Do you find yourself spending a lot of money on clothes? Chances are high that you are committing one of the two most commonly committed mistakes as far as clothes are concerned. You are either buying poor quality clothes or are not maintaining it properly. You may be saving a lot of money when purchasing the clothes because they happen to be of poor quality. However, you will be forced to purchase clothes very often simply because they do not last for a long time. This may seem like a very profitable deal in the short run but is only going to affect your finances negatively as time goes by.
A good friend of mine always used to ask me to check out this office furniture shop near where we worked. At the time we both worked in a supermarket and hated our jobs, and every day for two weeks straight my friend Mel kept nagging at me to go and look at the shop. I couldn’t work out why, of course – we were both mad keen on sewing and as far as I knew Mel had no secret love affair with furniture to be discovered. Besides that, Mel is one of these people who gets a great new different idea every month, and because of that I suppose I am always slightly suspicious. Usually for good reason (once, when we were both 8, Mel promised me she had found a Tarantula. It turned out to be a leaf, and once the wind had stopped blowing and the leaf had terrified me for a good long minute, I knew that Mel had a habit of exaggerating. Nothing has changed).
…it later transpired that the reason it was half price was because it only worked half as good as it should have…
So I go and check out this shop, looking in the window, and then it hits me. What she wanted me to see: in the window is an old sewing machine – the manual amazing kind which is completely vintage and super cool. The price? About half that of any I had seen before! I had to have it. I simply wouldn’t forgive myself if I walked away now and left this piece of history for someone else to cherish.
I went in and bought it there and then, and it later transpired that the reason it was half price was because it only worked half as good as it should have. Still, it was great while it lasted, and that sewing machine led me to have one very good idea indeed…
I don’t know when I had the idea of doing knitted Christmas trees and the like and putting them on the front of cards, but when I had the idea it turned out to be phenomenal. Soon I was getting requests for custom orders – I had said I could do different animals – and turning a decent profit. So it just goes to show: you never know what you might find, even at an office shop that you thought only sold the kind of furniture that is grey and boring.
I had a funny experience the other day. My daughter was trying to use my sewing machine, but little kids being little kids, was having a spot of trouble with it. I probably shouldn’t have left her unsupervised for the minute or so that I did–in that short amount of time she managed to get all sorts of fabric and thread hooked up in the foot, and my basket of fabrics was strewn all over the floor. But kids will More
Sewing: what does that word conjure up for you? For many people it – very sadly – arouses a vision of an old woman with a painful-looking hunch-back – come to think of it, I am yet to see one that isn’t painful-looking, but that’s not the point, so let us move on – but in fact, sewing isn’t just for old women with painful-looking hunch backs and a total lack of teeth. I say this because in the circle I sew in there are a number of people who you wouldn’t usually expect to see doing this actually highly fascinating hobby. One of them is featured in the Youtube video below, which goes to show you that not only are sew-ers of all different shapes and sizes, but many of them also love their exercise, too!
The problem with sewing is, of course, its image. Just as leather backgammon sets have always been associated with hardcore gamblers, sewing has always been associated with the old or those with nothing to do.
Yet the reality of the matter is that sewing forms the basis for many crafts and industries around the world. It’s no exaggeration to say that if sewing suddenly vanished off the face of the Earth tomorrow – perish that thought! – the world as we know it would come crashing down in a fury of confusion and horror.
Think about it: clothes, shoes, jackets, and even some plastics rely on sewing techniques. If sewing went the way of the Dodo then not only would Lady Gaga be in a very big heap of doo-doo – to which I doubt even she could smile her progressive smile – but manufacturers around the world would close down and be done for. Jobs would be lost, friendships would be un-done, relationships would be shattered. Indeed, it doesn’t bear thinking about, so please just stop thinking about it. Seriously, right this minute.
My prediction? Sewing is soon going big-time. I mean HUGE-TIME. Soon, very soon, some famous celebrity is going to start sewing – Nicole Kidman, maybe, or even better 50 Cent – and the whole world is going to follow and life will never be the same again. And once that happens I will finally be happy, knowing that sewing is here to stay.
Despite my predictions I have to say, though, that just in case it doesn’t happen for another 50 years I am not going to hold my breath…
Soon, very soon, some famous celebrity is going to start sewing – Nicole Kidman, maybe, or even better 50 Cent
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Weddings are complicated affairs and one of my best mates is getting married. The trouble is, both her and her husband are visual artists and they are always broke. This shouldn’t really be a problem, but she asked each of her friends to pitch in a bit so that she could reduce the cost and still have an event that reflected their aesthetics and their love. All of her friends got together at her house and we came up with a common strategy and theme for the wedding, that would enable us to create something magical.
We chose to go for a Monet inspired wedding. All of the colours would be chosen from a French Impressionist palette. Everything from printed tins with chocolates for brides maids to flower arrangements would be in the soft pinks, purples and greens of a Monet garden. The dress was a greater challenge because she had a limited budget, but wanted something special.
I started looking at dresses featured in different impressionist paintings and thought that Monet offered some simple lines that could be easily duplicated. I found the above image in a Monet painting and the bride absolutely loved it. The trick is to first go to a shop that sells drapery fabric. This is an interesting way to find cheaper fabrics that will have a nice line and fall to them, without having to spend out on expensive silks or brocades. Then, you will need to scour resources for period costuming either at the costume shop at your local theatre or university or online. If you have good connections, at this point, it might actually be worth borrowing a period dress instead of making one, but all brides tend to get carried away and have fantasies about having a family heirloom that their daughters will wear. Taking that into account, you want to simplify the lines of the dress as much as possible, and focus on creating the highest quality stitching so that the dress will stand the test of time. The dress above is perfect. It can be broken down into simple elements that you already know how to sew, but taken together they create a look that is distinctly French Impressionist; three quarter sleeves, full length rolling pleats for the skirt, and a fitted bodice. The slightly high neck is key, it is perfect for a spring or autumn wedding and the modesty is actually quite sexy.
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So I was having a bit of a sewer’s block, if that technically makes any sense! I was meant to be helping to design and make the costumes for a fashion show that was taking place at my university. The show didn’t have a specific theme to work towards, which is why I think I found it so difficult to come up with any designs. I was endlessly flipping through magazines and books trying to find some inspiration or just More
We are living in a world where fashion is the key that opens the door to the world around. Sewing is an art that is slowly disappearing in this modern era. Cloth production is done with the use of modern technologies. Gone are those days were women stitch almost any thing and every thing with their hands. These days we see hardly few older women do the stitching. The other day I went to the market and met my old More
I’m often asked by friends with kids what kind of crafts I would recommend for them. I think they’re usually looking for rainy day activities, when Mum and Dad are busy with HR recruitment software or household chores and need something to distract the kids and keep them out of trouble! Of course, a lot of the time it depends on the age of the child; very young children are probably not quite coordinated enough for most of the stitching More
The art of sewing is slowly vanishing from the handsof craftsmen as more and more people start to focus the production of goods through computerized technologies. China is a perfect example. With its thousands of dollars invested in computer technology replacing human labor in the making of toys, clothing and other sewing-related manufacturing, the people with experience in the area are being absolutely replaced by automatic devices. The production does not stop even at night, and the Chinese factories release More
It is fast becoming a feature within the world of Facebook. Thousands of people are joining and it would be surprising if you haven’t been invited. The group is a craft group, and its mission is to reclaim craft from the stereotype that only older women do it. It’s fast becoming a hip and happening thing with the younger generation, groups are cropping up all over the UK. I have many friends who go to knitting groups and they all More
