you only keep them one year. Jeans should last 2-5 years and that makes it 36 to 14 cents per wearing. The $75 holiday dress that you only wear once to the office Christmas party, doesn't seam like such a bargain any longer, even if it was marked down from $125.

Now, obviously, there are no hard and fast rules for this. Each person much balance their cost and lifestyle circumstances for themselves. Look over your closet, are there items you definitely should have spent less on? Note them down in a small book that you can slip into your purse. Conversely, are there items you spend more on? Note these also. Assign a range for the cost you are willing to pay. For example, I will pay $25-$75 for brand new jeans. But if they are at a consignment shop, my top price is $10-$12.

Cost vs. Quality
Consider your cost per item versus quality. Your basic white tee from a discount retailer will have a certain quality to the finish. I'll bet it isn't cut on the grain and after several washings the side seams have twisted and the length has shrunk. On the other hand, a good quality tee shirt will wash and wear hundreds of times and not look like you've slept in it. Does it still make sense to buy the $5 bargain or the more up market shirt?
Can you recognize the marks of quality for an item? Make some notes in your small book about what makes sense for you.

Cost vs. Longevity or Fad
Consider your cost per item versus it's fashion longevity. Ask yourself should I spend more on a classic navy blazer or a leopard print knit dress? A leather jacket or leather pants? Make a list of must have classic pieces for your wardrobe and lifestyle. This should be where you spend your most amount of thought when selecting these pieces. The classic pieces in my wardrobe are the little black dress, a tan trench coat, a white shirt, and fitted tee, a pencil skirt in tweed, jeans, a cotton shirt dress and a blazer. These items are always in my closet and these are the core items that I will spend a little more money on than other things.


Now that you've considered each of these three areas, you may wish to balance all three in terms of your closet. How? Let's consider the basic tan trench coat. It definitely has fashion longevity therefore you might wish to spend more on a higher quality item, but let's then consider the number of times you will wear it.

So you live in the desert....  Living in a dry arid climate would make my choice for this item to be only moderately priced or even, if I'm lucky, a consignment shop find. I would consider it only to be worn a half dozen times a year and it would feel unwise to spend huge amounts of money on a raincoat. I would, on the other hand, choose an inexpensive coat with very classic tailoring because I know it would be with me for many years.

So you live in London....Where else in the world is known for more rain, fog and changeable weather than London? I would also choose a classically tailored trench and  I would choose the very best raincoat I could afford, knowing I would wear it nearly every week of the year. This is a climate where in addition to my core tan trench coat, I would be open to a second coat of lesser quality and perhaps more fashion forward. This could be another color or a different cut. I would replace this coat more often than my classic trench.

Make some shopping notes about what you need in your wardrobe and what you want to spend for it. Note also the qualities that will be important to you for each piece. Do this exercise when you don't have any sort of "shopping bug" working against your decisions. You want to create a game plan for yourself to make the most of your clothing dollar no matter if you learn to sew or not.

Iron Deficiency

An iron used to be a highly useful household tool.

My mother's iron was indestructible and it was the same model as my grandmother's iron. If it needed a new cord, the hardware store had what you needed. If it needed a new heating element, the small appliance repairman in town could order the part. The iron was stainless steel, inside and out. You could descale it with citric acid and you could clean the sole plate with an old pair of nylon pantyhose and some baking soda. It had steam, but not enough for sewing or cotton shirts. We always used a damp pressing cloth or "sprinkled and rolled the clothes" to augment its steam power, but it was heavy. Oh my, was it heavy and pointy too. That old iron required the arms of a linebacker to finish a basket of clothes and I certainly remember being reminded again and again to "get the point of the iron around the buttons". In fact, my mother's and grandmother's collection of pressing equipment was rather short, a well padded ironing board, a tailor's ham, a water spritzer, a press cloth and a Turkish towel went along with the iron and that was it. My ironing accessories extend far beyond that in a desperate effort to overcome modern iron deficiency.

I have a love hate relationship with my most important piece of sewing equipment. The list of improvements from silicone treated sole plates to "electronically controlled heating" sends me right over the edge. Today's irons have a long list of design flaws.

The lovey rounded nose point might satisfy the health and safety lads, but you can't iron anything that isn't flat and wide. Forget about delicately shaping a hat ribbon or pressing open a narrow seam. Cuff plackets are simply impossible to iron properly any longer. The first criteria for choosing a sewing iron is a sharp point. If you can find one that  is sharp enough to open a tin can, let me know.

The new irons have sleek, silky, silicone soles. Let me tell you a woman who is sleek, silky and silicone is high maintenance. An iron with the same characteristics is not only high maintenance but is limited in function. What is wrong with polished stainless steel? It is good enough for boat fittings on the high seas and it will be good for all of your household needs. I need an iron that can go from panty pressing to applying wax on skis and back again in one day.  A polished stainless steel sole plate is infinitely cleanable and durable. A sole plate that doubles as a mirror is always helpful in a pinch.

When the stainless steel sole plate disappeared, so did much of the iron's weight. An iron needs to have weight to do its job. Today's irons are miracles of plastic, lightweight for sure, but you can't shape coat wool, set jeans hems, or make grilled sandwiches with any of them. If you can find an iron that will got through drywall when thrown, let me know.

Heat, weight, steam and effort combine to shape cloth. If one is lost, something must make up for it. In general, we've lost weight with modern irons and most of them make up the difference with steam power, but only for a bit. The heating/cooling cycle wreaks havoc with the plastic housing and in a few months what I have in my hand is a gurgling, dripping piece of electronic jetsam attached to the 240V line of my house. Iron at your own risk. In the last 10 years, I've bought four irons. Previous to that, I owned two! I'm considering buying a "dry" iron the next time around just for self-preservation.

Finally, the automatic shut-off....where do I begin. I suppose I could blame this on the health and safety lads again, but it's really about our own habits. If you leave the room, the iron is unplugged, off the ironing board, and stored in the cupboard. The cat/child/husband will never knock it off the board and start a fire. The argument about saving electricity should be one for the consumer. All irons have a manual on/off switch, use it if it's important to you.

I have spent the blog post ranting about what it wrong with modern irons not having given any sort of positive guidance about choosing an iron for yourself. An iron is a personal tool for each sewer. The kind of iron you need will be shaped by what you ultimately love to sew. Someone who tailors wool might value steam and weight. A quilter might value heat and a pointed sole plate.

For your first serious sewing tool, your iron should have a clean, unscorched, and unscratched sole plate. It should have a wide range of heat settings and a reasonable ability to produce some steam. I prefer to use the heaviest iron I can get my hands on and I consider the weekly ironing as part of my household workout. Features such as automatic shut-off and cord length are up to you.

The ironing board is as important as the iron itself. Choose one that is adjustable in height and has a sturdy wide surface. A well padded cotton work top is also well worth the investment. Stay away from the shiny metallic ironing board covers. You will end up with scorched fabrics. Pay top dollar for the board and it will last a lifetime.

To do the daily ironing and begin your sewing tool collection, the following items are essential. A cotton or linen press cloth and a spray bottle will augment your iron's steam output. An inexpensive white tea towel will do just fine as a press cloth. A cotton Turkish hand towel can be folded, rolled and shaped for additional padding when ironing your clothes. If you finally decide to try sewing clothing seriously, the next thing to buy is a tailor's ham, but other more specialized pressing equipment can wait until you hone your own sewing interests.

A Word About Laundry

Hopefully, you have completed your wardrobe clean out and are keeping up your idea sewing journal. Today's sewing lesson is a brief discussion about laundry.

"LAUNDRY?! I thought this series is about learning to sew. I KNOWWWW how to do laundry!"

Fair enough, maybe you do know all about laundry. But, if you answer yes to any of these questions, you need to revisit your laundry skills before investing time and money in making garments for yourself.

• Do you only sort your clothes into three piles; whites, darks, and colors?
• Have you wanted to wear something only to put it on and find it stained or wrinkled?
• Do your white shirts and black pants all fade toward grey far too soon?

If you answer yes, then please consider revisiting your laundry guide that came with your machine.

After you know exactly what machine features you have, you need learn to read the laundry symbols on those garment tags. The website Textile Industry Affairs has a no nonsense complete guide to those symbols as well as answers to virtually every kind of laundry problem.

It is one of my personal reference sites for being comprehensive, although it does have a commercial tie with the Clorox bleach company. I tend to use chlorine bleach as a last resort and I prefer pre-treating and soaking before relying on any chlorine bleach. My front loading machine does not recommend using chlorine bleach because of the door gasket and my rural septic system prefers not to have bleach added to it.

Without too much detail, as everyone's laundry is a bit different and I could not, in any way, cover all the possible situations, these are my general laundry guide lines.

Sort by soil first.

Don't put your white athletic socks in the same pile as the white button down shirts.

Sort by color next.

Seriously, your red flannel pajamas should not be washed with your lime green tee-shirt.

Put similar colors together, reds and purples, greens, browns, and blues.

Sort by fabric and care labels.

You are wasting your clothing dollars if you wash  yoga pants with jeans.

All buttons should be open and all zippers should be closed.

Again, you are wasting your time and money, if closed buttons tear your shirts.

Open zippers catch and wear fabrics, especially jean fly zippers.

Use as warm a wash temperature as you can.

Warm water removes soil better than extra soap and bleach. Always cold water rinse.

Dry on lowest setting for the least time possible.

Dryers are tough on clothes. Line dry as often as you can.

If you don't have time to dry, hang and fold the wash as soon as it is done. Don't start it. It's all wasted effort if it molders in the machine. Better to load and soak the wash while you are busy than to wash and forget it.

...And that is all I have to say about laundry. Next up? Your first big sewing purchase!

The Sewing You Already Own

Today's post is about the sewing you already have. Yes, the closet full of clothes that has spilled out onto the floor.

"But I didn't sew that!"

True, you didn't, but someone did. Someone else designed and manufactured every item in your closet and then you bought it. You were only involved in the last step, acquisition. By learning to sew, you are consciously choosing to take responsibility for the design and manufacturing of at least some part of your wardrobe. This means that you need to learn something about what you already have.

Many people shop for clothing without a real sense of purpose. They wander through the department stores looking at clothes until they spy something they "just have to have." We've all done it. Combine the "Oohhh look! That's pretty." with "OMG, it's 60% off!" and "They have it in MY size!" and we are all doomed. It can be a lovely way to spend an afternoon, but if we do it all the time we end up with a closet stuffed full of clothing and nothing to wear.

So the first step in learning to sew your own clothes is learning about the clothes you already own. Many wardrobe clean out advice columns begin with emptying the whole closet and making piles around the room of "give aways" and "charities" and "trash". I find this doesn't work very well for two reasons. The first being if all the clothes are piled about what you end up with is a wrinkled mess. Secondly, you also end up with multiple piles of clothing to go out the door to new destinations at the same time. They don't make it out the door that day....they languish in the corner until the weekend and the weekend becomes next month and then half or more of what you have discarded is back in the closet.

Below I have a seven step process for find your true wardrobe. Don't do it all at once. It's should be done in multiple sessions with the goal of each session being the removal of the discarded items from the house that day. Your time and decision making process are most valuable. Plan your discard action before starting to weed your closet. Having cast-off's crawl back into your closet through second guessing yourself is being disrespectful to yourself and your time. You can make the right decision up front. Prepare to back your decision with action.

The first step is to look carefully at the list you made from the previous post, the one about your various roles in life. Have this available to you as you begin to evaluate your closet. Have also an index card with you for any new clothing you may desperately need after you are ruthlessly brutal with yourself. Yes, at the end you may get to go shopping.

STEP ONE: LONG TERM STORAGE
Remove from your closet all items of clothing that would be better off in long term storage. These are usually things that are too sentimental to part with but you'll not be wearing them again. Your closet space is too valuable for things like wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, old boyfriend's flannel shirts and your precious signed Grateful Dead tee shirt. Vintage items that are too fragile to wear also fall into this category. Take these items out and store them appropriately elsewhere.

STEP TWO: THE TRASH
Remove the trash from your wardrobe. The stuff that is so torn, stained, and old that you would only wear it when changing the oil in the car, nursing vomiting children and or applying fake tan for the first time in the privacy of your own bathroom. Be ruthless....trash the underwear too!   Put it all into a trash bag and get it to the curb today. What you don't want it is to have this stuff sneak back into the closet. You are better than that and you deserve clothes that are not rejects from a charity shop. Throw it out! There is one caveat here....look at your roles list if you need trash clothing you are allowed to keep some of it. Be very honest with yourself. If you renovate old houses on the weekend, you need two to three complete outfits for painting and plumbing, but not sixteen. If you work in an office, live in an apartment and are able to keep your nails manicured 365 days per year you'll need nothing in this category. Remember keep only what you will wear between being able to wash.

STEP THREE: RECYCLE
Remove from your wardrobe anything that doesn't fit but is still nice enough for someone else to wear. If it is too small, remove it. If is too large, remove it. If you don't like, remove it. If it was a gift that just wasn't right, remove it. If every time you wear the item, it just doesn't seem right, but "oh well, I've got nothing else", remove it. Do this step by yourself. Don't rush this process. Use the mirror and your camera to get a good idea if you really should be wearing an item. If in doubt, throw it out. Now, depending on your local resources, all these items need to be taken to charity or a consignment shop right away. Get them out of the house. There should be no second guessing your hard work a day or two later.

STEP FOUR: WHAT'S LEFT
What's left? It should fit and you should feel good about wearing it. There's one more round of weeding that needs to be done. Fitting your wardrobe to your lifestyle. Take a look at what's left. Have you got 15 little black dresses and you really only need two. Keep only the two you love the most. Do you have 30 pairs of jeans and only need 3 pairs? How many tee shirts can you wear in one week? Eliminate the excess, even if it fits keep only the items you really love and balance the number of items against your specific lifestyle activities. Take these items to the appropriate charity right away also.

STEP FIVE: OFF-SEASON CLOTHING
What's left now? It might be painful is a few spots, but we are not finished yet. I mentally divide my clothing into three groups, the core, summer clothes and winter clothes. My core wardrobe stays in the closet year round. This includes things like blue jeans, white tee shirts, white blouses, ....a navy cardigan sweater. There are real basics that I wear weekly and year round. This is where I spend most of my clothing dollar. My summer and winter clothes are just that, clothes that get stored for half the year, anything from sundresses to ski sweaters. Remove these items from your wardrobe and store your off-season clothing.

STEP SIX: WHAT'S LEFT?
Now you should be left with clothes that fit, you feel good about and what's in season. You may also feel that you do not have enough to wear. More than likely you have just what you need, but there may be a few items that need replenished. Examine your lifestyle list against the clothes that you have remaining in your closet. It's time to make a list for shopping and sewing. You will need to carefully and conservatively make your list. Err on the side of too little. Remember, as you learn to sew, you will add to your wardrobe as easily as shopping for ready made items. At this point, you may need to replace underwear and bras, jeans, basic tee shirts and specific clothes needed for your job. Write up your list on the index card. Do you need the back of the card or multiple cards? Re-examine the shopping list and think about the minimum you need. At this point you should need only one card for your purse. Shop at this time only for these items.

STEP SEVEN: YOUR WARDROBE
You've got it. Just what you need and want in your closet. Take a step back and look. What's there? Can you identify a color palette that you are naturally drawn toward? How about cut and fit? Fabrics? Easy care or dry clean? Write these down in your idea book and compare them to the images you've collected. Reflect on what you have learned and refocus your idea book.

Mirror, Mirror ... on the wall...

Sewing begins and ends with reflection. In a very basic way, you have defined your end by choosing to learn to sew. The next question should be do you want to descend into the home sewing hobby in controlled flight or uncontrolled chaos?

"Uncontrolled chaos sounds fun"....Oh, it can be fun and for some extremely rewarding. You may already be on the path to sewing chaos by being the person who received a sewing machine and not a mirror for Christmas. Congratulations! Have fun! But many experienced sewers will also hear from you in a month or two.

"Help! I've got this project and I can't finish it. Will you help me?" ...and in a crumpled paper bag you will have the remains of your first sewing project. It will be consist of $80, $10 or $400 worth of crushed rayon velvet, Goodwill purchased poly/cotton sheets from the 1970's, or uneven woolen tartan bought by your mother-in-law on her one and only vacation to Scotland. You will need to have the party dress, curtains, or suit finished in two hours, two days or two weeks.  You will have cut the dress front with the velvet nap going up and the back with the nap going down. The curtains are in good shape except for the last panel which is seven inches too short and you are out of sheets. The suit is cut but the plaid is unmatched and you did make it through constructing the skirt but the waist is too tight. Can I alter the skirt to fit?

Believe me, I've seen it all. I'll make you a mug of tea and listen to your tale of woe. I'll let you tell me all about your aspirations and then I'll be harsher that you can ever imagine. I'll tell you in the kindest way possible. "The only place for the contents of that crushed paper bag is the garbage bin."  I cannot help you. I will not help you and our friendship is probably doomed.

Nearly all first time sewers make these mistakes, they fail to match their level of ability to project difficulty and fabric appropriateness. It happens. It happens most frequently to new sewers, but even experienced dressmakers have "wadders." Have two or three disasters in a row and real self doubt sets in. But have something come out as a smashing success, that feeling will be there with you every time you wear the garment.

Are you ready for flight school?  It's assignment time.

Assignment #1:
Have you started your "Idea Journal"? Pull up a chair, a mug of tea and some day dreaming time and take a look at what you've collected. Do you dream of high end fashion? Do you want to push the envelope of conventional clothing definitions?   Do you prefer home decor? Crafty items? Knitwear? Do you dream of silk cocktail dresses or tweed suits? Do you want to recreate vintage items? Do you want clothes that fit better?  What are your interests? Try and identify some trends. Write six to eight sentences about what you dream about doing.

My sentences would be.
     
I want to sew clothes that fit me.
I want to have really nice clothing, that lasts for years.
I like classic lines, and traditional fabrics.
I am drawn to vintage clothing especially items from the 1930's to the mid 1950's.
I want to include vintage ideas into my wardrobe without becoming costume or campy.
I want to save a ton of money on home decor because I have designer tastes and a thrift store budget.
I want to be able to sew some of my clothes but also be able to buy quality RTW at all price points.

Assignment #2:
Take an honest look at your lifestyle. What kind of activities, jobs, or roles to you have in your life? Define each one. You may be a parent or care giver. You may have a job that has specific dress codes. Your hobbies might have clothing requirements. A parent of two year old twins might wish for clothes impermeable to grape jelly and craft paint. An office worker dresses one way and police officer another. A gardener wears one thing and museum docent another.

Make a list of as many of your roles as you can. Try and quantify how large a part of your time you spend in each roles. It is from this list that you will begin to guide your sewing and wardrobe. From each of these activities or clothing needs you can direct you project choices.

Here's the beginning and end of my list. I want you to write your own.
My largest role is housekeeper. I need clothing that is tough and comfortable and classic and washable.

My smallest role is bar hopping party girl. I need only one versatile outfit for this one that is worn once per year or less.

From this list, the vast majority of my clothes consists of sportswear separates and no sequins.

You should use these two lists along with your own geography and climate to help you choose your wardrobe pieces and sewing projects. I should be making easy wear tops to go with jeans, shirt dresses, and active wear and outerwear for all kinds of variable weather. I should not be making party dresses, office wear, Hawaiian shirts or Edwardian reproductions no matter how much I like the patterns and fabric. Even if you decide sewing is not for you, knowing how much of what kind of clothing belongs in your wardrobe is cost saving. (I don't always follow this advice 100% of the time, but 9 times out of 10 it works.)

Soooo....You want to learn how to sew.....

Warning: I am very opinionated about the topic of learning how to sew and I can be quite abrasive with my remarks. If this sort of thing offends you, please understand I want to save you from catching the disease of sewing. It's not a deadly disease, but it can not be cured. Sewing can lead to lifelong consequences, such as investments in expensive machines, cutting and tossing gorgeous fabric, hoarding supplies, needing an extra room in your home and having a ghastly aversion to RTW fashion. But gosh darn it, sewing can be so much fun!


I've decided to write a series of posts about learning to sew, because I got one of the Christmas questions nearly every experienced sewer dreads to hear. 

"I want to learn how to sew my own clothes and my husband/partner/mom/generous patron is going to buy me a sewing machine for Christmas. Can you suggest which machine they should buy?" 

This!...Two weeks before Christmas!

My universal answer is... "Put the credit card down and slowly back away from the machine. You will either over or under spend and the recipient will never get the  machine they need or want."



My gift suggestions for this situation are as follows:

1. Choose something very nice from the jewelers.
2. Pay for some lessons from a locally owned sewing store where basic machines are provided.
3. If you completely insist on starting your collection of sewing tools, begin by purchasing a full length mirror.

A FULL LENGTH MIRROR!  You've got to be crazy to suggest that for a gift at the holidays. After eating all that Christmas turkey and drinking all that booze, no one will appreciate a mirror. It's like giving a vacuum cleaner to your spouse as an anniversary gift.

Yes, a full length mirror is your very first investment in learning to sew. Buy the best one you can afford and mount it somewhere that you have enough space to "model" for yourself and where there is good lighting. The back of the door in a poorly lit cramped bathroom is not a good place, neither is the corner of a damp and dingy basement or attic where you someday envision  a "professional" sewing studio. It won't happen, at least not yet. Hang that mirror somewhere near where you dress every morning and begin to use it. Oh, and by the way... Are you thinking of using a large bathroom vanity mirror or mantle mirror in the living room as a substitute?  No! Just don't even think about it. Buy a proper full length mirror. Trust me on this one. Even if you decide that sewing is not for you, your mirror will still be a good investment.

 If you can not bring yourself to make the investment in a proper mirror, then sewing clothes for yourself may not be your thing. Don't worry, it's not a deal breaker at this point, there is quilting, home decor and crafting all of which use sewing skills. There is also knitting, crocheting and all sorts of other handcrafts that can satisfy one's need for creativity.  But please take note, this should be a warning sign. Persevere through the next couple of lessons before making your final decision. I will be clearly giving you exit points during these beginning lessons and there is no shame in waving goodbye. The shame comes from buying and then storing an unused sewing machine in the attic, not from saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Okay...got it? Now have a great time with Christmas and don't worry about sewing until the New Year. I'll post the first sewing lessons during the holidays and the assignments can be done in January.

In the meantime, to satisfy your sewing bug, here are some inexpensive suggestions

1.) Go to the local library and check out some sewing books. Read them for fun. Don't worry about not understanding everything or getting lost with the directions. Look at the pictures and take note of what really interests you.

2.) Use the Internet to read other sewing blogs.

3.) Look at a site like Amazon and use the "See Inside" feature to look at currently popular sewing books. BUY NOTHING! Don't even put them on a "Wish List."

4.) Visit your local book shop to look at sewing books. Are you tempted to buy? DON'T! Reward yourself with a double latte at the coffee shop and return home to reflect on what appeals to you.

5.)  If you are very lucky to have these resources, visit your local sewing store or stores. Browse. Get a feel for their inventory and their level of service. Leave the credit card at home!

6.) Visit your local "Big Box" hobby/sewing center. Browse. Get a feel for their inventory and their level of service.  Leave the credit card at home and don't sign up for their mailing list, at least not yet.

If you insist on completing an assignment, start a "sewing idea journal". Use a found notebook, a old loose leaf binder, a paper folder or a virtual bulletin board. It is not necessary to buy anything to start this assignment. Start collecting images of things that appeal to you as a sewer. Don't limit yourself to just things other people have sewn. Include fashion photos, home decor and soft furnishings photos, quilts and crafts....anything and everything that appeals to you. Only by creating a collection will you begin to see trends for yourself. This will become that basis for making some decisions about what kind of sewing you'd really like to learn after you've mastered the basics.

Cost of this lesson: Your full length mirror, if it's not a gift, and the optional coffee latte at the bookstore. All other gift suggestions are at the reader's discretion.