Love to Sew

In this episode, we interview Inuk sewist Laura Pia Churchill! She tells us about life in Nunavut, Inuit sewing traditions, sewing through grief, being an auntie, and lots more.

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

Find Laura Pia Online:

Some of Laura Pia’s Amazing Makes:

A post shared by Laura Pia Churchill (@pia.churchill)

A post shared by Laura Pia Churchill (@pia.churchill)

A post shared by Laura Pia Churchill (@pia.churchill)

Fabrics, Notions, and Laura Pia’s Machine:

Fabric Stores Mentioned:

Other Mentions:

A post shared by Laura Pia Churchill (@pia.churchill)

A post shared by Laura Pia Churchill (@pia.churchill)

A post shared by Laura Pia Churchill (@pia.churchill)

A post shared by Laura Pia Churchill (@pia.churchill)

A post shared by Amautiga (@amautiga)

Transcript:

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

​Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew, and it’s all we ever talk about.

Helen: Our guest this week is Inuk sewist Laura Pia Churchill. She tells us about life in Nunavut, the role of sewing in Inuit culture, and the nitty gritty details of making parkas, amautiit, and more.

Caroline: If you love to sew, this is your show.

Hello, Laura. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Laura: No worries.

Helen: We’re so excited to chat with you. Can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?

Laura: My name is Laura Pia Churchill. I’m from Kangiqtugaapik, Nunavut, also known as Clyde River, and I’ve been living in Iqaluit for quite some time now, which is the capital city of Nunavut.

Helen: Awesome. And have you always lived in Iqaluit?

Laura: I moved here when I was about 12 years old and in my early twenties I moved back to Clyde, just for a year to teach, and then I came back to Iqaluit. But I’ve traveled abroad for years, as well, and then always came back home.

Caroline: Oh, wonderful. Yeah. We’re so excited to talk to you about your sewing journey. So can we just start off by you telling us how and when you learned to sew?

Laura: For sure. I was around eight years old when I made my first pair of mitts, and this was at my grandparents’ cabin outside of Clyde River. My aunt was teaching me how to make mitts, and it’s a funny story because she was using different coloured materials, like a red one and a blue one, and the mitts that I made didn’t match. And I was so grumpy and I was like, “My aunt is not a good teacher.” And my mom and grandma and everyone found it so funny because I’ve always been such a perfectionist. Even down to my first pair of mitts. I was like, “They’re supposed to match.” But it was a really special experience to learn how to sew, like, in a remote place, at a cabin, just really connected to nature and building relationships with the land and my family and just learning life skills at a young age. Not a lot of people get to do that.

Caroline: Yeah, that’s a really great story. And at that time, were you learning to sew by hand or was it on a machine?

Laura: It was by hand. But we were practicing with, like, quilted material, so, like, we don’t usually use that for mitt liners, but we were just practicing. So, like, we used the scraps we had.

Caroline: So that was your first time sewing. Did you sort of continue that throughout the years? Did you ever take any breaks from it?

Laura: Well, no, I don’t think I’ve taken breaks, other than when I lived abroad, but I started crocheting and hand sewing around the same time, when I was eight. And the first thing I crocheted was, like, a nose patch because my nose would always burn when we’d be on the land. And I was so embarrassed of having a pink nose that I crocheted a little patch and then a strap around my head to cover my nose. And so, like, getting into crocheting, learning how to crochet hats and then hand stitching mitts…yeah, I guess I’ve been sewing since then.

Helen: That’s awesome. And did you have a lot of people in your life at that time who sewed? Was that a big part of your family or your culture?

Laura: Yeah, most women in my family, on my mom’s side, they sew. Like, all of my aunties and cousins, my grandma, my mom, most women around me, had the skill because they had to make warm clothing for everyone. We live in cold climates and, like, it’s just a part of survival for us. And, like, Inuit women are just naturally really good seamstresses.

Helen: Yeah, we’d love to hear a little bit more about your life in Nunavut. How would you describe the climate there?

Laura: It’s really cold in winter, especially where I grew up. It’s further north and it’s more isolated. It’s like a two hour plane ride from Iqaluit and it’s in the mountains. It’s a dry cold. So as long as you layer up, you can keep warm. Whereas, like, when you’re down south where it’s humid and it gets cold, you can feel it in your bones. It feels like a different type of cold. So, like, as long as you dress warm, it doesn’t feel that cold. And when you grow up in this climate, it just feels normal.

Caroline: Mmhmm. And is wearing handmade clothing and accessories, like, common where you live?

Laura: Yeah. Everybody wears homemade clothing. Most families have women in their lives who sew for them. A lot of our clothes were traditionally made from animal skin. Like, we have a lot of seal skin clothing, fox fur, rabbit, polar bear, caribou. So today we use, like, modern fabrics, but we still also use seal skins. And they’re usually commercially tanned. But, like, let’s say you’re making traditional seal skin boots, then those have to be naturally tanned. And so, like, all the materials we’re working with, if they’re traditional, you have to process the skin before you sew it. And so it’s a lot more work.

Helen: Wow. Have you ever gone through that process of tanning a seal skin?

Laura: Yeah, I have. There are so many steps and, because I’m so busy, I found it really hard to follow up with each step. So, like, I’d scrape the fat off and wash it and frame it and let it dry, but then sometimes I’d forget to do the next steps because of my job, or when I had a dog team, or other responsibilities in life. Like, it’s really hard to keep up with our modern lives while keeping our tradition alive and, like, all of our practices.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Yeah, no kidding. I could see that, for sure. And we’ve seen so many cool videos on your Instagram of you doing some really amazing things, including fishing and hunting, and you mentioned your dog team. I loved seeing you with your dogs. So have you ever used some of the materials that you’ve gathered through fishing and hunting to make clothing?

Laura: Yes, I have caught my own seals, but not that many. And then I’ve processed those skins. I’ve caught a caribou, but I don’t think the skin was good the time of year I caught it. Other than that, not much. Usually the skins I work with are, like, commercially tanned.

Helen: Okay.

Caroline: Got it.

Laura: But when I had a dog team, I gave a litter of puppies away to this young guy and he traded me for a polar bear skin.

Helen: Ooh!

Laura: And then I made that into really warm pants. And then I would wear them dog sledding.

Caroline: Wow. That’s awesome.

Helen: Wow.

Laura: And, like, that was all hand stitched.

Caroline: Oh, so cool. Yeah. We’d love to get into more specifics about some of the garments and accessories that you sew. Like Helen said, we follow you on Instagram and we actually discovered you because you made this really cool reel about an amautik that you made for your friend who had a baby. And for listeners who don’t know, I wonder if you could just describe what that is and what it looks like.

Laura: An amautik is a traditional Inuit baby carrier. It’s like a parka, but it has a pouch in the back for the baby and then it has a hood. So you can put your baby on your back and then put the hood over and it’s really cozy for the baby. And then, depending on which region you’re from, the front and the back looks different. Like, in Greenland, we call this the akuq, which is the tail piece of the amautik in the back. The one I made is long and it’s my grandmother’s pattern, like, the shape and her style. But in Greenland, Inuit there don’t really use amautiks anymore because they don’t practice the tradition anymore, just through colonization. But it’s making its way back. And Inuit women in Greenland have become really interested in reclaiming it. Another story: I moved to Greenland and I made amautiks for a living because it was, like, the only job I could have to support myself. So, like, when I lived in Greenland briefly, all I would do was make amautiks and sell them. But the point I was getting to was that, in Greenland, traditionally, their akuq, which is the back tail piece, was shorter. And so Inuit here called Greenlandic people “Akukittut” or “Akukitturmiut:” “the place with the short tail of the amautik.”

Helen: Oh, that’s so interesting. I love that.

Laura: Yeah, in Nunavut, we have, in my region, in Kangiqtugaapik, and my grandmother’s pattern is a long one. But then there’s also different styles, like there’s skirts, so it goes all the way around like the bottom. And then I have pictures of my grandma with a square front and a square back. So there’s so many different styles of these amautiks depending on where your family was from and what region they grew up in.

Helen: Huh. That’s so cool. I really love the one that you made from your grandmother’s pattern. It has that long back and it has these higher sides. Is there, like, a function to having those high sides versus having a full skirt?

Laura: To be honest, I never really learned about that, but I feel like it would be more comfortable for, like, moving around, where a skirt is, like, restricting to your legs and, like, back then they had to travel by dog team, be really like mobile, moving around with their kids and sometimes even running beside the sled while the dogs carried a heavy load. So I can only imagine, like, it just made sense. Everything in Inuit culture, the way things were made, had a purpose.

Helen: Yeah, it makes sense when you’re living in such an extreme climate. Everything needs to function. I love the hood and pouch on the amautik. Can you tell us how the baby is supported inside? The pouch is not just sitting in the hood, right?

Laura: No. So it’s, like, where the baby sits is, like, touching your back and then the hood folds over the pouch.

Caroline: Mm.

Helen: Oh, okay.

Laura: So, like, when the hood is open you can see the baby’s head and face and everything all tucked in. They’re usually wrapped in a blanket, so, like, they’re not moving around in there. They’re secure. And then when you put the hood over, it has a top, like, we call it the, the kukukpaq, like, the top piece. And so like there’s room in there and then there’s airflow.

Caroline: Mm. Got it. And the, the pouch for the baby, is that connected to, like, the back of the coat on the inside, or is it sort of just, like, hanging loose there on the inside?

Laura: No, it’s all inside. The pattern is really complicated.

Helen: I bet.

Laura: Yeah. Yeah. When I first started learning, I found it really confusing because, like, there’s so many shapes and, like, yeah, just really odd shapes and you have to piece it all together and, like, we don’t have written patterns like you do down south. I don’t even know how to read those. So, like, how I learned sewing, when I was 10, like, using a sewing machine for the first time, my grandma gifted me a sewing machine for my 10th birthday. And I didn’t really ask anyone to teach me; I just kind of took it upon myself to find this parka in my house. I took it apart and then I traced the pattern and then I just taught myself how to, like, put it together. And so, like, same thing when I feel stuck; if I have like an old amautik or one of the ones I got from my late grandma, then you just kind of take it apart and you see where it was stitched and it’s all very, like, hands-on and practical learning and, like, observing.

Caroline: Mm. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And you’ve mentioned in your videos that you focus on making amautiit that are for Inuit women who don’t have mothers or grandmothers to make them. I wonder what inspired that commitment for you.

Laura: Well, it’s more like I don’t have much time.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Laura: Like, I wish I could produce a lot because there is a high demand for them. And I think I could do really well if I just focused on that. But with my high-demanding job, my mortgage, and, like, all of my other responsibilities, being an auntie, a friend, I just don’t have time to, like, make that much. So, like, when I do make one, I just prefer to sell it in my community to, like, someone who really needs one or, like, doesn’t know how to sew, might not have, like, a mother to make one for them. So it’s not that I only make it for people without mothers; I just prefer to sell to someone in need.

Caroline: Yeah. It makes me wonder: how long does it take to make an amautik?

Laura: It shouldn’t take that long. Like, for some women, it doesn’t take them long at all. Especially, like, older Inuit women who are just used to making them. For me, it takes me at least two weeks because I take my time with, like, the textile design and all the details that I put into it. I just really take my time and sometimes I’ll pick it up, sew for like five or six hours straight. And then I’ll take a break and then something in life will distract me. Like I have to get something done, or I have to do this for somebody, or whatever life throws at you. And then I won’t touch it for a few days. And so, like, I really only do it when I have time and also when I have the mental capacity to do my art. Because, like, being an Inuk, like, living in Nunavut, there are so many tragic things that can happen and, like, very traumatic things that have happened in my life that kind of limit me to my capabilities, I guess. Because for me, like, my sewing is my art and it’s my therapy and, like, I can only do it when I’m in a really good space and, like, feel like I can be creative and pour into what I’m making. Because when I don’t feel like that, I just feel like I can’t sew. And, like, this year I lost my mom. So, like, I’ve been grieving and really struggling to get my orders done. Women have ordered amautiks from me, like, women I know, and I’m like, “I’m sorry, I’m still not done.” Or “I started cutting it, but I didn’t sew it.” And I think, like, that’s my biggest challenge right now, is finding that energy to pour into such meaningful projects.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your mom this year. I know that must be so hard, and I’m sure there are some listeners out there that can relate to you with sewing as a therapeutic practice and having to take breaks from it and take your time with it. I think that makes a lot of sense.

Laura: Yeah. Thank you for that.

Caroline: You do mention your family a lot in your sewing posts. It’s so touching. And I wonder, because you’ve recently spoken about sewing as a way of processing grief and hard times: can you share a little bit more about how that’s been a part of your journey?

Laura: Yeah, like, going through my grandmother’s patterns was really special for me. Just using her old things, like her old thimble or her patterns. I feel more connected to her when I am passing on her knowledge and skill and I just, like, wanna make her proud, even if she’s not here anymore. And, like, the same thing with my mom. After she passed, I was home for her funeral and, like, just within the first week or so, my sisters and I went through her things and she had sewing materials. So, like, I started cutting out leather mitts for my nephew using her pattern and her materials she had left behind. And so I think that just helps me feel like I’m putting the things that had her energy and, like, giving it to my nephew is like giving a piece of her to him or, like, it helps me kind of love and remember her while I’m sewing and, like, it motivates me. So like, it just feels more meaningful. Like, this was hers. I wanna put it to good use. I’m gonna sew it even if I don’t want to. I’m gonna do this.

Helen: Oh, I love that. I mean, I’m sure she would be incredibly proud of the work that you’ve been doing, especially the amautiks and using her pattern, figuring out how to make it work. Just from looking at other versions of it, it’s very impressive and I bet she would be really impressed, too.

Laura: Thank you.

Helen: We love that you identify as an auntie, ’cause we are both aunties too, and it’s meaningful to us. So what does the role of an auntie mean to you and how does it kind of influence you creatively in your life?

Laura: It’s a big job. I have so many nieces and nephews. I don’t have any of my own children yet, so, like, I pour all of my love into them. And honestly, any kid or baby that I see, ever. But I have nine nieces and nephews between my siblings and then with all of my friends and their kids. I have, like, over 20 kids in my life. And I have a goddaughter and I have two godsons. And, like, in our culture it’s really important to, like, make things for your godson, which is, we call them angusiaq, or arnaliaq for goddaughter. And so, like, I’ve made my arnaliaq a parka because she’s special. And my godsons, like, I’ve made them snow pants and, like, when I am working on projects for Christmas, I kind of, like, prioritize all the kids and, like, make what I can instead of, like, buying all these toys. But like, I don’t always have enough time to do that but, like, that’s what I hope to do. And being an auntie is just like, yeah, helping your siblings and your friends raise their kids. And making things for them is so special ’cause they’re just such little things and then, when they grow up, like, they’re always gonna have this little keepsake.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: But you always make them matching mitts, right?

Caroline: Yeah.

Laura: Yeah. And just, like, the thought of keeping them warm, that’s our love language, especially for Inuit.

Caroline: Yeah. I, I was gonna ask if your nieces and nephews ever watch you sew, and if so, what sort of values and stories do you hope they take away from watching you sew?

Laura: Yeah, I think, like, I hope that them watching me sew helps them understand the labour of love. Like, when they receive things from people, like, they can appreciate all the work that was put into it. And yeah, just to understand, like, in such a capitalist world, labour and, like, sewing and making things with your hand is, like, so much more meaningful. And like, I hope that, like, they’d look for those qualities in the women they married, you know, like, my nephews, that they are kept warm.

Caroline: Mm.

Laura: Or, like, they find those skills important.

Caroline: Have you had the opportunity to teach any of your nieces or nephews any sewing?

Laura: A little bit. Most of them are too young, but I’ve definitely tried to teach my niece, who’s the oldest, and yeah, she made a little, like, needle holder. I don’t know if there’s a term for them. Like, just like a, a heart pouch that you can stuff and then stick your needles on.

Caroline: Oh, like a pincushion?

Laura: Yeah, that’s the word.

Caroline: That’s a great first project.

Laura: Yeah.

Caroline: I wonder if we could get a little bit more into some of the, like, nitty gritty details of sewing outerwear and your own personal sewing practice. I think a lot of sewists are intimidated by sewing outerwear. So I wonder if you have any tips for sewing with thick and warm fabrics. Do you have a specific machine that you use or are you just using a regular home sewing machine?

Laura: Well, actually, I had the same sewing machine for a long time from when I was…like, other than the one I got from my grandma when I was 10, I, the next one I got, I was 16 and it was a Husqvarna Viking, and it was really heavy-duty and computerized. But, like, it lasted me 12 years. So I just replaced that one last year with my new Pfaff Creative Ambition 640, the 160 year anniversary. So, like, the Husqvarna one, I think, I find heavy-duty sewing machines work really well for outerwear. And then, using leather needles for, like, working with really thick materials or even, like, commercially tanned skins. Yeah, it’s really hard. Like, you kind of just learn to, like, bunch it and make sure it doesn’t, like, move…and it will! It’s gonna move a lot. And, like, you just have to keep adjusting it. And like, that’s just how I do it, but also by using a lot of pins.

Caroline: Yeah, I imagine it, it becomes almost muscle memory, like, working with specific types of fabrics. You would just sort of get used to your own techniques. One thing, question that comes to mind is: stitch length. Like, when you’re sewing through so many layers, are you using just, like, the default stitch length on your machine? Are you increasing that stitch length because the fabrics are heavier duty?

Laura: For quilted, we use a lot of quilted PrimaSoft for our liners of our parkas and our amautiks. We use anywhere from like, depending on the season, like four ounce to 12 or 15 ounces, you know, on the thickness. And for that one I use, like, three millimeters for the quilted fabric. And then I do a bit smaller for the shell.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Laura: And, like, we use a lot of Commander. Are you familiar with Commander?

Caroline: No.

Helen: What is that?

Laura: We use it a lot because it’s weather-resistant, it’s pretty wind- and water-resistant. And we use that for the shell of a lot of our parkas and amautiks, like, most of them.

Caroline: Oh, so that’s like the outer fabric.

Laura: Yeah. Yeah. Some people even use Gore-Tex.

Caroline: Do you use any specific feet that help, like, move the fabric through the machine smoothly?

Laura: I just use the regular one that comes with my machine. Like, for the zippers, then yeah, like the zipper footers and stuff. But for parkas and stuff and pockets…but amautiks are really fun because they don’t have zippers or pockets.

Helen: Oh, how does it close in the front?

Laura: You just pull it over. It’s like a pullover.

Helen: Oh, right. Cool.

Laura: And then it has this string that you tie to tighten the waist, which keeps the baby from falling out the back.

Caroline: Right. Yeah.

Helen: Very important. Key part.

Caroline: Yeah.

Laura: It’s also, the back, where it connects to, to the back piece and the pouch, like, the pouch is pleated.

Helen: When you’re working with so many layers, like, you have your outer layer, and then you’re talking about the warming layers in the inside, and then you have some kind of lining, I imagine. What, what do you typically use for the lining?

Laura: Quilted holofill.

Helen: Oh, cool. Does that add extra warmth as well?

Laura: Yeah, so like, we get this in different ounces depending on the season. So, like, for spring I’d use, like, a six ounce quilted holofill. And then they have different, like, types, like PrimaSoft, like a really soft one, or like, in different colours and patterns. And there’s floral ones. What’s really big for Inuit who sew amautiks in the summertime are the double quilted floral fabrics.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Laura: So, like, it’s one layer for the summer, it’s really floral and pretty and it’s, like, lightweight, but still, like, a little warm, but it doesn’t have a shell. Yeah, it’s just like a summer amautik.

Helen: Oh, and it probably speeds up the sewing process too, since it’s only one layer.

Laura: Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

Helen: Wow. That sounds really pretty. Where do you guys get all of your fabrics? Is there a supply store in Iqaluit?

Laura: Yeah. We have a store here called Miqsuqta, it means “Let’s sew,” and it’s owned by my best friend’s aunt who is…

Helen: Cool.

Laura: A local. So we have a locally-owned fabric store, which is really nice because she speaks Inuktitut and she can help, like, elders and unilingual people that come in to buy fabrics. You know, she can answer their questions. Before that, we didn’t have, like, a locally-owned fabric store and, like, it made such a big difference for me because it’s new, like, within the last few years or so. We used to have this place called Bath and Electronics and it was a really cool store. They had lots of fabrics. But we also have our grocery store that used to sell, like, some fabrics but it was, like, overpriced. And we also order online. We order a lot from Brador Fabrics.

Caroline: I’ve heard of them. Cool.

Laura: So like, I think they have a lot of business here because they sell a lot of the quilted stuff and the Commander that we like. We use a lot of trimmings, like bias tape and ricrac. Like, we use that for the textile design of our parkas and amautiks.

Helen: Yeah. We love the use of your trims. That black amautik that you made with the white ricrac is so striking. Is that something that you came up with, to add that extra detail?

Laura: Well, I like working with colours and like matching them. Like, it’s one of the funnest parts for me, is like, picking like the base colour of the amautik and then going through my baskets of all of my ricracs and trimmings and bias tape and, like, just piecing together, oh, this colour would look cute with this one, or this doesn’t go with this one. Or like, this colour would pop. But also, like, I like to keep mine neutral, like not too, like, all over the place. So I dunno. I think I’m very particular about, like, how I put my colours together.

Helen: Your design sense really does show. Everything really pops. It’s like you said, there’s a good contrast and it just makes visual sense that it’s not overwhelming. It’s really beautiful.

Laura: Thank you.

Caroline: Yeah. Some of your garments have really cool braided belts that tie around the waist, and we were wondering what those are made of.

Laura: So it’s just yarn. I have, like, a bunch of yarn at home that I use for, like, crocheting hats. And then I also use them for braiding the rope for the amautik and then matching the colours of the yarn to the amautik and the colours I chose. So, like, it’s just like a four braid. You braid it. I usually start with, in the middle. I braid one end, because it’s really long and it gets tangled, and then I braid the other end. And like, just long enough so it can wrap around the waist and then tie. So it’s really simple, but it’s just a four braid. Like, I put up like six pieces of yarn in one, like, piece, and you just adjust the thickness by adding more strings.

Helen: Right.

Caroline: Mm.

Helen: Yeah. They’re beautiful. And the amautiks have a fur-lined hood, or at least the ones we saw you make do. Do you add that on by hand or do you sew that on with your machine?

Laura: No, like, furs, fox fur is really complicated to sew with a machine. Like, we typically hand sew when it comes to fox fur.

Helen: Mmhmm.

Laura: We use a lot of it for, like, around our hoods of our parkas and amautiks. And usually when you wanna wash your parka or amautik, we unstitch, like, we take it off and then sew it again after washing, like, the parka. So, yeah, like, when I cut the fox part, I usually look at the way the fur is, like, the direction of the fur. That’s really important when working with fur, is, like, the direction of it. And then finding opposite pieces and then to make the shape that you want in the direction of the fur that you want. And then, like, flipping it.

Caroline: Mm.

Laura: Sewing it onto the amautik, it’s always, like, the last thing you do when everything’s done. Along with, like, the braided rope. But usually the fur is last. And then it’s really long for the amautik because the hood is so, like, wide. Yeah, it takes a while just to sew it all around. And then we pin in some areas so that it doesn’t flap over.

Caroline: Right. And you were talking about direction. Does the direction need to go down, like, sort of, down your body?

Laura: Yeah.

Caroline: Okay. That’s so interesting. Thank you so much for sharing about that.

Laura: No problem.

Helen: Do you have a favourite part of making an amautik? Is there a part of the process that you really love?

Laura: I think the beginning, for me, like, designing it, the textile design is my favourite, ’cause that’s when you have to get creative. Yeah, the beginning’s always the easiest because you’re so motivated. And then, for me, like, finishing it is so like, ah, there’s so much to do. And, like, all those annoying little details, you know. And then there’s also the front piece. If you see the pictures of the amautiks, there’s, like, where the rope goes through so that it can support the chest. So like there’s a, like a V piece in the front and then you put the rope through so that it can, it brings the chest piece down a bit. And so you can breathe.

Helen: Yeah, ’cause otherwise the weight of the child would probably pull the garment onto your neck. Yeah.

Laura: Yeah. So, like, that part is really fun, too. It’s, like, one of the last things I do, as well. Just matching it to, like, the rest of the, the design of the amautik. And then there’s certain parts of the amautik where you sew an additional piece to keep it from ripping. It’s like, they’re sewn to be strong, to withstand, like, the weight of the baby in the back.

Caroline: Mm. Yeah. That makes so much sense that it would need reinforcement in some areas.

Helen: Well, Laura, I know we’ve mentioned your awesome social media already a bit in this episode, but we wanted to ask you a little bit about it. How has it been sharing your work on Instagram and celebrating and preserving Inuit culture over there with your videos?

Laura: It’s been really fun. I have a lot of fun just making videos and editing them and I think I’ve always been, like, interested in sharing my culture. I know a lot of, like, young people look up to me and I really wanted to share, like, healthy living for Inuit and just trying to inspire people to keep our culture and traditions alive. I really wanted young people to find pride in our culture and just to see, like, another Inuk doing it shows that, like, young Inuit can also do it. And like, if they didn’t learn how to sew in their families, like, they can get into it and ask around in their communities, ask someone to teach them. And really just showing pride in my culture and having fun with it.

Caroline: Yeah, it really comes through. What has the response been like from others in your community or even from people discovering Inuit sewing traditions for the first time?

Laura: Yeah, it’s been interesting. I get a lot of questions just about, like, life in the north and, like, if I sell amautiks. I’ve gotten a lot of requests but I haven’t been able to keep up. And yeah, it’s funny, in town, just people I know will see me and be like, “I saw your TikTok!” Or just going to the grocery store, and they’re like, “Go, Fisherwoman!” So it’s quite funny. Yeah, even at work, like, my coworkers, like, older Inuit women, and they’re like, “Did you make a TikTok?” Yeah. I’m not really good at TikTok, I do more reels, but it’s the same thing for them.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah, for me, too, I also am an elder millennial.

Laura: Yeah, but also, like, it’s been a process for my grief, honestly. I journal and then I make videos and I put them together and then I voiceover, like, from my journals and it’s just really personal. Like, sometimes I feel it’s too personal. But the first video that kind of went viral, I actually made a country food dish. It was crowberries with caribou fat, like, whipped caribou fat. And that video got, like, a million views and it was really awkward timing because I filmed and posted it the day before my mom passed away. And then I was grieving my mom and then suddenly getting, like, a huge amount of followers, like, randomly. And I didn’t really know what to do with it at the time. ‘Cause I had, like, gotten into making videos a bit and I made, like, Inuk version of Nara Smith, you know, like dressing up all glam and then making dishes, but using country food and, like, those were a hit. Yeah. So I was having fun with the reels and, like, making them but, like, when I actually started to get, like, followers, I found it to be a really awkward time because I wasn’t consistent at all. I didn’t have the energy to make videos, you know, while I was grieving and going through a hard time. And, like, now it’s more like, when I feel like I am doing well or in a good place and I can share positively, now I feel like there’s been some time and I’m finding more stability in my life and, like, I can focus on it again. It’s just, like, one thing I struggle with is consistency, because I’m so busy and because there’s a lot going on in my life.

Caroline: Mm. Yeah.

Helen: That’s totally understandable. It’s really hard to balance. And people are just following you because they’re excited about what you’re doing and they wanna see more, obviously, but you don’t owe them anything, you know? You can make whatever content you want. And in your case, you know, sharing your culture and your personal stories, like, that’s something you do wanna take your time with and make sure that you’re only sharing when you feel like it.

Laura: Yeah. Exactly. And that’s what I’ve been doing, really.

Helen: Yeah, well, we love everything that you do over there, especially the sewing content, so please keep that coming.

Laura: Thank you. It’s tough in the summertime for sewing content because, like, it’s warm right now. I don’t need to make warm clothing!

Caroline: Yeah.

Laura: I just have these orders that are more stressful than anything. Like, I find when I have an order, like, it just adds more stress than, like, creating for fun and then selling it, you know? I prefer that way. Like, I don’t really like taking orders. I prefer, like, sewing as much as I can and then, like, posting it for sale and then someone will buy it. And I’ve had a lot of customers, like, international, which was really cool. Like, women in Alaska have bought my amautiks and then I’ve followed them on social media and, like, seen their babies in them. And then women in Greenland and women in Northern Quebec, which is another Inuit region. So, like, it’s been really cool, like, connecting with other Inuit in other regions and then seeing the photos with the babies and it is so special.

Helen: Oh, I can only imagine. It must be amazing.

Laura: Yeah.

Helen: So for those of us out there who wanna support Inuit makers and communities, where is a good place to start?

Laura: I feel like if you don’t live here, where they’re made a lot, it’s hard to get them. I’m gonna be honest. Like, Facebook sell and swap. People sell them a lot on Facebook. And, like, where I post mine when I do have them is like on Instagram, on my artist page. And it’s @ajapiadesigns. But other women I know who make them, there’s @amautiga on Instagram, which is A-M-A-U-T-I-G-A. My friend Ujarak makes them and she posts them online for sale and I think she makes a lot more than I do, but a lot of the summer ones. I know other seamstresses and, like, I only know of them being sold on Facebook or Instagram. There’s not, like, a platform where you can go to order them. That would be cool. Maybe that’s what I should work on.

Helen: Add it to the list.

Laura: Yeah. Yeah. I tried to set up Shopify before, but I just didn’t have the technical skills.

Helen: Yeah, That’s fair. It’s, it’s tough to set up an online shop, yeah. We know all about that. And then it’s a lot to manage, too. Like, at the end of the day, you still have to make the garment, so…

Laura: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah. If your preference is to make it and then sell it, like, you can do that.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Laura: I’ve had so many ideas, like, where I want to utilize the skill of Inuit women. Like when I lived in Clyde, my aunt, like, she’s not really on social media but, like, she makes a lot of, like, hats or mitts or like, just something she makes, I would post them on my Instagram for her. So like, just having that platform where, like, artists can bring you whatever they made and then someone takes a picture, posts it online, you know, like, marketing. And also, like, it would be really cool to have, like, a sewing space that can fit a lot of women. Not like factory, but like a creative space. And like, me and my friends have talked about this. It would be so cool if, like, we had a space where women could be creative and produce a lot of really amazing Inuit-made crafts.

Helen: Mm. That would be amazing.

Laura: Then we could, like, find a way to, like, market and sell it, you know?

Helen: Yeah. Like, come together and have it all in one place. And you could share machines and materials and stuff, too. That would be really fun.

Laura: Yeah. So many ideas.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yes. I feel the ideas percolating.

Laura: Not enough time.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Well, I know a lot of our listeners are gonna want to follow along and support the work that you’re doing. So where can our listeners find you online?

Laura: Mostly on Instagram, and it’s @pia.churchill, so P-I-A dot C-H-U-R-C-H-I-L-L, and that’s where you can find me online. Don’t follow my TikTok because I don’t post on it.

Caroline: Alright. Instagram only. Yeah.

Laura: Yeah.

Caroline: That sounds great. And we’ll link up a lot of the things we talked about in the show notes and the materials, and we will try to find links for those so that folks can go to our show notes and check those out. But yeah, thank you so much, Laura, for coming on the show. It was such a pleasure chatting with you.

Laura: Thank you, ladies. I really enjoyed this interview and answering all of your questions and just sharing how we sew in the north.

Helen: Yeah. It was so fun to hear about. Thank you.

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Bye.

Laura: Bye.

Caroline: That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Caroline, at Blackbird Fabrics and BF patterns and Helen at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. And we’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Helen: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Wew. So go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Caroline: You can head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at [email protected].

Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We will talk to you next week.

Caroline: Bye bye.

Helen: Bye.

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In this episode, we share a bunch of lesser-known sewing notions! Have you heard of a curve runner? How about drawcord elastic? Monofilament thread? Zipper lubricant? We talk about all of these and lots more! Plus, we answer a listener question about taking in trousers.

The transcript for this episode is coming soon.

Show Notes: 

From the Listener Questions Section:

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Resources:

A post shared by 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘓𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘯 ღ (@_beletoile_)

A post shared by Martha Moore Porter (@burieddiamond)

Notions:

Other Mentions:

Transcript: Coming soon!

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This episode is all about how to sew when you’re a parent or caregiver! How to find the time, how to keep kids away from sharp sewing tools, how to involve kids in your sewing practice, and more. Our listeners called and wrote in with some really cool stories, tips, and strategies!

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Bren’s Daughter’s Design and Finished Dress:

Bren Sewing With her Kids:

Jennifer’s Daughter Organizing Her Sewing Clips:

Jenna’s Sewing Closet: 

A post shared by Jenna | sewing & plus-size fashion (@theladywholunches)

Other Mentions:

Transcript:

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Helen: Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew and it’s all we know how to talk about.

Caroline: This episode is all about how to sew when you are a parent or caregiver: how to find the time, how to keep kids away from sharp sewing tools, how to involve kids in your sewing practice, and more. Our listeners called and wrote in with some really cool stories, tips, and strategies.

Helen: If you love to sew, this is your show.

Caroline: Hi.

Helen: Hi, Caroline.

Caroline: How are you?

Helen: I’m doing great, thanks. How are you?

Caroline: I’m good. I’m good.

Helen: I think this episode is gonna be really inspiring for all the parents out there and also really inspiring for all the sewists out there, ’cause there is some good strategies in here.

Caroline: Oh, I was gonna say, these tips are transferable, for sure, and I will be taking notes.

Helen: Okay. First we wanted to remind you, as always, that the best way to support the show is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions.

Caroline: Yeah, so you’ll get access to bonus content every month, and we have so much fun catching up with you all on those more casual bonus episodes. We’re gonna record one shortly, Helen, and I cannot wait.

Helen: I know, I’m so excited. It really means so much to us if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two. And if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally understand. We wanna just say thank you for listening and for cheering us on, for cheering the whole community on. I feel like this episode is really an example of that. Like, lots of people sharing stories and wanting to pass on information and knowledge to other parents and caregivers that, like, you, you can do it. You, you’re gonna get through this. It’s hard, but, like, we got this.

Caroline: I know. I found myself thinking, I want this person to sit down with this person for coffee and have a conversation about how it’s gonna get better.

Helen: Yeah, yeah. It’s so true. And I’m sure there’s a lot of that happening in communities on the, in the sewing world and just in person, too.

Caroline: A hundred percent. Okay, so let’s get into it. In today’s episode, we’re gonna be sharing your strategies for sewing as a parent or primary caregiver. We asked our lovely listeners to call us, email us, or comment on social media to share their stories, systems, and overall experiences, and we got such a great response.

Helen: Yeah. So we’re gonna skip the listener feedback and questions for this episode because we have so much good info to share. And we wanted to note that we’re not gonna be able to share all of the amazing responses that we got. There were just too many good ones. So when we were prepping this episode, we tried to arrange everything so there wasn’t too much overlap in what people were saying. But even if we didn’t end up sharing your contribution in this episode, just know that we really loved reading it or listening to it, and we appreciate everyone who called and wrote to us.

Caroline: Also, remember, even if you’re not a parent or primary caregiver, you might be able to apply the advice in this episode to other situations where you’re limited in some way. Maybe you work long hours or you have chronic illness or you live with roommates. There are lots of good strategies here, so I think we should start sharing them, Helen.

Helen: Yeah. What if you have, like, 10 cats, you know? That’s hard.

Caroline: Yeah, that’s a lot of work, too. I have two kids. Two…fur kids.

Helen: Yeah. Two dogs. Furbabies don’t get in your way nearly as much as real babies.

Caroline: Yeah, they just run down the hallway and go, “Hi, mom!” every once in a while, then run away. Oh my gosh. Okay, let’s get into it. First we have a voicemail from Kelsey.

Kelsey: Hi, Helen and Caroline, this is Kelsey. I’m from Tampa, Florida. Long time listener, first time caller. So for tips and things, as a mom who sews, I have a three-year-old and five-year-old, and the totality of their life is really the most time that I have spent sewing. When my older daughter was born, she was kind of the catalyst for me, and so I know a lot about prioritizing when it comes to sewing projects and having responsibilities with little kids. First up is: clips, not pins. I will avoid pins every single chance I get. Obviously, sometimes, if there’s, like, a pinning of a waistband or something like that, I’ll have to use pins, but the vast majority of the time I will always use clips, not pins. Every time after I finish a project, I’ll do a quick scan of my sewing room to make sure there’s no needles, shears, rotary cutters, or anything else that could hurt them, that’s still out. And then another one is that I would make a priority list on what I needed to do in a day, might be, like, the night before or the morning of, and then I would prioritize things based on things that I absolutely had to get done, like going grocery shopping or doctor’s appointments for my kids or whatever it was. And then if all of the things that I had on my list were not super important, or if they were recurring, like dishes or laundry or things like that, and I knew that my capacity was really low and I really needed something to give to myself, to prioritize myself, then those things would wait. I would let the dishes pile up because the dishes are always going to return. And that was kind of my way of prioritizing myself while also making sure that I was getting in some things that had to be done for my family and the well-being of my whole family. I think the last thing I would say is simply put: just lower your standards. That’s my general advice when it comes to becoming a parent, anyway. When your capacity is low, it’s important for you to prioritize things that you love that are still gonna fill up your cup. So it’s okay to push off the dishes or the laundry because they’re gonna come back anyway.

Helen: Hi, Kelsey. Thank you so much for calling in. You have some really great ideas here. I think minimizing pins is a good way to have peace of mind if you’re worried about losing them on the ground or getting stolen by your kiddos. And what you said about prioritizing sewing over tasks that can wait is something that a lot of our listeners also recommended. Honestly, chores can take up all of your free time if you get into it. So I think it’s totally reasonable to prioritize filling your cup over doing things like dishes and laundry, even though those things need to get done.

Caroline: Yeah, I agree. Whenever my house is really messy, I think to myself, I must be working on my hobbies a lot.

Helen: Who made all this mess?

Caroline: Just no time to clean. Oops.

Helen: Our next voicemail is from another Kelsey. I promise it’s not gonna be all Kelseys.

Caroline: This episode is sponsored by Kelsey.

Kelsey: Hi, Helen and Caroline. My name is Kelsey and I live in North Carolina. I am a mom to an 11-month-old little boy, and I rediscovered my love of sewing right before he was born, actually, by watching the Great British Sewing Bee. I bought a sewing machine on the cheap, used, and didn’t even know if it would work, but really had to find my time to prioritize sewing. Honestly, it’s just been: whenever I can find five minutes here or there to get a little done, I’ve done it. My biggest tip is just to, if you have the space, keep your sewing machine set up and ready to go so that any spare moment you have that you can find the time, you can just get a little sewing in. Um, I love the podcast and thanks so much for all y’all do.

Caroline: Hi, Kelsey. We actually heard from a bunch of sewists that doing prep tasks in short bursts during the day, like filling a bobbin or taping together a pattern, helped them get right into sewing when they finally had a longer block of time. It’s so smart. There are probably hundreds of things you can do that don’t even involve sitting down at the machine. So breaking sewing steps into super small tasks and then doing them whenever you have a free five to 20 minutes could get you really far. This is such great advice.

Helen: Yes. All right. Our next voicemail here is from Katie.

Katie: Hi, Helen and Caroline. My name is Katie. I’m from Portland, Oregon, and I love the pod and I love to sew, and I’m also a mom. So I wanted to respond to your prompt about sewists who are parents. ‘Cause I just have so many thoughts about this. I actually didn’t start sewing until about a year and a half ago. I had never used a sewing machine before that. But I just got completely obsessed and I have been sewing a ton since then. In the last year and a half I’ve made 84 different projects. I sew pretty much every day. I love it. It’s my me time. It’s my self-care. It’s my creative time. And I didn’t get into sewing until my son was about four years old, so preschool age, and he’s still in preschool. And yeah, I mean it definitely presents a lot of challenges as a parent who also works full-time. Time is obviously a huge constraint. So I guess what I found was, you know, I hear people talk about, like, wanting like a big block of time to sew in and, I mean, that would be amazing, but a lot of the times I’m like sewing in 10 or 15 minute increments, which can kind of sound crazy. But, you know, it’s enough to get, like, one or two steps done. And you can get things done if you don’t try to wait for those big blocks of time. ‘Cause those aren’t always gonna happen.

I tend to also sew after bedtime. My son goes to bed pretty early, luckily, so I usually have about an hour, an hour and a half after he goes to bed. And that’s, like, my main sewing time, so. And then the other thing that my husband and I started doing, once I started getting really into sewing, is we designated one day a week for him and one day a week for me, and actually one day a week for my son, too, that we call our creative nights. And on your creative night, you’re not responsible for anything after the workday ends except for doing your creative thing. So that means the other parent kind of handles making dinner, bathtime, bedtime, all the evening routine stuff. And then whoever is working on the creative project can just kind of lock in and focus. And that has been really great ’cause it gives me an extra, like, two or three hours in the evening that I can really, like, get a lot of progress done. So obviously, like I said, I’ve, I’ve sewn a lot in the past year and a half. And, I guess I just wanna say, like, it’s possible and if you’re really passionate and excited about it, like, you can find little ways to sneak it in and not be intimidated by like, “Oh, I have to have a two hour block.” Like, you’re probably not gonna get a two hour block. So if you have a 30 minute block, if you even have a 15 minute block, like, that’s enough to at least set yourself up. Like, get your machine set up and threaded with the right threads that you need or, like, get a pattern cut out or just, like, complete one or two steps. And so that’s the cool thing about sewing, you know, is you’re following all these steps and then you’re done. So you don’t have to do all the steps at once. You can just do one or two, and that still is moving you forward on your project. So just don’t be intimidated by that.

And then the last thing I kinda wanted to say was, like: sewing has been so incredibly meaningful for me in my life as a mom, and I feel like it kind of gave me myself back as a parent because I was taking time for myself to learn a new skill, to be creative, to follow my own whimsy and explore and learn and, like, you do so much for your kids, especially when they’re small. Doing that for myself, it was, like, the first journey that I went on as a parent that was really just for me and it just gave me so much back to my life. Like, so much meaning and joy and creativity and just accomplishment that was, like, outside of my parenting and that was just so powerful for me as a mom. It really felt like moving into a new phase of being where, you know, those first early years, you’re just so focused on your kid and all of that stuff. And so, like, really turning to something else was just an incredible experience for me. And sewing has just changed my life. I’m so grateful for it. And I love the podcast, like I said, so I can’t wait to hear what other folks have to say. Thank you. Bye.

Helen: Wow. Katie, thank you so much for calling in with all of this. You are so prolific. I love that each member of your family has a creative day. Such a great way to make sure that you all have time for yourselves to explore and work on anything you wanna work on. Trading caregiving responsibilities with your partner or another caregiver was another strategy that popped up over and over in our responses. So if you have access to that, obviously that’s a really great thing to utilize in order to get your sewing time. It just sounds like you’re approaching it in a really amazing way. And thank you for sharing.

Caroline: Yeah. Thank you so much, Katie. Adele wrote, “I ask for two nights home alone any chance I get: birthday, Mother’s Day, et cetera. My spouse and daughter go visit his parents for the weekend and I get time to sew. I have to break up the planning and getting supplies into little tasks in the weeks before, and then I’m ready to sew. Our apartment is too small for me to sew in when others are around, so this arrangement feels win-win.”

Helen: Ooh, this is a great idea. I’ve heard people say they like gifting experiences over things, and this takes it to a whole new level. I mean, maybe if there’s a parent in your life, you could offer a few hours of childcare as a little gift. I love that idea.

Caroline: Yeah. I love this for anyone and everyone as well. Just have two days at home alone, without your partner, without your family, without your roommates, and just, like, bask in that time to work on your hobbies.

Helen: That’s so true. You could set this up even if you don’t have kids. Rebecca wrote, “I found out by chance that a local sewing studio and charity was starting up an open studio. You can book in for three-hour slots. You bring your project and use all their equipment whilst also having expert advice on hand. I’ve been going once or twice a month, and it’s just so relaxing. Switching off from daily chores and focusing on a sewing project is perfect for recharging your batteries.”

Caroline: Yeah, this sounds really fun. I think this would be a really great way to meet sewing friends, too.

Helen: Yes, totally. Love this.

Caroline: Alright, next up we have a voicemail from Bren.

Bren: Hi, Caroline and Helen. Yeah, I have five kids, so four girls and a boy. And people are always asking me, “How do you find time to sew?” And honestly, I really just sacrifice other things to make my sewing happen. I feel lucky to have a sewing space on the main floor, and I thought about putting a lock on it so I could shut the door and work on my own projects. But I’m so glad I didn’t because I love having the door open. I love having my kids come in and their friends come in and we talk and I show them what I’m working on and they have questions. It also makes it super easy for me to work on projects in smaller time increments. ‘Cause I’m able to, like, work on dinner for a minute and then go to my sewing studio for a minute and then come back and forth. So I really like having that open door studio space on the main floor. But I will say, there are certain times where I do need my own sewing time, and I need that sewing time to be my alone time. And my husband is so great at giving me time to sew. He will watch a movie with the kids in the basement. He knows that I am not a big TV or movie person, so that is how he shows that he is giving me sewing time, by watching a movie with the kids. And that is definitely my love language. Um, if I wanna get really fancy, I grab a sparkling water and some Junior Mints and I can just sew all night. It’s so fun.

My kids are always involved with what I’m working on. They’re constantly putting in requests. They know the sewing pattern websites. They know the fabric shopping websites. They’re, um, excited to be a part of the process whenever I’m making things for them. One of my daughters is really into this, um, designing process. I had some really tacky sparkly polyester scraps that someone gave me. And as a 7-year-old, I gave her my sketchbook and she created this dress. It’s, like, long and slinky and bright blue, and it had these really huge red sequin sleeves and then this gold drapey sash that went around the neckline and, like, swooped in the back. We drafted it and we made it and she helped sew it and cut out the pattern pieces and it turned out pretty awesome. It is very, very gaudy and it looks like a version of a Superman costume turned into a dress. Definitely not my style, but she was so proud and so excited to wear it to our church. We had just moved to a new area and I was a little bit hesitant to let her wear this crazy dress to church, but she was so proud and people gave her lots of compliments and I hope that just boosted her confidence in sewing. With the same daughter, she helped design a swimsuit and we sewed that together and she was really, got really into picking out the fabric. We did the Ellie and Mac Amber Active Tankini sewing pattern and we ordered from Raspberry Creek Fabrics here in Utah. So she had fun doing that and it turned out really great. I think sewing with kids can be really fun and I think she has definitely caught onto the magic, been empowered to see how cool it is to design something and sew it and have it fit you. So I would encourage people to sew with their kids, even though it’s crazy sometimes. Alright. Thanks. Bye.

Caroline: Hi, Bren. Thank you for this amazing voicemail. You have so many great ideas here. I love how you’ve involved your kids in your sewing. I think it’s so good for kids to see their parents making things and being creative. And sewing is self-care. And even if your kids don’t end up sewing, they’ll probably find a cool hobby that fills their cup, too. It’s so great to set that example for them. And it’s also really smart that you have a sort of system to get sewing time in while your kids and husband watch a movie. Bren actually sent us some pics of her daughter’s amazing fashion sketch and finished sequin dress, plus a couple of pics with her little ones at the sewing machines with her. So we’re gonna share them in the show notes. This dress is everything. It’s so cute. I love it.

Helen: It’s so good. I love that big sleeve.

Caroline: Yeah, I know. The drapey piece along the back is so nice. I mean, it’s just, it’s perfect. I love it.

Helen: It’s really amazing. So creative. That is such a fun idea. Like, “Sketch me what you wanna make and we’ll make it happen.”

Caroline: Yeah. You’re getting her hooked. It’s perfect.

Helen: We definitely had other sewists also recommend getting kids involved in their sewing. Kendall wrote, “I’m a single mom and maintaining my identity is very important to me to feel sane lately. I think my hobby of sewing has increased since having my 4-year-old daughter, Penelope. I’m able to sew with Penelope because my machine has a stop and start button in addition to the pedal. Penelope loves to sit on my lap and press the button when I tell her. I’ve also tried to relinquish control a little bit, where possible. In the past, I’ve liked quilting because it’s very formulaic. Find the pattern, cut the exact measurement, sew the straight line, have a lovely quilt. With Penelope, I try to let her have control where possible, which is uncomfortable at times. She picks out fabrics for me, picks the order in which they’re aligned, and I let Penelope take the credit for quilts among our family. I had a proud moment recently when Penelope brought her homemade quilt for preschool nap time and assumed every kiddo had a mom who could sew and make things. She talks often about our matching pajamas, the custom costumes I make for dress up, and how I took her baby clothes and made a quilt. I hope that I’m able to inspire her to be able to craft and make anything she dreams of.

Caroline: Oh, I love this, Kendall. I love that Penelope just thinks that everyone has a mom that sews. Like, “Yeah, doesn’t your mom sew? Come on.”

Helen: Right? She’s gonna learn one day how special that really is.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. And I’m sure she’ll grow up with a love of crafting, thanks to how you’ve made it so much fun. You’re actually one of the few sewists who’ve told us that you sew more since becoming a parent. I think that letting go of perfection is a big part of why Penelope has such a good time. Our creative assistant, Lisa, used to be a teacher, and she told us that kids need 10 praises for every criticism. This is actually backed up by a study covered by Harvard Business Review, which showed that the ideal praise-to-criticism ratio for strategic business unit leadership teams is more than five to one. So for those of us who are hoping to teach kids to sew or involve kids in our sewing, it might feel like you’re watching them do a million things wrong. But if you let the small stuff go and praise them for a bunch of things that they’re doing right, they’re gonna have a lot more fun. And then when you have a criticism or a teaching moment, it’s gonna land a lot better.

Helen: Yes, it’s so true. I think about the times when I’ve sewn with my niece Zoya, and it’s important to hide your reactions sometimes. Like, there are definitely moments where I’m standing behind her at the machine and you should see my face. Or I’m like, oh my god! Like, I’m nervous that, like, it’s gonna go off the rails. It’s not even a criticism so much, it’s just, like, they’re figuring it out. They don’t know how to handle fabric and pins and, like, you’re watching it happen and you’re just, like, holding your breath, like, oh my gosh. But like, it’s important to keep that to yourself and just say, like, “You’re doing great.”

Caroline: Oh yeah, absolutely. Gowri wrote, “If I don’t sew, it’s detrimental to the people around me. I sew on the weekends or nights when kids are in bed or super early in the mornings. I used to wear the babies when I sewed. So much easier, and I think the overlocker is white noise? When they were three, they started sewing, so I set up my old machine next to mine and now they just come in and sew when I’m sewing. It’s become a communal space for creativity.”

Helen: Oh, I love the idea of starting kids on sewing really young and then getting them a machine of their own. And we heard from several sewists that their babies got used to the sound of the sewing machine or the serger, and they were able to be worn or kept nearby in a carrier. So that’s pretty cool.

Caroline: Very, very cool.

Helen: Other sewists recommended setting stuff up for kids to play with in your sewing area. Former guest Christi Johnson wrote, “Now that my daughter is two and a half, she actually loves being in my studio with me. I give her scrap fabrics, scissors, a ruler, some paper, and pencils, so she doesn’t try to get too much into my projects. And having a machine that doesn’t run unless the presser foot is down keeps us from having any accidents. Otherwise, I’d keep the machine off when it’s not in use. You also just kind of have to let go of the idea of keeping the space clean. Kids will inevitably wanna unfold fabric, pull out stacks of paper. It’s easier to just allow for 10 minutes at the end of the session to clean up together.”

Caroline: I really love this. You both get some craft time and then you both clean up together. I think this is a great teaching moment for kids, as well. So yeah, really, really awesome advice there. Thank you.

Helen: I’m sure it doesn’t always work out.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Like, sometimes, you go in with your kid and they end up making too much of a mess and you’re like, okay, not today. But sometimes you’re gonna get some time.

Caroline: Absolutely. Alright, next up, Annie wrote, “One of the best things I’ve done as a parent is introducing the concept of collecting things. My two daughters, three and five, both collect buttons. One of their favourite things is going to the fabric store and looking through all the buttons there. They get to pick three buttons each, so they stay occupied choosing as I’m looking at fabrics.”

Helen: Uh, this is genius. I bet they’re so proud of their button collections. I loved collecting stuff when I was a kid. And there’s so many fun kids’ crafts to make with buttons, too, if they’re interested. So that’s really smart. Although I do think one day they’re gonna start collecting fabric and then you’ll be in trouble.

Caroline: Yeah. Keep it to buttons.

Helen: Yeah. Andrea wrote, “I started to sew because knitting was too time-consuming. I learned that, with sewing, I can make way more progress during naps. I sew in two hour increments, nap times, and after bedtime. Now I have a toddler, and although I can’t involve her in the sewing, she does help me when I assemble and cut patterns. She uses crayons to colour all over the pattern while I assemble everything. She’s also keen to learn and often pretends to sew just like her mom.”

Caroline: Andrea, this is so cute, and I bet you have the most colourful patterns. I feel like kids’ drawings are, like, the most precious thing ever. Like, I would just hang those patterns on the wall.

Helen: You get to look at it every time you make that garment. That’s pretty fun.

Caroline: Yeah, totally.

Helen: This reminds me of when you’re a kid and you go to a family restaurant where they have paper on the table and they bring you crayons and you get to draw on it and it’s, like, feels so cool.

Caroline: Alright, next up we have a voicemail from Jennifer.

Jennifer: Hi, this is Jennifer from Minnesota, USA, and I have two children who I sew for pretty frequently. I had, at one time, tried to make a whole wardrobe for my daughter when she was littler, but have given up on that type of goal, and now I just sew about a couple items per season for them, um, as they grow. And I’ve begun sewing a bit for myself, as well. I primarily sew at night when they are in bed or on the weekends. Thanks so much.

Caroline: Hi, Jennifer. Your voicemail touches on another theme that we saw in the responses, which is: keep your expectations reasonable. Sewing a whole wardrobe for someone is a huge job, even if you’re not a parent. So sewing a couple of pieces per season for each child is really amazing, so you should definitely give yourself a little round of applause. Good job.

Helen: Yes. I’m always really impressed by the parents out there who manage to sew not only some things for themselves, but also outfit their children in all these cute looks. It’s very impressive.

Caroline: Saki wrote, “I don’t sew nearly as much as I used to, but I’ve found the best way for me to find a way to sew is to lower my sewing standards. Sounds depressing, probably, but it actually helps.” I don’t think it sounds depressing, by the way. “Becoming a parent or primary caregiver means that your time is no longer yours alone. While it’s possible to find small pockets of time that aren’t beholden to someone else, I end up using that for things that require intense focus. So that means I use time with my kids to sew. They trace patterns with me. They have their own pen and paper. They cut patterns and fabrics with me, again, with their own paper and scissors. They watch me pin and they sit on my lap while I sew on the machine. We have strict rules about where their hands can be while I’m using the machine, and I stop at every pin for them to pull it out. They are two and four now and love to sew. My projects are no longer perfect or fast. The biggest bonus is that they’re growing up in an environment where they learn that things are made by people. We started when my oldest was 18 months, and when he was two he told me some things on the way to preschool. He was wearing a new pair of purchased shorts and he said, ‘Mama, someone sewed these shorts. Someone chose the fabric and someone chose the thread.’”

Helen: Oh, oh. I absolutely love hearing that. Letting go of perfection is really good advice for anyone who’s having a hard time finding time to sew, but especially good for parents or people who are sewing with children. And I also love how participating in making things has given them this wider perspective on the world and where clothing comes from. That’s so cool.

Caroline: Yeah, I’m kind of shocked by how young some of these kids are going into the sewing room and participating. As a non-parent, I imagine a two or four-year-old, like, not being able to do these things, so it’s really awesome that you’re starting them so young.

Helen: Yes, it’s very impressive. Next up, we have a voicemail here from Lauren.

Lauren: Hi there. This is Lauren. I am from Colorado. I’ve been sewing for three or four years, but I recently had my first child last summer, and I really thought that during the initial baby days I would have lots of time to sew a whole bunch of things. But honestly, postpartum bodies are different for everyone. So I didn’t really sew that much because I just wasn’t sure what my body was going to become and how it was gonna change after having the baby. And I know that wasn’t the topic of the questions you were asking, but that was a big deal for me, to where I haven’t really sewn anything that much in the past year and a half, just waiting to see how the body flows. But nap times are key. In the beginning, they sleep all the time, so there’s plenty of time to sew. As he’s gotten older, nap times are few and far in between, so, really, my sewing has completely disappeared. But, for one night, I got an idea in my head to sew a shirt. I put him down at about 7:00 PM and I was done, had a shirt made, I think, by 11:00 PM. But I had used his daytime nap time to actually print and cut the pattern. So it’s all just balancing.

I’m solo parenting right now while my husband is gone for a couple months. So that has pushed my sewing practice even further away because, by the time I get the baby down, it’s just time to kick my feet up and relax. But I miss sewing so much and I am really looking forward to getting back to it when my husband comes back. I told him that I’m gonna spend every Saturday morning just locked down in the basement while he has to be the parent so that I can sew all the projects that are on my back burner. But it’s still so much fun. I can’t wait. I made him a Halloween costume for his first year. I made him these little bird wings and connected it to an outfit. I made him a birthday hat to wear on each of his birthdays. I did Velcro so that I can put the number, the year of whenever his birthday is, which actually coincides with my husband’s birthday, because he turned 30 the year that the baby was born. So, um, each year we’ll just add a three in front of the baby’s birthday hat. So I’m excited for him to get bigger and to sew more things for him. And that is my long spiel on sewing as a parent, as a new parent, and figuring it all out for a postpartum body where your waist measurements are drastically larger than the rest of my body, in my hips. So sizing was very, very tricky and I’ve only made flowy big boxy shirts. I haven’t touched a pair of pants since before the baby. So thank you and I love the podcast and have a great night, ’cause it’s nighttime where I am right now, but have a great day.

Helen: Hi Lauren. Thank you so much for calling in and for sharing. It can be really hard to sew garments when your body is going through changes, but there are some styles that work over several sizes and there’s some other strategies that you can use to make garments flexible, too, like making wide seam allowances, sewing with stretchy fabrics, or making alterations. And if you’re interested, we did an episode on this called Sewing for a Changing Body, and that’s episode 227. So that was the first thing we wanted to mention. Also, I just wanted to offer a big virtual hug from both of us ’cause solo parenting is so hard and it sounds like you’re doing everything you can to get through it and you’re gonna have some sewing time in the future. And yeah, we just wanna offer you some hugs and love from afar.

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely. I also love the idea of a birthday hat where you can change out the numbers. This is such a fun tradition and keepsake, and it sounds so cute.

Helen: It is so cute. I really love those, like, monthly photos that people do with their babies, and there’s lots of fun ways to incorporate sewing into that. I’ve seen quilts with that. I’ve never heard of this hat idea, but I really like it.

Caroline: Mmhmm. It’s great. Karis wrote to us with a different perspective of sewing for herself postpartum. “When my baby came along in January this year, I was sitting around watching easy TV while recovering from a C-section and breastfeeding. I started watching the Great British Sewing Bee. I felt inspired to start sewing my own clothes, partly due to feeling inspired to learn the skills, but also because I was struggling to find clothes for my changing body and needs. I put my baby down at about 6:30 and I sew for a few hours in the evening. The sewing has allowed me something for myself, and it’s been a really important part of my routine to help me cope with the demands of breastfeeding and parenting. I’ve absolutely loved being able to learn a new skill during this time, and love that a sewing project can be broken down into smaller tasks.”

Helen: Hi Karis! Okay. It’s so cool that you actually started sewing clothes for the first time after you had a baby and inspired by the Great British Sewing Bee. That’s the second time that’s come up. So this show is doing some heavy lifting in this community.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: There are so many cool breastfeeding and maternity-friendly sewing hacks out there, and you can even do that kind of stuff on ready-to-wear pieces. So that’s really cool that you’re getting into that.

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely.

Helen: Our next voicemail is from Andrea.

Andrea: Hi, Helen and Caroline. My name’s Andrea and I’m in Durham, North Carolina. I love your podcast so much. It’s such a wonderful resource and an integral part of my sewing practice to listen to y’all chat about all things sewing and fabric. I’m calling to share my experience as a mom who sews. I work full-time as a scientist and I have two amazing little girls. After my oldest was born, there was a major dip in my sewing time as I adjusted to parenting. But I think perhaps I most needed to learn to be interrupted regularly to shift how I sew. One of my best tips is actually to not clean up, if you can avoid it. I always have a project out on my sewing desk so that I just get a few minutes, even if one of the girls comes in and needs something. Or if I have time after bedtime or early in the morning before work, I can bop around on my machine for a few minutes. Obviously this means having dedicated space to sew, which is a privilege and a gift. And so my other tip would be to be selfish about your sewing because, as parents, we’re pulled in a lot of different directions and running on empty. So I’ve pretty much just written off doing any sewing projects that I’m not excited about. So that way, when I do find time to sew, it’s refreshing and energizing and not draining. Thanks again for your podcast. I’m really looking forward to hearing what other parents have to say. Bye.

Caroline: Hi, Andrea. I love that you choose to be selfish about your sewing. So many parents tell us that if they don’t feel super excited about their sewing projects, they don’t get the same fulfillment. So while baby and kids’ clothes are cute and fun, it’s okay if sewing them is not what you want to do. We’re gonna give you permission to sew fun things for yourself. Not that you need our permission. But if you want it, you have it.

Helen: It’s so true. Or, like, having a balance. I have a friend who’s got a 1-year-old right now and she sews a lot for him. But the other day she came over and she was like, “I’m not sewing anymore baby clothes. I’m gonna make some jeans for me.” And I was like, “Yes! Do it.”

Caroline: Yeah, totally. Sometimes you just need those like cheerleaders to be like, “Yeah! Come on!”

Helen: Of course. Make the jeans. Why not? Listener Rosalyn wrote something similar. “I’ve realized that, in order to actually make progress on clothes for myself, I have to designate times, like whole months, where I’m not gonna be sewing anything for anyone else. This means no clothes for my child or my partner, no gifts for others, et cetera. That has really allowed me to focus on which projects I want for my wardrobe, and it feels really nice to prioritize me.”

Caroline: She also wrote: “Having a toddler and a small living space means sharing my sewing space with our living room, which can be challenging. One tip I have is to store all pokey things in a container that kids can’t open on their own. Note: Periodically check and continue to notice whether they can open it, though, ’cause those skills can develop quickly. For me, a metal cash box with two levels works well for storing my scissors, rotary cutter, pins, and seam ripper, et cetera. I also unplug my sewing machine, serger, and iron when I’m not using them and store the iron out of reach. It’s also been important to talk with my daughter about what I’m doing and what she can and can’t touch, when, and why. We’ve also started talking about getting her a kids’ sewing machine. So, as she gets a little bit older, I could see this being a really fun way to parallel sew.” I love that: “parallel sew.”

Helen: “Parallel sew.” Amazing. The metal cash box is genius. We heard from a lot of sewists who don’t have a separate sewing room, and we even heard from some sewists who do, but they’ve moved their sewing space into a communal area so that they can do, you know, watching the kids as they’re sewing. It’s easier to be in the living room, in some cases. So having those storage units that the kids can’t get into: definitely important. Caroline, I can remember, when I was a kid, touching the iron. Like, I remember ’cause I, I mean, I don’t think I burned myself too badly, but it was bad enough that, like, I remember it, where my mom was like, “Don’t touch this. It’s hot.” And of course, you know, what do kids do, right? They’re like, “Well, how hot could it be?”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: “How hot is it? Now I have to know.” And so I touched her iron. I burnt my hand. Again, not too badly, but it was slightly traumatizing. So, you know.

Caroline: Yeah. A learning lesson, I’m sure.

Helen: A learning lesson.

Caroline: This is making me think of my mom’s sewing setup and, like, what memories I have of it. Like, do you remember, like, what your mom kept all of her tools in? Like I, my mom had this, like, wicker basket with, like, a plastic sort of, like, insert on the top and it had a handle. And I just have memories of, like, opening it up and it was all the threads in, inside that you could go through. Like, it’s just, it’s such a warm, fuzzy memory and I feel like all of these kids that are getting to sew alongside their parents are gonna grow up and have these, like, warm, fuzzy memories.

Helen: Oh, definitely. I particularly remember really vividly my mom’s button tin. You know, the one that has all the random buttons in it, the leftover buttons. And it was this long tin, not one of those classic cookie tins, but some other kind of like a tea tin or something. And I loved it when I was a kid. Like, opening it and just, like, sticking my hands in the buttons ’cause it feels so good.

Caroline: Yeah. You’re like the kids who collect buttons.

Helen: Yeah, it’s true.

Caroline: Oh, so great.

Helen: Okay, Jenna, also known as @theladywholunches on Instagram, wrote, “My sewing closet makes all the difference. I never have to clean up a shared space and I can stop and go whenever I have a few minutes to spare.”

Caroline: Okay. Jenna’s sewing space is actually a converted walk-in closet. It’s 43” by 82”, or 24 square feet, and she has a small desk and chair with her machines and lots of vertical storage for her tools and fabric stash. We’re gonna link a post about it in the show notes, but this is a great example of, like, a tiny sewing room that really works.

Helen: It really works. I mean, have you seen the stuff that she makes?

Caroline: Yeah, I know.

Helen: It’s so impressive. Jenna, we both adore following you and everything that you do, so thank you for sharing.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s such a great little space. We have a voicemail from another Jennifer.

Jennifer: Hi, Helen and Caroline. This is Jennifer calling from Los Angeles, California. I have two kids. One is nine and the other one is two. And when my eldest daughter was little, it was so easy to sew with her. She was just happy to be near me or she’d kind of play independently. Um, she was happy to, like, be at my feet while I did it. My youngest one is not like that. She gets into everything. She’s the kind of kid that will, like, if you leave the bathroom door open, she, like, runs in and plays in the toilet, grabs the kitchen knife off the counter, like, not the same kid at all. So since she’s been little, I’ve had to fit sewing in either at night or when another adult is present. There’s just no way to manage it. But as she’s gotten a little bit bigger, Wonder Clips are my answer. So I have a tin of Wonder Clips. She loves them. She thinks when she’s playing with them that she is sewing. And she loves to sort them on the edge of the tin, so she will, like, pin them on the edge of the tin in rainbow order. So when she sees me getting the sewing stuff out, she already knows that it’s Wonder Clip time. If I just give her that and little scraps of fabric, she’s totally happy and she’ll give me an hour and let me sew. So hope that helps any other parents who have a very rambunctious wild child like mine. Get some coloured wonder clips. It’ll save you. Alright, love the show so much. Thank you both. Bye.

Caroline: Helen, I feel like this episode should be sponsored by Wonder Clips and the Great British Sewing Bee.

Helen: It’s true. It’s true. They both come up a lot. And I love this concept of Wonder Clip time and I’m very impressed that it buys you an entire hour of sewing time. That’s amazing.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: But it is really important to remember that all kids are different. And I’m sure we have parent and caregiver listeners out there who. throughout this episode, have been like, “Yeah, right.” Like, “Okay, great. Glad that works for you, but my kid is a little bit different.” And some kids might be super independent and able to play by themselves, and others might need your attention way more. If any of the tips shared in this episodes wouldn’t work for your family, that’s nothing to feel bad about. They just don’t apply to everybody. So it’s about figuring out what will work with your kids and your home and your support system. And Jennifer did send us some pics of her daughter playing with the Wonder Clips, and she looks so focused and determined. It’s really, really cute. So I love that Jennifer has discovered this little hack.

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely. And that’s also why it’s so great that we’re getting a lot of different perspectives in this episode. I feel like some things are gonna resonate with certain listeners and some won’t. But I’m so grateful that so many people wrote in.

Helen: Yeah, me too. Hannah wrote in with a similar sentiment. “You will see sewists on Instagram coming back from having a baby strapping their babies to themselves and just getting back on the sewing machine. Or maybe their babies are sleeping quietly in the bassinet next to them while they work on their newest make or babbling quietly on the floor while they let their mom sew. That was extremely, extremely not possible for me. And if it’s not possible for you, don’t beat yourself up. My baby was not that kind of easy baby. I never had one of those picturesque moments. It took me months to get back to my sewing machine, and even then, it would be for a handful of minutes. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else and just know that the season passes. You will get back to your makes.”

Caroline: Okay. This is such a great thing to keep in mind. Don’t worry about what other people are doing. If what they’re doing doesn’t work for you, that is totally fine.

Helen: Yes. And on that note, Syd wrote, “My biggest tip is to not compare yourself to other sewists who don’t have kids or full-time work. I spent a lot of time doing that and it made me miserable. I’m proud for myself for finding the thing that I love while also being a good mom, partner, and full-time lineman.”

Caroline: Ooh.

Helen: Oh, amazing. We’re proud of you, too, Syd. And thank you for that.

Caroline: Yeah. And not to just keep repeating this, but this is great advice even if you don’t have kids.

Helen: It’s true. I’m picking up a lot of tips today. Thank you, parents.

Caroline: Leila wrote, “For me, it’s less about finding time. It’s more about keeping that spark alive. I prioritize useful and joyful. I’m not making stuff that’s for a party like I used to or one-off intensive things. I’m making something that will brighten my everyday, that I will want to put on and wear right now, and will remind me of how much I love sewing and why I should drag my tired, foggy self over to my machine.”

Helen: And Leila has a couple more tips for us. “I read the instructions out loud. Gone are the days of trusting that I’ve read and understood things. I’m too distracted, sleep deprived, and brain foggy to follow instructions without reading, reading again, checking I’m doing the right thing, and then sewing. I know an irretrievable mistake will make me wanna give up and stop coming back.” Leila’s second tip is: “I have multiple projects on the go at once, all saved in individual project bags. When I started, I thought one focused project would be a good idea, but it meant I would hit a harder or more time-consuming point and I’d just stop. And with sleep regressions and all sorts of leaps, there might be a whole month where you get really short naps or contact naps or whatever, and no time to tackle a big step. Having multiple projects on the go with everything saved together, like thread, the wound bobbin, et cetera, means that I can decide which bit I have the mood and time for and chip away at multiple things at once. This one has actually been a game-changer because I’m finishing more than when I just had one thing on the go.”

Caroline: These are such great strategies, I think it totally makes sense to prioritize what kind of projects would make you the happiest, and I bet the answer would be different for different people. I also think that having multiple projects is a smart way to always be making progress on something.

Helen: Yeah. This is actually a strategy I apply in my sewing practice, too. I love having multiple projects on the go. I like having them at different stages because I’m just not in the mood for things sometimes. And then I can just be like, oh, I actually would like to just cut something out, or I’d like to insert an invisible zipper…well, that never happens, but you know what I mean.

Caroline: This is not something that I do. I think this would make me really overwhelmed and, like, anxious. But also, what’s the difference, I guess, between that and having, like, a box full of unfinished projects, I dunno.

Helen: Yeah, are those projects, what’s the difference between a project on the go…

Caroline: And a project that’s…yeah. I think how much dust has gathered on it…

Helen: Dead in a box.

Caroline: Is the difference.

Helen: It’s so true. I do end up with things cut out for, like, a year that haven’t been started, but then I’ll finish them every once in a while and it feels good.

Caroline: Yeah. You are great for that, Helen. We heard from parents and caregivers of older kids, too. Ann wrote: “It evolved over the years as a parent. Mine are 15 and 18 and, honestly, it’s been the last 10 years and counting of high-intensity travel sports that have impacted my sewing time. But since I have limited time, I take advantage of it whenever I can. I don’t procrastinate. I’ve also brought my sewing machine to tournament hotels.”

Helen: Ooh! next step: Bringing your sewing machine to the pitch, to the gym, wherever these sports are taking place.

Caroline: To the pool. The pool might be tough.

Helen: I love that you take your sewing with you. We do have an episode called Sewing and Travel that’s all about sewing when you’re not at home, and that’s number 234. And I also like your point about not procrastinating. That’s really tough. So good on you for not doing that, because I feel like I always do that, but sometimes it’s just so much easier to jump right in and start doing it.

Caroline: Yeah. Absolutely.

Helen: Amanda wrote, “I’ll often bring projects with me to our extracurricular activities. Small things like pinning, seam ripping, or hand stitching can be done while I’m sitting in during ballet, jiu-jitsu, or other activities. My kids also love when I cut patterns out and let them crumple the scrap paper into snowballs.”

Caroline: This is a really great idea. Another way to fit those small sewing tasks into a busy day. And I bet those snowball fights are so much fun.

Helen: I’m a true child at heart because when I read this I was like, oh, I love crumbling the scraps into snowballs, too. I totally get it. Okay. @wander.makes wrote, “When they were younger, I sewed after bedtime, but now they’re a little older and their video game time is my sewing time. All of my makes are unofficially sponsored by Goat Simulator 3.”

Caroline: This is hilarious.

Helen: It’s so practical. Get your kids into video games. Hot tip.

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely. I love it. Okay, we’re almost done, but we wanted to leave on an encouraging note. Katie wrote, “When I first had my daughter, she never slept, and I thought I would never get to sew again. I tried to give all my sewing stuff away to a friend. Thankfully, she wouldn’t take it and told me to give it some time.”

Helen: Smart and wise friend.

Caroline: Yeah. Truly, what a good friend.

Helen: Yes, sometimes you do need a break. And you can certainly downsize if you want the space, but sewing is gonna be there whenever you’re ready to come back. We’ve heard, over the last eight years of podcasting, countless stories of people coming back to sewing after a hiatus, whether it was children, career, illness, all sorts of reasons. And you just never know when you’re gonna stumble upon it and it’s gonna light you up again. So hold onto that stuff if you can.

Caroline: I know, it’s so true. Alright, thank you so much everyone who sent in their stories, their tips, their strategies. I certainly learned a lot and I’m excited to implement some of these tips in my own life.

Helen: Yes. And parents and caregivers out there, you’re doing absolutely amazing and thank you for teaching your kids to sew. Let’s spread that love.

Caroline: Yeah. A hundred percent.

Helen: That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Helen, at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. and Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics and BF patterns. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Helen: Head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with adorable pictures of children from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, you can leave us a message at 1-844-SEW WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. As you can tell, we love your voicemails, or you can send us an email at [email protected].

Caroline: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you all for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.

Helen: Bye-bye.

Caroline: Bye.

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In this episode, we interview Pauline Bruce aka @sewuthinkucan! She’s a pattern hacking genius, Sew the Look specialist, and beloved member of the sewing community. She chats with us about her continent-crossing sewing journey, tells us how to get sewing friendships off the internet and into real life, and reveals her secrets for finding patterns to dupe ready-to-wear looks.

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Find Pauline Online:

Some of Pauline’s Me-Made Outfits:

A post shared by Pauline K. (@sewuthinkucan)

A post shared by Pauline K. (@sewuthinkucan)

Other Mentions:

A post shared by Pauline K. (@sewuthinkucan)

A post shared by Pauline K. (@sewuthinkucan)

Transcript: 

Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Caroline: ​Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew and it’s all we ever talk about.

Helen: In this episode, we’re interviewing Pauline Bruce, aka @sewuthinkucan, pattern hacking genius, Sew the Look specialist, and beloved member of the sewing community. She chats with us about her sewing journey, tells us how to get sewing friendships off the internet and into real life, and reveals her secrets for finding patterns to dupe ready-to-wear looks.

Caroline: If you love to sew, this is your show. Hello, Pauline. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Pauline: Hello ladies, Helen and Caroline. Thank you for having me.

Helen: We’re so excited to chat with you today. Can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?

Pauline: Of course. My name is Pauline Bruce. I am a lifelong maker with a love for turning sewing patterns into something uniquely my own. I was born in Lomé, Togo, in West Africa. I spent my teenage years and young adult years in Paris, France and met my husband there and we moved to the US. Had three kids and I went from being a stay-at-home mom to a homeschool mom. And I’m happy to say we graduated all three of our kids. They’re now in college. And we’re brand-new empty nesters. So we’ve been traveling a lot and right now I am in Lomé visiting my elderly mom. She’s 91 years old and doing fantastic. She was a professional seamstress and taught me how to sew, and it’s been fantastic to spend quality time with her.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. That’s so exciting. I’m so glad that you have lots of time to travel and I wanna know more about your journey learning how to sew. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Pauline: Yes. So I actually grew up watching my mom make these amazing outfits for her clients and I absolutely loved her sense of style. But even in my young years, I had my own sense of style and my mom recognized that from an early age. And so rather than just giving into all that I would ask her to make for me, she would just tell me, “Sit here.” She’ll bring fabric, scissors and show me how to make it. And she’ll always tell me, “I don’t think I can make it like that, but I can teach you how to make it.”

Helen: As in, like, “That’s not how I would do it,” or “I wouldn’t wear that, but if you wanna wear that, that’s cool.”

Pauline: “If you wanna wear that,” yes.

Caroline: Yeah.

Pauline: “I will teach you how to do it.” And early on, I had a special taste for special fabrics. And I couldn’t find them because most of the fabrics that were sold in Lomé were wax print fabrics. And I thought they were way too vibrant, way too out there for me. So I only liked very subdued colours and all I wanted to wear was, like, neutral colours. And didn’t mind vibrant colours. But I liked anything that was subdued. So I always thought these wax prints were too much. Today I think completely differently, but at the time, that’s what it was. And I think I was also influenced by all the magazines that she had. She had a lot of, like, Burda Magazine, those old Burdas. So I would look at those and no one was wearing wax prints. So then I was more interested in, like, you know, nicer fabrics.

Helen: That’s funny.

Pauline: Which was very insulting to my mom because, you know, she made money making outfits in wax prints and ankara fabrics, so. And she thought I was really unique. So anytime she was able to find, like, a nice poplin fabric or a nice print that I like in, like, cotton or maybe viscose, she would buy it and then help me make a dress for myself.

Helen: Aw, that’s amazing. I mean, she taught you so well. Obviously, you’re an incredible sewist. And it’s really funny to me that you were rejecting all those vibrant prints and colours, because that’s what I think of as your style now, is that you wear a lot of fun colours and prints. So I’m glad you came back around.

Pauline: Yeah, I did. I did. And I think, well, we evolve, you know, our style evolves. And so now I think I still have a very strong sense of what type of colours I like and what type of colours work with my skin or my style. And so not every Ankara fabric is the same. So I really take the time to look. And the fabric has to talk to me and inspire me for me to buy it. My process for picking fabric is kind of, like, the same for any type of fabric, not just wax prints. You know, there are some shapes that I like, some prints that I like more than others. And so, yeah, I tend to gravitate toward those most of the time.

Helen: Do you do a lot of fabric shopping when you’re home visiting your mom because there’s so many beautiful fabrics there?

Pauline: Yes, yes. It’s very hard not to buy everything.

Helen: Yeah, I bet.

Pauline: Because it’s just everywhere. And then when I go to the market, I have a hard time. Like, usually I, I will go with my sister and then we have to tell ourselves, we need to consciously say, “Let’s go. Let’s leave. Otherwise we’ll buy the whole market.”

Caroline: I am sure a lot of people relate to that. “Get me out of the fabric store, I’ll buy everything!”

Pauline: Yeah. And my new thing is to match prints. Like some of my favourite wax print outfits are the ones that I really took the time to find prints that go together, that pair well. So when I go to the market, I find myself just, like, looking at the colours and seeing which ones go together. If I have, like, a bolder, I’m not really into bold, bold prints. But if I find one and I find another one with the same basic colours, but with a smaller print, I like to pair them together.

Helen: Yeah.

Pauline: And then I’m imagining what type of outfits I would make with them.

Helen: Oh, I’m sure your mind is going a mile a minute when you’re at the market, just dreaming of all the possibilities.

Pauline: Oh yeah. It’s sensory overload.

Caroline: Does your mom still sew? And I also wonder, like, what she thinks about the fact that you’ve made sewing such a big part of your life?

Pauline: She loves it that that is such a big part of my life, and we have long conversations about sewing. She’s 91 and she loves to dress up. She still has all of her nice outfits and she’s always talking about fabric and she still buys fabric. I’m telling her, “You have enough fabric, Mom!” And she said, “I can’t help it.” So, she doesn’t sew as much as she used to. She has a hand crank machine now and she will just do alterations. She likes to rework her outfits. She loves to upcycle. So she’ll call me and then she’ll say, “Hmm, I wonder if I could just change the sleeves on this. Would you help me? Would you mind, you know, and what do you think about just shortening this top, or should I just add some lace onto this blouse, you know?” And then she has a lot of lace trims that she loves to add to her garments. And so she’ll take the time to just ask me what I think about her just using this colour and pair it with the wax print.

Helen: Oh, that’s so nice.

Pauline: She gets a kick out of just, like, talking about her outfits and the fabrics and what she’s gonna wear to go out. And she’s always, like, examining, every time I go to say hi to her, she’s looking at what I’m wearing and she goes, “Hmm, I like that.” And then she said, “You have good taste.” And then when, when I wear something she doesn’t like, she’s like, “Why are you pairing these two together?” And I said, “Mom, they go together.” And then I proceed to explain to her why. And then, you know, I was, I was showing her how I, I, love mixing prints. So I was explaining to her the logic behind mixing prints. And then, you know, when she’s not arguing, I know that she, she, she’s agreeing with me. Otherwise she’ll keep on arguing and telling me, “Well, I don’t think it is that nice,” or “I don’t think it will look great on you.”

Caroline: Oh, that’s so nice though that you guys connect through sewing and fashion. That’s just really special.

Pauline: Yeah, she’s incredible. Her sense of style just amazes me. And then, you know, she tells my husband…sometimes he just wears a simple T-shirt. And one time, one day she called him and said, “It would be nice if you wear some wax print shirts. Why do you always, why do you always like wearing those jersey stuff?” And then she turns to me and said, “Well, when you go to the market, please find a nice fabric for your husband.”

Caroline: Oh, my gosh, I love it. Okay. I wanna hear more. ‘Cause you mentioned you lived in Paris, right? Did you continue sewing when you were living there? How was that for you, like, sewing in France? I don’t know. It feels very romantic to me.

Pauline: It’s really interesting because I picked up sewing later, about three years after I went to France, and it was through a friend I made in school. So she was German and her school was paired with my school, my middle school. So that year we had to go to Germany, Frankfurt, in that area. So I stayed with her for a week and then went to school with her. And in her room she had a Pfaff sewing machine. And I said, “Huh, this is so interesting. Do you sew?” And she said, “Yes, I make all my clothes.” And I said, “I used to make my clothes, too. But that was a long time ago.” And then we bonded over sewing. It was so incredible. Two teenagers, we were 15, and we bonded over sewing. She showed me all the Burda patterns, she taught me how to trace them and everything. And then, that summer of the same year, she came to Paris to spend a month with me and she brought her sewing machine. She took the train with her sewing machine. She came, we went to Marché Saint Pierre, that’s the fabric district in Paris. And then we got some, like, fabric and she brought her Burda magazines and we traced some tops and some pants. And we sewed throughout the summer. It was the best vacation I’ve had. And after she was gone, my sister, my oldest sister said, “Let’s buy a sewing machine.” So that’s how I went back to sewing and never stopped. So friends, you know, I love to go wander around in Paris, to like the Galeries Lafayette or Printemps. I just love going like, it’s snoop shopping, you know? A lot of the stuff I couldn’t afford at my age, but I just loved looking at them and looking inside back then already. And then I think I picked up my style back then from just looking at the Parisian fashion and just looking at, like, Vogue magazine and Elle and, like, all kinds of, like, inspirational material that I was looking at.

Helen: Is this where you fell in love with stripes?

Pauline: Yes, yes. I was obsessed with Petit Bateau, the brand Petit Bateau? Yes.

Helen: Oh my gosh. I can totally see it. That’s amazing.

Pauline: Yeah. That’s where it comes from.

Helen: Okay. And then you moved to the US to start your family. And did you sew all through having kids and everything? Was there ever a time when you weren’t sewing?

Pauline: I think I sewed. I got my sewing machine. We lived in Florida for a little bit and I got my first sewing machine there. But then when the, when I had my first, he was a boy, so I wasn’t really interested in sewing anything for him. So I started, I would sew for myself, but really just simple things. And just for special occasions. And when I had my girls is when I really just got into sewing for them for special occasions. Like, I will make them these, like, really cute Easter outfits, Christmas outfit. I did make some Christmas outfits for my boy, I think. No, just a nice tie. But I didn’t really, I didn’t really make shirts for him. I would rather buy things for him. But for the girls…so, I didn’t sew everything for them. I was obsessed with Gymboree clothes and Janie and Jack. So I would dress my girls in Janie and Jack and Gymboree. But then Easter, I had to make them something myself. And I also made them costumes. Because they started, we actually didn’t homeschool up until our youngest was in kindergarten. And then we, we had moved to California at that time, so I would make all of their costumes for Halloween. And I think my Sew the Look probably was starting, was burgeoning at that time, because my son was into cosplay. And so he would show me all of the Star Wars stuff and he said, “Mommy, for Halloween, I really wanna dress like Luke Skywalker.” And then we went to Joann’s and got everything. I even made the boot covers…

Helen: Oh wow.

Pauline: In full leather for them. So, and then the sisters were also, like, one was Padme and, yeah, and Princess Leia. So all three of them…

Helen: Cute.

Pauline: Were, were dressed in Star Wars for Halloween. And then, yeah, they’ll always come up with something that they wanted, like princess dresses, and I really had to, like, go the full mile to make really cool outfit and, like, costumes for them.

Helen: Oh, that’s so cool. I love that that’s the start of Sew the Look, which we’re gonna talk about a little bit later on. But I can see the connection, that you’ve always been drawn to, like, seeing something, being inspired by something and thinking, like, “Okay, what pattern can I use to create that look?” But a Halloween costume is a perfect example. And at some point, around this time, you must have decided to start posting your sewing online. Or was that a little bit later on in your kids’ lives?

Pauline: It was later on. ‘Cause we had started homeschooling in, like, 2012 and I joined Instagram in 2016, I think, or ‘17. And it was borne out of the fact that they were starting to be more independent in their studies and I could just take a little bit of time away for myself. So that’s how I started sewing again. And then Instagram and just finding this incredible sewing community just, like, fueled, I think, whatever was latent, you know, whatever was dormant.

Helen: It was such an exciting time. I think, you know, we, we started on Instagram around the same time, like 2016, and I do remember it was just such a, a really exciting time in the sewing community ’cause we were all finding each other, realizing that we could connect and find each other. And that’s how Caroline and I found each other. And I think fondly of that time in Instagram history, if you can believe it.

Pauline: Yeah, that was incredible. It was just so fun.

Helen: Yeah. And you mentioned that last year, in 2024, was a “Year of Sewing

Pauline: Yes. So, summer 2024, we went back to the US to help our youngest move into her dorm in college. And so after that, we took this trip around the US, but the eastern part. So we started out in Texas and then just drove our way around. So it was the perfect timing. I just thought, wait, wouldn’t it be nice if I could meet a sewing friend in each city that we were visiting? So I contacted them. And so I met Siri in Atlanta. I then went to New York and saw Robyn. And then we went to upstate New York and I met Ruth and then Michigan and then back to Texas where I met Bianca Springer. So it was really fun.

Helen: That sounds amazing.

Pauline: And earlier that year, in 2024, I was traveling to California. So I went back…so that it was like going back and just seeing my old sewing friends again. So we had a meetup, we had dinner. It was really fun. And then coming back, I stopped in Copenhagen and saw my friend Diana which, you know, it was, she took the time out of her day to come to the airport just to see me. And we chatted, had coffee, and then she left. It was so amazing.

Caroline: Oh.

Pauline: Yeah. So yeah, those friendships that we have online, the best way is just to make them happen in real life. If it’s not, you know, there, there are Frocktails now, so Frocktails are also an amazing way to, to meet your sewing buddies.

Helen: Yeah. And you have so much built-in conversation topics because there’s so many things to discuss with sewing. And I always find when I meet strangers who I’ve never met before, but if they sew, no problem. You know, we can be friends. Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah.

Pauline: You always find a subject to talk about.

Helen: Yeah.

Pauline: And it, it feels sometimes like you’ve known each other for a long time.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Pauline: Yeah, it was a fun time. So 2024 was really special and sweet in that sense.

Caroline: Oh, that’s so great. It’s really inspiring. I know Helen and I also love meeting sewing people in real life. We always come away feeling so inspired and excited and invigorated, so I hope you’ll inspire some of our listeners to do the same and seek out some connections in real life, as well.

Pauline: Yes. Yes. I think there are now, like, Frocktails that are popping all over the world, right? So those are, like, great ways. And there are meetups and even just to go fabric shopping, ’cause we enable each each other, right?

Helen: Is that a good thing?

Caroline: Yeah. Oh yeah. That’s a fun activity. No, it’s true. Fabric shopping with other sewists is so fun.

Pauline: Fabric shopping with others is the best. You end up buying more than you should, but it’s okay.

Helen: It’s true. You get the same thing they’re getting ’cause they inspire you.

Pauline: Exactly.

Caroline: Okay. So we wanted to ask you some questions about your amazing personal style. We’ve touched on it a little bit already, but could you just describe it for our listeners?

Pauline: Yes. So, how would I put that? So I think it would be: I’m an elegant minimalist who loves to sneak in a surprise. Think casual chic with a clever twist.

Helen: Mm. So true. Yes. So many of your makes scream elegance, but there always is this little something. It’s like the Pauline Magic.

Pauline: Yes! I always put my point of view there, like, hmm, do you know this person? Hmm. There’s more to it than you think.

Helen: Little surprise.

Caroline: Little surprise.

Pauline: Yes, yes.

Caroline: Oh yeah. It’s, I mean, we love your style. You always look fashion-forward and stylish and chic and timeless. And I wonder how you’re creating looks that are fun and exciting, but also not following, like, every single microtrend that comes along. Like, how do you keep it timeless while also being sort of fashion-forward?

Pauline: Yes. So I think, just like you said, I like things to be timeless. So, I do look at trends, but I try to make it my own, you know? So I don’t follow it blindly, but I always take what’s interesting to me in it. And then I add my own spin to it.

Helen: Yes.

Pauline: But sometimes I just like to make something just for the fun of it, because I think, going back to pattern hacking, it’s just a way for me to keep my creativity going. I love to brainstorm how this designer made this outfit. Those little details I’m always looking for. I’m looking at the details on a garment and wondering how they made it. Like, especially some twists, you know? Like, a knit dress with twists. Right? I even bought a top from Baum und Pferdgarten. So they’re a, I’m not sure, they’re a German designer? I think they’re more like a Danish designer, but then they have a German name? That’s interesting. But anyways, so I bought one of their, their tops because I was so intrigued by the way they twisted the front and the back of the top. It’s a, just a cotton knit top. So when I got it, you know, instead of trying it, I just turned it, you know, inside out. And I was looking at it. I did it before even trying it on.

Helen: That’s so fun, though.

Caroline: Oh, it’s such a sewist thing to, like, look at the inside of garments. And it is a great tip for folks who wanna learn more about construction. Just go shopping. You don’t even have to buy the thing. Go snoop. Look at the inside. Look at the fabrics.

Pauline: Yes. And look at the finishing. Sometimes it’s really interesting and it gives you some tips on how to finish your stuff later. And it’s very, really interesting. But to go back to your question and how I don’t try and chase and just focus on timeless pieces, it’s just trying to make just simple, simple outfits, things that I know I will wear all the time. So let’s say, if it’s a dress, I will try to make it as simple as possible, but I would just add a small element to it that will make it my own. Let me take an example of the True Bias Lodo Dress. I made it countless times, but they’re never the same. Right? And I introduced some of the trendy elements to it. But the Lodo is actually, like, just a simple knit dress with a V-neck. And you can add sleeves or you can make them in different types of knits, but at the same time, you keep this element of timelessness in the dress.

Caroline: That’s a really great example, ’cause this dress is actually not a new pattern at all. It’s been out for a really long time. And I actually remember testing this pattern for Kelli back in the day. So it’s so interesting ’cause it, it is, it’s timeless and you can just add those trendy elements. It’s a really good tip. One of the, let’s say, trends that I’ve seen you do a lot of is vests. I don’t know if we can call it a trend. It’s definitely having a moment right now in the sewing world. And I would say that you’re a vest queen. You have made many vests.

Pauline: Yes, I have.

Caroline: And they are all so great. We actually recently made vests for an episode and that was really fun. So we wanted to ask you a little bit about vests, and the first question would just be: what is your favourite vest pattern?

Pauline: Yes. So, it’s the Veronica Vest by Just Patterns. Shout-out to my friend Delphine.

Caroline: Nice.

Pauline: Yes. So when she told me she was drafting a vest pattern, I couldn’t stay still. I kept on asking her, “When is it coming out? When is it coming out? I really need to make one in denim. I need to make one in linen.” So I kept on sending her so many inspiration pictures and insisting for her to get it done quickly so, so I can try it. And sure enough, it came out and I made several, and I’m still wearing them today and getting compliments all the time. And then I made them as a set. And I, I love to mix and match them, but I love wearing them as a set, so a vest with pants or with a skirt. And now you can just, like, it doesn’t have to be a matching set, but you can wear them and style them so many different ways. It’s incredible how, how versatile they are, actually. And I hope, you know, the trend is not gonna go away that fast…

Helen: Me too. I just made a bunch.

Pauline: That it’s here to stay. Yes, yes. And I think it will stay, ‘cause I keep on seeing it.

Helen: Yeah. It looks really elegant and it’s one of those pieces you can really fit when you’re a sewist, you have that superpower. And a perfectly fitted vest is, like, a thing of beauty, you know?

Pauline: It really is. And it can be casual and, at the same time, dressy. So like, you can wear it with just a long skirt with sneakers or some Sambas and then you can just, like, dress it up by putting on some nice pants. And my new obsession is to wear them with balloon pants.

Helen: Ooh, fun!

Pauline: Yes.

Helen: Is a balloon pant like a barrel pant?

Pauline: Barrel, yes, yes.

Helen: Yeah.

Pauline: Yeah. Any type of barrel pants. I’ve been seeing it a lot styled that way and, yeah, I’ve tried it. It’s so nice.

Helen: Ooh, I’m gonna have to give that one a try. That sounds amazing.

Caroline: Do you have any tips for choosing fabrics that will work well for both a vest, which can be a little bit more structured, and bottoms that maybe have a little bit more movement? Any tips for fabric choice?

Pauline: Yes. So, linen, it’s really hard because when you make them in linen, my advice is just to interface it, the whole thing.

Helen: Mmm.

Pauline: Because then you prevent it from, the front is gonna be interfaced and then the back is gonna be all wrinkly. So, yeah, I think it’s a good idea to just interface the whole thing if you use linen. But you can use, like, a nice denim that has structure and you can use a interfacing and then not have to, to line the back, for example. I used a wool. I think, like, a lightweight wool works well. I would stay away from viscose, but there are some patterns like th,e I’m drawing a blank right now, but, the Pipit Vest.

Caroline: Is that the Common Stitch one?

Pauline: The Common Stitch one. So that one, I think, you can make in like a more, in a drapier fabric.

Helen: Yeah.

Pauline: Maybe because it’s a looser fit. Yes.

Caroline: Totally.

Pauline: Or the Merchant and Mills one.

Caroline: Mm.

Pauline: Yeah. Those have looser fits, so I wouldn’t mind, like, using, like, a lightweight viscose for those, especially if I want to make it as a set. That would be cool.

Helen: Yeah, and then you could do a flowy skirt on the bottom or something like that.

Pauline: You can do a flowy skirt. You can do some elasticated pants with it.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Very cool. This is a real insight into your process when you’re trying to pair fabric with pattern or just trying to come up with different patterns that are out there. Like, I can’t believe you remembered the names of those two patterns off the top of your head. So I think it’s time we have to talk about Sew the Look, which is a series you do where you share ready-to-wear looks and then you match it with patterns and fabrics. And you usually do this in your stories on Instagram if people are interested. But I absolutely love them. I always feel so inspired because I see things out in the wild, in the world, that I’d like to create, but I don’t always know what to use to create them. So I think it’s so helpful.

Pauline: It, it really is. And so let me tell you how it started. So I was really happy when Pinterest came around. I was saving a lot of inspiration pictures on my Google Photos and I would create albums and name them. And Pinterest came around. So I had boards with all my inspiration pictures, and then I had boards with patterns, but I couldn’t put them together. So that’s how Sew the Look came, came about. I said, what if I just put the inspiration picture, and then I put the pattern line drawing next to it, because that’s my process. That’s the process that I use for myself when I want to sew something. When I’m looking for inspiration, patterns keep popping in my head. And so I need a place where I can just store them. That way I can go back to it and look at it and say, ah, this works for this. So instead of doing it on Pinterest, I started doing it in my stories. So I will…for some reason I think I have, like, this huge database of patterns in my head. So as soon as I see an inspiration picture or I go out and shop, like snoop shop or just, like, go shop for something, go to Zara or Mango or Banana Republic, as soon as I see something, there’s a pattern that pops in my mind. I can’t help it. Sometimes I have to, like, shut down my, my brain because I’m like, okay, you need to stop. ‘Cause there are so many things that are coming and, oh, and I can use this and oh, and I can use this pattern. Just, it’s like, sky’s the limit, right? So for me, once I conquered pattern hacking, I wanted to show people that it is not as scary as they think. Like, you look at an inspiration picture and you can just use any pattern to replicate it that’s close enough, right? So at the end of the day, you don’t have to do it exactly like the inspiration. You can add your own twist, you can add your own spin, but it gives you an idea of the possibilities that a pattern has, right? So I’m less interested in looking at the pattern itself, but more interested at the line drawings. So I spend a lot of time on, like, you know, Simplicity.com looking at the line drawings. ‘Cause there is where you find the blueprint for all the pieces, all the garments. So let’s take an example. We were talking about Just Patterns. It’s a recent story that I shared, A.L.C. A.L.C. is this high-end designer. They had a dress that stopped me in my tracks and I said, wait, that’s the Ines Dress. But the bottom of the dress was like a balloon. So it’s like the Ines Dress, so, square neckline, princess seams. But instead of flaring out, it was going in. So all you need is just to reduce and streamline the hem of the Ines and you get a balloon dress.

Helen: Amazing. That’s so smart. And it’s so nice for people who are following along to see that kind of thing broken down into the simplest form of the design and then what needs to happen to take it to another level if you wanna add those kind of details, because I think it’s intimidating for a lot of sewists, especially folks who are newer to it.

Pauline: I think so, too.

Helen: Yeah, it’s hard to stray from the pattern.

Pauline: Exactly. It’s really hard to do. I get a lot of DMs and a lot of comments saying, “Thank you, thank you for Sew the Looks because, you know, I didn’t see, I didn’t, you know, you, you helped me see past the pattern. You helped me with the possibilities.” It makes me so happy that, you know, I can help in that way, I can inspire and I can just show, and sometimes I get asked, “So how would you do this hack?” Right? And so I would give just some tips on how to, “Oh, would you modify it that way? How would you do it?” And so I would give tips that way also in my DMs, you know.

Caroline: Wow, you really are doing the community a service with these Sew the Look posts and the support that you’re giving people along the way. But I really wanna encourage our listeners to go check them out, ’cause there are some really cool ones. And I think it’s, you made a point earlier, like, it doesn’t have to be an exact replica that you’re looking for. You can hack patterns, use them as a base. But sometimes you do find exact replicas, which I always think is fascinating, that you’re finding these ready-to-wear looks that look exactly like sewing patterns or vice versa. How do you keep up with all of the new pattern releases? ‘Cause it really does seem like you have that encyclopedic knowledge. Is that just, like, a muscle that you’re working every day? Like, how are you keeping up?

Pauline: Yeah, I think it’s a, it has become a muscle that is just a natural thing that I do. Let’s say your Tofino Top, Helen. I looked at it and I go, wait. I had just seen something, ’cause I shared in the stories recently about the oversize camp shirt and shorts, right? There are so many inspiration pictures. And I think, ever since I started the Sew the Looks, the algorithm knows what I want. So it’s always suggesting these brands that fit my style, somehow. So then I look at it and I go, wow, oh, and then I screenshot it or I save it on my Pinterest, and I go back to it and I go, hmm, what pattern will work for this? And then immediately it comes. So the Tofino, it’s like the exact replica of the inspirations that I shared. All you need to do is to get the pattern and make it. And then you have more freedom to choose some nice fabrics. ‘Cause the inspiration also gives you ideas about what type of fabric will work with that pattern. It’s like a whole package. You get ideas on what type of colours will work with that inspiration picture. I post several of them so that you have an idea. So I, I try to vary them so that I’ll put it, like, print or eyelet or solid, or this pattern will work well with stripes, use larger stripes for this, or this will work with smaller stripes, you know? Or you could spice it up by, by doing a colour blocking or mix print. So I’m gonna use your, your platform to, to announce that I’ve been working on a Substack, on a Sew the look Substack, because I wanted…

Caroline: Oh, that’s so smart!

Pauline: I wanna do a deep dive into it, right? Because, stories, they’re short. They’re there for just one day. But I can give so much more information and so much more tips and advice on the patterns to use. On the styling. You know, like, you can pair it with, with pants or pair it with shorts, pair it with a bias skirt. So I wanna do a compilation of all the Sew the Looks ever since I started them.

Helen: Wow. Very fun.

Pauline: But then I need to classify them, right? So I’m gonna do tops, skirts, and dresses, and then I’ll do shirts. There’s so many things. Sky’s the limit on the mix and matches. And I go back and look at my old Sew the Looks and I go, wait, there are other patterns that will work for that, too.

Helen: That’s a rabbit hole you’re going down.

Pauline: It’s never ending. It is.

Caroline: Yeah.

Pauline: So, I don’t wanna keep it for myself. I wanna share it with more people.

Helen: That’s so exciting.

Caroline: Yeah, sign me up!

Pauline: Yes. My daughter suggested it. She said, “Oh, why don’t you, like, just do a Substack where you have it in one place? ’cause people are asking you, why don’t you put it in highlights, for example.” But then highlights, it doesn’t give you a lot of information. Whereas a Substack or blog would just, like, you, you can deep dive and bring in more patterns than you can fit on just one page of a story, right?

Caroline: Absolutely. Yeah, it’s such a great idea. I’m sure, if this is launched by the time this episode comes out, we’ll definitely link it up for our listeners. And I look forward to signing up.

Helen: Yeah, it’s so exciting.

Pauline: Yes, thank you!

Caroline: So, we’ve been talking about sewing for so long. We’re gonna need to wrap up soon. But I wanted to just ask you a little bit about your relationship with sewing right now. How has that evolved and, and where are you at right now in your sewing journey?

Pauline: So in my sewing journey, I’m on hiatus because I’m visiting my mom right now, so I don’t have a sewing machine. I don’t want to use her hand crank. So…

Helen: It would be hard to go back to hand crank, yeah.

Pauline: It would be. Yes. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I haven’t been sewing, but I am spending a lot of time on my Substack, just compiling stuff and just bringing more, ’cause I have so many inspiration pictures in my Google Photos. And on my Pinterest. I need to release them. So that’s what I’ve been doing right now. So, just compiling the articles for the Sew the Looks, going back into the Sew the Looks and just, like, making several chapters and classifications and just trying to figure out how I can also inject some pattern hacking in there, pattern hacking tips and, yeah, just like, say, okay, this dress has buttons, so if you want to skip the buttons, like I did with the Lora Dress where I, I hacked it into something that I saw at Tibi, so just skipped the button placket and made it without buttons. And I can just give tips that way and put some pictures, even, like, if I, if I’ve tried it or I have plenty of, like, pattern paper and I can show how to hack it. Actually, like, take the pattern and break it down and then show the process, right? So right now I’m just brainstorming on how to work that Substack and, and how it can be useful to the sewing community.

Helen: That’s so cool. I, I often hear people saying, like, fabric collecting and sewing are two separate hobbies, and I feel like there’s a third hobby in there for me, and that is just daydreaming about things I wanna make. And I don’t make 95% of them, but I will sit and spend a couple hours sketching in my sketchbook or writing a list of all the things I wanna make this fall, even though I’m only gonna make one or two of them. But that’s fine. It’s like its own hobby, just daydreaming, and it’s so much fun.

Pauline: It’s the creativity. That’s how we keep up with our creative self. We need it as sewists, right? So we need to be inspired. We need to brainstorm. We need to just dream, like you said. Yeah. It’s very important in the process to do that, I feel like, and that we’re not forced to do things, but just, it’s, it’s, it’s, all part of the process. It’s the joy that we take out of just stroking your fabric.

Helen: Yeah.

Pauline: Not doing anything with it. Right?

Helen: Just draping it on your shoulder.

Pauline: It’s, It’s, just, yes. Draping it on your shoulders or, you know, like sometimes I just, like, I make a mess ‘cause I pull them all out and then I’m trying to figure out which one to use.

Helen: Yeah. Oh my gosh. We’ve all been there.

Pauline: We all do that. It’s all part of the process. Yeah. And, and it’s fun. It’s fun. And I think I like that process more than sewing itself.

Helen: Yeah. I can already tell the Substack is gonna be such a joy for you to create, so we can’t wait to see more of that.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Well, Pauline, this was such a fun chat. We’ve had such a good time getting to know you a little bit better, hearing about your sewing journey, and we can’t wait for the Substack. Can you tell our listeners where they can follow along with you online?

Pauline: So they can find me on Instagram, @sewuthinkucan, so, “sew” like sewing, the letter U, “think,” and the letter U, “can.” You’ll put it in the show notes, so they can find me there. On my Instagram, I haven’t been posting much lately because I’ve been traveling a lot, but I’m going to continue posting the Sew the Looks in my stories whenever I can and work on the Substack.

Caroline: Well, we’ll look forward to seeing that. And thank you so much again, Pauline. You bring so much joy and creativity to the sewing community with your pattern hacks and your Sew the Looks. So I hope our listeners will go follow you. And thank you so much, again, for coming on.

Pauline: Thank you very much, Helen and Caroline. It’s been such a joy. I’ve been listening to this podcast ever since you started, so it’s been such a joy to be one of the guests!

Helen: Oh, oh, I love that. Thank you.

Caroline: Oh! ​That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Caroline, at Blackbird Fabrics and BF patterns, and Helen at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Helen: You can support Love to Sew and get access to our bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes and that’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out the podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Caroline: You can head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or email us at [email protected].

Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We’ll talk to you next week!

Caroline: Buh-bye!

Helen: Bye!

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We each chose a rising trend for Fall/Winter 2025 and sewed garments inspired by it! In this episode, we reveal them to each other for the first time. We also talk about our pattern and fabric choices, the tips that helped us through the sewing process, and where we plan to wear our trendy outfits.

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

From the Listener Question Section:

Caroline’s “Back to Brown” Top and Skirt

Helen’s “Bad Romance” Top:

Other Mentions:

Transcript: 

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Helen: ​Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew and it’s literally all we wanna talk about.

Caroline: We each chose a rising trend for fall/winter 2025 and sewed garments inspired by it. In this episode, we’re gonna reveal them to each other. And we’ll also talk about our pattern and fabric choices, the tips that helped us through the sewing process, and where we plan to wear our trendy outfits.

Helen: If you love to sew, this is your show.

Caroline: I love these episodes, Helen.

Helen: Me too. I am, like, vibrating with anticipation of seeing your trendy look that you made. I cannot wait. I’m so excited.

Caroline: Me too. I’m so excited. It’s the best. Okay. We’re, like, both just so pumped to get into it. But first we have a couple of things to say.

Helen: Yes. The first is that you can support us over on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. It is the best way to support Love to Sew. And by joining us over there, you get access to bonus content every month. We do, like, long form episodes where we just chat about our lives. And we have so much fun catching up on those episodes and sharing things we’re loving right now and talking about sewing and all that good stuff. So if you enjoy listening to us chat, that’s one place to get more of it.

Caroline: It really is. And it means so much if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two. But if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally understand. We just are really grateful that you’re here listening and cheering us on, and hopefully also excited to see what trend we picked and what we made.

Helen: Yes, welcome. And we do have a listener question before we start the show, as well. Gen wrote, “I’d like to make a Rumi from KPop Demon Hunters costume for Halloween for my daughter. How can I hack a pattern for making a pointed shoulder on a jacket?” We’ve got a picture of Rumi here in our little show notes for this episode, and it’s kind of almost like a bolero jacket. It has, like, epaulettes on the shoulders. One of them’s more like a cap kind of shell shape, and one of them is that, like, pointed shoulder that Jen is describing. Caroline, have you seen KPop Demon Hunters?

Caroline: I haven’t, and I feel like I’m really out of the loop ’cause I know it’s having a real moment right now. This is very of the time.

Helen: It really is. The music is so good and I loved it. I watched it with my nieces and I thought it was fantastic. But I do enjoy an animated movie, so I had a great time. Would recommend watching it. But as far as making a costume, I think there’s gonna be a ton of costumes from KPop Demon Hunters this year. So it’s gonna be really fun to see. I do think these shoulder armor pieces are called pauldrons, and there are cosplay tutorials and even patterns for making your own out of foam. So we’ll link up a couple of those in the show notes.

Caroline: Yeah, and Gen did specify that she wanted to know about, specifically, the pointy shoulder, the one where the fabric comes to, like, a soft point. It’s very 2010 Lady Gaga. And we found a great post by The Shapes of Fabric that shows you how to alter a bodice and sleeve pattern to make a bunch of different pointy shoulders. So we’ll link that up for you. Even if you’re not into pointed shoulders, it’s super cool to see how these are done. It’s very sculptural. With that in mind, I would recommend using heavy interfacing on the upper sleeve and possibly on the edge of the bodice armscye so that your statement shoulder holds its shape.

Helen: Yeah, and another option would be to choose a jacket pattern with puffs at the top of the sleeves. It will give a similar vibe to the jacket in the movie, but you won’t need to do any special drafting. And all you really need for a successful costume is a similar vibe, right? You don’t need it to be exact. You just want people to look at it and be like, oh, KPop Demon Hunters. So no one’s going around with a picture of Rumi and judging people’s costumes against the photo.

Caroline: Yeah. Honestly, I feel like you could just do like a bolero and then some sort of, like, foam or…I don’t know…

Helen: Spray painted gold foam thing. Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah, that you’re just, like, kind of attaching or gluing on the shoulder. I don’t think that piece necessarily has to be sewn. But this is a really cool costume.

Helen: That’s true. I wonder if you could go to the dollar store and find some, like, armor pieces for a different, like a knight’s costume or something like that and use those. Maybe change the colour with spray paint and put those on. If you have the purple braid, you’ve got Rumi. I mean, let’s be real.

Caroline: Yeah, yeah. I think this would be a really cute costume. Gen, if you end up making it, please do, send us a pic.

Helen: Yes! My little soda pop. Okay, now let’s move on to the main part of the show. This episode is a mashup of two of our favourite episode formats. We’ve got our “We Sew” episodes and our “Reacting to Trends” episodes that we do from time to time. So we each chose a rising trend for this season that we’re really excited about. And the article we used is called “12 Autumn/Winter 2025 Fashion Trends That Will Dominate the Season.”

Caroline: This article is by Maxine Eggenberger for Who What Wear. We’re gonna link it in the show notes so that you can take a look and peruse all the different trends. We actually secretly designed and sewed a garment inspired by our chosen trend and we’re about to reveal them to each other for the first time. Helen, I don’t even know what trend you did. I did kind of spoil what trend I’m gonna do. So I think you have an idea of what trend I’m doing. But I have no idea what you picked. Not even a clue.

Helen: Okay, Caroline, you go first. Let’s first tell our listeners which trends we did and then we can reveal our outfits to each other.

Caroline: Okay, so I chose “Back to Brown.” I’m gonna read a snippet from the article, so: “If you’re craving colour this winter, but find black a little too heavy and camel a little too safe, then brown is your answer.” The photos are of head-to-toe looks in dark, rich brown, so think espresso and chocolate. I do think it’s funny that this article says “if you’re craving colour” and then it refers to black and camel as colours. Because I feel like if I was like, “I’m really craving colour,” I’d be like, “I want, like, a punchy red or yellow or, like, a bright,” you know? To me, brown is almost a neutral at this point. But anyways, I’m gonna stop talking. I need to send you my video.

Helen: Ahh! Okay. I’m so excited.

Caroline: Hold on. Hold on.

Helen: I have been seeing a lot of brown around and I know you’ve always been a big fan of brown, Caroline, so I’m not surprised at all that you picked this trend. I think it’s perfect for you. And you’ve been carrying a lot of really nice brown stuff at Blackbird, so I’m sure you have lots of good fabrics to choose from. Ahh! Oh my gosh, you did head to toe? Oh, it’s so cute. Ooh, is that the cotton lawn? I love that fabric.

Caroline: This is the Washed Cotton Poplin.

Helen: Poplin, yes. Oh my gosh.

Caroline: And then I did a Handwoven Cotton for the top.

Helen: Oh, I love it.

Caroline: So…

Helen: This is so you. And, like, really cute.

Caroline: I also included some, like, other styling in this video, I kind of edited together a quick video for you so you could see how I would wear these. But…

Helen: A bag?

Caroline: I’m gonna describe it to our listeners. This bag isn’t new. Wait, I’m gonna describe it. So I made the Henrietta Skirt by Spaghetti Western Sewing. It’s a voluminous midi, like, maxi-length skirt with an elastic waistband and these gathered side panels. I went with a longer length. And I chose this for the drama. I wanted something, like, very voluminous and dramatic. Then the second pattern, for my blouse, I did the Fleur Blouse by Fabric Godmother. So it has bows down the front, a gathered peplum, and puffy sleeves. This is one of those, like, Ganni dupe tops. There’s a bunch of patterns for this out there. I’m really happy to have finally tried out this style. I’m really happy with it. But yes, and I also, I styled the look with, like, brown ballet flats and I pulled my brown Mia Bag, as well, ’cause it matched and I thought that was, like, fun. And the trend talks about doing, like, head-to-toe all brown, like, to really get the look. But then I also included a couple clips of, like, other looks. So I paired the blouse with, like, a pair of a future pattern that we’re working on. It’s like an elastic waist little pant. And then I also am showing you the skirt with, like, a Carrie Crop Top in brown ’cause I already have brown in my wardrobe. Obviously, I love brown. So yeah. What do you think?

Helen: I love it. I love it so much. It’s very you. And I like that you did separates because you can mix and match, so that’s so smart. I also like that the browns are, like, different tones. Like, the bottom, the skirt, Henrietta Skirt’s more rich and then the top is, like, a little bit more of like an ashy brown, ’cause it’s got like a small check pattern, right? So it’s got, like, a bit of variation and they look really good together. And then the bag really does just, like, top it all off, like the cherry on top of the cake. It make, it takes it from, like, clothes to, like, a lewk, you know?

Caroline: Yeah. And I was really happy to already have a pair of brown ballet flats that I could wear with it. But no, I’m, I’m really happy with this look. Maybe we can get into it a little bit later, I will say, it was, like, quite a journey. I knew I wanted to make the skirt, but the top… I agonized over what to do with the top. I had so many different ideas and I was definitely, like, Overthinkers Anonymous over here, like, changing my mind 20 different times. I literally cut out a pattern and then I was like, “No, I’m not doing this. I changed my mind.” Yes, so I am happy with…

Helen: In the fabric or in a muslin?

Caroline: No, I cut out, like, the, I, like, printed the pattern and I cut out the paper pieces and then I pulled out the fabric and I was like, “This is not right. This is not going to give me the look.”

Helen: “This feels all wrong.”

Caroline: So I…

Helen: I think this top you made looks so cute with these pants. Like, with the cream pants.

Caroline: I know. I actually love this top. I love this pattern. Anyways, we’re gonna talk about it. But like I mentioned, fabric-wise, I used the Washed Cotton Poplin in Coffee Bean from Blackbird, and then the Mini Check Lightweight Handwoven Cotton in Cocoa. They’re both 100% cotton lightweight woven fabrics. They were perfect. I wanna know what you made and then we, we will get into the deets?

Helen: Yes. Okay, let’s do that. But before I show you mine, I want to tell you that, no joke, I almost made the Henrietta Skirt as well. I was gonna do a head-to-toe outfit and, spoiler, I only made the top half. But the bottom half was gonna be the Henrietta Skirt. Now I’m really wishing I had done it because that would’ve been so funny. Of all the patterns out there. Oh, I can’t.

Caroline: Okay. Wait, we, we didn’t even hear what your trend is. I wanna know what your trend is first.

Helen: So I chose “Bad Romance” and the article says, “Bad Romance toes the line between darkness and delicacy, offering looks that blend gothic styling with the sort of romantic visuals you usually only see in period dramas.” So think dramatic, romantic silhouettes, sheer black fabrics, and lots of beautiful details. So like I said, I wanted to make a whole outfit, but I didn’t get around to it.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Let’s be real. The top took longer than I thought. And I’m really happy with it. So I’m glad I took my time. But I didn’t get around to making the whole outfit. But I do think it’s a good mix-and-match piece. So I’m gonna send it to you now.

Caroline: Ahh! Oh my gosh. Oh! Okay. Helen, you never wear black. This is so crazy. Wait. It fits you so well.

Helen: Thank you.

Caroline: Oh! Look at the back. It’s so cute. Okay. Wait. Describe it. Describe it!

Helen: It is a tight-fitting woven top that I made out of an eyelet fabric, and I used kind of a skin tone match underlining, so it looks semi-sheer. I was going for that semi-sheer look with the Bad Romance. I was also really drawn to this idea of, like, darkness and delicacy and, like, the gothic romantic vibe It’s a little bit witchy.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: It’s, like, cropped and tight. It has almost like a corset/bustier feel to it and then it ties in the back. So that also kind of gives it a corset vibe. And this is the Rothwell Top by Stitch Witch Patterns. And yeah, I’m really happy with how it turned out. And I feel like, as a standalone top, it’s really nice ’cause I could mix and match it with lots of different bottoms and get different looks. But yeah, it’s a little bit sexy, it’s a little bit witchy. And I’m really loving it. I’ve been wearing it around my studio only. I haven’t found an excuse to wear it out yet, but I’ve been enjoying wearing it in house, so.

Caroline: It fits you like a glove. I am so impressed with the fit on this. I’m excited to hear about your journey in that area. But you, the eyelet that you chose is perfect. It’s that, like, grid eyelet. It’s super sexy. It’s super cute. I love the little open, like, keyhole in the back and I think it fits the trend so well. Also, you never wear black. It’s really weird to see you in black, so.

Helen: I don’t wear a ton of black. I really enjoy, like, rich colours and bright, fun things. So I have black in my wardrobe, but it’s definitely not, like, a everyday event for me. But when you released these eyelets in the spring, I was so drawn to these, like, more windowpane ones that you guys did that have these, like, square grid format to it. And the black one in particular, I was just like, “That is the most beautiful eyelet I’ve ever seen and I have to have it.” So I bought four meters of it…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Being like, “I’ll, I’ll figure it out. I’ll make something out of it eventually.” And then when I saw Bad Romance on this list, I was like, “Ooh, I have that eyelet. That would be perfect for this.” And so then I started thinking about, like, what would be a good pattern match? And I was gonna do the Henrietta Skirt in this fabric as well, but without any underlining. So it was, like, actually sheer. And then I could wear it with, like, black underwear and, like, have like a semi-sheer or like a slip if you wanted to be a little bit more conservative. But, like, you would have options there. And I thought that would be really cute. So imagine that happened.

Caroline: Okay. Can I just say, side note: pattern related. I almost made the Tulip Top, the Fortiv Tulip Top to go with my skirt.

Helen: Oh yeah, that was the other one I was thinking of.

Caroline: Which is, like, a similar corset-style top. Can you imagine if you had made the Henrietta Skirt and I had made the Tulip Top and we showed up with, like, matching, basically matching fits in different colours?

Helen: I would be shocked, but not, at the same time.

Caroline: Yeah. Um, no, I love it. It’s so good and I imagine it was a lot of work to get this to look as incredible as it looks.

Helen: I did go on a fitting journey, which we’ll talk about.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Yes, it was worth it, though.

Caroline: Oh, I love it. Do you have any, like, black pants to style it with or any black bottoms that you could…?

Helen: I do, yeah, I have a pair of black Falconer Pants. I’m wearing it with the red ones in this picture ’cause I thought that was also kind of sexy adjacent. And I also have a black rib knit skirt that’s very, like, feels formal but is actually super comfortable. It goes with everything. So I could see wearing it with that. But I almost feel like, if I wore it with black, like, a black skirt like that, it might take it to, like, a costumey place? Like, all I need is a witch’s hat and I’m, like, all set for Halloween.

Caroline: Halloween costume sorted.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So I kind of like it with a brighter bottom just to contrast it a little bit and take it, like, a step away from that sexy place by having the bottom be a little bit less in that arena. I dunno.

Caroline: Yeah, I will say, my look together, the two pieces together made me feel, like, kind of prairie. Like, it’s giving cottage-y, milkmaid, like, something, and it’s like, this could potentially be in costume territory. And maybe that’s a thing with, like, trying a new-to-you trend or trying to really lean into a trend is that it maybe doesn’t always feel 100% you, so you almost feel like you’re wearing a costume.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. That’s the best thing about making separates, though. ‘Cause then you can separate them and it feels a little bit less full-on when you’re wearing just half of it.

Caroline: Yes. Totally. Totally. Okay. I have lots of questions.

Helen: Yeah. Same.

Caroline: Okay. I can cover, like, fitting adjustments and stuff, or grading. ‘Cause for me it was really simple. This was a perfect project for me because I had no muslins. I didn’t make a muslin and I just went with it. I just, ’cause they were both kind of voluminous shapes, I felt confident that they would fit. So I just went for it for both of these patterns. Didn’t need to make any adjustments. I think the only thing I did was lengthen the Henrietta Skirt because I believe it’s drafted for like a 5’3” or 5’4” person. So I knew I would need to lengthen it to get, like, the really long shape that I wanted. But other than that, I didn’t have to make any alterations. I really liked that the Fleur Blouse had cup sizes, so I did the D-cup range and I felt really confident that it would fit well around the chest area. So no fitting adjustments on my end, which…

Helen: That’s amazing.

Caroline: Yeah. You must be jealous, Helen, because I think you’ve had a journey.

Helen: But, like, when we did our Vests episode, I had none and you had lots. So I mean, you can’t win ’em all, right?

Caroline: You really can’t win ‘em all.

Helen: Sometimes you end up having to do fitting adjustments. It’s just how it is.

Caroline: Yeah. Another thing I wanted to mention, just quickly, about the fabric that I picked for the Henrietta Skirt. I feel like this Washed Cotton Poplin is so perfect for this pattern because it holds volume really well, and it has this kind of, like, crinkly, papery look that just feels sort of dramatic. And you really do have to embrace the wrinkles. It’s just, like, part of the vibe. And I think this skirt, even in her product listing, I believe one of the fabrics used is, like, either our Washed Cotton Poplin or something really similar. It’s just, like, the look of the pattern and I love it. And I think also, higher fashion, there is a lot of that, like, structural, papery, crisp fabric that I’m seeing. So it made a lot of sense for me to use this fabric. And if you’re looking for that look, if anyone out there wants to make this pattern is looking for that look, the Washed Cotton Poplin is, like, perfect for it.

Helen: Yeah, I’m a huge fan of that fabric. I made a pair of June Pants out of it, the green cargo hack that I did, and I love those pants. They’re so cute, and it feels like I’m wearing, like, a track pant. Like, it feels almost like a ripstop nylon. It has that vibe. It’s, like, crispy and swishy, but it’s cotton and it’s wearing, like, I wear them all the time and the crotch is still, like, immaculate still. So I would definitely recommend this fabric.

Caroline: Okay. That’s so good to know. ‘Cause I was thinking about using, we have a new nylon that we, that came out recently and I was like, I really wanna make pants, but I feel like nylon pants are not gonna be comfortable.

Helen: I mean, this is, I made these pants out of cotton, not nylon, so I can’t really speak to that, but…

Caroline: That’s what I mean. It’s, like, a good alternative to a nylon. Um, and you get that same look, but anyways, we’re getting off topic. Sorry.

Helen: Big fan of that fabric, though. I have it in lots of colours. Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah. You want to talk about your fitting journey?

Helen: Yes. Sure. Okay. I did end up doing quite a bit of fitting on this pattern. I cut out my size based on the chart, and this pattern does have a really good size range and it has different cup sizes as well, which is really nice. I cut out my size based on the chart, but my first muslin was pretty off. Like, the arm opening was really small and the shoulders, like, wouldn’t come up over my shoulders. So I, like, almost couldn’t, like, fully put it on. So there was a lot to work on with this one. And I did end up making three muslins.

Caroline: Whoa.

Helen: Yeah, which felt, this is why I didn’t get around to the skirt. But luckily, it’s a small design, so it’s, like, literally a front and back pattern piece and then there’s ties, so it’s not too much of a fabric hog. And I could just keep reusing my little ties every time I made another one. And the front bodice was pretty good, but I redrafted the back using some of my other patterns to kind of guide me into…

Caroline: Oh, interesting. Okay.

Helen: What I knew was gonna work for me. It wasn’t immediately clear when I put it on, like, oh, I need a bust adjustment or I need a shoulder adjustment. It was just more like, I don’t think this back piece is, like, working for my body. So I basically took the design idea and I redrafted the back piece, which is doable ’cause I’m a pattern maker. So it’s like, I’m not a professional pattern drafter, but I do have experience in that arena. So I was able to make the back work. And then once I got the back working, the front was pretty good and I just needed to move the darts to make them point perfectly for my bust. And I also moved the shoulder in a bit ’cause I wanted it to feel a little bit more comfortable, like it wasn’t gonna fall off the edges of my shoulders; this top’s kind of designed to be a little bit wider. And so I moved them in. Um, and I’m really happy with that adjustment. It almost makes the neck more scoopy. And I think I got the bust fit really good. Like it has this, like, I’m not wearing a bra and it fits really well. It kinda, like, hugs the bust.

Caroline: Yeah, the bust fit is great. So it’s just darts at the bottom? Or where are the darts?

Helen: It’s got a dart that goes to the armscye and a dart that comes up from the hem.

Caroline: Okay, so two darts, not princess seams. Cool. No, you did get a really great fit in the end.

Helen: Yeah, it was worth it in the end. I’m really happy with how it fits. Like, I would make another top now in a heartbeat, now that I’ve got it down. So I think, like, it was definitely worth it. But yeah, I’ll try to get some videos of my muslins to show, like, my fitting process. ‘Cause I know that’s always really interesting for people to see and, like, let’s be real. Not every pattern is for everybody, and sometimes you get lucky and it fits you perfectly and sometimes you put it on and you’re like, “Oh, I don’t know if, like, my body is aligning with the block that they use to draft this pattern.” And that’s fine. But, like, I have to do a little bit more work to get there in the end. And it was worth it, in this case.

Caroline: Yeah. I also think, when you get into these types of patterns that are so fitted, it is even more difficult to make a pattern that is gonna suit a lot of different bodies. Like you, just, when you’re making something that’s, like, a corset/bustier style or, like, just like a really, really form-fitting woven pattern with darts or princess seams, I think you need to go into it with the expectation that there will be at least some fitting involved, because they have to pick some, like, a block, a body to base it off of, and it’s never gonna be able to work for everyone.

Helen: No, absolutely, and that’s why I, I knew going into it that I was gonna make a muslin, and then I was like, “Okay, I’m gonna do a second one.” And then I ended up doing a third one just to tweak a tiny little thing. But I was like, You know what? It’ll be worth it just to, like, let’s just figure out the fit before we go in with this, I was doing eyelet and underlining and all this stuff, and I didn’t wanna end up with something that I was disappointed in, so.

Caroline: Yeah. I really like the ties in the back, too, how that probably adds a little element of being able to, like, cinch and fit it for your body, have, like, a little bit of flexibility there if your body changes a little bit. And then you’re not having to do the, like, classic, like, grommets or something that you would have on, like, a corset style.

Helen: Yeah, totally. Yeah. That’s one of the selling features of the pattern is that it has no closures. And like you said, the ties make it so it’s adjustable, so you can have it be looser or tighter just by tying those ties tighter or looser. And then it also has these little points at the front that, like, it’s corset inspired, so it comes down to these two little points kind of right on either side of your tummy. And I think those are so cute. It’s one of my favourite design elements of the pattern. And you can optionally put a little bow at the bottom of the points.

Caroline: Oh, cute.

Helen: Which I’ve seen on, like, it’s included in the pattern and I’ve seen it on lots of people’s versions, but I kind of prefer it without the bows, so I didn’t add the bow on for my version. But I think it, it just takes it to this really fun, witchy place that I very much enjoy.

Caroline: Yeah, I was gonna say, that definitely takes it into witchy territory and I, I’m totally here for it.

Helen: Yeah. It is so cute. Yeah, and I, like I said, I underlined mine in, like, a cotton, just like a match to my skin tone. I just went to my local fabric store and got some quilting cotton in this, like, beige colour and then also in black. So I underlined the eyelet in the beige and then I lined the garment in black. So it’s got three layers of fabric, so it has that structure to it that makes it nice to wear without a bra, I find. So it’s always nice when you have a backless garment to not have to wear a bra.

Caroline: Very cool. It turned out so good.

Helen: Okay Caroline, do you have a best and worst part of sewing your garments for this episode?

Caroline: Okay. I did feel like it was a bit of an up and down journey for me ’cause, the skirt, I did the skirt first and everything came together really quickly. It’s an elastic waist skirt, you know, simple. Nothing crazy. It came together really fast and I had no issues. When it came to the top, I just think it was, like, one of those sewing days where, like, things just weren’t going my way. And it wasn’t even to do with the pattern. It was, like, my serger was not behaving. Like, it was like doing weird things. I had to rethread it like three times and then, like, change the needles, check everything, you know. And, like, finally I got my serger to work and then my sewing machine tension was off and I couldn’t figure out why. And then I had to, like, play with that. And it was because I had done some shirring and then I had to adjust the little screw in the bobbin case, which I know you’re not supposed to do, but you kind of have to do it when you’re doing shirring. And then when I tried to readjust it I, like, couldn’t get it back to the original setting. So…

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: That was really frustrating. And then I had to unpick serger, Helen.

Helen: Oh no.

Caroline: I had to unpick serger. And I even looked up a video ’cause I know that there’s, like, an easy way to do it where you’re just unpicking the two, like, straight stitch lines and then it’s supposed to just, like, pull apart. Didn’t work. It was not working for me. I was at work at one point trying to unpick ’cause I, like, brought it in. ‘Cause I was like, this is gonna take so long. And then one of my coworkers was like, “Oh, I know how to do the the trick thing. I’ll do it.” And then they came to try it and it, like, they were like, “What is wrong with this? Like, what is happening?” So I literally had to unpick serger in the most slow, annoying way possible. And I was, like, ready to just, like, throw it in the garbage and recut the piece. And I was like, no, Caroline, like, get it together. You can do this. So it was just, like, not a good serger moment for me with this top. I don’t know what’s going on with my serger, but that was really frustrating. But other than that, I would say, really smooth sewing process. And I think the best part would’ve been my first try-on of the top because I was kind of a sewing rebel and I didn’t do any try-ons in the sewing process. I literally tried it on for the first time when I sewed my last stitch. Isn’t that crazy?

Helen: Wow. I mean, yeah, a little bit.

Caroline: Yeah, I didn’t try it on at all. I was like, I’m not gonna try this on…

Helen: What if you wanna, like, what if you wanna hem it shorter or something?

Caroline: No, I just trusted. The only thing I did was I, like, I held the cuff, the sleeve cuff around my bicep to make sure that it wasn’t gonna be too tight. That’s the only thing I tried on. Barely. It was just, like, the strip of fabric to make sure it wasn’t too tight. I just trusted that it was gonna fit. It was, like, a loose fit, and I was like, I’m just going with it. And then when I finally tried it on…I love this top, Helen. It’s so cute. The instructions were great. I’m, I’m going right into, like, a mini-review of this pattern. The instructions were so good and it was just, like, really well-drafted. It came together perfectly. I just think it’s such an adorable little style for a blouse. I think it’s going to incorporate into my wardrobe so well. I really like that there’s a placket behind the ties. ‘Cause a lot of these tie front tops just are open so you can kind of see your bra through. But there’s a placket and so it hides your bra through, which is kind of what I would want. And I’m just so, so happy with, especially, the top. I think it came out really, really nice and I know I’m gonna wear it a ton. So that was the best part. You know that, like, first try-on feeling where you’re like, Ooh, I know I’m gonna wear this.

Helen: I love that because you don’t always get it. Like some, sometimes it takes a little while to fall in love with something you’ve made, especially if you’ve had, like, a frustrating sewing time and you put it on and you’re just like, “I don’t know about this.” But it’s nice when you put it on and you’re just like, “Yes. 100%. I’m so in. I’m gonna wear it tomorrow. I’m so excited.” I love that.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Yeah. So it was a good experience overall. And to wrap up my, my little pattern reviews, I think the only criticism I would have of the Fabric Godmother pattern is that it’s, like, photos in the instructions. And a lot of the time I print my instructions out on a black and white printer and I find that they were a little bit difficult to read. Like, to look at the images on printout and really see the details. And I think the Spaghetti Western Henrietta Skirt was really great. It came together really easily. The instructions were very simple. I liked the style of instructions. Like, the drawings were quite, like, I don’t wanna say, like, rudimentary but, like, they were, they were really simplified, which I think made it really beginner-friendly and easy to understand. And I thought there were a lot of really cute touches in the pattern itself. And even, like, the fitting guide, like, the way that they did the size range is like, if you’re between this measurement and this measurement, you can go with this size. If you’re between this measure… like, it wasn’t like a, uh, it was more of a range and there were less sizes. So the pattern, it wasn’t, like, as stressful to pick a, the perfect size. ‘Cause there is so much volume in the skirt. I think it could work for a range of sizes. So I’m excited ’cause even, you know, if my size changes, it’ll probably still fit me. And yeah, would totally recommend both of these patterns. I think they’re great.

Helen: Yeah, the Henrietta Skirt is so cute. It’s definitely still on my list. And I do love a tie front top. I made a couple of them this summer and there’s something so fun about that tie front detail. Hopefully that trend sticks around next year.

Caroline: I think it will. I think ties are here to stay.

Helen: Was there anything you did while you were sewing that you would do differently or anything you would change if you made these patterns again?

Caroline: Honestly, no. I think I would just, I think they, they worked out perfectly and I wouldn’t change a thing. Yeah.

Helen: Love it. Wonderful.

Caroline: Okay. Tell me about your best moment and your worst moment.

Helen: Okay, well, I did get annoyed while I was fitting this pattern. But as I said, it was definitely worth it in the end. So the low point would’ve been the fitting experience. The high point was sewing it together. Like, laying that beautiful eyelet on top of that lining and seeing the pattern just pop out. So satisfying. And once I got into the sewing of the actual, final version, I was having a great time. I had a few mishaps while I was sewing. Had to unpick a few things, was kind of rushing through, trying to get it done, and definitely, like, messed up a couple of times. But I mean, that’s just sewing, so it was fine. But I just really enjoyed seeing the fabric come to life in this design. And then when I finally got to put it on and it fit so well, that was, like, really exciting and really fun and I was like, oh, I can’t wait to show this to Caroline. It’s so cute. And I really love the little points at the bottom of this corset. I really do wanna make another one in, like, a denim or, I don’t know, like, maybe a nice bright, fun colour. I really like a woven tank. I’ve learned this ’cause I have been wearing my Lockhart Tops a lot. It’s like a hack of our Lockhart Jumpsuit and Dress where you just make the top and it’s basically like a little bandeau princess seam top. And I have like three or four of them and I wear them all the time. I like that, like, cinched bust feeling where it feels like everything is just very, like, secured in this, like, structured top. And this is very much giving the same vibe. So I’m really happy to have another option in my wardrobe. So those are my highs and lows. I do really love the design of this pattern. It’s so unique and fun and cool. And I think if you’re looking for witchy vibes, Stitch Witch has it on lock. Like, I also really like the look of that…

Caroline: It’s in the name!

Helen: I know, it’s true. Their Basque Dress is really cute, too. It has, like, a center point. I don’t think my body was a great fit for their block, but that’s okay. You know, you can’t win them all. And I would consider another one of their designs just because I really love the style of them. I think they’re unique and really fun. So I’m glad I chose this pattern in the end. And now that I’ve fitted it to my body, I can make like 10 of them and they’ll all fit perfectly.

Caroline: Yeah, Yeah, I think that we are both kind of lucky because we can draft our own patterns and they’re based on our bodies. Like, our pattern lines are kind of fitted to us. So we’re used to having things that fit us like a glove. And so when you branch out to other pattern companies, there’s gonna be some wins and there’s gonna be some losses, and that’s totally fine. But I commend you for sticking to it.

Helen: Thank you. Thank you. And if I could go back and give myself a piece of advice for this project, I would just say, like, it’s gonna be worth it, you know? Because, like, when you’re making something new to you, trend-wise, too, like, the whole time I’m sewing this, I’m like, where am I gonna wear this top? Like, this is, like, it’s a pretty, like, unique-looking garment that I’m not sure if I’m gonna wear a ton. I’m kind of questioning myself as I’m going along, but in the end, I love this top and I’m so excited to wear it. So I would say it’s gonna be worth it.

Caroline: Yeah, I was thinking about what advice I would give myself. And for me, it’s mostly just, like, stop overthinking. And I have to tell you briefly about all of the different patterns I thought about making for the top because, like I said, I could not decide. I originally wanted to do something really form-fitting, ’cause I thought the volume of the skirt would have, like, a nice balance if I had, like, a tighter-fitting top. So I was like, I wanna do a knit top, but I want it to be, like, long sleeve and I want it to have some, like, style lines in it, like some seaming or something to, like, accentuate. So I found a pattern, and this is, like, I’m sure people are gonna relate to the struggle. When you have an idea in your head and you find the perfect pattern and then you realize it doesn’t come in your size. It’s, like, one of the most frustrating experiences as a sewist to be like, no, this isn’t for me. And I hate that. You know? And so I had this pattern that I really liked and I was like, I’m just gonna hack a different pattern to make it look like this. And then I was like, no, I should just, like, pick a pattern that…like, stop hacking things and just like pick something out of the envelope, you know, that’s like ready to go. So I thought about doing a knit top. Couldn’t find one that, like, really fit my vision. And then I was like, what if I did a little quilted jacket? Because I was seeing a lot of, like, outerwear in this trend, in, like, the imagery. And I thought that would be really fun and dramatic. But then I was like, oh my gosh, thinking about my last couple of quilted jackets and how long they took to make and how much of a journey they were. And I was like, I don’t know if I have it in me to do a quilted jacket for this episode. It felt like it would be just too much work and I didn’t have enough time to get it done. So I kind of scrapped that idea and then I was like, okay, what about a corset-style top? That’s when I was thinking about the Tulip Top. And I actually knew there was another one. I knew about the Stitch Witch pattern, but I couldn’t think about it. Like, I couldn’t remember what it was. So I never ended up looking at that as an option. But I, honestly, might have if I had remembered it.

Helen: That’s so funny. It would look really good with the Henrietta. I think they go really well together. Yeah.

Caroline: I think it would. Yeah. And then I just, I literally looked at all of the pages of tops on The Fold Line, Helen. I think it took me hours. Like, I looked at every single page.

Helen: How did you not go blind?

Caroline: I don’t know.

Helen: Like, are you even seeing them after a certain point?

Caroline: Like, it was like a multi-day affair of me agonizing. I talked to Shea about it. I was like, I don’t know what to make. I wanna, like, really, like, lean into the trend. But like, I also, I find with this style of episode, I have to almost talk myself out of things sometimes because I really want to try something but then I’m also like, I don’t wanna make something that I’m not gonna wear. I want to make something that’s gonna fit into my wardrobe. So there was that element of like, this sounds like a really cool outfit, but where am I gonna wear this corset top? Or like, where am I gonna wear…

Helen: Hey! Hey, now.

Caroline: For me, personally.

Helen: What are you…what are you talking about?

Caroline: And like, I still wanna make the Tulip Top. I think it’s really cool. But I just, like, couldn’t bring myself to do it for this particular episode. And anyway, so I ended up, when I found the Fleur Blouse, I just thought like, this is kind of the perfect little top. I think it’ll work really well in my wardrobe. And I also like that look of, like, volume on volume. Like, I don’t care if you can’t see my body, you know? Like, just, I, like, I think it, that can elevate an outfit. So that’s why I ended up going with the pattern that I went with. But man, it was a journey and a lot of self-doubt, a lot of overthinking, a lot of questioning my decisions.

Helen: This one was a challenge ’cause, like, you narrow it down based on the trend, but then when you end up with, like, choosing something, like, brown, it’s like, you could literally make anything. Like, it’s not like when we do our, did our vest episode where it’s like, no, you’re making a vest. It’s not that hard to pick. Or a skort or whatever. I also had a really hard time choosing, but it’s so funny that we had similar patterns in mind for this, even though we picked different things.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Do you envision yourself wearing your garments to work, like, in your everyday life?

Caroline: I’m definitely gonna wear these garments. I don’t know how much I’m gonna wear them together ’cause I do think it’s quite a look. I might try, like, maybe instead of doing like with the brown flats, like if I put like sneakers on or something, I think that could maybe be cute and make it feel a little bit less like I’m dressing as a character or like in a costume, you know? But for sure the skirt I’m gonna wear. With my Carrie tops, my Carrie Crop Tops, or I think it would work really well with, like, a sweater in the fall. I think that would be really cute. And then that top, I’m gonna wear the heck out of it. I think it’s gonna look so good with jeans. I think it would look so good with all of my Clo Bias-Cut Skirts. I think it would look amazing with just a pair of linen pants. Like, I think I’m gonna wear that top a lot and I already wanna make more. I, I really, really like that pattern. It’s super fun. Yeah. What about you? What is your, like, when are you gonna find an excuse to wear this witchy top?

Helen: Every day. Every day around the house.

Caroline: Every day in the studio. It’s your new uniform.

Helen: No, it’s definitely more of a night out look. But luckily I have a trip coming up at the end of this week, actually, at the time of recording. So I’m really excited to bring it with us. We’re going to Winnipeg and Montreal, here in Canada. So I am excited to bring it to the big city and wear it out to, like, a cool restaurant or bar, date night kind of vibe. Not sure 100% what I’m gonna pair it with yet, but I know it’s gonna look really great and I’m gonna feel really, like, confident and cool in it. So I’m really excited to wear it for more of, like, that kind of special occasion outing.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. I feel like it might look cute with your denim skort. No?

Helen: Yeah, no, I could see that.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: With, like, tights and boots maybe, for fall.

Caroline: Yeah, tights and boots.

Helen: Yeah, I could definitely see it with a denim miniskirt. I like that idea. Don’t have one of those, though. I have my skort.

Caroline: Yeah. You have your skort.

Helen: Wearing a skort in the winter feels, like, a little weird to me.

Caroline: I know. ‘Cause it’s not an all-around…like, the skirt panel doesn’t go all around, right? It’s, like, shorts in the back. So shorts in the back with, like, tights might be a little weird.

Helen: I mean, it’s fine. I can’t see back there.

Caroline: Yeah, exactly. None of your business what you look like from the back. Okay. And how comfortable are you in your garment?

Helen: Honestly, it’s really comfortable. I love not wearing a bra. I think that’s part of the reason why I like more structured woven tops, is because I can go braless and then I don’t have anything digging in. I just have the structure of the top. And it’s definitely sexy, but I feel comfortable with the level of sexy that it is. So I’m really happy, overall, with that. And I imagine you’re very comfortable in your garments, Caroline.

Caroline: Oh, super comfortable. Yes, I love them. I think the only thing that might be uncomfortable is, like, if I’m feeling bloated, if I’m on my period or something and I’m, the elastic waist is, like, digging in. But honestly, I don’t even think that’ll be an issue. I think that I’ll be really comfy. One question I had for you about your top is: when I see those points, I think about sitting and how, are they gonna, like, get creased? Like are they gonna crease up when you sit? Have you noticed that?

Helen: No, I haven’t really worn it for, like, a long period of time, you know? I’ve worn it for, like, a couple hours around the studio. It does have really good structure to it because of those three layers of fabric. So I think generally it’ll probably be okay. But if I were to sit at, like, a dinner for a few hours it definitely might be a little bit of a crinkly mess when I stand up. But hopefully by then Sam’s had a few glasses of wine and he won’t notice.

Caroline: He won’t notice. Yeah, I was gonna say, like, it would be kind of funny if they were, like, sticking out, like, horizontally…

Helen: It’s true.

Caroline: After you stand up, but I’m sure…like, it’s cotton, you could just, like, smooth it down. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Helen: Yeah, I think if you made it in a linen, that could be a real issue, for sure. They would get really crinkly. So I think the cotton is a better choice. Or, like, something more structured. But you don’t wanna go too heavy with this, ’cause I will say that, when I tried to, like, line it, you sew the, like, lining and main fabric together along like the shoulder seams here. Like, you sew the neck and the armscyes together and then you pull the back through to the front through the shoulder opening and it’s quite narrow. It’s only like two inches. And so the weight of the eyelet, ’cause of all those little holes, it ends up being quite heavy or, like, quite bunchy and thick And then, like, the two layers of quilting cotton. I had a hard time getting it through, but I did manage to do it. But if you were using, like, denim or something, yeah, that could be a tricky point, for sure.

Caroline: Mm. Okay. That’s good to know. Good tip. Helen, I wanna know what other trends you considered.

Helen: There’s lots of fun ones. I really loved the Modern Menagerie, which is just animal prints. Obviously a big leopard print fan over here, but I have some zebra print rayon in my stash that I am obsessed with and I don’t know what to make with it. So I thought this would be a fun opportunity to force myself to finally use this fabric. I was thinking maybe like a bias-cut slip dress in, like, the zebra print so it’s on an angle would be really cool. So I still kind of wanna do that. I also was drawn to the maxi coats, but I felt like a coat was too much of an undertaking.

Caroline: Yeah, same. I thought about that one, too, but I was like, I don’t know if I have it in me to make a maxi coat for this episode.

Helen: I know, but it would be nice and I love that trend. I do have a long woo,l boiled wool Pona Jacket that very much is that trend. So I already have that in my closet. And then I also really like brown, and I was considering brown as well. I’m enjoying brown. I don’t wear a ton of it, but I’m incorporating more of it into my wardrobe. And like I said, you guys have a lot of nice browns right now. So I’m here for brown.

Caroline: Yeah. Do you think you’ll make something else in the Bad Romance trend world?

Helen: I mean, I’d like to make a bottom half to this outfit, still, because I have a lot of this black eyelet left. Like I said, I got four meters, so I only used like three-quarters of a meter to make this top. So I’ve got lots left to work with and I could do something else really fun with that. So yeah, I could see myself making more Bad Romance inspired outfits. And I’m imagining you’re going to make more brown, naturally.

Caroline: Oh, 100%. I’m gonna be making more brown. I love brown. I actually thought you might do the velvet one.

Helen: Ooh, velvet’s always fun.

Caroline: Those rich tones in the imagery really remind me of some of the colours that you wear. And I don’t know, I feel like you have velvet in your stash. Like, I feel like it’s just something that you might make anyways. So I thought there was a chance you were gonna do velvet. But yeah, I really liked the squishy bag trend. I thought about that ’cause I thought it’d be a fun way to incorporate, like, sewing an accessory. And I thought that was a really fun option. I did briefly consider doing the fur trend.

Helen: Yes. I was hoping one of us would, but I didn’t want to do it.

Caroline: I know, but then I was like, oh, I’m gonna, I have to source, like, a faux fur. And I don’t know if that’s something that I’m gonna really wear in Vancouver. It’s so wet here.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Like a, like a wet faux fur is not the vibe. And then I also am kind of a fan of the, uh, Frazzled…there’s one called Frazzled but Fabulous.

Helen: Ooh, yes. Yeah.

Caroline: And, yeah, it’s kind, it’s, what did they say? They called it, like, “scatty chic aesthetic.” I don’t know.

Helen: That one’s really up for interpretation. Like, just looking like kind of a hot mess?

Caroline: Yeah, exactly. So I was like, I don’t know how I could pick a pattern that would go with this. ‘Cause I think that’s, a lot of that is about the styling of the outfit. So yeah, there’s some good options, for sure.

Helen: Yeah. There are some fun ones. And then there was some that I was like, no. Like knee-length skirts. I’m happy for people to wear…like, obviously it’s a great length. I just don’t enjoy it on me. I’m, like, a midi-length or mini-length or maxi-length, but the knee? I don’t do knee.

Caroline: It reminds me of the early aughts. Like, I definitely had knee-length skirts in high school, you know?

Helen: Yeah, there’s something about it. And the buccaneer boots, too. Like, I had buccaneer boots back in the day and they’re on this list and, like, I don’t love the pirate boot look. I do like a tall leather boot, but not, like, slouchy style, you know? With, like, a stiletto heel? Mm…

Caroline: And the shoulder trend, you didn’t think about doing, like, a strong shoulder?

Helen: Ooh, like Rumi?

Caroline: An eighties energy shoulder? Yeah.

Helen: No. I always take shoulder pads out of things when I find them at thrift stores and stuff. Like I don’t need extra shoulder. I have naturally broad shoulders. It always feels like too much when I do a broad shoulder, personally, so I wasn’t drawn to that one.

Caroline: Yeah. there’s some good ones in here. Okay. Any final thoughts?

Helen: No, I don’t think so. I’m so excited to share with our listeners. And if y’all wanna sew a trend from this list and share with us, feel free. That would be so fun. And I hope this inspires you to give a new trend for fall/winter a try. It’s always fun to, like, give yourself a little sewing challenge and just think outside the box a little bit. I know I’m enjoying that with these episodes so much. Like, it’s really fun to choose pattern companies I’ve never worked with and think about styles I’ve never tried before. I’m just having a blast.

Caroline: I know. Me too. We have one more of these that we’re recording this season and I gotta hop to it. I gotta get onto the next We Sew.

Helen: I know, I haven’t started yet either. So this is all the motivation I need, though.

Caroline: Yes. Absolutely. Alright, well I hope everyone enjoyed. I think we’ve reached the end, my trend friend. Until next time.

Helen: Until next time. That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Caroline, at Blackbird Fabrics and BF patterns and Helen at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. And we’re recording today in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes, and that’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Caroline: You can head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT? That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or you can send us an email at [email protected].

Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We will talk to you next week. Bye.

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This episode is an introduction to projector sewing! Projector sewists skip the paper and project patterns directly onto fabric. We talk about what you need for a successful setup and how to use it; the pros and cons of projector sewing vs. printing out PDF patterns; and whether we’re planning to start using projectors (we disagree!). We also answer a listener question about pants length adjustments.

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

From the Listener Questions Section:

Resources for Learning About Projector Sewing:

Articles Mentioned:

Software for Pattern Projection:

Software for Altering/Editing Patterns:

Other Mentions:

Transcript:

Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Caroline: ​ Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew and it’s all we know how to talk about.

Helen: This episode is an introduction to projector sewing, meaning you skip the paper and just project your pattern directly onto the fabric! We talk about what you need for a successful setup and how to use it. We talk about the pros and cons of projector sewing versus printing out PDF patterns. And we also answer a listener question about pants length adjustments.

Caroline: If you love to sew, this is your show. Hi Helen. How are you?

Helen: I’m doing great. Thanks. How are you?

Caroline: I am good. It’s a really beautiful day here, so I’m in a good mood.

Helen: Ugh, that always makes a difference. And I’m excited for this topic. It’s gonna be a good one.

Caroline: Me too. Me too. It’s a really good one. We actually just had a big discussion before the show together about projector sewing. We have a lot to say on the topic. And it was really fun researching for this episode and learning more about the topic.

Helen: Definitely. And I’m really excited to share because I know our listeners are curious, too, so we’re gonna get into that. But we wanted to first mention that the best way to support Love to Sew is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions. You get access to bonus content every month, and we have a lot of fun catching up with everybody on those more casual bonus episodes. We chat about our lives, behind the scenes of running our businesses, all that good stuff.

Caroline: Yeah, those episodes are so fun and it really means so much if you’re able to support us over there, even if it’s just for a month or two. And if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally get it. We just wanna say thanks for listening and for cheering us on.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Okay. Before we get into the topic, let’s answer a question from a listener. This one is from Amelia. “Hey there! I am working on a pants pattern and, as someone with long legs, I always have to add length to pants to make sure I’m not rocking high waters. I have noticed in the section of the instructions of some pants patterns, they have you do some math and divide the difference between your height and the pattern’s intended height by a number. Why is that? The first few times I read it, I thought it was incorrect, so I just would add the number of inches that was different to the pant. (Like, if it was supposed to be for someone who is 5’8″ and I am 6′, I just added the 4″). But all the times I’ve done it this way the pants are way too long! What is this process called and where can I learn more about why we do it this way? Thanks for the help in advance and I hope you all are enjoying a fantastic summer!”

Helen: Hi, Amelia! Thank you for writing to us. This is a really great question. I get it occasionally in my inbox because we also mention this in our patterns; we say “divide by two.” And the reason why the difference between your height and the height that the pattern is drafted for is divided is because usually there are multiple areas where the height is distributed. So a taller person might need extra length above the bust, below the bust, in the rise of the pants, and in the length of the pants. It’s possible that a tall person might have a similar torso to a shorter person and have all of their height difference in their really long legs, but that isn’t usually the case. So dividing the height difference will give you a rough estimate of where your length should be added. It’s a good strategy for making your first muslin or your first wearable toile, but if you want a really great fit, you need to figure out exactly where and how much to adjust at each of those points. So for example, I’m 5’9” and I like to adjust in my rise on my pants and in the length of my pants to distribute that a little bit more.

Caroline: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Another thing to think about is the shape of the pants. If the legs have any shaping, like tapering, wide legs, or bell bottoms, it can change the overall look. If you just add the length onto the end, like, the hems can get too small in a tapered pant or too wide on a bell bottom. Usually pants patterns will have lengthen and shorten lines printed on them so you can adjust the rise and the legs. And when you slash and spread along these lines, you’ll keep the shape that the pattern maker intended. So we’ll link up some tutorials for how to do length adjustments in the show notes. And we’re wishing you all the best with your pants fitting journey, Amelia!

Helen: Okay, Caroline, are you ready? Let’s turn down the lights because it’s time to talk about projector sewing.

Caroline: Okay. This has been a highly requested topic by our listeners. Some of them are projector sewing enthusiasts who want to spread the word, and some are just curious about sewing with projectors and want to know more. So we’re really excited to talk about this today.

Helen: Yeah, and basically projector sewing is a way to eliminate the process of printing and assembling your PDF sewing patterns, or handling those big sheets of tissue if you’re using a classic pattern. You’re just projecting an image of the pattern directly onto your fabric and then you’re cutting it out, following those lines that are projected onto the fabric. We’re gonna talk about what you need for your own setup, the pros and cons of projector sewing, and some resources that will support you if you decide that projector sewing is for you.

Caroline: Okay. And we do wanna mention, here at the top, that we are not projector sewists. We decided to make this episode because our listeners have shown a huge interest in it. We knew we could do the research and make a guide and overview that is gonna give you all the info and resources that people need to get started. We encourage you to visit the links in the show notes for this episode if you want to learn more. But Helen and I watched a lot of videos. We did our own research. We have our amazing assistant who did a ton of research. So we’re feeling really confident going into this that we know how this works and we know why people love it, and we’re excited.

Helen: Yes, I am excited, and I might even be converted, and we’re gonna get into that. I am very curious to give this a try because it sounds very intriguing to me. So first, let’s talk about setups. There’s actually a few different setups you can use for projector sewing, including using your phone. But according to the Quickstart Guide file, which is available on the Projectors for Sewing Facebook Group, which, by the way, is a great resource, if you also are gonna get into this. The most successful setup includes a laptop, an HDMI cable, one of the mini projectors recommended by the group, and a sturdy and flat surface to project onto, and somewhere to mount your projector. So we’re gonna go through each one of those requirements and explain it a little bit more.

Caroline: Yeah, so a laptop computer is recommended because it has more capabilities than a phone or a tablet. Older computers might have compatibility issues and desktop computers aren’t portable. So, there are some people who use their phones to connect their projectors, but it takes a few extra steps, and you might run into compatibility issues between certain phones and certain projectors. We’re gonna link a guide to using your phone for projector sewing in the show notes so you can take a look and see if that’s the right choice for you. But generally speaking, a laptop computer is highly recommended.

Helen: And an HDMI cable is preferable to a wireless connection simply because it’s more reliable. Just ask anyone who’s tried and failed to connect to a printer wirelessly, a Bluetooth speaker. I mean, they work. When they work, it’s great. When they don’t work, it’s annoying. So if you just plug it in, then you have that stable connection.

Caroline: Totally. And there are several lists of sewing-friendly projectors online. The right projector for you is gonna depend on your space and your type of sewing. For example, people who sew full-size garments are gonna want a bigger image area than people who are sewing kids’ clothes, or bags, or stuffed animals.

Helen: There are two main types of projectors that people use for sewing, and those are ultra short throw projectors and mini projectors. And I also wanted to say here that, when we were researching this episode, I felt a little bit silly because, in my mind, I had just been imagining that, in order to do projector sewing, you had to mount your projector on the ceiling, period. But that’s not the case. You can project on an angle from a shelf or tripod. Sometimes people just prop their projector up on a stack of books on the table, and if it has that short throw, you’re actually able to project at an angle and still get a flat projection. So that’s pretty cool.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s pretty trippy. I was also surprised by that. Okay, so regarding the two different types of projectors, ultra short throw projectors are useful if you have less than 62 inches of distance from the ceiling to the cutting mat. So that’s just over five feet or 1.5 meters. They are able to project clearly over a shorter distance, and these ones range in price from around $50 to over $1000. However, there are a lot of used ones available on eBay for lower prices. And keep in mind that if you need to replace the bulb, unfortunately they run from about $100 to $150. Ultra short throw projectors are also good for sewists who don’t want to mount them permanently on their ceiling or wall, ‘cause they can be set on the same table that you’re cutting on, or on a shelf or stool nearby, on a tripod. However, you will have to recalibrate the projector every time you move it, so pay attention to how long a projector takes to calibrate when you’re shopping for one. Some can take up to eight hours to calibrate, but others are ready in like 10 to 15 minutes.

Helen: Yeah, there’s such a wide range of equipment out there, so it’s definitely one of those things you wanna do your research on. Or if you have one of those tech-savvy individuals in your house who’s really good at that kind of stuff, you could put them onto it. I know that’s what I would do.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Be like, “Research this for me and tell me which one I should get.” The other type of projector, which is more popular and more affordable, is the mini projector. This kind costs around $100 to $200. These are the kind that you can use if you have at least 62 inches of distance between the mount and the cutting mat. They need to be mounted, so if you don’t want to put holes in your ceiling or wall or have your projector out permanently, this one might not be for you. However, mounting the projector is a big pro because it means that you’ll only need to calibrate it once when you put it up. And that’s a pretty big benefit. They’re also really small and they range in size. Like, I saw ones that are like three inches cubed and ones that are like the size of a printer. Like, huge range here.

Caroline: Even with the ultra short throw projectors, I saw some really cute small ones. And some larger ones. So yeah, they all are a big range.

Helen: Yeah. And there’s so many examples out there of setups and advice. Like, lots of people will be like, “Just get this one.” And I think you could easily follow one of those example setups that you can find online and you’d probably be happy with it.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. Okay. So the reason you need a sturdy flat surface is because, if the surface moves around easily, or if it’s higher on one end than the other, or if you use a higher surface on one day and a lower surface on the next day, the image of the pattern is gonna get distorted. So a softer surface, like a bed, is not a good choice. Most people use a table to cut, but there are some people who use the floor so that they can get that longer distance from the projector. All I’m gonna say is, those people must have really good joints and core strength, because cutting on the floor, it’s not for me.

Helen: I’ve done it. It’s really hard, but sometimes that’s all you’ve got. And let’s be real. This, the floor is a sturdy surface. The floor is not going anywhere, so that’s a surface you can really rely on. So it has that going for it. The last thing you need is somewhere to put the projector. So if you’re using a mini projector, like we said, you’ll need to mount it on your wall or ceiling. Typically, the ceiling directly over the cutting surface is the best place to mount it. There are a bunch of mounts you can buy, including one called THE Mount that was designed by projector sewists for projector sewists. So that’s pretty cool. And if you’re using a short throw projector, you can either put it on a stable surface that’s slightly higher than your cutting surface or you can mount it. There’s a great article on the Love Notions blog about unconventional projector setups which is very inspiring. Lots of cool pictures of people’s sewing rooms and how they made it work. It seems like there’s tons of ways to make projector sewing work for you, even if you don’t have a dedicated or perfect sewing space.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. So let’s say that you’ve got everything you need for your setup and now you just need to get your pattern ready. Some indie pattern companies make projector files. There’s actually a spreadsheet with lots of info about which ones offer them on the Projectors for Sewing Facebook Group. Here are some companies making projector files that you’ll probably recognize: so, we make them at BF patterns for our newer patterns, Closet Core, Daughter Judy, Ellie and Mac, Made for Mermaids, Named, Papercut, Seamwork, Sew House Seven, and Sew Liberated. Some companies only make projector files for their new patterns, so you’ll have to take a look. And then other companies have gone back and made them for their back catalog. So definitely check the pattern’s info before you buy and make sure it has that projector file available if you want it. The advantage of using specifically designed projector files is that they are continuous rather than split over several pages. They also have layers that you can turn on and off so that you’re only projecting your size. And all the pieces are lined up with the grain line in the same direction so that you don’t need to flip your fabric around if you’re using a directional print. They also usually have thicker lines and larger text. And because cutting on the fold can be inaccurate with a projection, they include full pattern pieces and mirrored pieces, too.

Helen: Yeah, that’s pretty cool. So if you have, like, a front facing piece, it will include the mirror of that piece as well. So you have two front facing pieces, but they’re mirrored, and that way you don’t have to mess around with the pattern when you’re projecting it. Very handy.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: You don’t have to use projector-specific pattern files. You can also use A0 PDF patterns. These are also known as copyshop or large format patterns. The best A0 patterns are the ones where you can turn on and off the size layers. That spreadsheet we mentioned also includes a bunch of pattern companies with layered A0 files and our company, Helen’s Closet, is one of them. We haven’t made the leap to projector files yet, although it is on my radar. I hear you. But I haven’t gone back in the back catalog and done that yet. So for now, we have our A0 patterns, which do have that layering function.

Caroline: Mmhmm. And a little tip for you: if your pattern files aren’t layered, you can lay a piece of white paper right in front of where you’re cutting so that you can see the lines better. You’re not actually gonna end up cutting the paper, you’re just using it to see the lines, because it’s hard to see them on darker or patterned fabrics.

Helen: Right? It’s hard to see them even when you just print them out on paper sometimes. I can’t imagine seeing them projected by light. So having those, like, thicker lines, I’m sure, makes a big difference. I’ve also seen projector files that have different colours, which can be helpful as well. Something that’s a little bit easier to see. If you wanna use patterns that are formatted for printer paper, such as A4 patterns, you will need to assemble the pattern digitally before you can project it. And this is actually possible. There’s a few options for how to do that, but one of the best was designed by someone in the projector sewing community, and it’s called Pattern Projector. It’s a free web-based app, and it does more than just help you stitch together PDF pages.

Caroline: Yes. I was pretty impressed when I saw someone using this free program because it does so much. It answered so many of my questions. So this program can help you calibrate your pattern to an accurate scale. You can widen the lines of the pattern so that they’re easier to see. You can zoom in on text. You can rotate or flip your pattern pieces so that you don’t need to move your fabric around. So this is really great If you’re using an A0 file. You can invert the colours of your patterns so that you can see it better. So the lines will be white rather than black. There’s even more functionality in this. So if you are wanting to get into this and you need a free resource, I think this is a really great program to play around with.

Helen: Yeah, it’s so cool. I watched someone, as well, bring it into the program and with the A4 sheets, it was all lined up, except there were these, like, one inch gaps in between everything, and you can just close those gaps. Like, you just click a button and it snaps it together, which is so cool.

Caroline: It’s pretty magical.

Helen: Yeah, I was very impressed. And it’s free. We love free.

Caroline: We love free. Yeah.

Helen: There are other software options available. One is Project & Cut, which offers a free trial and then it’s a one-time cost of $20, so it’s very affordable. It has a lot of the same features as Pattern Projector, except the ability to stitch PDFs, like, to stitch the pages together. But some people do find it easier to use than Pattern Projector if you’re doing, like, your A0 files.

Caroline: Another option is to just keep it simple by using free online tools like Adobe Reader and PDF Stitcher. If you wanna make alterations to your pattern, you will need another software, though. So we’re gonna lay out a few popular options for that.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. This is like taking the pattern into a totally other program so that you can mess with it. So you can, like, tweak the lines, you know, grade between sizes, maybe even do some pattern adjusting, add length, things like that. You can do that stuff digitally. It does take some learning.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Ask me how I know. I mean, I’ve been doing patterns for 10 years now and I’m still learning things about designing digital patterns and how to do it. So yeah, it’s very fun and it’s interesting, but it is challenging as well. It’s not necessarily something that’s the easiest thing to do, but if you love this kind of stuff, you might really enjoy it. So Inkscape is a free open source vector graphics editor. There’s Affinity Designer, which is kind of similar to Inkscape, but with a one-time cost. We’ve got Adobe Illustrator, which is what I use, and that’s part of the Creative Cloud. It’s subscription based, very powerful vector graphics editor. This is the most expensive choice unless you already have a subscription to Creative Cloud for some other reason, like you have Photoshop or something like that.

Caroline: There are also a bunch of tutorials online for using these software programs to alter your pattern digitally, so you can just search for pattern alterations with the name of the program you’re using and you’ll find them.

Helen: Another option for making fit adjustments, alterations to your pattern is to just project your pattern onto paper. Then you trace it out on the paper. You make your alterations on the paper pieces just like you would if you were using a paper pattern. And it will still save you time because you still don’t have to print or assemble lots of little pages.

Caroline: Yeah, and just a little note: there are tutorials for digitizing paper patterns out there. So if you wanted to make adjustments on paper, you could change them back into projector files. You can also use these techniques to digitize vintage patterns or self-drafted ones. That’s just a little bonus tip there. This was one of the, like, roadblocks in my mind is, like, I’m somebody who makes a lot of adjustments to patterns. And so, to me, if I’m tracing it onto paper and then I’m just gonna have to then cut the pattern out of paper and not use my projector to cut my fabric, it felt like this, like, extra step, this extra roadblock. But if you’re someone who doesn’t have to make a lot of adjustments or if your adjustments are really simple or if you’re really interested in learning digital pattern drafting and fitting and adjustments, then you can kind of go into that world and learn more about it and maybe do everything digitally. I think that could be really cool and I think it could work.

Helen: I also think, if you’re a bit of a adjustment rebel, which I can be sometimes… if I’m making something that I feel like is gonna be a one-off project, like it’s not necessarily something I’m gonna make again and again, I will just, like, cut down to the lengthen/shorten line and then pull my pattern over an inch and then keep cutting. Like, I make those kind of cheater adjustments. Or I’ll, like, grade out by just, like, cutting it a little bigger in this area. And I’m not necessarily, like, doing it methodically. It’s very loosey-goosey, very intuitive. So if you’re that kind of sewist, I also think it could be fun ’cause you just project it on and then you’re like, “Oh, I’m just gonna make this area a little longer or bigger” or whatever. And you can get away with that, for sure.

Caroline: It’s so true, like, just grading between sizes or adding a little bit here or there, I think you can totally do it on the fly, especially if you’re just doing that pattern once. To me, if you’re, like, having to make it again, I’m like, but how are you gonna remember what you did and exactly how, but…

Helen: It’s true, yeah. You need to make notes if you think you’re gonna make it again. I would love to hear from any projector sewists out there who do make a lot of adjustments. Like, if you’re making, regularly making full bust adjustments, full seat adjustments, tummy adjustments, those kinds of things, like, what is your process like? Do you still feel like the projector sewing setup is an advantage to you?

Caroline: Yeah, I think it’s that, that’s the thing is, those adjustments that require that, like, slash and spread, the adding length, but only in one part, you know, like, I think those are the ones that would be really difficult to do digitally unless you’re very skilled. But I would love to hear differently. I want, convince me, convince me it’s possible.

Helen: Okay. Well, with that in mind, I think we should walk through the process of actually using the projector to cut out the pattern. So first, turn on your projector. Make sure it’s plugged in, turn it on, and make sure it’s calibrated. The calibration is pretty important. You can skip it if your projector and cutting surface haven’t moved since the last time you used them. But if you think they’ve moved at all, you gotta recalibrate.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s one of those, like, measure twice cut once situations. Like, if you’re not sure, just check. Just make sure.

Helen: Exactly. You don’t wanna waste your time

Caroline: Next up, you’re gonna connect your laptop, phone, or tablet to your projector. An HDMI cable is gonna give you the least headaches. You can get an HDMI adapter if you’re using a phone or tablet. I will say, I watched a couple videos with folks who were using Airplay. So they had, like, a mini projector or short throw projector, and it actually just connected digitally. And I know we said that doesn’t always work, but it seemed to work well for some people. So if you’re wanting to try that, I think there are definitely options out there.

Helen: Totally. It’s, it’s a lot more futuristic, that’s for sure.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I don’t want a big HDMI cable running through my sewing space, either, but sometimes it’s just easier that way. You’re gonna wanna share your screen to your projector. And then you open your pattern files in the software that you’ve chosen, like Adobe Reader, Pattern Projector or Project and Cut. Check that the scale of your pattern is correct. And then you can lay out your fabric and start cutting.

Caroline: Okay. This all seems really exciting and there are definitely a lot of benefits to a projector setup. What, do I sound skeptical?

Helen: “This all seems really exciting…”

Caroline: No. Like, it does. I get it. I get the appeal.

Helen: It is exciting in that it’s, like I said, it’s futuristic! I don’t know. I think it’s really, like, cool, and I’m excited by just the idea of being able to project patterns everywhere. That’s, like, the keen sewist in me, I think.

Caroline: Yeah, and I, and I think, not to, like, keep beating a dead horse, but I think, like, the hardest part is probably the setup, like the calibration and the, the getting the thing mounted and the figuring out how this is gonna work in your space. And like once you’ve done that part, I think that the rest is probably really smooth sailing and really exciting and, and futuristic and fun. But like, I can imagine that first initial, like, I’m unboxing this projector. I’m figuring out where the heck I’m gonna put it. I’m figuring out how it’s gonna work with my table and the, all the different things like that would be the most intimidating part. So once you get past that, you’re golden.

Helen: It’s so true. And if you’re not really a tech-savvy person, you don’t consider yourself a tech-savvy person, this might not be for you. Because it might just be more frustration than it’s worth. But let’s get into some pros and cons because there are benefits and there are drawbacks. So the biggest pro of projector sewing is that you save time on printing and assembling patterns. This does take quite a while, especially if it’s a large pattern and you’re printing the A4 and you’re taping it all together. If this is the step that stops you from sewing, then projector sewing might be the perfect thing for you. Some people just really dislike this part of it.

Caroline: Okay, a con is that projecting patterns requires a lot more technical knowledge than using paper patterns. It can be simple, as a lot of projector sewing materials say. However, there are also a lot of articles about troubleshooting, learning to use software, and other issues that make me think that it’s not quite as simple as they make it sound. But if you’re enthusiastic about tech, it probably won’t be too difficult for you. This is hilarious, Helen, ’cause the way we’ve written this, you’re gonna be saying all the pros, and I’m gonna be saying all the cons.

Helen: It’s really making you sound skeptical.

Caroline: So it’s just emphasizing our own personal positions on the topic.

Helen: I know. I do think we should reiterate that Caroline’s not against projector sewing.

Caroline: No, I’m really not. I’m really not. I think it’s really cool and I, actually, I would try it. I’m just, I’m in the camp of feeling like…anyways, we’re gonna talk about this later. Let’s continue. Let’s continue.

Helen: I think this comes back to what we were saying earlier about like, if, if tech is not really your jam, then you know, it might just be a little bit annoying for you to try to set it up. But another pro is that you might save money. It seems like, on average, people spend between $100 and $300 on their projector setups. So if you already have an inkjet printer, you’re paying about $3 to print, say, a 25 page pattern at home, if you’re counting the ink and the paper. Obviously there’s different printers out there and stuff, so that number varies, but just a ballpark. So let’s say you spend about $150 on your projector setup. Then you would need to use the projector for about 50 patterns before it paid for itself. If you get your PDF patterns printed at copyshops, it’ll pay for itself a lot quicker. Let’s say you spend about $15 per pattern at the copyshop. It would only take about 10 patterns before the projector setup paid for itself. And obviously, the less you spend on your projector setup, the sooner you’re gonna be recuperating that cost by using it. So it really depends on how much you sew and how much you hate taping together patterns.

Caroline: I also think, like, time is money, right? So if you’re someone who’s gonna have to, like, spend a ton of time making these digital adjustments ’cause you don’t know how to do it, but you’re really fast at doing that on paper, you might wanna weigh that as well. Just keeping in mind that it might not save time, but it might also save time.

Helen: It saves time if you’re taping it together, potentially,

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Like, over time.

Caroline: Yeah.

Yeah. Taping together a tiled PDF pattern…wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

Helen: I was just about to say the opposite. I kind of low-key enjoy that part of it.

Caroline: Oh, Helen, no way.

Helen: I don’t hate it. I don’t know. It takes, it can take, you know, half an hour, maybe an hour if it’s a huge pattern. But, like, I’m in my sewing space. I got my podcast. I’m still doing something with my hands.

Caroline: You must be really fast. I, there was one video I was listening to where the person was like, “It takes me three days to tape together a tiled pattern.”

Helen: With no sleeping or anything?

Caroline: Like, if you’re doing it in short bursts, like, if you’re just like, “I just have the evening, I have, like, an hour each night to sew,” I could see that. I could see that.

Helen: I think that’s the thing, is like, sewing time is precious, for sure, and a lot of people don’t have a ton of it, so if it’s, like we said, stopping you from doing the project because there’s this hurdle of preparing the pattern, the idea of just turning on your computer and your projector and just like cutting the fabric is very enticing and very, very cool.

Caroline: And futuristic.

Helen: Very futuristic. Very cool.

Caroline: Another pro is that you will use less paper. So you can just project onto the fabric and start cutting. You don’t have to worry about storing paper patterns. You can potentially reduce your environmental impact, especially if you buy a secondhand projector. So that’s really cool. Personally, the less paper, in terms of physical space in my sewing room, is appealing to me ’cause I have so many patterns that I’m trying to store and sometimes I’ll outgrow them or I’ll not be into them anymore, and then I have to, like, get rid of all this paper and it’s just, like, a whole other thing, you know, outside of the sewing that I want to do. So not having to deal with that would be nice.

Helen: Yeah, I totally agree about that. Storing paper patterns is a pain.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Another con is that you have to figure out your setup. So for people with a dedicated sewing space, that might not be a big deal, but a lot of sewists don’t have that, so they’ll have to figure out how to set things up using a dining table, a laundry room, a spare bedroom, something like that. So It’s not impossible. There are some really creative setups out there. But it’s something to consider when you’re thinking about whether or not you wanna get into it. It’s just like, does this work in my space?

Caroline: Okay. One pro that I noticed when I was researching is that because you’re projecting, you can easily transfer markings onto your fabric. So, like, one of the most annoying things for me when I’m cutting out a project is, after I cut it out, marking all my darts, marking all my little tailor’s tacks or welt pocket markings, like, the things that are sort of floating in the middle of the pattern piece that you have to either cut through your paper to mark it, or you have to stick a pin in and make sure you’re lining it up correctly. That is super easy if you’re projecting, ’cause you’re just seeing that and you can mark it with chalk right on your piece as you’re cutting. And there’s no, like, paper in between the fabric and the pattern markings, you know?

Helen: Yeah, it would save me from, like, punching holes in my pattern, which I do regularly.

Caroline: Me too. Just, like, stabbing it with a pencil so you can get through and mark your dart point? Yes.

Helen: Okay. Caroline, the time has come. I’m curious, are you gonna get into projector sewing? What are your thoughts after researching this episode?

Caroline: Okay. So I think we’ve talked about experimenting with this at the office for BF Patterns because we have a big table, we have, like, ceiling beams that we could mount a projector on. Our patternmaker, Jenna, has, is, like, familiar with it. She’s taken a course on projector sewing. She’s interested. Like, I could see it working for BF Patterns also just because of the amount of samples and changes we make to patterns and that whole, like, patternmaking process. For me, personally, at this point in time, and I’m not saying I won’t be convinced after I read all the comments that I’m sure we’re gonna get on Instagram about this, but I don’t think it’s for me right now. And I, you can call me stubborn, but I am happy with my process right now. Like, I like my A0 copyshop printout. I’m super lucky that we have a copyshop printer at Blackbird and I have access to it, so it’s easy for me to print out a pattern and take it home and use it. I just, like, I already have such limited time to sew and limited, like, motivation to sew with all the other hobbies that I have that, like, I don’t wanna learn a new method to get to the end point, you know?

Helen: Okay, Grandma.

Caroline: I know, I get it. I understand. I, and I don’t wanna sound negative ’cause I think it’s really cool and I love, like, I fully support people getting into it. I get it. I just don’t know that it’s for me right now. I also almost always make adjustments to patterns and I don’t really want to mess around with figuring out how to do, like, digital full bust adjustments. And I think, if I’m having to trace the pattern, make the adjustments on paper anyways, and then cut out with paper, to me, like, what’s the point? You know? I’m sure there, I’m sure there’s people that are gonna argue that there is a point, but I haven’t found it.

Helen: You’re not convinced. I get it. I also am, I’m gonna say, like 60-40 in favour because, like you were saying, I’m excited about the possibilities of using it in a work-related context. I do have digital patternmaking skills. I can easily manipulate patterns to be whatever I want. So I have, already, the software skills. I have, also, the perfect setup. Stable table, high ceiling. Could easily pop a projector up there. I’m sure Sam would be happy to set it up for me too, so I don’t even have to do that part. It would save me the printing costs when we’re doing our pattern development, ‘cause I currently send it off to the copyshop to get printed. So I do see a lot of benefits there and I think, in a work context, it would be really cool. And then, you know, I work from home, so then that’s also my personal sewing setup. So bonus, I’ve already got it at home. So I could really see the benefit. And as a pattern designer, I also think it’s something that’s really exciting in the sewing community right now, I think something that people are intrigued by, and I want to support them in that. So I do think we’ll probably be updating our patterns, eventually, with those projector files. And I’d like to fully understand it by actually experiencing it myself, to make sure that we do a good job with that. So those are the pros. I am a little wary of the annoyance of repositioning the fabric.

Caroline: Yeah, we haven’t talked about this yet ’cause it’s in our little Q and A at the end.

Helen: Yeah, so we’ll get into it. But I really like laying all the fabric out. I have a big table, so I can actually do this, but I can lay the whole fabric out and then I can lay almost the whole pattern out a lot of the time. And, like, position it all. And I love that process. It’s like Tetris, right?

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: I’ll squeeze this in here and make this work over here. And like, I like laying it all out, putting all my pattern weights on, and then just cutting it all out at once. It really helps me visualize it, make sure I have enough fabric. But again, that’s, like, me with my setup. Having the table to be able to do that is really beneficial. And I do like making adjustments to my patterns, so, part of me is like, I already know how to do that on paper, but I could switch to doing that digitally, which would be really cool. I do think, like, the technical aspects of it don’t intimidate me. I’m more just, like, a little hesitant because I enjoy the paper. Like, I like the paper pattern pieces. To me, that’s sewing, that’s a part of sewing, you know? But I gotta, I gotta broaden my mind.

Caroline: Yeah. You made a great point when we were chatting earlier, like pre-recording, about how projector sewing almost feels like ages ago when people were getting into PDF patterns versus tissue and, like, there was definitely, like, people in the sewing world that were like, “I love my tissue patterns. I’m never doing digital. I’m never buying a PDF pattern.”

Helen: Yeah, “Why would I do that? It’s expensive…”

Caroline: “Why would I do that?” Like, don’t break what’s work, like, yeah. You know, but, or don’t break what’s working. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, or whatever. Whatever that saying is.

Helen: Yeah, it’s true. And there’s still people out there who swear by tissue and that’s fine. Like, that’s great. It’s really whatever works for you. But it does feel like a similar kind of moment where it’s like, things are moving in a new direction. And there’s some folks, perhaps Caroline included, who are like, “I’m gonna stay right here.”

Caroline: Yeah, I’m good here. But I do love that it’s just, like, one more way to make sewing accessible to people. It’s one more way to approach it. It’s gonna work for some people way better than the other ways that are out there, and I love that if it’s gonna attract more people to sewing.

Helen: Totally.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay. Before we go, we wanna answer a few common questions about projector sewing. So one of those questions is: do you need to have low light to use projectors?

Helen: Lower light is definitely better. You will need to be able to block out the natural light in whatever room you set it up in. Getting a brighter projector can definitely help. So when you’re shopping, look for the brightness level in lumens. And keep in mind, the brighter the projector, often the more expensive it is. But you are gonna wanna dim the lights so you can see what you’re doing.

Caroline: Okay. You kind of alluded to this earlier, but when you’re cutting out the pattern, do you just move the fabric to be under the projected area for every piece, or do you move the projection to a different area of the fabric?

Helen: Okay. Yeah, so once the projector is calibrated, like we said, it’s very important that you don’t move it and you don’t move your surface. But you are gonna move your fabric to be under the projected area. Like a grid you’re gonna put it on, under. And some projector sewists create a cutting layout using their software. So they’re customizing the way the pattern pieces are laid out and then projecting that onto the fabric. So they might be able to cut more than one piece at a time. Most people cut one piece at a time by scrolling the pattern file, finding the piece they wanna cut, and then positioning the piece in the projected area and then moving the fabric to be where you need it to be to cut that piece out.

So moving fabric is involved. And I don’t like moving my fabric because I painstakingly lay it out. I like cutting on the fold as well, which we’re also gonna talk about. And so I like to lay it all out and make sure it’s all straight and everything, especially if I’m working with, like, a rayon or something shifty. I don’t necessarily wanna be picking it up and sliding it around a ton. It’s not impossible. Like, it’s totally doable. It’s really not a big deal. But it’s just not my preference, you know? Once I lay it out, it’s done. I want it to stay.

Caroline: Yeah. And you can, like, at first, I, I, this was really hard for me to wrap my head around, but when I actually saw a video of someone scrolling…so once you’re projecting your image, you can move those pieces around on your cutting surface, like, on that projected surface. So if you’ve laid out your fabric on grain, let’s say you position a piece right in the corner, you can then position the next piece next to it and kind of, it’s not, you’re not moving. Yeah, you can still play Tetris. It’s just that you can’t, like, lay out everything first unless you’re using one of those programs to create a cutting layout for yourself based on the width of your fabric. The chances are, too, like, your projection is not going to be big enough to fill the full width of your fabric, especially because you’re cutting flat. You can’t cut on fold. Or it’s not recommended to cut on fold. So there’s gonna have to be some fabric movement happening. But you can still, like, cut a bunch of pieces in that area by moving, like, scrolling that image around and then, like, move your fabric, cut a few more pieces. So it’s not, like, every single piece you’re having to move your fabric to, like, go to the spot where it’s being projected. There’s a little bit of control there, but it’s not the same as, like, if you’re just grabbing a paper pattern and shifting it around, you know?

Helen: Laying it all out. Yeah. Yeah. And small, the smaller the project, the easier it is to cut it all out, um, in one projection or make those custom layouts, um, which could be fun. Like I said, I do love the Tetris part of it, and if I could Tetris digitally, that would be cool.

Caroline: Yeah. So true.

Helen: Okay. What about our scissors people? Can you use scissors with a projector?

Caroline: Oh yeah, we know those people are out there. We are rotary cutter people, but…

Helen: Hey! Lisa, our assistant Lisa, is a scissors person, okay?

Caroline: No, that’s true. That’s true. Okay. Well, if you are a scissors person, you’re probably not gonna love projector sewing because rotary cutters are the easiest to use with a projector because the fabric doesn’t move at all while you cut. The risk with scissors is that you lift and shift the fabric while you’re cutting, and then the lines move out of place. However, with a little bit of practice, you can learn how to cut accurately with scissors. So it’s not impossible. It’s just not necessarily the easiest way to go about it.

Helen: Yeah. I imagine you have to keep them real tight against the cutting surface and cut small bits at a time to make that work. Another thing to think about when you’re picturing yourself cutting something out with a projector is: what about the shadows? Do the shadows from your body and your hands block the area you’re trying to project?

Caroline: So it’s all about hand positioning. From what we’ve seen, people keep their hand back a little bit and let the rotary cutter lead so they can see. I’ve also seen advice like, “Don’t use one of those ergonomic rotary cutters where there’s no handle.” It’s just, um, you’re kind of gripping sideways on, like, a little…

Helen: It’s a handle. It’s a side handle.

Caroline: It’s a handle, I guess, but yeah, it’s just sticking out in the different direction so that your wrist is placed more ergonomically. So, I mean, con; let’s throw in a con. Not the most ergonomic way to cut. Even though you’re using a rotary cutter, if you’re having to be careful about how you’re positioning your hand, I imagine it’s probably not being positioned in the most ergonomic way.

Helen: Yeah, you probably have to train yourself not to lean over the projector, too, and make sure that you’re, like, letting the light shine in. But I mean, it’ll be obvious when you can see it and when you can’t. So I bet you learn pretty quick how to do that.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay. How about grain? How can you see the grain of the fabric?

Helen: So for a lot of projects, you can just look at the selvage and make sure that the grain lines on the pattern pieces are going parallel to it. If you’re using a shifty fabric or cutting on the bias, you can put painter’s tape on your fabric in the direction of the grain so that you can see it while you’re using the projector.

Caroline: Okay. And if you already have a projector, can you just use that for sewing, Helen?

Helen: This is my question because I do already have a projector. We have one for watching movies. It’s very old and loud…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And big and clunky and I’m not sure, but I am probably gonna start with that one and experiment with that and see if I can get it up on my ceiling. So the answer is kind of, maybe, maybe not. For sewing it has to have a short throw, meaning it can create a clear image in a short distance. So for a conference room or home movie projector, that might not work depending on what kind of projector it is. It also has to have a resolution of at least 720p. And there’s other benefits and drawbacks to different projectors out there, which you can research when you’re getting into it. But it might work and it might not work. So we’ll see.

Caroline: Okay. Well, I’m excited to hear how it works for you. Okay. If a pattern doesn’t fit in the projector area, what do you do? So, for example, if your projector area is smaller, let’s say, and then your pattern piece extends beyond that projected area, what do you do?

Helen: Like a long pair of pants or something?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: So you can trace the pattern piece onto paper first, and then you have a paper pattern that you can use to cut your fabric. Or you can do it all on the projector by doing the following: you cut the top part of the pattern piece, make a few line markings on the pattern file using your software near where you stop cutting, mark those lines on your fabric, then scroll the projector file up and shift the fabric over so that the lines you drew on the fabric are matching the ones on the pattern file. And then you finish cutting out your piece. This sounds really similar to what I used to do when I cut out everything on, like, a two foot by three foot mat.

Caroline: I was gonna say, I do this all the time when I’m cutting at home.

Helen: Yeah. You have to slide things over and, like, make it fit on the mat. So it’s basically that, but digital.

Caroline: Yeah, not too bad. Okay, so there are a ton of cool tips and tricks and strategies just like that one on the internet. Here are some of the best resources that we found for sewing with projectors, and again, we’re gonna link all of this up in the show notes. So that’s the place to go to get all these links.

Helen: The Projectors for Sewing Facebook Group is a great place to learn. They have a bunch of resources linked in the “Features” section on the page. It’s a private group, so you have to join to be able to see everything, but everyone’s really excited and supportive in that group, so definitely check that out.

Caroline: Projectorsewing.com has a lot of info, including a guide for beginners, projector comparisons, and tutorials for Adobe, Inkscape, and Affinity Designer.

Helen: Sashasewist.info has a quick start guide, a very helpful list of top tips, product recommendations, and more.

Caroline: And Dailey Sews & Stuff has a pattern projecting series on YouTube.

Helen: There’s so much out there and, like we said, we’re gonna link it all up if you wanna take a deep dive. I project that some of our listeners will be interested.

Caroline: I also project that some of our listeners are gonna roast me in the comments for hating on projectors. So like…

Helen: No! Be nice to Caroline!

Caroline:I swear, I love it. I love it.

Helen: It’s fine to love it, and it’s fine to not love it, okay? We’re all sewing…

Caroline: It’s not for everyone.

Helen: We’re doing our thing. We would love to actually hear from you positively about your experiences and your perspectives and whether you love projector sewing and what you love about it and how it’s changed your life. I definitely wanna hear from you and we can share that later on the podcast or on social media. So let’s talk about it. Let’s get into it.

Caroline: Yeah, I don’t think our discussion of projector sewing is gonna end here, so we’ll definitely be talking more about this in future episodes and I really look forward to hearing everyone’s, uh, feedback and thoughts on the topic. That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Caroline, at Blackbird fabrics and BF Patterns and Helen at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. And we’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Helen: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes, and that’s so, so, so many hours of Love to Sew! Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Caroline: You can head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. If you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at [email protected]

Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We will talk to you next week.

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Bye bye.

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We interview Cornelius Quiring, the beloved internet sewing teacher and content creator! We chat with him about his unique sewing journey, his minimalist design perspective, how he teaches difficult drafting concepts, and his favourite things to sew.

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

Find Cornelius Online:

Other Mentions:

A post shared by Cornelius Quiring (@corneliusquiring)

Transcript:

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Helen: ​Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew, and it’s basically all we wanna talk about.

Caroline: Today’s guest is Cornelius Quiring, the beloved internet sewing teacher and content creator. We ask him about his unique sewing journey, how he breaks down difficult concepts so they’re easy to understand, and where he gets all his amazing tips.

Helen: If you love to sew, this is your show. Hello, Cornelius. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Cornelius: Well, thank you for inviting me. It’s, uh, I feel like I’m a big deal, being on the show.

Helen: Oh my gosh. We’ve had so many people request to have you on and we’re so excited to chat with you today. So can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?

Cornelius: Well, hello, my name is Cornelius Quiring. I am a content creator. I make sewing videos on the internet that can sometimes be a little bit silly and hopefully educational.

Helen: I feel like they’re more educational than they are silly these days. You are just, like, dishing out knowledge left, right, and center. It’s absolutely amazing. Where are you from, Cornelius?

Cornelius: These days I live in Ontario, Canada, but born far, far away in Paraguay, South America.

Caroline: Amazing. I am from Montreal. So not too far, not too far away. But we’re both on the west coast now.

Helen: How long have you lived in Canada for?

Cornelius: The majority of my life. It was a bit of back and forth. So when I was five, we moved here, and we were here for about five years, and then back to Paraguay again and spent some time there, and then back again. So my childhood was back and forth, but then I’d say my teens and adult life have all been here.

Caroline: Sweet. Okay, so tell us about sewing. How and when did you learn to sew?

Cornelius: Sewing has always been a part of my life. My mom was always making things and at the sewing machine. I mean, the whole community I grew up in was always sewing, so it’s kind of just existed around me. And then in my teens, when we start to think about the way we look and those sorts of things more often, I wanted to make clothes. So mom taught me some of the basics. And then in high school I took some sewing classes. I did this on and off for most of my teens. And then in my twenties, early twenties, when I really started to take it serious and learn how to properly make my own clothes and draft. And I’ve been doing it ever since.

Caroline: Very cool. And you mentioned in some of your reels that you grew up Mennonite. What was sewing like in your Mennonite community, growing up?

Cornelius: That was why sewing existed so much. Every Mennonite likes to do as much as they can themselves. And so mom was making our clothes, but all the other families were also making their own clothes. It was a very specific style to the community that you couldn’t just go out and buy. So it was very omnipresent, if you will. Like, I don’t know what life is without it. So coming to Canada is when I realized, like, oh, this isn’t a normal thing.

Helen: No, that’s true. But it’s such an amazing skill to learn when you’re young, and I’m sure you had so many incredible sewing mentors in your life when you were growing up. That must have been awesome.

Cornelius: Mom, I think mom was the big one. She made everything. And so I learned quite a bit from her and still do.

Helen: Did you ever have a break from sewing in your life or have you been sewing ever since you learned?

Cornelius: I would say, in my teens and early twenties, it was on and off. It would be projects here or there, things as I was experimenting and learning a bit more. But then I would say, from my mid-twenties on, it’s been a pretty consistent thing. I haven’t bought very many clothes since then.

Caroline: Awesome. So, we wanted to talk a little bit about fitting because your clothes always fit so beautifully. So can we touch on that a little bit? How you learned to fit your body?

Cornelius: Yeah, a whole lot of trial and error and making mistakes and ill-fitting garments. I tend to learn just by doing. And so I would find tutorials on the internet. I don’t know if Lycos, if you remember this at all, but it was one of those make-your-own website platforms where people would make their own websites. I’d find people sharing things there. And then just taking apart garments as well, seeing how they were constructed, the shapes, and looking at patterns. When we moved to Canada, mom started buying some patterns, so observing the shapes there. So nothing formal, per se, but a lot of hands-on trying things.

Caroline: Amazing.

Helen: I really like how much you share that in your content. Just making a point to let people know that adjustments are normal and that you might need to make multiple different adjustments for your body and that’s totally fine. And we also noticed that you do asymmetrical adjustments, which is something we haven’t covered that much on the podcast. Can you tell us a bit about the asymmetrical adjustments you make for your body?

Cornelius: That was really the main reason I got into it, was I had an accident when I was three years old. I say I; it was several people on the farm. This big old piece of farm equipment fell on top of me. And so several muscles in the right side of my body atrophied and never developed as I grew, and so things never fit the way I wanted them to. And in my teens, like I was saying earlier, we become aware of our bodies, and that made me realize, like, why don’t I just make them fit me? Like, I don’t have to wear clothes that fit everybody. The whole point is to do it myself. And so, from there, I started experimenting with it. In the beginning, it was just altering already-existing garments. So I would sew the right side narrower, like I’d mark the sleeve down through the side, just sew that off. But as I’m sure many folks are aware, it’s very specific shapes in the sleeve there that, when you sew it off, it doesn’t perfectly just scale it down. And so I realized through those sorts of things, like, oh, I gotta actually figure out how to understand these shapes and then adjust to fit my body. And so that was a large part of why I got into the pattern drafting side of things and spent a lot of time learning, so that way I could make it exclusively fit my asymmetrical body.

Helen: And it’s really paying off, because your shirts, in particular, just fit beautifully. And it’s remarkable, the difference between a shirt that’s not perfectly fitted to your asymmetrical body, and then one that is, and just how good it looks, you know?

Cornelius: It was a lesson I learned in design school as well, is that when things look great or are well-done, you don’t notice them. But it’s only once you see something that’s ill-fitting or there’s mistakes that you notice the thing that should be fixed. And so by making those little tweaks, like taking an inch and a half out of the right side, suddenly I’m not getting all those wrinkles and folds on the right side. And then most folks, candidly, don’t even recognize that I do have an asymmetrical body.

Helen: Yeah. That’s so interesting. You would think that it maybe would draw attention to it, but in fact it almost hides it in a way or masks it so that they can’t even tell.

Cornelius: Yeah, that was one of my big hesitations early on. I was like, well, I don’t want to further show this difference. But then I realized, like, oh, right, no, no, that’s the point, is then you don’t see it. It’s amazing how much we don’t pay attention to in our daily lives.

Caroline: Do you find these adjustments have become kind of, like, second nature to you? Like, they come more easily now that you’ve done them a bunch of times? Or do you still find fitting can be challenging sometimes?

Cornelius: I think I’m going to struggle with fitting, in general, my whole life. I feel like it just doesn’t get easier. But I do have a better understanding of them. Like, at this point, I have a decent understanding of my body and the adjustments I make. So I do them with everything that I draft.

Helen: Well, I think that’s good to hear for our listeners, that they’re not alone, if the fitting is not getting any easier. It’s an ongoing struggle. We also noticed on your website that you mentioned you worked on a glove to help with mobility in your right hand. What was that experience like?

Cornelius: That was a good learning lesson for myself in the sense that, before I really gave this pattern drafting thing a go, was, I wanted to “fix” the right side of my body. And so I figured, if I can make my hand work fine, well, then I’ll be fine as a person. And so I started off by just putting elastics at the top, ’cause it’s the opening that I can’t do with my right hand. And it worked. But then it introduced new problems because it turns out when you have elastics pulling your fingers open all the time, well, that’s a completely different strain that the body isn’t used to. And so then I’d get fatigue in my fingers. But then there’s also pressure points. And so then I thought, okay, well then maybe I introduce some electronics into this where I can, you know, stimulate some kind of a spring when I want it to. And I went down this road for a little while and realized that the body is surprisingly complex and nuanced. Turns out all this evolution that has happened over time is not something that can be engineered in a year or two. And so going down that road of working on that, A, made me respect the intricacies of our bodies, but also was a learning lesson in that realizing that it isn’t the accident that’s the problem, it was my feelings and self-worth around it. And that it turns out if I’ve worked on myself inside, instead of just trying to fix the outside, that was going to be the better approach. And so, something that I eventually abandoned, but was a road that I had to go down to learn that about myself.

Caroline: Oh, it’s really moving and inspiring and very cool that you are sharing this and, and that you shared it on your, uh, site as well. I remember reading something that you said about how going through that process sort of made you realize that you didn’t need to change anything. And I think a lot of our listeners can probably relate to that and, and will find that really inspiring. I wonder, too, like, how you’ve sort adapted your sewing practice to work with your limited mobility in your hand. ‘Cause we hear from a lot of different sewists who live with limitations. So what kind of things have you done to make sewing a little bit more accessible for yourself?

Cornelius: Well, I’m right-handed. I was allegedly right-handed. I don’t remember. I was too young. But as a result, I’ve had to learn how to do everything with my left hand. So finding left-handed tools has been one thing for me that has made a big difference. I didn’t realize there was left-handed scissors. And my fingers would go numb all the time. And then when I finally made that switch, that made a big difference. And then the other thing would be, I guess it’s not necessarily a specific skillset or tool, but this concept of working inside of myself to be okay with who I am was also big in that I realized like, oh, it’s okay that I just do it how I can. Right? Like, so I don’t use my right hand for a lot of intricate work. And so it’s all done with my left hand. And it takes me a little longer to make things, you know? But that’s my process and that’s how I do it. And only I can do it that way, you know?

Helen: Yes. And we love to preach on the show that there is no right way to sew. However you’re doing it is just fine.

Caroline: Yeah.

Cornelius: It’s something I try to say in my content as well, from the pattern drafting to any of it. It’s like, there’s many different ways to do it. I did design work before I was doing this full time, and I particularly like typography. And so the metaphor I use regularly is: there’s no shortage of different fonts and they all display a letter differently, and yet we all understand concept and they all work. So in the same way, we’re all just different fonts that are very readable.

Helen: That’s really great. I can definitely see the typography influence in your content because you have this, like, very bold, graphic look to the stuff that you post, and there’s a lot of text on there that looks so good. So let’s talk a bit about your content. We’re big fans of your work on social media in particular. Love your videos. So why did you decide to start posting and sharing your sewing knowledge online?

Cornelius: I’ve always liked entertaining. I’ve done plays and theater and things like that on the side for fun. And then in my twenties I decided I need to do what I want with my life. And I thought that was gonna be standup comedy. And it turns out that that’s a world I don’t fit very well in. But I was doing it and I was struggling to get stage time, so I was like, well, let me just start making videos, ’cause that’s something I can control. I was making my own clothes. And it’s like, I thought to myself, well, let’s just make content about sewing. And so it started from that place of like, well, let me just fill my time with this while I make that other thing work. And of course, going through that process, I realized, like, oh, right, I don’t actually, don’t wanna be on stage doing standup comedy. This is the thing. And so that’s how I ended up in sewing content. And then also thinking about the fact of what I like to watch. I realize I like a lot of documentaries, those sorts of things, and learning, specifically. So I thought to myself, well, why don’t I make educational content as well? And so that’s how I pivoted from me just making sewing videos. Here’s what I’m doing, here’s what I’m working, to well, let me share what I’ve learned, ’cause that must be interesting to other folks. I thought it was interesting. And then I can help the medicine go down with a little sugar in the form of silly presentations.

Caroline: It’s amazing, ’cause you do make these difficult concepts and techniques so clear in your videos. You’re such a great teacher. And I wonder how you became so great at that aspect of content creation.

Cornelius: It was one of my former colleagues, back in the days when I was still doing design work. I was making websites as well, and I was having this problem that I couldn’t solve and I was very flummoxed by it. And he helped me out with it and walked me through the process where we figured it out together. And he taught me that I need to not worry about getting the solution, but having tiny little steps that I can manage. And so, without getting into technical details of the issue I was working on, I needed to present some information on a website and it wasn’t showing up. And so he said, “Well, let’s start off by just seeing if there’s a connection.” And so then we did that. And then from there, it’s like, “Okay, well now let’s see if we can pull this information.” And there was a light bulb moment for me where I realized that the key to learning something isn’t understanding it as a whole, but anything in small enough chunks is manageable. And so that is a thing that I still carry with me in my life. But the content that I create, that, let me just make this small enough that it’s digestible and you pair them together and eventually you get your goal. And so I have him to thank for it. So Benjamin, you’re probably not listening to this, but you have been pivotal in helping shape who I am today.

Helen: Oh, I love that. It’s really great because it connects so perfectly with sewing as a practice. We are doing one step at a time. And I’m always telling people that it’s really daunting when you think about making a pair of jeans, for example. But when you break it down into the steps, you are just sewing one seam after another. And you know how to sew a seam! You can do it. You are going to be able to complete this entire pair of pants one step at a time, just focusing on the next task at hand.

Cornelius: Exactly. Yeah.

Caroline: So Cornelius, you also teach online classes, and we wanted to ask you a little bit about that. What are those online classes like? Who are they for? How can our listeners access them?

Cornelius: I make courses for people like me who wanna make their own clothes from scratch. So I’m specifically creating courses for home sewists making their own garments or for a friend. That is a very specific niche that I focus on ’cause that’s what I do best. I don’t do any sort of pattern grading for industry, any of those kinds of things. And so the goal with them is to help people figure out how to do it for themselves. And so something I say in the courses as well is: there’s no one right way to do this. There’s no one magic formula that’s going to be able to be inputted and then boom, poof, every body type and every size and dimension and shape is magically gonna work. So I try to give guidance, general principles, and then I talk about adjustments. Like maybe you need to tweak it like this, if this is how you are and those sorts of things. And maybe this won’t work at all, and it’s not your problem, right? Like it’s, it’s just the reality that there’s no one perfect solution to anything. And so I’m trying to guide folks through that and then offer alterations and encourage them that it’s not going to be easy. Like it won’t be a, you do this and you have clothes. You’re gonna make alterations, you’re gonna adjust, you’re gonna try again, you’re gonna fail, you’re gonna get very frustrated, as well. And then, hopefully, after way too much effort, you’ll have done something that you’re proud of. And then that could be motivation for the next step.

Caroline: Very cool. And are the classes centered around different garments, like each class focuses on a different garment, or is it more just like sewing basic techniques and fitting and that kind of thing?

Cornelius: So at the moment, it’s focused on creating a block first. So that would be the, sort of the basic template for a pair of pants, and then a basic template for a top. And then the additional courses take those blocks and then turn it into a specific garment. So I encourage people to take those courses first, so they have their basic template for themselves, and then if they want to turn that into a pair of classic tailored pants, there’s an option. I’m working on a jeans variation at the moment, and then different shirts, button-ups, those kinds of things. So that’s the methodology, I guess. That’s not original. It’s very common in the industry. But that’s the approach. So it’s very garment-focused, making specific garments, but starting off with a block first.

Helen: Yeah, it’s so cool to have courses like this available to people, especially folks out there who maybe aren’t having a ton of luck with commercial patterns and would like to try having their own block to base things off of, because it will get you a better fit in the end. And it makes you feel like a magician when you’re taking this simple block and creating an entire garment and design out of it. It’s pretty magical stuff, I have to say.

Cornelius: It’s certainly changed the way I approach clothes. I have actually done very little with commercial patterns, but I found one of the things that I struggled with when I was first learning myself was there was a lot of do this, do that, numbers, math, but not a lot of why. And so that’s one of the things I try to answer along the way, as well, is why is it done this way? What impact will it have if this other thing is done? And so trying to answer why is what I struggled with when I started and what I’m now hoping folks will get that out of it.

Caroline: Amazing. And where can our listeners find these courses if they were wanting to explore them?

Cornelius: Well, if I may have the opportunity, I’ll use the shtick that I use at the end of my videos.

Helen: Oh my gosh. Please!

Caroline: We’ve been waiting for that!

Cornelius: It seems to be a favourite. But if they go to Cornelius.ooo, they’ll find it. And that’s three O’s, as in “Oliver.” Cornelius.ooo.

Helen: I have to ask, Cornelius, was that a conscious decision? You did a dot O-O-O so that you could do this bit in your videos?

Cornelius: I wish I was that clever. But no, the main goal was I wanted a Cornelius-only website name. And of course, all the major ones are taken. Kellogg’s owns Cornelius.com and they refuse to sell it to me even though they don’t use it. And Cornelius.ca is gone, and .info. So all the major ones were gone and I did a domain name search to see what’s out there. And it turns out there’s .ooo domain names. Now, they’re a bit harder to get, but for a time there, Google was selling them, and I managed to get in just in the nick of time. And so now I have it and I can keep it and it’s became a fun little bit that I did, uh, on a whim once and it stuck, so.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I think it, honestly, it makes me watch all of your videos to the very end because I just wanna hear you say it.

Cornelius: Again, I wish, I wish I had, I was this brilliant and scheming, but my best stuff is always an accident.

Caroline: Okay, so you have these online classes. You also have a Patreon, a YouTube channel. You’re on Instagram, you’re on TikTok. And how do you juggle it all? Is this a full-time gig? How do, how do you manage to do all of these different things?

Cornelius: It is full-time now. I’ve been doing it for about two years full-time. But before this, it was just a whole lot of me and early mornings and late nights getting it all done. And now that it’s full-time, I also work with an editor now so I can pass off some of the more production side of things. So I wish I could say it was all me, but there is a, a silent helper in the background that, uh, helps me, me look good.

Helen: Well, they do an amazing job. You definitely have a signature look and feel to your videos. Could you describe it for our listeners?

Cornelius: Yes, it’s very pared back and minimalist. The clients who didn’t like my work as much back in the day, they called it industrial, but it’s, it’s black and white. I love black and white design. It just speaks to me and it feels timeless, and I always feel good wearing a pair of black pants and white shirt. And so I realized, like, well, hold on. This is my design aesthetic. Let’s do that. And then from the typography perspective, I keep it as a very sort of geometric sans serif font. And that way I find that the visual noise gets pulled back and it focuses on the message and allows my personality, I guess, to do some of the talking as well. I have a whole Ted Talk ready about how much visual noise and clutter we have on all our online platforms. And so I find the more I pare mine back, A, I love it, but B, it also helps it stand out from everything else that is yelling at us, if you will.

Helen: It really does stand out. Every time one of your videos pops up on my feed, it feels like a visual rest, which is such a lovely thing these days. As you pointed out, we have so much noise everywhere and your videos just feel like a rest for the eye. I love the way you speak into the microphone nice and clear, but soft and, I don’t know. It’s comforting, in a way, even though it is, like, very minimalist.

Cornelius: I’m glad to hear that’s how it’s received, ’cause it’s chaos when I’m making it. But hopefully the final product has a nice, smooth aesthetic and is calm feeling.

Helen: Yeah. I imagine it must be a lot of work to get your setting so clean and the lighting so perfect. Like, it looks like there’s absolutely nothing going on in the background. Where are you filming these magical black box videos?

Cornelius: I am lucky in that, about a year ago, I moved into a house with a basement that had a very tiny window. And so I blacked out the window so there’s absolutely no natural light coming in. So it’s all studio lights with black and white backdrops. And that way I can perfectly control the lighting, the colour temperature of the video, and the sound and all those sorts of things. So there’s a, what you see on screen is a very small part. If I were to zoom out, you would see a, a chaotic looking room full of stands and lights and all sorts of things.

Helen: We need a behind-the-scenes video. I’d love to see that.

Cornelius: I might have to do that.

Helen: I also just had a thought that, earlier you were talking about how much you love presenting and you used to do plays and things like that, and your videos do have a stage-like atmosphere to them. Like, all the lights are down and the spotlight is on you and it’s all black. It feels very much like looking at a stage.

Cornelius: I, you know what? I hadn’t thought about it, but I’m gonna say that’s what it is. And I may tell people in the future that that was, uh, one of my theories.

Helen: Perfect. I’m glad I could be a part of this.

Caroline: Oh, it’s interesting that you talk about how it feels sort of chaotic on your end because, obviously, like we said, from our end, it looks so polished and so, you know, easy to absorb and, and just, it’s chill. It’s, it doesn’t feel chaotic at all. But would you say that your content has evolved? Like, how did you hone and find that voice and perspective? And if we were to go back and look at old videos, do they all look like this or have you sort of changed over time?

Cornelius: Oh, it’s been a real evolution over time. I don’t know if you watch YouTube very much, but there’s a very specific aesthetic to YouTube where everyone has some sort of a shelving unit behind them and it’s filled with stuff that’s supposed to represent them or the type of content they have. And I know why they do it, because it reads well on screen, especially if you organize it properly. It creates visual intrigue. And that’s where I started, as well. And then I just kept adding more and more and I hated it more and more. But that was what people did. And anytime you start something, you do what you see. Right? That’s when I realized it’s like, oh, hold on. No, no. This is not who I am. As a designer, I’m also very minimalist, very clean. My website is black and white. So I have this design aesthetic, it’s what I like, but then why am I in the videos doing this other thing? And that’s when I realized, like, oh no, scrap this. I don’t have to do that. Let me just bring my design language into the video as well. I mean, video is just moving pictures, right? And so that’s when I took that leap and was able to focus in. It was also the same time I started doing educational-type content. And it also allows me to focus in on what I’m talking about, so there isn’t all that distraction. So the very old YouTube videos are drastically different. And the gear wasn’t as nice either.

Helen: We will admit, we watched some of those…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And I found it really endearing seeing how much your style has changed and watching you in your old space and watching you make your projects. That was really fun. But of course we love where you’re at now, too, and all the content that you deliver for us. How long does it take you to make a video? Can you walk us through that process a little bit?

Cornelius: Yeah, so it depends on…some videos just come together perfectly, and those are rare unicorns, but a video that I make for Instagram, for example, that can easily take a whole day. So a minute and a half of content will be a day’s effort once it’s all combined. So it’ll be a little bit of time writing out a script, and then usually half a day of filming and then editing and revisions, and then making a little thumbnail for it and those sorts of things. So it ends up being more time than it seems. And then YouTube videos. Some of them have taken way too long. They’ve been up to a, a week’s worth of effort, which I’ve realized I can’t do anymore, and so I’m paring that back, as well. I’m forcing myself to be creative in limited times, but it’s too much work every single time and I can’t help myself.

Helen: Well, I think your perfectionist streak is why your content is so wonderful, um, and well-made. So maybe it’s your secret sauce.

Cornelius: Well, thank you.

Helen: How do you gather all of these tips that you want to share? You have so many great ones. Do you keep notes, you know, while you’re making something and write down ideas for things that you might wanna turn into tutorial videos?

Cornelius: Yeah. I have a few different ways I come up with this stuff. The first one is just, ideas pop up as I’m making stuff for myself. I force myself to create garments on a regular basis because of that learning that needs to keep happening for myself. I also get a lot of suggestions for content ideas, and there’s always a few that I’ll pick out here and there. And then one of the unintended consequences of making content and having an audience is people are sharing their techniques with me, as well. So I’m constantly figuring out new techniques from reading what people share. And so that, I find, is one of the biggest goldmines that I would never have figured.

Caroline: That makes a lot of sense, and that’s very cool that you can draw inspiration from your audience as well as, you know, your own sewing practice. It kind of made me think of how, I know Helen and I have businesses in the sewing world and we’ve sort of turned our hobby into a business. And you just said that you try to force yourself to sew fairly often. So do you ever sew just for yourself or are you always, like, making content from the things that you’re sewing?

Cornelius: I got to a point where I wasn’t sewing for myself anymore, just because everything related to sewing was content. And then, eventually, the content completely took over where I wasn’t making anything for myself, and it got very stale and started becoming this self-reinforcing loop, and it made me realize that, if I’m gonna keep doing this as a business, I have to actually continue to enjoy the thing it’s based around. And so I have scheduled time in my calendar that I have to go and just sew for myself. Not that I’m forcing myself to do it, but it’s easy to get into the mindset of like, oh, I need to do this for the business. And then there’s that other thing, and I’m sure you have a very intimate understanding of this, that there’s always about five to ten or more tasks that need your attention immediately. And so putting those aside and focusing on just creating for myself in that moment, enjoying it and having fun.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah, I can totally relate to this. I’m sure Caroline can, too. It’s like, it’s very challenging. And I use the same strategy. I set aside time that is specifically not going to be work-related sewing, just whatever I feel like making. And I’m not gonna film it, even though I always wanna film it. I’m not gonna film it and I’m just gonna let myself enjoy the sewing and have a nice time. And it really is an important part of my process these days.

Cornelius: They’re my little vacations from, from my daily work. I’m by myself in the basement there, just whittling away on something.

Caroline: Sometimes, I find, those are the moments when inspiration will strike, as well. When I’m, I’m not actually trying to work, I’ll have a moment of like, oh, I should maybe make a video about this or, or, and I’ll write it down. I find it helpful. It’s like taking a break from work. It will help me keep me inspired, making more authentic content.

Helen: For sure.

Caroline: I wanna circle back to tips for a second because you share incredible tips. And I wonder if you could share one of your best ones with our listeners right now.

Cornelius: Yes. So the one that got me the audience that I have today, I think, still stands. In that a sleeve is just a cylinder cut at an angle. That shape at the top confuses a lot of people, that wave shape. And they get flummoxed by it and how to adjust that. And so what I encourage people to do is simply take a piece of paper, roll it into a cylinder, draw a circle around while you’re holding it, at an angle, and then cut it out. And then as you unfold it, you’ll see that shape emerge. And then experiment with different angles, and you’ll start to see how that will change based on whether it’s pointing straight out or pointing much more down. But that idea of taking a 3D object and turning it into a flat object is the key to pattern drafting. And a sleeve is a great place to do it.

Caroline: That’s a great tip.

Helen: Amazing. I mean, I love those mind-blowing moments and I really like how you help people to visualize simple drafting techniques using paper in your videos. It’s always really satisfying to see that. Okay. I wanna move on a little bit and talk about your personal sewing. We just talked about how you are making time for your personal sewing, but what about your personal style? How would you describe your personal style these days?

Cornelius: My style is functional, and I think there’s a beauty in function in that when something isn’t trying to be anything other than what it’s supposed to be, it can be refined and refined and elevated until the point where you don’t see what’s gone into it until you learn about it, and then you realize the brilliance of it. Understated, I guess is what I would call that. And I realize I’m really, like, blowing up what I say about my clothes here, but I like a pair of black pants and a white shirt. I want it to make sense for how I move throughout my day. For example, my collars. I’ve taken the flappy over bit at the top of a collar and removed it. It exists there mainly to hide the band of a tie, from what I understand about it. I don’t wear ties, so why is it there? So I just have simple band collars. My pants, I sit at my computer on a daily basis, editing emails, those sorts of things. So putting a phone or a wallet in the back just doesn’t make sense for me. And so I thought to myself, why am I having pockets on the back of my pants? And so I shifted them over to the side of my pants. So I basically make cargo pants, is what I’m saying. But I’ve also been thinking about that recently. I was like, well, why am I doing welt pockets on the side? They’re a little noisy, if you will. Maybe I could just put a one long slash down the side of the pants, like a tuxedo pant, but make it extra wide. And then I can do a single slash, and then that will be the pocket. And so that’s gonna be my next pair. So my sewing, I guess what I would say is technical and refined, maybe? Minimalist. Very minimalist.

Caroline: Yeah,

Cornelius: I hope that that answers your question.

Caroline: No, it does. It, it mirrors the style of your videos, which I think creates a really nice synergy in the content. But I also wonder, like, I have to ask about your hats, ’cause I feel like that’s part of your signature look, the cowboy hat. At least in your more recent videos. Can you tell us about that? Are you a cowboy on the side? Or do you wear these hats outside of your videos?

Cornelius: I do wear it outside. Actually, I’ve been wearing it a lot this summer. It’s been nice and hot here. But I’m the softest-palmed cowboy you’ll ever see. The specific branch of Mennonites that I was raised in immigrated to Mexico in 1922, into what is the Cowboy Belt. And naturally, when you go somewhere, you kind of take on the things of the area. And so cowboy hats became a thing. A lot of those Mennonites then moved to Paraguay in the seventies, which is where I was born, and they took that with them. But it was only the grown men that would wear the cowboy hats. And I was a young boy. I couldn’t have one, but I wanted one ’cause that signified that I was a big guy. You know? We left before I ever got one and I forgot about it over time. And then as I, I became an adult, that memory came back and I thought to myself, well, hold on. No, no, I get to, I get to wear what I want. Let me bring that hat back into my life. I bought one and it just immediately felt right. And maybe it also soothed that little boy Cornelius deep inside of me. But ever since that moment I was like, oh yeah, you know, cowboy hats are nice. I like these. And so I started wearing them in my videos because I just thought it was visually intriguing and, not gonna lie, the branding side of me also thought about how it was unique and recognizable. And so it comes from a place of my history. But the business Corn in me also understands why. And I do actually wear them. This is genuinely a thing I like.

Helen: Well, I absolutely love them. I also love when you refer to yourself as Corn in your videos and like you did just now. It’s so great. Have you ever made a hat? Have you ever gotten into millinery? Millinery? Is that how you say it?

Cornelius: I’ve watched too many videos about it on YouTube, and it’s on my list of crafts to do when I’m eventually a millionaire and don’t need to work for money anymore. I want to make hats. Watching craftsmen make them in studios is amazing. Shoes is another thing. I would love to make shoes, but I just don’t have the time for these additional crafts. So eventually, yes, I will make my own hats. I do reshape them and stuff with, uh, steam, the way one can do. But that’s usually for maintenance, not actual crafting of the hats.

Helen: I look forward to your hat journey later on in your sewing career.

Caroline: The Millionaire Milliner.

Helen: Yeah. Oh, new brand.

Cornelius: You know? Oh.

Helen: Millionaire milliner dot ooo.

Cornelius: We, we need to have more of these. These are, these are great ideas.

Caroline: Yeah, we’re available anytime for brainstorming. Okay, I wanted to also ask you, in terms of sewing, what is your favourite thing to sew? Your favourite type of garment?

Cornelius: My favourite to make, I would say, is coats, like fancy coats and things. But the truth is, I never have any need for them or use for them, and they’re not very functional. So those are the funnest to make. But outside of that, honestly, shirts and pants. I don’t know. I just, I, I’m not wild, I guess? Perhaps? I’m not that creative. Again, my clothes are black and white, but just, like, a well-made shirt where I got the stitches nice and straight…

Caroline: Mm.

Cornelius: The fit is, mm, just perfect. You know? It’s, I think, less the specific item that I like. It’s the process and if I can do it well and it goes well. Oh, that makes me happy.

Caroline: There is something about shirtmaking with a crisp cotton when everything is going well and everything’s looking really tight and good. It’s, yeah, it’s…something special about that, for sure. I agree. What about fabric? What are your favourite fabrics to work with?

Cornelius: Oh, I am so boring. A good old-fashioned cotton, a good quality cotton, is my go-to. And knits, without elastic. Ideally, I don’t want any elastics in it. Just a traditional, a hundred percent cotton knit. Wools, as well, actually a nice boiled wool. Organic. Alright. Organic. I like organic, uh, uh, fibers in, uh, in the garments that I sew.

Caroline: Yeah, natural, you’re working with a lot of natural fibers. That makes sense. Oh, do you have fabric stores, uh, near you? Are you able to shop in person? Are you shopping online?

Cornelius: I used to have a wealth of options back when I lived in Toronto, but I’ve moved to a smaller town now, and so I’ve just got some of the, the basics around here. Fellow Canadians will know about Fabricland.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Cornelius: That’s all that I have at the moment, so I go there. But that’s currently the only place I have at the moment. So outside of that, it’s online. I’ve started shopping online more, and so, ordering swatches to get a feel for it, and then that way.

Caroline: Nice. Yeah. And with the, the type of sewing that you do, the classic black and white, I’m sure you have some fabrics that you’ve found that you love and that you’ll come back to again and again.

Cornelius: I buy a whole bunch of it when I get some of that.

Helen: Well, we’ve got a bit of a question that’s, um, unrelated to all of this, but we noticed you had a great video about rescuing an old sewing machine, and we were wondering if you still use that machine? And also, what are your thoughts on vintage machines versus new machines, which is an ongoing debate in the sewing community?

Cornelius: It gets a bit testy sometimes, as I’ve realized in my comments. That sewing machine, I still have it. Truthfully, it kind of sits on the side. I’ve been very lucky in terms of having a bit of an audience and having companies send me machines. And so I have some, some Cadillacs of sewing machines, if you will, which I, uh, tend to use most often now. But interestingly enough, I am planning on buying another vintage machine. This one that I rescued, turns out, is, well, it’s lived a full life. And outside of spending a lot of money on it…it’s a lower end machine, not really worth it. I want a classic, good old fashioned fifties or sixties machine as well, so I don’t pick or choose, uh, vintage versus new. I think they both have their merits. So choose what you want. And what works for you is not necessarily gonna work for someone else. So I don’t pick, I don’t have favourites. I like them both for very different reasons.

Helen: Mmhmm. Yeah, I am inclined to agree with you. I think it’s tough when you’re first starting out and you wanna get a machine and you’re not sure whether you should go for, you know, a lower-end new machine or a vintage machine that you might find on Craigslist or something like that, because you also don’t really know what you’re getting with that. And if you’re just starting out, you don’t know how to necessarily evaluate the merits of either of those things. I’m always inclined to be like, the vintage one’s probably gonna be a better quality buy over time, but then it depends on what condition it is in currently.

Cornelius: Yeah, it gets a little tricky, but I tend to say, don’t spend too much money on it. ‘Cause you’re also not very good at sewing yet. And so you don’t know what you want. And so spending a lot of money is gonna be a waste. Get something vintage, something that works. Read the description. Ideally, if it’s someone’s grandma who’s passed away who used this machine, it’ll be in good shape and that’ll be a good buy. But anything over a couple hundred bucks, I’d be wary of suggesting.

Helen: Yeah. Fair enough.

Caroline: So we have a couple more questions before we wrap up. One of the things Helen and I have been thinking about a lot is how the sewing world seems to be changing and evolving at the moment. And we just kind of wanted to get your take on that, where you would like to see the sewing community go in the future.

Cornelius: I think about this regularly. And I think it’s interesting, ’cause there’s fashion and then there’s sewing and there seems to be a divide between those two. But one can’t live without the other and vice versa. And so I have faith that each generation eventually figures that out. And it is definitely shifting with the whole world of sewing online. But I’m happy to see that there’s young folks both in my comments, but online in general, who are making their garments. And it usually starts with them wanting to create their own clothes or alter things. So for me, I think encouraging that side of things. Less on the how to sew and more on the how do you want your clothes to look? What do you want to wear? And it’s fascinating how there’s always reactionary movements. And so, with a lot of fast fashion, there’s a lot of reactionary, “Oh, this isn’t good quality. This doesn’t last. How can I make what I want?” So it seems like the world of sewing is sort of dying, if you will, online, in general, but there’s a new community that is going through the cycle of the learning process that, oh, all this easily accessible, I hesitate to call it garbage, but all this garbage you can buy isn’t the answer to your fashion desires. And of that, a crop will discover this craft of sewing, and hopefully I can be a small part of that voice that encourages them to give it a try.

Helen: Yeah, for sure. And I, I think calling it garbage is fair, since most of it does, in fact, end up there. And I like that idea of it, sewing, giving people a new appreciation for quality and craftsmanship and making folks realize that fast fashion stuff is not nice. And your body deserves better, you know? Better quality, better fit.

Cornelius: I’m gonna have to use that.

Helen: Teah, yeah. Your body deserves better. We’re seeing a lot of young folks in the sewing community, as well, getting excited about it. And it’s fun to also learn from them and their excitement, uh, especially when it comes to using social media for sharing and stuff. So, yeah. Thanks for your thoughts on that. We wanted to also ask you about your mom, because you mentioned her earlier and you have some great videos and reels that you’ve done with her. What is it like for the two of you to share the love of sewing?

Cornelius: It’s been a good bonding experience. I think I’m just the next version of my mom. I get a lot of my silliness from her and the desire to make things from her. She’s very hands-on. And so I like to just have fun with it. And we have fun with each other doing it. So it’s a, it’s special for the two of us, and I like to think it translates on screen as well, that relationship that the two of us have. And so sharing that just demonstrates a bit of who I am outside of this black box that you see online.

Caroline: It does translate. It’s so sweet. I love seeing your mom in your videos and it reminds me of my own relationship with my mom and sewing and my grandma and it’s just, I think a lot of people that are watching probably can also relate. So it’s really nice to see. It’s really heartwarming.

Cornelius: That makes me happy to hear.

Caroline: Alright, Cornelius, so we had a great time chatting with you today. Can you tell our listeners, if they wanna find out more, if they wanna follow along, where can they find you online?

Cornelius: Well, uh, just go to my website, Cornelius.ooo. And all the links are there. Everything I’ve got going on is there. It’s a central portal that’ll spread you out to my many activities online.

Caroline: Perfect. And we’ll get all of that linked up in the show notes, as well, so that folks can just find those links there. But it was so great to chat with you. Thank you so much for sharing today and thanks for coming on the show. It was such a pleasure.

Cornelius: Well, thank you for having me on. I’ve been aware of your podcast from the early days of me sharing online, and so the fact that I actually get to participate now makes me feel like I finally made it. So a giant “thank you” for having me and, uh, it’s really been an honour to, uh, to have a chat with you guys.

Helen: Oh, that’s so sweet. Thank you so much, Cornelius. We’ll see you online.

Cornelius: See you there.

Helen: Bye.

That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Helen, at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. And Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics and BF patterns. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew! Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Helen: Head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with all the links and pictures from this episode. If you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at [email protected]. And we’re on social media. Follow us on Instagram and Pixelfed @lovetosew.podcast, on Bluesky @lovetosewpodcast and on facebook.com/lovetosewpod.

Caroline: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We will talk to you next week. Bye.

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We each sewed a vest and, in this episode, we reveal them to each other for the first time! We talk about the patterns and fabrics we chose, the ups and downs of the sewing process, and how we’re going to style our new vests. Plus, an extra special surprise!

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

Helen’s Denim Vest:

Caroline’s Cotton Vest:

Helen’s Colourblocked Vest:

Other Mentions:

Transcript:

Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: And I am Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew, and it’s essentially all we wanna talk about.

Caroline: We each sewed a vest and we are about to reveal them to each other for the first time. We’ll talk about the patterns and fabrics we chose, the ups and downs of our sewing process, and how we’re gonna style our new vests.

Helen: If you love to sew, this is your show.

Caroline: Woo! We sewed vests!

Helen: I love these episodes so much. And I cannot wait to see your vest. I’m so excited.

Caroline: No, I am so excited too. I’m, like, vibrating with excitement.

Helen: I cannot say the word vest or think about vests without hearing the Simpsons, like, “See my vest, see my vest, made from real gorilla chest.” You know that song?

Caroline: Okay, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m sure some of our listeners will.

Helen: Our, our listeners will get it.

Caroline: I’m gonna look that up after.

Helen: You should. It’s amazing.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay, well, before we get into this episode, we wanna remind you all that the best way to support Love to Sew is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions. If you do that, you’ll get access to bonus content every month. We have so much fun catching up with you all on those more casual bonus episodes.

Helen: Yeah, and it really means so much to us if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two, and you can listen to your heart’s content. And if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally understand. We just wanna thank you for listening and cheering us on.

Caroline: Yeah. Thank you. Okay, Helen.

Helen: Caroline.

Caroline: Oh, I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. Okay. As you all know, this is our new favourite kind of episode. I don’t think it’s a secret. We love it so much. And this time we each sewed a vest and we’re gonna reveal them to each other in just a few minutes. I’m dying of excitement. I’m so excited. But before that, we’re gonna talk a little bit about vests in general.

Helen: Okay, so vests, also known as waistcoats, are close-fitting, short, sleeveless garments that close at the center front. They’re traditionally worn under a jacket, though nowadays you can definitely wear them without one. You can even wear them without a shirt underneath. Gasp.

Caroline: Scandalous.

Helen: They can be single- or double-breasted, just like jackets. As in, a single-breasted vest has one row of buttons down the middle and a double-breasted vest crosses over at the center front and has two rows of buttons. Vests are often lined, but not always, which we’ll get into today.

Caroline: And historically, vests began to appear in the 17th century. They were an evolution of doublets from the Middle Ages. And doublets were padded and boned to make a dramatic shape. In contrast, vests were softer and tailored to the wear’s body.

Helen: Vests have never really left fashion. Even if their shapes change, they always have a place in formalwear, especially. For casual wear, they do go in and out of style, and right now they are very, very, very in. There are so many cool vests popping up in the sewing community and in ready-to-wear. We’re seeing them everywhere and I am here for it. I love this trend.

Caroline: I am so here for it. I’m especially in love with the, like, vest-as-top trend that’s happening right now.

Helen: Mmhmm.

Caroline: Like, we were kind of joking, “Ooh, scandalous. Nothing underneath.” But I feel like that’s kind of the look that is of the moment, right?

Helen: Yeah. And you’re essentially making it as a top, typically. So it has a higher underarm and you know, it doesn’t dip so low in the front, so it is structured just like a bodice with buttons down the front, and you can totally wear it as a top, no problem.

Caroline: Is it a vest? Is it a top? Is it a blouse? I dunno.

Helen: I don’t know! It’s a vest, you know.

Caroline: It’s a vest. We’re calling it a vest.

Helen: Caroline, have you ever made a vest before?

Caroline: I have. so I made the Seamwork Otto vest last year and that’s what I wore to Seamwork’s Stitchfest event that we went to in Portland together. So that was my, I believe, first experience making a vest. And I loved it. And I still wear that vest. I really, I really like it.

Helen: It is so cute. You chose a really nice, like, little mini houndstooth, is that right?

Caroline: Oh, it’s a tiny little gingham, actually.

Helen: Gingham. Yeah, it’s very nice and neutral and, like, wearable with everything. Like, perfect choice for a vest.

Caroline: Yeah. What about you? Have you made a vest before?

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: Hmm.

Helen: Well, here’s the thing. We have a vest in our pattern collection. We have the Wildwood Vest But when I think of “vest,” I don’t necessarily think of that style of vest, you know? Like a puffer vest or a quilted vest, even though that’s also a vest. But when we were prepping for this episode, I was in my head, like, “I’ve never made a vest before.” And then I remembered that we do have one in our collection. So I’ve definitely made vests before, but not the style that I was imagining making for this episode, which is a little bit more tailored, you know, buttons instead of snaps and, like, something that is more fitted to the body. So I’ve made Wildwood Vests. And then, this past summer, I made a cool, like, Lazo Vest hack where we took the Lazo bodice and we made it into a vest. I made it into a vest. And I did this cool, like, sun applique on the back. And that one turned out really great. And I’m really happy with how that one looked, but it wasn’t, again, also not quite as fitted as I wanted to go with for this episode. I’m trying not to give too much away, but…

Caroline: Oh….

Helen: You can turn a bodice into a vest if you wanna add buttons down the front, or choose a bodice that already has buttons down the front and kind of make it into more of a loosey goosey vest, which is what I did with that hack.

Caroline: Okay. I’m looking at this right now, and it’s so cute, Helen. I love this hack. You’re…okay. This little sun on the back is the cutest thing ever. Everyone needs to go check this out. I love it. But this isn’t the vest that you made for today’s episode.

Helen: No, it’s not. I actually made this back in February for QuiltCon and I loved wearing it at QuiltCon. It was so fun. I wanted something that had some applique detailing, ’cause everybody wears the coolest stuff at QuiltCon. Like, it’s the best fashion. And I really wanted to make some custom pieces for QuiltCon so I made this vest as part of that wardrobe. But I didn’t get around to sharing it until the summer, so.

Caroline: Okay. Got it.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Helen, do you remember when you tried on that vest in Portland with the matching pants?

Helen: Yes. We have pictures, too. I’ll have to put that in the show notes.

Caroline: I have a really great, like, signature Helen, like, runway walk video…

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: That I feel like we need to post. But I, I love that look on you. I still think about it. It was so chic.

Helen: Yeah, and you can go all the way with the look by doing like a tailored trouser and vest matching and then you could even make a blazer matching and go full suit and then have all these pieces that you can mix and match. Yeah, that was more the vest I was envisioning when we were like, “Let’s sew vests.” Something, yeah. With, you know, all the classical details and stuff.

Caroline: Yeah. I do think there’s a, a pretty big difference in style from, like, a quilted vest or, like, a puffer vest to this, like, tailored vest look that we’re focusing on today. So they’re both vests, but they’re different.

Helen: Yeah. And there’s also denim vests, too. You know, you take a denim jacket, hack the arms off. You got yourself a vest.

Caroline: So true. Yeah. Yeah.

Helen: Great look, also.

Caroline: Alright, Helen, I am really excited to know what you made. Do you wanna go first? Do you wanna go first? Okay.

Helen: I’m pumped. I’m pumped. Okay.

Caroline: Ah! Okay. Wait. Ah. Oh my God. Just the preview was so cute. Oh my God. It fits so well!

Helen: I know, right?

Caroline: Helen!

Helen: It fits like a dream. It, like, hugs every curve. I’m obsessed.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. It fits you so well. It looks so good.

Helen: Thank you! Okay. I am gonna describe it for our listeners. I made the True Bias Quinn Vest, which I was totally on board with at the moment it dropped. It was exactly what I had been waiting for, looking for in a vest. It has so many views, which is really awesome. It has, like, a short cropped one, which is the one that I made, and then it has that longer one with the V split in the front which looks so cute paired with trousers. And then there’s dress views, too. You can do a short dress or a long dress, so truly, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck with that pattern.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: I liked that it was unlined because I don’t like messing around with fancy, fussy details. Sometimes you just wanna get ‘er done. Yeah.

Caroline: I wasn’t expecting that. Okay. Okay.

Helen: Yeah, she’s unlined. It’s got nice facing finished details and bias finished details on the arm holes and the neck line, so it’s all really nicely finished, but the inside is unlined. So it makes it a really quick sew and it doesn’t involve a lot of fabric. It has a really cute little back strap buckle, which I think is a nice detail. A nice, easy detail to add. And it has a little V at the bottom. V is for “vest,” as we know. So you’ve gotta have the V at the bottom. And it’s an upside down V. I guess it’s more of a like pyramid, but…

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Helen: It’s got, like, a little mini V at the bottom. And then if you make the longer vest view, it has that big V that I was just talking about. I really wanna make that longer one, too. I think it would be so cute. And now that I know how well the vest fits, I just wanna make this pattern over and over and over again.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Wait. It’s so cute. And it fits you so well. I’m really dying to know if you made any fit adjustments, like, especially the back. I mean, the front looks amazing, but the back, too. It’s so good.

Helen: I made a muslin, ’cause you know I love a muslin.

Caroline: Yeah, yeah.

Helen: No changes.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, you’re lying. That can’t be true.

Helen: I mean, I do know that Kelli’s block fits me really well, so I was, like, prepared for it to fit well, but I was not prepared for it to fit this well. I was like, made the muslin, put it on and I, I was just like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe this.” I’m, like, running around my house trying to find Sam to be like, “Look at this muslin! It fits perfectly!”

Caroline: No, it’s hitting you at just the right spot everywhere, which is, like, really tricky with a vest, right? Like you want the underarms to hit right. You want the shoulders to hit right, the back. Like it’s just, it looks like it was drafted for you. It’s incredible. Wow.

Helen: I know, I’m really happy with that and feel like it’s a bit of a lucky moment that it fits so perfectly. And obviously, with a fitted garment like this, you’ll probably have to do fit adjustments. So I don’t wanna set people’s expectations that it’s always gonna fit perfectly. But with this vest, there’s princess seams and there’s lots of different areas where you can adjust it. And I like sleeveless garments for adjusting, too, because it’s easy to raise and lower an armscye when you’re not involving a sleeve as well. And it’s pretty easy to make little tweaks to how that armscye fits and how, you know, the bust fit and the back. There’s a center back seam, so if you need, like, if you have a high round back, you can adjust that. Lots of wiggle room to, like, sculpt it to your body. So I like that about the drafting on this one.

Caroline: Amazing. But you didn’t have to do any of that, so…

Helen: No, I didn’t. And I should say, ’cause our, our listeners can’t see it. It’s denim. It’s made of a light-coloured denim. I think it’s about nine ounces, so it’s not crazy heavy. And it’s got this beautiful, like, textured wash to it. I got it from Blackbird, but I don’t remember.

Caroline: I know. I’m like, “What fabric is this?” It almost looks chambray-ish, but it’s like a cross between a chambray and a denim. I’m gonna have to look at your order history and figure out what, what fabric this is.

Helen: I should have done that. It is a, I do believe it was, it’s a plain weave denim, not a twill weave denim. So that’s why it looks very, like, chambray-y. But it has weight to it. Like, you could make a pair of jeans out of this denim, and it’s heavy enough for that.

Caroline: Oh cool. And that tracks, right? ‘Cause it’s unlined, so you want something that has some structure. I know this pattern. When it came out, some of the samples were made in, like, a really cool, like, dark, heavy denim and I always thought those looked really good.

Helen: Yeah, I love a denim vest. I’d like to make the longer vest view in a darker denim with gold stitching. I’ve seen a lot of that in ready-to-wear. I think that would be so cute.

Caroline: Oh, yes.

Helen: Yeah. I chose this pattern because it is what I think of when I think of a vest. When you’re like, “Make a vest.” And I’m picturing this: tailored fit, princess seams. But it’s simpler because there’s no lining, it doesn’t have those little welt pockets on the bottom that vests often have, which is a nice detail, but, you know, I don’t, I’m not gonna use that.

Caroline: Not, I don’t wanna spoil it, but we’re gonna be talking about welt pockets.

Helen: Okay. I love it. I’m glad that somebody made the welt pockets, ’cause it, and, and I’m also glad it wasn’t me.

Caroline: So we can hash it out and have that conversation about the necessity or non-necessity of fake welt pockets on a vest. I have lots of thoughts.

Helen: I do think this pattern is, like, perfect for trying out this trend. You know, it’s perfect for just, like, giving vests a go because, yeah, you can cut it out of a small amount of fabric. You don’t have to line it. Throw it together, see how it looks, see if you like it, you know? Great.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s absolutely, like, your classic vest, but it’s nice that it has lots of different views. So you’re not just getting the one classic vest, you’re getting a lot of different options. I feel like this dress version would look amazing on you, too.

Helen: I know, right? I definitely wanna try that, especially for fall. And I think you could layer it, obviously, over a dress or a turtleneck or something like that. And it’s very seasonally appropriate, ’cause you can wear it any time of year.

Caroline: Well, I love it. It’s amazing.

Helen: Thank you! I wanna see yours. I wanna see yours!

Caroline: I’m sending you mine, I’m sending you.

Helen: Ooh. Oh my God. The scoopy bottom! Oh, and the buttons. Oh my gosh. It’s so cute!

Caroline: I feel like it’s a, really, we went in different directions, which is so fun.

Helen: It’s perfect.

Caroline: Okay. I’m gonna describe.

Helen: Yes, please. Sorry, I’m gonna keep watching you. Describe.

Caroline: Okay, so I went with the Arlo Vest, and this is from Patterns by Liliya. I’ve always loved this pattern. I’ve loved it since I first saw it. The designer uses a lot of our fabrics and I think our linens pair really well with vests. So as soon as I saw this, I was like, “I need to use this pattern.” It’s a modern take on a fully lined vest. It can go more formal. It can go more everyday, which I really love. It has a row of tiny buttons, a high crew neckline, optional faux welt pockets. There’s fish eye darts in the back. It has this, like, beautiful curved hem that opens up at the waist level. Styling-wise, I even left like the bottom button undone, which I think was really cute. All of these details combined create the most effortless French girl look. This is straight from the designer’s description, by the way.

Helen: Oh, great. I was like, “Wow, this is incredible.”

Caroline: And this project is entirely serger-free, which I enjoyed, for sure. And there’s only one view. I just made the one view, which, I can get behind a one-view pattern when it’s, like, a very styled, like, it’s like, the vision is this, you know?

Helen: A vision. Yeah. Yeah. Mmhmm.

Caroline: And it is fully lined. And yeah, I just chose this pattern because as soon as we said we wanted to do an episode about vests, I just couldn’t get it outta my head. So it was pretty clear from the beginning that this is the one.

Helen: It’s so cute. Okay. Tell them about the fabric and the colour.

Caroline: I went with the Washed Linen in Oatmeal. So it’s about five ounces, a hundred percent linen. This is a fabric we carry all the time at Blackbird. I love this fabric. Actually, the designer recommends this specific fabric in her booklet. So I love the look of her samples. I knew, like, it would be a win to go with this fabric. I think her, like, cover image with the pattern is out of this exact fabric. So I really kind of just wanted to replicate the look on her cover ’cause I loved it so much. I will say, like, I kind of struggled with fabric choice because part of me wanted to go more adventurous. I was like, “Maybe I’ll do a bright colour and maybe I’ll do some kind of, like, texture or pattern,” but I just couldn’t picture, like, something that was too out there, like, styling into my everyday wardrobe as a vest because, like, the vest itself is the statement, in a way. I could only really picture, like, a neutral color or denim, but I decided not to go with denim. So I was like, “You know what, I’m just gonna go with my gut and go really neutral. Really classic.” So it’s just, like, a light kind of oatmeal colour of linen.

Helen: Oh, I love it. I think that’s great when you’re trying out a trend, too. We talked about that in our skorts episode. Like, if you’re not sure if the trend is for you, go for a more neutral fabric so that it has more chance of getting worn more often in your wardrobe, and you can actually give it a good old try.

Caroline: A hundred percent. And then I also lined it, so the lining is Sandwashed Cotton in the colour Salt. The designer recommended lining in a cotton, like, not self fabric. But I wanted a good colour match, ’cause it’s not actually faced, it’s just, like, fully lined. Like, you just cut two of the pattern. So I was, my priority was, like, finding a cotton that was a pretty exact match. That’s why I went with the Sandwashed Cotton in Salt, and it worked out overall. And then the little buttons that I used are these, like, little mushroom-coloured buttons. They have, like, a little sheen to them and they’re really lovely. They feel really high-end. They’re deadstock from one of our local designers that we picked up a bunch of deadstock from. And we just, like, stash all these buttons to use around the office. So yeah.

Helen: Cute! Those look great. I really love the back tie and the way that it’s, like, optionally cinch-able to your, you know, desired fit. And when you cinch it up, it really gives you that hourglass, like, boom, boom, boom kind of shape. Yeah.

Caroline: I like that too. Yeah, I definitely like it, like, a little bit tighter in the tie. ‘Cause it does, it kind of, like, almost accentuates the, like, flutey-ness at the bottom and that little, like, peek of skin where, like, I left the button undone. I feel like it, it looks really, really, really cute.

Helen: Yeah, it’s so freaking cute. Okay. And there are welt pockets. So tell us about the welt pockets.

Caroline: Okay. I, okay, so, well, I really hemmed and hawed about the faux welt pockets, I’m gonna say, because it’s one of my least favourite things to sew. Like, welt pockets, they’re not a good time for me, personally. And I was like, “It’s so silly to do a non-functional welt pocket.” I’m like, “If I’m gonna go through the trouble of sewing a welt and, like, cutting into my fabric and risking all the things that could go wrong with a welt pocket, why would I not have a real functional pocket from that?” But I kind of wanted to stay true to, like, the designer’s vision. And I also, like, I get why it’s not functional, because it’s such a sleek look that, like, if I’m not gonna be like putting stuff in my pockets, really, unless it’s just like a single credit card or something, right? Like, I’m not putting my, like, giant brick of an iPhone, like, in my pocket, in this vest pocket. So like, and it would just look bulky if I filled the pocket, so I get it. I really had to convince myself to do it. Like, it felt silly. I was like, “Am I really gonna do these welt pockets? Like, they’re so much work. It’s so stressful. What if they mess up and it’s not even worth it? ‘Cause they’re not real pockets.” But I came around and I’m glad I did ’cause I do think it adds to the look. I ended up looking at, like, a lot of tester photos and some did welt pockets and some didn’t. And I just preferred the look of the welt pocket in the end, so I went for it for, for the vibes. For the look.

Helen: Yeah. It adds a little something. ‘Cause you do have these, like, big tulip petal shapes hanging down onto the hip area and then the welt pocket sitting just on those. It looks really good. Like, it, it makes sense visually. So I think it, you were very brave and I’m proud of you.

Caroline: Thank you. They did turn out well. They did. Like, they turned out welt. No, I’m kidding. They turned out really well. And like, I didn’t mess anything up, so that was a win, you know? In the end, it always feels like a win when a welt pocket looks good after you finish.

Helen: Yeah. I mean there’s also like, what, 20 buttonholes on this? That is an undertaking, too.

Caroline: 10 buttonholes. Yeah. Which was an undertaking. And my machine was not cooperating. It turned out it’s ’cause I needed to change the needle. But the, the Pfaff that I have, that you also have, I don’t remember what the name of the model is.

Helen: It’s an Expression 710.

Caroline: Thank you. It’s excellent at buttonholes. I always switch to my Pfaff for buttonholes ’cause my Bernina can be, like, a little bit tricky with buttonholes. And this was the first time it was giving me grief and I was, like, so frustrated. And then I was just like, “Okay. Reset, change the needle, rethread, like, do all the things.” And then it started working. So I think it was the needle.

Helen: Yeah. I mean, that’s always, you know, when in doubt: reset, change the needle, and try again. But it’s so frustrating when you’re on buttons ’cause they’re such a pain in the ass to unpick if it goes awry, so.

Caroline: Oh, totally. Yeah.

Helen: Right on the front.

Caroline: Luckily, I was only messing up on my tester. Like, I had swatches that I was testing on first, thank goodness. ‘Cause yeah, unpicking on linen, too. That would’ve been tough. I also did these buttonholes at 11:30 pm, so I didn’t…

Helen: Wait, last night? Or?

Caroline: No, not last night, but I was, like, so close to being done. I wanted to finish and I was like, “I’m just gonna do them.” And I looked at my watch and I was like, “Okay, it’s not midnight yet. I can still do buttonholes.”

Helen: No, it’s no buttonholes after 10:00 pm; don’t you know?

Caroline: I am sorry. My personal rule is midnight. My personal rule is midnight. I’m a night owl.

Helen: That’s fair. Okay. I wanna know if you muslin-ed this vest or did you just go for it?

Caroline: I did, Helen. Did I ever.

Helen: Oh my gosh.

Caroline: Honestly, okay, going into this, I knew I wanted to make a muslin because the pattern didn’t include bust darts and the designer recommended, like, if you have a high bust-to-bust ratio, you should do a full bust adjustment. I actually ended up making two muslins. Are you proud of me?

Helen: Wow. I am. That’s amazing. I love it.

Caroline: Yeah, it did require a good amount of fitting for my body. I started off grading from a 20 in the bust to a 22 hip, and then I did a one inch full bust adjustment based on my measurements. But then I ended up increasing it to a two inch full bust adjustment after my first muslin because of, I was still feeling a little bit tight and I wanted it to be, like, a little bit more relaxed. But I also made adjustments to the shoulder slope. I tend to have, like, more sloped shoulders, so often I have to take a little wedge out on, like, the outside corner of a shoulder seam. Same thing with the underarm seam. I took a little wedge out because my underarms tend to gape on me. And I adjusted the overlap around the neckline. There was, like, excess fabric that needed to be taken out because it comes up so high. Like, everybody’s proportions and distribution are so different, right? So, just the way it was sitting on me, there was just, like, extra fabric around the neck. So I kind of just changed the balance a little bit, of the pattern, if that makes sense. And then I brought in the shoulder a little bit ’cause it was feeling a bit wide. So I did make a lot of adjustments. But I don’t know, like, that doesn’t really bother me. I’m really happy I made a muslin. I also took videos of all of them, so maybe I’ll put together a reel showing, like, how I put it on and pinched out areas and figured out what adjustments I needed to make. And in the end, I think I got, like, a pretty good fit. I’m really happy with it. Like, especially around the bust. I think adding the dart was totally the move. It’s just worth it. Like, it took me a few extra hours. Like, obviously I didn’t wanna make two muslins but, like, I knew it was necessary to get, like, a garment in the end that I was gonna really love and wanna wear. So it was worth it.

Helen: Do you find that, like, you don’t want to make the muslins, but then when you’re actually in the process of muslin-ing and thinking about adjustments it’s, like, kind of fun? Like, do you enjoy assessing fit and stuff?

Caroline: The fun thing about fitting, I think, is when you get the end result that you’re going for, right?

Helen: Right. The payoff.

Caroline: Like, it’s like, and the process is fun. I do sometimes wish I had, like, a sewing friend that could, like, help me pinch out. Sometimes I’ll bring projects into work and get, like, a coworker to, like, pin it for me ’cause it’s, like, kind of hard to do it on yourself, right? But I just ended up kind of, like, eyeballing it, going over to my machine, like, sewing and, like, you know, if I needed to take it in somewhere, taking it in, trying it on again, seeing if that was enough, and then adjusting the pattern. So it worked out. And I do think it’s fun, like, especially when you have a little bit more experience under your belt and you sort of, like, know, you can pinpoint, like, “Oh, this is a common adjustment for me. I know exactly how to do it.” Bing, bang, boom. And it worked. And then that feels like a total success, right? I could see it being frustrated if you don’t know what to do and you don’t know how to fix something and, like, maybe you’ve tried and it’s not working. That can be hard.

Helen: Yeah. totally. I mean, I, I think I said this a little bit at the beginning of the show, but I do think that vests are a good place to practice fitting because there’s often lots of seams to adjust and, yeah, you can easily adjust shoulder and underarm without worrying about a sleeve. The pieces are pretty small, typically, for vests, so you don’t have to worry about using a ton of fabric to make your muslin or multiple muslins if you need to. And they’re typically made out of structured fabrics like cotton, denim, suiting. So like, it’s a relatively approachable project, even though you’re trying to get, like, a tailored fit some of the times, with vests. It is doable and it’s a nice one to practice on.

Caroline: Yeah, and I did my first muslin, I made it out of, like, the muslin fabric, just that, like, stiff kind of cotton. And then the second go around, I decided to use some linen that I had in my stash because I was like, I really wanna make sure I’m capturing, like, the drape of the vest when I’m making these adjustments. ‘Cause sometimes in a muslin it feels like the problems feel more dramatic than they would in…

Helen: Yeah. It’s so true.

Caroline: In a more, I don’t know, like, wearable fabric.

Helen: Yeah. Oh, a hundred percent. It’s like wearing cardboard sometimes, like…

Caroline: It really is. It’s like you’re wearing paper.

Helen: Yeah, yeah.

Caroline: Yeah. So, just, nothing looks good in muslin. Let’s be honest.

Helen: No, no, it’s so true. Especially like jackets and stuff; they tend to look like lab coats or…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah. It’s hard to envision sometimes, but you do get better at it with time.

Caroline: Yeah. You didn’t make any fitting adjustments, but what was your, like, sewing experience like? Did it take a long time to make this pattern?

Helen: No, and I loved how small the pieces were because then I could cut it out. Like, this was actually just some leftover denim that I had from another project. I had about a meter left and I was able to squeeze it out. You can always, like, cut the facings out of a different fabric. I did the binding out of a different fabric. But the exterior pieces, because we’ve got princess seams, they’re actually pretty narrow and relatively small, so you can kind of squeeze them and tetris them in on a small piece of fabric. So that was really great. And I already have some other remnants and little bits left in my studio that I’m excited about playing around with, making more vests out of. But yeah, it was good. I mean, princess seams, especially when you’re doing the larger bust, I did the D Cup one, and you know that curve is pretty curvy. So that can be kind of hard. It’s like sewing a sleeve, where you’re putting those two contrasting curves together and, like, trying to get them to work. And I do like to kind of pre-clip into my seams when I’m doing curves like that. Like, I’ll clip ahead of time and then pin it all together and sew it so that the fabric can spread out before, or as, you’re sewing it instead of just clipping after. I find that can be really helpful. And then I use my tailor’s ham, which is really awesome for princess seams. It makes such a big difference to be able to press over a tailor’s ham to get that beautiful curve. ‘Cause when you put it on your body, you want it to be, like, curving perfectly over the bust immediately.

Caroline: Mmhmm. How was the finishing on the inside? I always wonder with, like, unlined garments, when you’re clipping into princess seams, are you ending up with some, like, raw edges on the inside of the garment? That’s kind of, you can’t really help it. Right?

Helen: Yeah. I try not to clip too close to the actual seam line. Like, I’ll leave a good, you know, at least an eighth of an inch, usually more. And then when I go to serge that seam, after it’s finally sewn and I’m happy with it, I’ll serge really close to my stitching line, like, get right up on the stitching line and then press it to one side.

Caroline: So you were trimming while you were serging?

Helen: I was.

Caroline: Just checking.

Helen: I totally was. I love to trim, I think in this case, because most of the seams on this vest are curved in some way or another. Like, the waist seams are curved, the side seams, the back seam is also curved, so it makes sense to do that serging close to the seams so that when you do press it to the one side and top stitch it down. She has you edge stitch all the seams, which also helps everything to lie flat and look really nice and neat. It just feels neater to me when there’s not, like, a big seam allowance flopping around in there.

Caroline: That’s a good point. Like, the edge stitching sort of locks everything in a little bit better, so you’re not as worried about, like, frayed clippings sort of, like, flopping around in there.

Helen: Exactly.

Caroline: It’s all sort of, like, tied down.

Helen: Very tied down. And I used a really good matching colour on my serger thread, so you can’t even really see the seam lines. And I love an unlined garment. Anytime I can get away with not doing a lining, I’m here for it.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah.

Helen: The denim was a little heavy for the back tie. I found stitching around the little back tie a little tricky with that heavy denim. But I had to switch to my, like, denim needle and, like, just be careful and go slow and get through it, but…

Caroline: There’s a little buckle right in the back of this one. It has, like, a little D ring?

Helen: Yeah. There’s, like, a little slider buckle. Yeah. And you could leave off the whole strap and buckle situation if you didn’t want to do it or you didn’t have the notion. But yeah, you need that little slider buckle piece if you wanna do that.

Caroline: It does kind of add to the vest look, to me. Like, that slider buckle thing makes it look so much more like a classic vest. I think it really works with your look.

Helen: Yeah, I think so, too. I really like the back buckle and then the buttons, too. I did, like, cream thread for my buttonholes, which I think makes it stand out just a little bit. And then I did cream buttons. I can’t remember. They were from Blackbird a while ago. They’re kinda, like, terrazzo-y speckled buttons that are really pretty. And I’ve had them for a while, so.

Caroline: Oh wait. And one thing I noticed too on yours is that you did horizontal buttonholes. My pattern has vertical buttonholes.

Helen: Oh.

Caroline: Yeah. And I feel like it’s probably to do with the number of buttons, like, I feel like. Like, and the size of them.

Helen: The size, yeah.

Caroline: The size of the buttons that I’m using are, like, almost like shirt buttons. Whereas the size that you’re using are more like a jacket or vest buttons.

Helen: I think they’re like five eighths of an inch. Or almost three quarters. Yeah. Yeah. And I think you could go either way for either vest if you have a personal preference. But I think the horizontal buttonholes do kind of give it more of an outerwear look, more of a jacket look.

Caroline: Yeah, it works really well with your vest pattern, for sure.

Helen: When you’re doing horizontal buttonholes, you have to really make sure when you place your button that you’re taking into consideration the fact that everything’s gonna slide over and where the button’s actually gonna sit in relation to the buttonhole. Because, of course, your body’s gonna, like, spread it open as much as it can go, and then the button sits right on the inside, which actually looks really cool, but you just have to keep it in mind when you’re placing everything.

Caroline: For sure.

Helen: How about you? How was your sewing experience overall with your vest?

Caroline: It was good. I mean, once I got past the fitting of it all, it went well. I had a couple of, like, little I don’t know, things that went awry. Like, at one point I had finished sewing all my darts on all my pieces, and then I noticed that one of my front pieces had, like, stains on it. Like, I don’t know if it was originally on the fabric or something in my sewing room stained it, but they almost looked like little oil stains, like, in a couple of spots. And I didn’t have any more fabric. And I was kind of like, okay, either I risk it, I’m gonna wash this afterwards and the stain comes out, or I have to, like, go get more fabric, pre-wash more fabric, dah, dah, dah. So I just went for it, which is, like, that’s very much my sewing personality is. I’m like, “I’ll figure it out. It’ll come out in the wash.” And it did. So it was fine. I did wash it. And I do think giving the garment a final wash after you finished sewing it…like, I think, I feel like you did that too, right? Yours look like you washed it. It just makes everything look a little bit more finished, so.

Helen: Yeah. It all settles. Yeah, I know. I love a wash and I give that advice to people, too. And you know, I get tagged in makes on Instagram and people are like, “Oh, I’m not sure how I feel about it. Like, I thought I would love it, but I’m, like, you know, 50-50 on it.” And then I’m always like, “I think it looks great. Wash it.” It needs to be washed, because then everything settles into place. You start to see those beautiful textures on all the seams and it just fits better. Like, everything kinda shrinks up and, like, hugs your body a little bit more and it usually makes a big difference.

Caroline: It’s so true. And I mean, definitely always pre-wash your fabric, because after you wash it, if you haven’t pre-washed it, things could get messed up. They could shrink at different rates if you’re using different fabrics for lining and outer fabrics. So always pre-wash, but then washing after you finish your garment is, is a good call, too. I agree.

Helen: Yeah, it really helps.

Caroline: The other little challenge, which I, I think is fine. Like, it was nothing, really. It ended up being fine. Okay. But I did use, like, a pink chalk pen when I was, like, marking all my darts. And I knew, like, I was like, “I know I’m gonna need to wash this in the washing machine after, to get it out.” And it did come out. But the buttonholes, this is like a PSA, okay. If you’re marking your buttonholes with chalk, like a contrasting chalk, then you sew your buttonhole on top of the chalk marking, the chalk sort of, like, gets into the stitching.

Helen: The thread. Yeah.

Caroline: Right. And it doesn’t quite all come out. And it’s silly because, as I was doing it, I was like, “Hmm, this might not be a good idea.” Like I, I feel like I might end up with some slightly pink buttonholes. And, like, sure enough, I did. And I don’t think it’s noticeable. Like, you probably didn’t notice it in the video I sent. And I think the more I washed it, the more it’ll come out. I could probably also hit it with, like, a stain remover and it’ll probably completely come out. So it’s, like, not a disaster, but I don’t know, I think I should have just marked my buttonhole placement with pins or maybe white chalk. Like, something that was less of a contrast. I definitely could have done things a little bit differently to avoid that from happening, but I did what I did.

Helen: I mean, fair enough. I’ve definitely done that and had my buttonholes be, like, a little bit tinged, but then the button covers it, too, so you don’t really see it.

Caroline: Yeah, exactly. The button covers it. I really don’t think it’s very noticeable. Now people are gonna go zoom in, probably, and see if they can find it, which is fine. Please, you’re welcome to.

Helen: See if you can find it. I have a little sewing question for you. Like, “do you do this or that” question. When you’re doing a binding, ’cause my arm holes are finished with a binding, like a bias facing, which is flipped to the inside. Do you do the step where you trim down the seam before you, like flip it all inside and then stitch it down? You know, like, you sew the binding on and then you’re supposed to grade all the way around to, like, make it easier to flip it all over. I love skipping that step.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: And trying to get away with folding the bias, like, over the chunky seam. And, like, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s usually better to trim but, like, there’s a rebel in me that just never wants to do that part.

Caroline: I, okay. If it’s a chunkier fabric, I’ll usually trim because I think it can be bulky and, like, maybe even uncomfortable or, like, the seam will look, like, fat, almost. Like it’ll look too bulky. But with lighter fabrics, if I can get away with it, I don’t. Also, because of fraying, ’cause I’ve had situations where I’ve trimmed too close or clipped too close. And even if you think it’s not too close, after a few washes, the fabric unravels a little bit and then you end up with, like, little holes along your bias binding. So if I can get away with it with, like, a lightweight linen, a viscose, even, like, a lightweight, really lightweight cotton, I will not, I will not grade. Or I will, like, clip as few spots as I possibly can. Like, it kind of depends if the fabric too is, like, malleable enough. Like, sometimes, if the seam allowance is small enough and the fabric can sort of stretch and mold, then you don’t really need to clip and trim and grade and all that stuff. I usually will, like, try it out with my fingers and see, like, how it all looks and then decide.

Helen: How it feels. Yeah. Yeah. ‘Cause sometimes you’ll fold it over and it just,like, fits, like, snug, like a glove. And that’s really satisfying. Yeah. But you’re right. It, it will lie flatter if you trim or at least clip a few little notches in around the curves. ‘Cause if you don’t do that, then sometimes you get, like, that underarm that’s like sticking out at an angle.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Oh my gosh.

Helen: Okay. Caroline, I have a surprise for you.

Caroline: Oh, what’s that?

Helen: I made a second vest.

Caroline: No. Helen! Wait…

Helen: I’m sending it to you now.

Caroline: Oh my God, you overachiever.

Helen: I really went for it with this vest, Caroline.

Caroline: I can’t believe you made a second vest. And you saved this information until now? Okay.

Helen: I thought it would be fun.

Caroline: You sneaky girl. Oh my God. Okay. I’m, wait, I can see it’s sending.

Helen: I am so excited to show you this vest.

Caroline: Wait. Is it the same pattern?

Helen: Yeah, it’s the exact same pattern, for the listeners. Exact same everything. It’s just the fabric choice is different.

Caroline: Ahh! Oh my God, this is so…Helen. Wait, hold on.

Helen: You gotta watch the whole thing.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Wait, is this Sandwashed Cotton?

Helen: It is the softened seven ounce cotton.

Caroline: Oh, okay. Yeah, that’s like the heavy…oh my gosh. The back. Wait, Helen, it looks so good!

Helen: Thank you.

Caroline: You little silly girl.

Helen: This is one of the favourite things I’ve ever made. I love it so much.

Caroline: It’s so cool. Wait, describe it for everyone.

Helen: Okay, so I used a seven ounce Softened Cotton from Blackbird, and I used two colours. These were both left over. One was from Ukee Shorts and one was from our Lazo Jumpsuit. And it’s the kind of, like, sagey purple or…sagey purple. How would you describe, it’s like, lavender-y.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s like a dusty purple.

Helen: Dusty purple. Yes, exactly. And then like an aqua-y dark blue. And I alternated because as soon as I made this vest, I got to thinking about colourblocking and how there’s exactly eight panels on the vest. So you could go, like, you could alternate colours all the way around and have this cool, like, alternating effect. And I really wanted to try it. And then as I was, like, conceptualizing the project, I was like, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was some kind of quilted detail on the back where you alternate it again, the colours?” So it’s kind of hard to describe. You’ll have to go and check it out. We’ll make sure it’s up on both Helen’s Closet and the Love to Sew show notes. But yeah, I alternated all the way around, so it’s, like, vertically striped colour blocked all the way around the vest. And then on the back there’s a sawtooth star that’s also alternated, and I alternated the strap and I alternated the buttonhole colours. It’s a lot. It’s kind of, like, Harley Quinn jester-esque.

Caroline: Does the quilt block match your tattoo? I’m trying to see. Oh, no, it’s not exactly the same.

Helen: Oh yeah, Not exactly, but it’s similar. This is a, like, classic sawtooth star and my, my quilt block tattoo is a crystal star ’cause it has a diamond in the middle.

Caroline: It’s so cute. It’s so cute. I love it. I love it. What a fun surprise. Oh my gosh, I really wasn’t expecting that.

Helen: I knew it would be fun to reveal it to you. I’m sending you a couple, just, still images…

Caroline: It looks so good. Oh, yeah.

Helen: ‘Cause yeah, I did end up lining the inside of this one. But just the back panel, like the center back piece I lined with, like, a really lightweight cotton lawn because I didn’t wanna have to serge all of the edges on the piecing that I did and wanted to kind of tuck away all the inside edges of all that piecing nicely. So I just did, like, an underlining on that back piece. And that worked really well, so.

Caroline: Okay. Well, one of my questions was gonna be like, “Are you gonna make another vest? Are you gonna make this pattern again?” And now we’ve answered that question.

Helen: I still wanna make more. I, like I said, I really wanna make the longer view of this vest pattern in dark denim with gold stitching. That’s, like, dream project on my brain right now. How about you? Are you excited about vests?

Caroline: I really wanna make this pattern again now that I’ve put in all the work to get it to fit me really well. And I can’t stop thinking about, like, a darker, chocolatey brown version in a linen. I think that would pair really well with a lot of my clothes. So, yeah, I think I’m gonna make it again. I think I would lengthen it a touch for, like, styling purposes, I wanna have, like, more buttons undone. Like, I think the undone button at the bottom looks cool, but I couldn’t add more buttons the way that the curve was, so I want it to be, like, an inch longer so I can add, like, two more buttons. But for them to be undone, this is, like, such a…

Helen: I mean, you could put the buttons on the curved part and then, like, knowing that you’re not gonna button them.

Caroline: I could, yeah. True. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I think, I think, just, I think I probably could have lengthened it to begin with ‘Cause I’m taller than the draft. I’m, like, a few inches taller than the draft. So, but yes, I do wanna make it again. I think it’s really cute. I think I’m gonna wear a ton this fall. I really wanna try styling it with, like, a blazer over top. I think that would be really cute. But yeah, I’m, like, dying, I’m dying to wear it. So I’m excited.

Helen: Do you have any desire to make a coordinating set with, like, a pair of pants or something that matches?

Caroline: I do think it would be really cute with a pair of pants, like a Taylor Trouser in linen or something. Or even like a short, like a pair of shorts, I think, would be really cute for summer. Yeah. I do have that desire. Will I get to it? I don’t know, but the desire is there.

Helen: I wore my denim vest ’cause I finished it way back in August. And I wore it in the summer as a top and I loved wearing it as a top in the summer. It was so nice. And then knowing that I was gonna layer it in the fall, too, I was really excited about that, those possibilities and styling it. I think it looks so cute with boots and a skirt and, I don’t know, you can really lean into different stylings with the vest. It can go so many different ways.

Caroline: Yeah. I think, like, your denim version could be styled a million different ways. I’m so curious how you’re gonna style the other one ’cause it’s such a statement. No, and, and I…

Helen: No, it is. It’s such a statement. It’s…

Caroline: It’s such a statement. I think it would look really cool with jeans or, like, solid, like a solid bottom. But yeah, I wanna, I’m excited to see how you style it. I wanna see.

Helen: Yeah, I know. I’ll have to film a, a reel for our Instagram this week, and I’ll maybe play around with styling in the reel. That would be fun because I do think it’s such a statement piece. It’s borderline costumey. Like, it does kind of need to be paired with something that’s a little bit more low-key. Although I will say that the first thing I tried it with was my patchwork June Pants that I made that it’s, like, all these different patches and different fabrics, because those are, like, my hippie pants. And when I finished the vest I was like, “This is kind of, like, a hippie vest.” And so I was like, “What if I put them together and I fully look like I should have, you know, dreadlocks and I should be, like, spinning those, like, fireball things around in the park” And like, like it was such a vibe, but I loved it. I mean, why not? Right? Sometimes you might wanna wear that to a music festival or something.

Caroline: I was gonna say, like, if you pair it with, like, a full skirt and, like, a puffy blouse, like, you’re ready for renn faire. Like, it’s like, you know what I mean? But it could also be really cool if you style it with more of, like, an understated bottom. Like, I don’t know. I feel like there, there’s, you can, you can style it up and make it a lot of different things. But maybe the other one’s a little bit more versatile.

Helen: Definitely. That’s why I started with that. I do enjoy a versatile piece as well, but you know I love a quilted detail.

Caroline: Did you immediately make a second vest? Like, when did this happen? Because it has, I feel like you finished your first vest a while ago.

Helen: Yeah, I did. I, there was, like, a good month in between the vests. But I did, immediately after finishing the denim one, like, conceptualize this next one. And I set aside the fabric and I was like, “I’m gonna do that at some point, later.” I didn’t think I was gonna get into it in time for the episode, so I’m glad I finally finished it. But yeah, it was really fun to sew and I’m just excited about vests in general, I feel like. I’ve never had vests in my wardrobe as, like, an everyday piece, and I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve been missing out.

Caroline: Yeah. No, I definitely, I’m a vest convert. I, I can’t wait to make more vests, style ’em. It’s gonna be great.

Helen: It’s gonna be great. We want you to try vests, too, and please tag us if you do try a vest because you were thinking about it from this episode. We’d love to see your vests. Tag us on social and we’ll reshare.

Caroline: Yes. Share your vests with us! And we’re gonna be sharing our vests with you over on socials, so go check them out and give them some love. And I can’t wait to do this again with you, Helen. We have two more episodes like this planned, just so everyone knows. You can look forward to two more We Sew episodes. And they’re fun.

Helen: They’re so fun. I cannot wait. I had so much fun chatting about sewing today. You’re the vest, Caroline.

Caroline: No, you are the vest.

Helen: No, you are the vest! That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Helen, at Helen Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. and Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns. We’re recording today in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Helen: Head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures of our vests from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, you can leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at [email protected].

Caroline: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.

Helen: Bye! You’re the vest!

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We’re back for the fall 2025 season with a brand-new call-in episode! We answer sewing questions from our listeners: how to choose your size based on your fabric’s stretch percentage, what patterns to pick for a work capsule wardrobe, how to sew a curved French seam, and lots more! We also catch up about our summer break.

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Photos from our Summer Break:

A Peek at Caroline’s Croatia Travel Capsule

Some of Caroline’s Veggie Garden Harvest

Helen Swimming (Of Course!)

A Snap from Helen’s Trip to Hornby Island

Resources:

Sewing Patterns:

Transcript:

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Helen: Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: And I am Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew, and it’s all we ever talk about.

Caroline: We’re back for the fall 2025 season with a brand new call-in episode. We answer sewing questions from our listeners: how to choose your size based on a fabric’s stretch percentage, what patterns to pick for a work capsule wardrobe, how to sew a curved French seam, and lots more. And we’re also gonna catch up about our summer break.

Helen: If you love to sew, this is your show.

Caroline: Hello?

Helen: Um, hello?

Caroline: Um, hello?

Helen: Can you hear me? Are you there?

Caroline: Hi Helen. Welcome back. How are you?

Helen: Hello! I’m doing well, thanks. How are you?

Caroline: I am so good. I’m so good. Cooking in my room, here, recording. It’s a hot day here in Vancouver, but I’ll do anything for our listeners.

Helen: Yes! It feels good to be back. Honestly, I love our seasonal podcast because I feel so excited for each season. And it’s nice to just chill and take a little bit of a breather.

Caroline: Mmhmm. And now, here we are, starting a new season once again.

Helen: Yeah, and we just passed our eight year anniversary, Caroline! Eight years of Love to Sew.

Caroline: Eight years is wild, isn’t it? I can’t believe it’s been almost a decade.

Helen: I know. We are, like, OG podcasters at this point. Somebody give us an award or something.

Caroline: I know. We’re, like, fast approaching 300 episodes. Can you believe?

Helen: Yes! And we’re gonna make it there. I believe in us.

Caroline: Oh, we will.

Helen: How was your summer? Tell me some of your highlights.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay. I had a really good summer. It was jam-packed. I went to Croatia at the end of May and had a beautiful family trip there. The weather was perfect. Everything was great. It was wonderful, wonderful. We made great memories. And I, obviously, did a ton of last-minute sewing before leaving on my trip. And I brought a little capsule wardrobe, and I shared all about this on our bonus episodes, so if you wanna hear more about it, you’re gonna have to go subscribe over there. But it was great. I loved it. Lots of linen, lots of knits, lots of mixing and matching. And it was a perfect little capsule wardrobe for my trip. And my trip was great. So yeah, that was definitely the highlight, I would say, is my trip to Croatia.

Helen: Wait, which one? The trip or the capsule wardrobe?

Caroline: Both. Together.

Helen: Yeah. It’s smart that you had this trip at the beginning of the summer and you sewed all these fun summer clothes, and then you, like, you’re set for the whole season.

Caroline: 100%. I have been wearing them all summer. It’s so true. Yeah. I did all my summer sewing at the beginning of the summer. And then, aside from that, I’ve been obsessed with gardening. I’ve been growing vegetables this year. So that’s been really fun. And lots of flowers, too. And probably my favourite vegetable that I’ve grown is potatoes because they’re so cool. And it’s just, like, the most thrilling thing ever, to dig up potatoes.

Helen: They are cool. And they’re delicious. And so versatile.

Caroline: And they’re so delicious. Yes. And you can grow so many. And we actually, this is, like, breaking news. We have berries on our potato plants, on some of our potato plants, which means that we can save the seeds and have our own potato variety.

Helen: Whoa, wait, how come it’s your own variety? What’s different about it?

Caroline: Because when you save seeds from a plant, the next year, it’s a new plant because of cross-pollination. So, because we got the berries, it could have been that, like, that berry could have been pollinated with another one of the potatoes. We’re growing, like, several varieties of potatoes. So, chances are, these seeds are gonna be a new variety. And you can grow potatoes from tubers, so you can grow them, like, from a potato…

Helen: That happens all the time in my cupboard.

Caroline: Yeah, that’s how you, how most people grow potatoes. But you can also grow potatoes from seeds, kind of like other, like, flowers and things, like dahlias. You can grow them from seeds or you can grow them from tubers.

Helen: That’s so cool.

Caroline: But yeah, so Shea’s, like, really pumped about that.

Helen: Yeah. That’s pretty exciting stuff.

Caroline: Yeah. And we’re gonna try to grow our own potato variety. We’ll see how that goes. But yeah, we’ve been spending a lot of time at home. Shea built a really cute puppy patio in our backyard. It’s like a little covered deck kind of thing, just for the dogs. So it’s sort of, like, mini, but it’s also pretty large, ’cause it fits both of our dogs. And it has like a living roof, so there’s, like, a planter box on the roof that we’ve planted, like, flowers and some mint and some clover. So it’s very green and lush and just was definitely a highlight of the summer.

Helen: Aw. That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. I love it.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s so, so cute.

Helen: It’s like, okay, you know how when people have cat patios, they’re called catios? Why don’t you call it like a, it’s a dog patio, so it’s like a daddio.You heard it here first, folks.

Caroline: We were trying to come up with cute names. We were like, “Puppy patio? Dog deck?”

Helen: Dog deck. No. Dog deck is no good.

Caroline: No?

Helen: No, it’s too, you know, I don’t know…

Caroline: Yeah. Okay, okay. Because of, because if you combine puppy and patio, it’s just patio,

Helen: Yeah. That’s boring. No, I do think the alliteration of puppy patio is, is the winner. You, you nailed it.

Caroline: Yeah. This is reminding me of Love Island. Oh, you won’t get this reference. Never mind.

Helen: I won’t.

Caroline: I am sorry. There’s a couple on the show that everybody, all of their fans call them Nickolandria, but they don’t know that. And on the show they call themselves Nolandria and it’s just not as good. Like it should be Nickolandria, you know? Sorry for the Love Island segue, it’s just been my life for the last little while, so.

Helen: Yeah, you and the rest of the internet. I’m glad I avoided that one.

Caroline: But yeah, other than that, we’ve done a lot of camping. We had a family trip to Ontario, which was wonderful. We went to a party at my mother-in-law’s house with a bunch of family. I brought my brother and his family and my parents there. and that was a total blast. And yeah, y’all have been keeping us really busy at Blackbird, so it’s been hectic and fun and jam-packed and sunny, and just a really wonderful summer.

Helen: That sounds so good. I love summer. It’s the best.

Caroline: Me too. Okay. Tell me about yours, ’cause I know you’ve had a lot of swimming in there.

Helen: Oh, so much swimming. You know, we are dedicated, in the summer, to swimming every day. Dedicated.

Caroline: Yeah. Swimming is like your Love Island.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: At least one hour a day.

Helen: Oh my gosh. Yeah. We literally plan our lives around when we’re gonna go swimming. And we try to go to a different swimming location every day. Not, like, a different one every day for the summer. But, like, if we went to the beach yesterday, we’re not going to the beach today, we’ll go to the river or the lake or we’ll go paddleboarding. And we like to mix it up. So we’ve been doing just a ton of swimming and trying to explore and find new places to swim, too. And we’ve already uncovered, yeah, a few new spots, which is always really exciting. Especially in a smaller town where, like, there is just endless places to go swimming around here, and it’s my favorite thing ever.

Caroline: Oh, yay.

Helen: It’s just so good. But yeah, lots of summer vibes. It’s been great. We had a really nice visit with my family. They came, it was my niece’s 11th birthday, and we had such a nice time hanging out on the beach and celebrating her birthday with her. So that was a real highlight. Went to Hornby Island with my family, which was really great. And yeah, we’ve just been soaking up the sun, honestly. It’s been pretty chill. We did launch a couple of new patterns this summer over at Helen’s Closet, which was really fun. I still can’t believe we pulled that off after such a busy spring. But I really wanted to get these out there, ’cause I’ve been working on them with Sam for a while, designing, like, basically his perfect summer outfit and then having some variations on those designs, so there’s options. And so the Tofino Top and the Ukee Shorts came out in July and we’re just super excited about them. They’re both really adorable. I love the cargo shorts view. I’m becoming a mid-rise girl, which is wild. Never thought that would happen.

Caroline: Wow, Helen.

Helen: But the Ukee Shorts, they’ve converted me. I’m into it. I’m feeling it. It’s great. Come on over. The water’s warm. But yeah, that was really fun. And I’m glad that everyone liked them so much. So that was a highlight of my summer, for sure. And yeah.

Caroline: Congrats on the launch, that’s awesome.

Helen: Thank you. I can’t believe it’s fall already. I mean, it still feels like very much summery vibes, so I’m still enjoying that. But looking forward to fall and whatever comes next this season. More jeans and jackets in my future, I’m sure.

Caroline: Yeah. I’m gonna try to squeeze in some more camping trips before the end of, the full end of summer, you know?

Helen: The full, full, full end of summer. Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah. And I feel like this pattern launch is appropriate because I’m gonna be going to Tofino and Ucluelet, so…

Helen: Oh!

Caroline: Love those names. That place is so special and magical.

Helen: I know. Yeah. It, it is so special and I feel like those patterns capture the laid-back surfer vibe. So it just felt very appropriate and I’m super happy to have them in the collection.

Caroline: Awesome. So you’re gonna squeeze in a couple more this year? A couple more patterns, Helen, come on!

Helen: We’ll see. Yeah, I probably will. I probably will. Yes.

Caroline: Yeah, you can pull it off. I know you can.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Oh, awesome. Yeah, no, it does feel crazy that it is already September, and honestly, I’m not mad about it. I do love this time of year, y’all know I love this time of year.

Helen: That’s the nice thing about seasons, is every time they come around you’re like, “Oh yeah, fall. I like fall! Fall’s great.”

Caroline: I don’t really feel that way about winter, though.

Helen: Really? Even west coast winter? It’s barely winter.

Caroline: Yeah. I guess it’s just so dark and gloomy, you know?

Helen:Yeah, but the holidays?

Caroline: I do love the holidays. I love December. I do not like January and February. You all know this. We’ve talked about this on the show before. No one cares about what months I like. I’m sorry.

Helen: Maybe you need to be one of those people who goes to Mexico in January every year.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay. Let’s see if I can get Shea to leave the house.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Oh, yeah. Well, we have a really fun episode that I’m excited to get to, but first…

Helen: Yes. And if you enjoy hearing us chitchat about our lives, we do it all the time over on Patreon and Apple Podcasts, and it is the best way to support Love to Sew. So you can join us on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions if you want to hang out and hear what we’re up to every month.

Caroline: Yeah. We do this every single month and we just love our catch-up sessions. And I know we’ve heard from listeners that they love them, too. And it just means so much if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two. You can totally cancel if it’s not within your means, or for whatever reason, after a few months. And, honestly, if that’s not even in the cards for you right now, we totally get it. You’re here, you’re cheering us on. We appreciate you listening to the main show. The main show’s always our main squeeze. Right?

Helen: It definitely is. It is and will always be.

Caroline: Awesome. Okay, well, should we get to the sewing help line?

Helen: Let’s do it. Hello, you’ve reached the Love to Sew help line. What’s your sewing problem?

Emma: Hi, Helen and Caroline! It’s Emma here, calling from the Lockyer Valley in Australia. I love your podcast and I’m a massive fan of both of your work. I have a question for you. I’ve made the same dress pattern, the Ellie and Mac Staycation Dress, at least three times. And every time I make it, if it’s in a slightly different knit fabric, it’s a knit fabric dress, it just fits slightly differently. So the first time I made it was in just a normal kind of cotton jersey with spandex in it. I made the size that I, um, I measured, and it fits great. The next time I made it, the knit fabric that I used was lighter and a bit more drapey, and I made the same size. And that one turned out, it’s a bit heavy. It’s okay to wear, but it stretches out a little bit more at the neck, and the tiers on the dress means that the dress kind of is a bit heavier in the, in the skirt. And the next time I made it, I made it in a wool jersey, and I made the same size again. And I’m wearing this one at the moment. And it is quite snug around the bicep area and the bust. So I understand that different knits will have different stretch percentages. I’m just wondering, is there kind of a rule of thumb when I should size up or size down if I’m making the same pattern, but in a different stretch? Thank you for all that you do. Cheers. Bye.

Caroline: Hi Emma! Thank you so much for calling. This is a really good question, and there are a few things to keep in mind when you’re choosing your size in a knit pattern.

Helen: Yeah, so the first one, as you guessed, is the stretch percentage. So the Staycation Dress calls for a 50% stretch, which is a pretty stretchy knit. Um, so it’s always good to make sure to check this info on the fabrics that you’re purchasing. You can always go higher in stretch percentage than what the pattern recommends, but you might need to size up if you go lower in stretch percentage. And you asked if there was a general rule of thumb, and there is. So for every 10% of stretch you go down, you wanna size up one size. But also, remember, the further away you get from the original stretch percentage, the more the look of the garment will change. So while there is a general rule, it’s not necessarily going to work for everything. Like. if you have a really stretchy pair of leggings, you can’t just make it in a fabric with no stretch and then size up like 18 sizes. It just won’t be the same garment and eventually it will not fit properly.

Caroline: Yeah. The proportions will change, the different openings will change. So yeah, absolutely. The second thing to keep in mind is two-way versus four-way stretch. So the staycation calls for four-way stretch, but even four-way stretch fabrics are gonna stretch more in one direction than the other direction. So it’s important that you align your pieces to the direction of greatest stretch. So this is also known as DoGS. DoGS, get it? Direction of greatest stretch? So the issue with the tight sleeves on your wool dress might be that they weren’t cut with the DoGS in mind. And any good knit pattern will have the DoGS direction marked on the pattern pieces, just like the grain line in woven patterns. If it doesn’t, usually it’s just the cross grain from the grain line. Right, Helen?

Helen: Yeah, like the horizontal across the body direction, yeah, would be the one you want the greatest stretch on. And the third thing you wanna keep in mind is the fabric’s recovery. And this is where you wanna look for spandex, elastane, or lycra in your knits. They’re gonna help your fabric keep its shape rather than getting stretched out and then just staying stretched out. The fiber content can also affect how much it bags out. Rayons are the baggiest, whereas cottons and synthetics keep their shape a bit better. And if you’re using a knit that bags out, you might wanna size down to make up for it. I do think this is a really interesting question and experience to have had. Like the, the feeling of making something multiple times in different fabrics and the realization that it is very different every time is a really good sewing lesson to experience. Because it’s so true. Like it, it impacts the final garments so much, the fabric that you choose.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s actually really fun. It’s kind of like you did an involuntary experiment and now you can, like, gather data.

Helen: Totally. Yeah. And it sounds like they’re all wearable in the end, so it’s not like there’s, you know, anything lost in the experiment. But yeah, especially with knits, I find, like, there are so many different variables and some of them are really light and some of them are really heavy, like you talked about that gathered tier kind of weighing down. That can definitely happen with knits.

Caroline: Yeah, some knits have such a heavy drape that they just, like, aren’t really gonna work that well for something with a lot of tiers or a lot of volume. ‘Cause you’re just always gonna feel weighed down that, you know, whether you make one size or another isn’t necessarily gonna fix that. So, assessing the drape and the weight of your fabric, I think, is also an important factor. But one thing I think you should do, Emma, is since you’ve made the same dress over and over, you can use what you learned. So you can figure out the stretch percentages of the fabrics you’ve already used and compare how each one made the dress fit. And then maybe you can take some notes about these makes and use them in a future project if you make this again.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. That’s why it can be really handy to keep notes about your makes, even if it’s just like a little notebook that you’re scribbling things down in. And if you find a fabric that you like that has a similar stretch percentage to your wool dress, for example, you could size one up so that it doesn’t end up being a bit too tight.

Caroline: Okay Emma. So we’re gonna link a tutorial for how to figure out your fabric stretch percentage in the show notes. And we’re wishing you all the best with sewing knits. Enjoy.

Helen: Yeah. Thank you, Emma.

Caroline: Next caller, please.

Shelby: Hi! My name is Shelby and I’m from Nebraska, in the center of the United States. And I have this really awesome block print fabric that I got secondhand that has, like, produce on it and some ducks and it’s so cute. But because it’s a block print with those kind of icons on it that go a certain way, I’m confused about how to lay out my sleeve pattern pieces across the fabric. Should I make it so the block print icons are, like, horizontal on the sleeve or should I turn the sleeve that my arms are going up and down? I’m just confused about how to orient that block print because there is a very clear up-and-down direction that it goes. I hope that makes sense. Love the show. Bye.

Helen: Hi Shelby! Okay. This block print sounds absolutely amazing and very on-trend, I must say.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Fruit and ducks? Perfect.

Caroline: Yeah, I wanna see a picture of this block print.

Helen: Yes. And you know how we feel about block prints. Like, giant heart eyes over here.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: So in general, sleeves are cut with the grain going down the length of your arm. So in your case, the top of the duck’s heads would be towards your shoulder and their feet would be towards your wrist. So when you have your arms at your sides, down, it will look like the print is going the same direction as the bodice fabric. You can obviously cut it on the cross grain and have the ducks sideways, which would make sense if you have your arms out in front of you. But in general, you’re probably gonna wanna have them up and down when your arms are at your sides. That’s usually how it goes.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Yeah. And if you cut something cross grain, you’re not gonna see too much of a difference in the drape. So you’re all good there.

Helen: Yeah. Yeah, you can, if you want to. You can really do whatever you want. You can put them upside down just to be cheeky.

Caroline: Yeah. With block prints, actually, if I feel like there’s like too many pieces running in the same direction, depending on the print, sometimes I’ll reverse it. So I’ll do, like, some pieces facing up, some pieces facing down. I think, because this block print sounds really, like, literal, like, if you have, like, vegetables and ducks, it might look a little odd for something to be running upside down. So just follow the directions.

Helen: Yeah, it could look like a mistake. Yeah, a great question, though.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Next caller, please.

Nora: Hi, Helen and Caroline. My name is Nora and I live in Portland, Oregon. I have been working my way through your back catalog and I listened to your episode about knits. I was anxiously waiting to get there because I have a question about knits and it wasn’t answered by the episode. If you’re zigzag stitching, I’ve tried backtacking and it really didn’t work, especially around the hem. How do you finish or, like, seal off the beginning and end of your stitch line when you’re doing the zigzag stitch? Do I just need to pull the ends through and tie them off? Is that the only way to do it? Thanks for answering. Love the show. Thanks. Bye.

Caroline: Hi Nora! Ooh. Okay. So if you’re using a zigzag stitch to sew knits, you have a few options for how to start and end your seams. First, you can just reverse zigzag. So I agree this maybe doesn’t look super neat, but it will hold. A lot of the time, no one would ever notice. It can get a little bit messy. It just kind of, I don’t know, if you don’t get that zigzag to line up perfectly, it just looks a little bit messy. But no one would really notice, usually. So that is fine if you wanted to, but you do have other options.

Helen: Yeah. You could try doing some straight stitches to start off your seam. Just do a few small stitches, reverse for a few straight stitches, and then switch to zigzag. This, for some people, helps with that bunching that can happen at the start of the seam.

Caroline: And you could also pull the threads to the back and knot them off. This is a bit more labor intensive, but it gives a very neat look on the outside of a hem. I also have a function on my machine that’s kind of like a, I don’t know if it’s officially called a lock stitch, I call it a lock stitch, but it just stitches in place a few times. Do you have that one, Helen?

Helen: I do, but I don’t really like it, so I don’t use it.

Caroline: Oh, really? I use it sometimes when I don’t want to have that, sort of like, when you back stitch and the stitching looks, like, thicker and it’s more noticeable. Sometimes I’ll hit that button at the beginning and end of a seam, so it just stitches in place a few times and like, you’re not noticing the backstitch as much. So you could take a look and see if your machine has that function, but I could see that getting tricky with knits. Depending on the weight of your knit, stitching in place could make it like bunch up or feel like, like get pulled into the feed dogs or something. Or into the, sorry, the needle plate. So experiment, maybe on a piece of scrap fabric, with a few different options.

Helen: Totally. Yeah. I think a lot of sewists do have trouble with fabric getting pulled down into the machine when they start a seam, especially with stretchy or lightweight, slinky kind of fabrics. So if that’s what’s happening to you, you could try stabilizing the beginning of the seam by placing, like, a little bit of tissue paper or wash-away stabilizer under your fabric, against the feed dogs. And then you can pull away that paper afterward just to give it more, I don’t know, I guess like something to grab onto, basically, so it doesn’t get sucked down into the machine. I find that happens with, like, bamboo jersey and stuff a lot. I also sometimes just start a little further in from the edge, you know? You don’t have to start right at the edge. If you start just a little further in, sometimes you can avoid that bunching.

Caroline: True. Yeah. And for hems, I do just wanna throw in that I love a twin needle. So if you wanted to experiment with a different finish that isn’t a zigzag, try a twin needle. It’s not that hard. You just need to basically thread your machine twice. Put one thread through each eye. You do a straight stitch on your machine settings, and the bottom is a zigzag. The top is straight. And you can back stitch, no problem. It seems like it would be complicated, but it’s really straightforward to set up and it looks really good.

Helen: Yeah, it does look really good. If you want that, like, ready-to-wear finish, it’s definitely the way to go. And you can put stabilizer in the, that seam as well, if you end up with, like, some tunneling, like a bunching there, too.

Caroline: Yeah. Experiment with the tension and stuff, but it’s, it’s a great finish if you wanna give it a try.

Helen: Yeah. Thanks, Nora. Thank you for calling. And sorry we didn’t answer your question in, in the knits episode. This is a good one.

Caroline: Jordan, can you patch in our next caller?

Heather: Good morning, sewing help line! It’s morning for me, anyway. I’m in Bristol in the UK. My name’s Heather and I’m hoping you can help me. I’ve recently got a new job, which is very exciting. And one of the very exciting things about it is the opportunity to sew a new work wardrobe. I want, like, a kind of a work uniform, like a capsule work wardrobe. Um, the rest of my time is spent by being grubby with my small children, so I am quite keen to have, like, separate stuff. It’s not a super smart workplace, but it’s a relatively senior job and I need to look kind of professional, presentable, put together, and I’d like to add a few new items to my wardrobe to help with that. And I was thinking of a couple of jackets, maybe, like, not suit jackets, but maybe. I’ve seen the Sienna Maker Jacket, something like that. And some comfortable, but sort of smartish looking trousers. I’ve got quite a lot of blouses, but any shirt or blouse suggestions that are, like, not too prim, um, would be awesome. I’m hoping you can help me out with some good patterns and any fabric suggestions that you’ve got as well would be amazing. Thanks so much. I love the podcast.

Helen: Hi, Heather! First of all, congratulations on your new job. Very exciting. I wonder if you’re starting it just as this episode is airing, perhaps. So, sorry for a little bit late with our answer, but I imagine you’ll still wanna do some fun sewing for your new job, so. This is a great question.

Caroline: Yeah, I would definitely recommend trying out some suiting fabrics for pants. This is gonna instantly make them look more professional. And suitings usually come in wool, poly or a blend of the two. And poly is gonna be a lot easier to care for, but wool will be more breathable. And if you’re not the type to get messy at work, you can go pretty long in between washes by, like, spot cleaning and airing out your wool pants. And then you can just hand wash them occasionally. So I feel like there’s a lot of newer suitings out there that can look a little bit cooler than, like, your classic, you know, I don’t wanna say boring, but maybe, I don’t know, the gray and navy and black suitings that you might see in ready-to-wear stores. There are some pretty cool, like, pinstripes or plaids or things with texture that you could experiment with that would maybe elevate a really simple garment and make it feel a little bit more sleek and a little bit more professional. I also love a Tencel or Tencel/cotton blend. If you wanna get a little bit more of, like, that sleek workwear look. These fabrics are less durable, but I think they look super smart. So depending on your, like, comfort level with caring for your fabrics, how much you wanna wash them, I would recommend a Tencel or a Tencel/cotton blend. I think those can work really well. I also, personally, love a rayon/poly blend suiting. I think the rayon gives it a little bit more softness, the poly lends durability, and you can get more of a wool look with a rayon blend versus just like a straight poly. Poly can sometimes be a little bit shiny or not as warm of a handfeel as a wool does. But the rayon will give some of those, you know, “wool-like” qualities to a fabric if you’re not into wool and you want something that’s easier care. So, lots of fabric options out there if you’re looking for something in the suiting range.

Helen: Yeah! And I think an easy way to make work pants comfortable is to have at least a partially elastic waistband. If you like wearing long shirts or blouses, you can go full elastic and still look super professional. No one will ever know. The Birchgrove pants by Muna and Broad could be good for that. Or you could do an elastic back waist like the Pietra Pants from Closet Core. And the Meriam trousers from Cashmerette have a fitted waistband, but they actually have this cool hidden elastic bit at the sides. So that’s a big win for comfy work pants, too.

Caroline: Those pants are so cool. I remember when they came out, I just thought that it was genius how they had that elastic in the side. It just makes sitting down so much more comfortable in those pants. I also wanted to throw out one of our patterns, the Taylor Trousers. If you want something that looks a little bit more tailored, but still is super comfortable, these ones have, like, a classic trouser look, but the back waistband, even though it looks like a regular waistband, it has elastic in there. So it adds a little bit of comfort and helps with that gaping that you can sometimes get at the back waist of a pair of pants. And I think both the flat front and the pleated front would look really, really great for a work setting, depending on the fabric that you use. I love my Taylor Trousers at the office. I think they look really good.

Helen: Yeah, totally. That would be perfect. I love a pleated front trouser for an office look. It just feels very like, “I am in charge here.”

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: The more pleats you have, the more in charge you are. Everybody knows that.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: I think, also, like, a classic button-up is always a good look for work. And it’s definitely not, you know, too prim. It just works well with everybody. The Assembly Line has a couple of really cool ones: the Cap Sleeve Shirt and the Oversized Shirt. And your fabric choices will keep your tops from feeling prim, too. Like, just look for nice, classic cotton shirtings. Lots of fun vertical stripe options out there right now. I just love sewing button-up shirts, too. I think they’re really fun. Working with cotton is always a dream, so that could be a nice one to do.

Caroline: Yeah, and cotton, like, washes and wears so well. So it’s something that is gonna probably stay in your wardrobe for a long time. I love this idea. I love an oversized button-up shirt with a pair of, like, tailored trousers. I think that’s such a cool look for work. We also wanted to throw out Itch to Stitch, ’cause they have a lot of patterns for knit tops with interesting details that would be really cool in, like, a work setting. So they would feel like wearing a t-shirt but look like wearing a nice blouse. So there are lots of options from Itch to Stitch. I also feel like a trouser, like, a work trouser looks so good with a vest.

Helen: Yes!

Caroline: And as you all might know, vests are definitely having a moment this year and there are so many cool vest patterns in the sewing world. So I just wanna throw out, I know you didn’t mention vests, but I think a vest could be a really cool addition to this capsule wardrobe. And if you wanted to make, like, a couple pairs of trousers, maybe a skirt, a vest would mix and match really well with those things. And you could even throw a vest on over a button-up.

Helen: Mmhmm.

Caroline: And yeah, there’s just, like, so many styling possibilities there.

Helen: Absolutely. I think a blazer, too, if you wanna get into making something that’s a little bit more involved. But making a perfectly tailored blazer, you are gonna get a promotion. I mean, how could you not?

Caroline: Yeah. I know. And, like, your mention of the Sienna Maker Jacket makes me think that maybe you’re not looking for, like, the most classic, because the Sienna Maker Jacket has some really interesting details. Like, that’s what Closet Core is known for, is their really great drafting, but also their, like, interesting, sort of different details in their patterns. So if you want…

Helen: Something a little more funky.

Caroline: Yeah, like a, a more like a, if you did the Sienna Jacket, but in a suiting, it would definitely give it a blazer look. But you’re getting those fun details. So yeah, have some fun with it. I feel like work wardrobes don’t have to be boring. They can be really fun. So yeah, I’m excited to see what you come up with.

Helen: Yeah, me too.

Caroline: Share. Please share, Heather.

Helen: Yes, please. All right, Jordan, we’re ready for our next caller.

Danae: Hello, my name is Danae. I am in Chicagoland. I’ve been sewing for a few years now, and I’ve always identified as an ambitious beginner. I really like a challenge. I like to go where the inspiration strikes, and sometimes that means…recently I have taken on a couple more intermediate projects. This year I did a formal gown and had to learn a lot of new things in order to, to tackle that one. Then I did an intermediate outerwear vest after that. And I am kind of having an identity crisis. And I thought, this is something that maybe we don’t talk about too much in the community. And I’m really curious about your own experiences with this, which is kind of just leveling up. And when do you feel confident calling yourself intermediate or advanced? I’m really curious about your experiences with this. If you’ve got any stories to share. In my case, I feel like, you know, I’m, I’m working towards intermediate. That’s certainly my goal and maybe I’m getting there. And I just would really love to hear your own thoughts. Thank you.

Caroline: Hi Danae! I have some news for you. You’re not an ambitious beginner anymore, and you probably haven’t been for a while.

Helen: It’s so true. If you’ve made a formal gown and a vest, I feel like that ship has sailed. You know? You are at very least an intermediate sewist. Honestly, I would probably place you at the advanced end of intermediate. And I wanna encourage you to claim your experience and your skill. You’re doing amazing things, from the sounds of it.

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely. I think it can be tough to acknowledge our own accomplishments. A lot of us have a tendency to treat ourselves worse than we would treat others. And if your best friend had accomplished all that you have, would you still call them a beginner? Probably not.

Helen: No, I don’t think so. And it’s possible that you’re imagining, you know, a mythical advanced sewist who knows everything there is to know about sewing. But in reality, you know, the more advanced you get, the more specialized you tend to get, too. So there are lots of experts out there on smocking and there are experts on tailoring, and there are experts on outerwear and suit making, but usually they aren’t experts in each other’s fields, necessarily. So you can be an advanced sewist and not know everything there is to know.

Caroline: Yeah, and I think it’s also worth mentioning that calling yourself a beginner, intermediate, or advanced sewist is only useful to you if it’s helping you in your sewing practice. If it encourages you to learn new things and level up and you enjoy that, that’s great. Or if it helps you choose which patterns and fabrics you’re comfortable with sewing, that’s good, too. But if it’s about evaluating yourself in a negative way, I would just forget about it. You don’t need that kind of energy in your life. We don’t need labels. Just sew what you love.

Helen: Yeah. I totally relate to this, though. Sometimes I feel like I’m not an advanced sewist. I don’t know if I even feel comfortable claiming that term, because the word “advanced” just feels so final. You know? It does feel like you’re saying, “I got it. I know it all. I’m good.” But that’s really not the case. It’s just, like, the experience level that you’ve built up, you know, handling the fabrics, understanding the tools that you’re going to use. It’s all of the little things. It’s not just knowing, you know, that you could make something with your eyes closed, no problem.

Caroline: Yeah, even just, like, understanding all the different sewing terms and approaching, like, a set of instructions with confidence, where you’re not feeling like it’s a different language. Like, that’s the biggest battle, I think, for beginners. And if you’re past that, then like you’re not really a beginner anymore.

Helen: Yeah. Welcome. Welcome to Intermediate Town.

Caroline: I don’t know. Helen, I think you’re advanced. You need to take your own advice here.

Helen: I know, I really do. Okay. Caroline? I’m an advanced sewist.

Caroline: Woo!

Helen: Yeah!

Caroline: I support that.

Helen: Is there a level past advanced? Because I’m a pretty competitive person and I will get there.

Caroline: Yeah, I know. I was gonna say, I feel like when you’re advanced you’re probably thinking like, well, what’s next? We should make one up.

Helen: Expert. is expert after advanced? I don’t know.

Caroline: I think so, actually.

Helen: Yeah. I think so.

Caroline: Like, yeah. Expert. I like that. Expert. Extraordinary.

Helen: Okay. Let’s hear from our next caller.

Melissa: Hi, Helen and Caroline! I absolutely love the show. Um, I do have a sewing question for you if you can help me. I have a problem with pants. I’ve made a couple of different pairs of pants and most of the time I’m frustrated and then I give up and I don’t wanna do it again. And my problem is that I have a butt that is bigger than the normal size that people are drafting patterns for. It’s just a little more junk in the trunk. So then, when I am doing these patterns, they’re not fitting in the back. There’s not enough fabric. So over the years, I’ve tried a bunch of different ways to adjust this: sometimes adding to the back rise, sometimes adjusting the crotch curve. And I generally have been able to make it so that I can get a pair of pants that fit. I made some Free Range Slacks last year that fit a little bit better. And I like them until I sit down. And when I sit down, I feel like the pant leg rises, like, halfway up my calf. So it’s like I have all this leg exposed. And I’m a person that tends to get cold a lot. So I really hate this. I often wear jeans because they have stretch content, and then I don’t have that rising when I sit down at my calf and I’m able to have full coverage of my leg. So I guess my question is: is everybody experiencing the same problem where their pant leg rises, like, a huge amount to accommodate their butt sitting down? I feel like I never see anybody showing themselves seated in these pants in the Instagram posts I see of all the pants that I like. And I’m just not really sure if this is something that everybody’s just dealing with. Or are we just all wearing really long socks? Or is this just a problem because of my butt? Anyways, any feedback would be great. I’d love to know what’s going on. Thanks.

Helen: Hi, Melissa! First of all, loved your voicemail. I love the feeling of, like, “Is it just me? Is everyone else just not talking about this? Like, what is happening? What are you doing out there? How are people keeping their legs warm? I don’t understand.”

Caroline: Yeah, when I was listening to this, my first thought was, “You need to wear longer socks.”

Helen: It seems like Melissa knows that.

Caroline: And then you did bring that up, Melissa. Honestly, I have this experience too with pants, especially looser fitting pants, especially woven pants without stretch. So I don’t think you’re alone in this, Melissa. What do you think, Helen? Have you also experienced this?

Helen: I don’t think you’re alone in this. I, personally, have not noticed my calves feeling exposed or cold. But that might just be a personal preference thing. It’s not, I guess it’s not something that impacts me. Or it could be a body shape thing. I do feel like when you sit down, of course, the fabric shifts. And with looser pants, I find I have to kind of hike them up my thighs in order to feel comfortable sitting down so they kind of sit in the right place. And so, of course, when you’re hiking them up, you’re gonna end up exposing the bottom of your legs.

Caroline: Yeah. When you wear the pants standing up, the fabric just hangs pretty much straight down, right? But when you’re sitting down, that fabric has to bend around the curves that weren’t there before. Body proportions move when you sit. So many things move around when you sit. So that’s why pant legs are going to ride up. And I’m sure it does happen for some people more than others. But there are a few things you can do to minimize that, if you don’t wanna just wear long socks, which I would totally understand, because short socks can be cute, too.

Helen: Yeah, I mean, I think the looser the pant, the less the riding up is probably gonna happen. Like, the more ease there is, the more the fabric can drape around the curves of your body, the less you have to do that little move where you hike it up your thighs to get it to sit in the right place so you can sit down. Or you could make your pant legs a little longer, and wear, you know, higher cut shoes or longer socks with them, like you said, just to give yourself that extra coverage.

Caroline: Mmhmm. You could also try making pants from stretch wovens or stable knits. So you were saying that you often wear stretch jeans and you don’t have that problem. It’s because that stretch is allowing the fabric to accommodate those extra kind of curves and bumps that happen when you’re sitting down. So you can try out a stretch woven, or like I said, a stable knit like a ponte would work really well, because it’s gonna be able to move with you.

Helen: Yeah. And there are patterns that are designed for stretch wovens, like the Jude Flare Jeans and the Ginger Jeans from Closet Core. Those will be the easiest to fit and sew. But you can also use stretch woven fabrics with patterns that are designed for regular wovens. Make sure to choose fitted patterns without a lot of ease around the waist and hips. You also might wanna consider sizing down a size. Don’t use stretch wovens with patterns designed for knits, though, ’cause they probably won’t have enough stretch for that. So we’ll link up an article from Seamwork about sewing with stretch wovens in the show notes. The techniques are a little bit different from sewing non-stretch wovens. But often, like, stretch wovens don’t have so much stretch that you can’t just sub them for regular wovens for, like, an elastic pair of pants or something. And that might just give you that extra little bit that you need when you’re sitting to feel more comfortable.

Caroline: Yeah, for sure. There are also some really great pants patterns that are designed for stable knits, like a ponte di roma. So, the Palmer Pants by Seamwork. They have a wide leg and slash pockets, and they look really beautiful. You would never guess that they are as comfy as they are, because they’re made out of a knit. Christine Johnson has a few pants patterns that we’ve heard good things about, too. Personally, I love the Calla Trousers. This is a Fabric Godmother pattern. Very trendy. It’s a wide, like, ponte pant and it has those, like, sort of Adidas-style stripes down the side that I’m seeing a lot in ready-to-wear right now. So if you wanna get that look, the Calla trousers are a great option.

Helen: So cute. You also mentioned wanting to see more seated photos, and there is a hashtag called #SewnShownSeated, which is a mouthful to say out loud. Um, and sewists have been using this on Instagram for years. So I know that searching hashtags is a bit of a mess right now. A bit of a mess always. But maybe you could follow a few of the sewists who use this hashtag regularly. And we wanna encourage all of our listeners who do post their makes to include a picture sitting down. It’s always really helpful for other sewists.

Caroline: Yeah, for sure. Next caller please.

Amy: Hi, Love to Sew. This is Amy calling from Raleigh, North Carolina. I love your podcast and it really helped invigorate my love for sewing after learning as a kid. My question is specifically about taking a pattern with an unlined bodice and turning it into a lined bodice when there is a line of buttons going down the back of the dress. Oftentimes in patterns with a button closure, the panel is interfaced, and I’ve been confused about how to line the dress using the traditional make two bodices, put them together kind of method with that lined buttonhole closure. Do you still need to interface it? What are your thoughts on that? Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing from y’all, and I really appreciate the work that you do.

Caroline: Hi Amy! I love a button down the back detail and this sounds like a really great project. So to your question about whether you should interface the button placket: yes, absolutely you should. You should pretty much always interface a button placket. It’s gonna need structure to hold its shape, and the stability makes buttonholes turn out better, too. If you don’t wanna use, like, a fusible interfacing, you could underline with a stable fabric like a muslin, or a lining if you’re doing, like, an eyelet fabric or something like that. But you always need to add stability to a button placket.

Helen: And I’m not sure if your pattern has the button placket in the design already or not, but if not, Seamwork has a tutorial for how to hack a bodice to add one. So we’ll link that for you. And there are different kinds of button plackets. There’s the ones in this tutorial, which are faced button packets, and that means that there are two separate pieces that get added to each center back piece. And those separate pieces are the ones that are interfaced. And after you’re finished sewing, they’re kind of hidden inside the garment. So this method would work well for the lining situation that you want to do.

Caroline: Yeah. And to line your bodice, you’re gonna cut out a second bodice from your lining fabric. You don’t need the button plackets in your lining fabric, just the bodice front and bodice back. There’s a tutorial on the blog Kitschy Coo for sewing a lined bodice like yours. So we will link it for you. And if we talk you through the steps, we would just all get super confused. So we’re gonna link that up for you. But we do want to add one step for you. You wanna make sure to understitch around the neckline and armscyes so that your lining doesn’t show from the outside.

Helen: Yeah, that’s always a great tip. And after all that, you can add your button placket and just treat both layers as one once you’ve got your lining in there. You can do it. We believe in you!

Caroline: Yeah. Good luck, Amy. Alright. We have one more caller.

Lisa: Hi, Helen and Caroline, it’s Lisa here. Um, I’m originally from the UK, but I live in Toronto, Ontario. Side note: please do a meetup in Toronto. That’d be amazing. But my question is about French seams. I’ve been sewing for a number of years, but I still don’t have a serger yet. So I do a lot of French seams. And I feel like, even after I get a serger, I probably would keep doing French seams just because I really like the kind of couture nature of it. I like the look of it, I like the feel of it, and it just makes garments feel extra fancy. But one thing I’ve never been sure about is: is it okay to do French seams, like, will it work to do French scenes on a seam with a pivot? So, like an inseam in a pair of pants or an all-in one seam with, like, a sleeve and, uh, the side of a bodice, kind of thing. I can’t tell. Like, sometimes I’ve tried it and it’s been okay, but it, like, it kind of drags a little bit. But I was just wondering, like, is it okay to do French seams on that kind of a seam? And if so, like, is there anything I should be doing differently to make that work? Thank you. Love the podcast.

Helen: Hi Lisa! Thank you for calling in with a question. This is a really great one. French seams are so pretty and they’re such a great resource for people out there who don’t have sergers, but it can be hard to figure out how to do them on curves and angles like you’re saying. So we’ve got some info for you, and there are definitely ways to do it.

Caroline: Yeah. So for a curved French seam, the key is making it narrow. So when your fabrics are wrong sides together, you’re gonna sew three eighths of an inch from the edge and then you’ll trim the excess down to an eighth. Yes, that is very small. And then turn the fabrics right sides together, press and sew a quarter of an inch from the edge. By Hand London has a tutorial on their blog that we’ll link up for you. And if you’re using a fabric that you don’t feel comfortable trimming down to an eighth of an inch, you might wanna do a different seam finish like a zigzag. Or, honestly, choose a different fabric if you think it’s going to fray too much. You want to definitely be careful of that.

Helen: Yeah. I mean, the nice thing is it is tucked in there, so chances are it will still hold. And also it’s not your main seam. ‘Cause your main seam is the second one you’re sewing. So I do think you can get away with trimming that close. For an all-in-one seam that goes up the side of a bodice and down a sleeve, you might have some luck with sewing a diagonal line across the part where the sleeve meets the bodice. That should give you a curve rather than an angle. And a narrow French seam could work really well there too. And there’s a tutorial on the Hundred Acts of Sewing blog that will show you how to do the diagonal line that we’re talking about.

Caroline: And while we’re talking about tricky French seams, there’s one more that I want to talk about. Grainline Studio has a tutorial for sewing French seams at a right angle. So this is useful for projects like the Alder Shirtdress, which has a gathered panel in the skirt. First, you’re gonna mark out your pivot point. This is the point on the seam line where the angle will be. And then draw out your seam lines on either side of the angle. The part where they cross is your pivot point. And then sew the first part of your French seam on one side, then clip the fabric down close to that pivot point at a 45 degree angle. Finish the French seam on the first side, and now that you’ve clipped the fabric, it opens up enough so that you can do the French seam on the second side. And it turns out really nice and pretty. Again, probably confusing to just listen to instructions for that. So definitely check out the tutorial that we link up.

Helen: Even me, an advanced sewist, is confused.

Caroline: You’re like, “What?”

Helen: “What?” Pivot, pivot, pivot.

Caroline: Pivot, clip!

Helen: It is all possible. Oftentimes Googling exactly what you’re doing, plus “French seam,” somebody’s done a tutorial for it. You know, I’ve done French seams on in-seam pockets, zippers and stuff like that. Like, it’s doable. But it does take a little bit of brain work, mind exercise, to figure out how to approach it.

Caroline: And you might need to adjust your seam allowance, right? For whatever, the width of your French seam that you’re doing. So keep that in mind, too. Alright. That’s all the calls we can take for this episode. Y’all, we covered a lot of ground.

Helen: Yes, we did. We did. Fitting fabric choices, nitty gritty sewing techniques, ooey gooey self-love stuff.

Caroline: Yeah, we’re back. We’re back, baby!

Helen: That’s it for today’s episode of Love To Sew. You can find me, Helen, at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. and Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns. We’re recording today in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew! Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Helen: Head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, you can leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at [email protected].

Caroline: Thank you to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you all for listening. We’re gonna talk to you next week.

Helen: Buh-bye!

Caroline: Bye!

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We asked our listeners: “If you could only sew one thing, what would it be?” In this episode, we share their answers (and ours)! Listen in and get inspired – there are so many different kinds of answers!

The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.

Show Notes: 

Our Choices:

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Resources:

Sewing Patterns:

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Transcript: 

Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Caroline: ​ Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew, and it’s basically all we ever talk about.

Helen: This week we asked our listeners: “If you could only sew one thing, what would it be?” In this episode, we share their answers – and ours! Listen in and get inspired. There are so many different kinds of answers.

Caroline: If you love to sew, this is your show. Ooh. Hi, Helen. How are you?

Helen: Hi Caroline! I’m doing well. Thanks. How are you?

Caroline: I’m doing really well.

Helen: I feel simultaneously excited about this episode, and also it makes my stomach turn a little bit, you know?

Caroline: Tell me more.

Helen: Like, the thought of not being able to sew whatever I want and only being able to sew one thing for the rest of my life makes me nauseous.

Caroline: I know, it’s really hard to pin down the one thing.

Helen: And it’s like choosing a favourite. That’s so hard. I don’t know.

Caroline: It is. It’s like choosing a favourite but, luckily, this question is up for interpretation, you know?

Helen: That’s true.

Caroline: And I kind of love how some of our listeners answered it.

Helen: Right? We have some really creative answers. And I loved, some people were just, like, very assured and knew exactly what they wanted. And then some people give it a broader interpretation so they could get more options, which, I’m on that side for sure.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. Okay, well, before we get into these amazing listener answers, we wanna let you know that the best way to support Love to Sew is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions.

Helen: Yeah, over there you get access to bonus content every month and we have so much fun catching up with you all on those more casual bonus episodes. And since this is the last episode of our spring season, if you wanna keep up with us and keep hanging out with us, you can find us over on Patreon and Apple Podcast subscriptions.

Caroline: Yeah, it really means a lot if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two. Especially in the off season; you can get a little dose of love to sew. And if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally get it. We just appreciate you listening and cheering us on.

Helen: Yes. We appreciate you so much. And thank you to everybody who contributed to this episode. This is gonna be fun.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay, so for this episode, we asked you, our listeners, what you would sew if you could only sew one thing. And we got a lot of interesting answers. And we purposely left this question open-ended, which made the answers really interesting. And we did specify that you can wear other clothing that you haven’t made, though. We’re gonna share a bunch of answers in this episode, but before we do, we’re gonna answer it for ourselves.

Helen: Yes! Okay. Wait, wait. I really wanna guess what each other’s is before we say it.

Caroline: Okay. Are we gonna like 1, 2, 3, yell it out? Or one by one?

Helen: No, I think we should take turns.

Caroline: Okay. Okay, okay, okay. I think yours is tough for, it was tough for me, but I think you know mine. So should we start with me? ‘Cause I’m more predictable?

Helen: Yeah, let’s start with you. If Caroline could only sew one thing, it would be: linen.

Caroline: You got it wrong.

Helen: Nooo! I mean, it is really open to interpretation, so I was like, “It’s probably gonna be a fabric type,” but maybe it’s not a fabric type.

Caroline: Okay. I was thinking of it sort of, like, if I could only wear one me-made type of item, garment, like, what would I want to wear? And for me, that’s like always gonna be block print dresses.

Helen: Yeah, that’s fair.

Caroline: So that was, yeah.

Helen: I should have known.

Caroline: That’s my one thing. It’s a block print dress. There’s so many different styles of dresses. There’s so many different block prints. There’s nothing better than wearing, like, a flowy, airy block print dress. So that would be my choice.

Helen: I totally agree, and I love how specific you’re being because you didn’t have to say block print dress. You could have just said dress, but you really wanna, you know, narrow in on one thing. One thing.

Caroline: Oh yeah. There’s just nothing better, in my opinion.

Helen: That’s totally fair. Okay. I’m curious to hear. I don’t think you’re gonna guess mine because I went through so many different things in my mind before I landed on this.

Caroline: Okay. Can I tell you the, the things that I, I considered, but I didn’t pick?

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: Okay. I thought you might say Cameron Button Ups because you have so many. And then I thought you might do something in the world of dresses ’cause I feel like you really like wearing dresses in the summer. But I ended up going with, and, like, I do feel like I’m probably wrong, ’cause I think you maybe interpreted this creatively, but we’re gonna see. I think you would make pants.

Helen: Ooh, that’s actually close to my choice. I did almost think pants and then I decided to go with a fabric. And if I could only sew one thing, it would be: denim.

Caroline: Ooh, I almost said jeans, too.

Helen: Yeah. I love making jeans and I love working with denim and, obviously, quilting came to mind, too, but I’m like, if I choose quilts, then I can never make clothes again. That’s unacceptable. I, that, that’s not, I will not accept that. So, but with denim, like, denim quilts are not as popular, obviously, ’cause they’re really heavy, but they’re really cool. And so I could still quilt using denim and that would be really fun and exciting. But I could also make all sorts of cool garments. And there’s lots of different weights of denim. And I just love it. Every time I work with denim, I’m like, “This is the best.”

Caroline: Yeah. And you can get coloured denim. You can make all kinds of garments with denim, also. It just makes sense. Like, Canadian tuxedo, head-to-toe denim. You would be representing our country every day.

Helen: That’s true. That’s true. Go, Canada.

Caroline: I guess you could also mix it with other ready-to-wear things, like we said, but I’m just picturing you, just head-to-toe denim every day.

Helen: I would accept that. I mean, I do love my black and white, but you can get black and white denim, too, so there’s lots of options. You were so close, though. I almost picked button-up shirts. I almost picked dresses and I almost picked pants, and then I was like, with denim, you can do all those things.

Caroline: It’s so true. It’s so true. I love this. Okay, this was fun. I can’t wait to get into all of our listener responses.

Helen: I know. Me, too.

Caroline: So first up, we’re gonna share the answers from a popular group: sewists who were focused on fitting.

Helen: Audrey wrote, “I’ve actually thought about this question many times over the last few years as I’ve transitioned to making all of my garments. I work full time outside the home and am Mama to 3 teenage boys. Sewing time is limited and prioritizing projects is a must. To answer the question, it’s jeans. I wear jeans nearly every day for work, so it’s a practical make for me. There’s lots of versatility in fabrics, leg shapes, top stitching designs, etc, so I don’t get bored. Jeans are fun, yet challenging. More than all of that, making my jeans has been a liberating experience. I know that sounds a bit over the top, but I mean it. As a tall woman with a 2-3 size difference between waist and hip and thick thighs, ready-to-wear jeans that fit just don’t exist. Shopping for them is so defeating. Making them, on the other hand, is such a confidence boost. Hands down, I’m sewing jeans!”

Caroline: Oh, it’s such a good point. Like, make something that you know you can’t get in ready-to-wear that fits you. I didn’t even think about it from that perspective. But this is really inspiring, obviously.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: You are inspiring me, Audrey. You’re definitely not alone in struggling to find jeans and pants that fit. We had a lot of listeners comment to say the same thing. Being able to make jeans that fit is like a superpower. For our listeners out there who haven’t achieved this yet, we actually have some tips for you.

Helen: Yes. You can trace your pattern, instead of just cutting it out right away, because you might wanna go back to the drawing board if the fit is really off. Making adjustments on your traced-out version is a nice way to preserve the original pattern.

Caroline: And you wanna make muslins. Use long basting stitches so that they come together quickly and come apart easily. Actually, there’s something super satisfying about, like, ripping apart seams on a muslin.

Helen: Oh, so true. Yeah. We recommend that you make adjustments one at a time, starting from the top and working your way down.

Caroline: And check out our episode on Pants Sewing and Fitting for lots more info. We’re gonna link that for you in the show notes.

Helen: On a related note, @DeltaSew wrote: “Pants. (This includes all styles, with jeans.) I’ve done 3 so far this year! I should add that my goal this year is to make them adjustable at the waist, and yet be somewhat more tailored looking.”

Caroline: Ooh, okay. We have a recommendation for you. The Meriam trousers by Cashmerette have a tailored look and a flex waistband. It’s hard to explain, but the waistband has a hidden layer of elastic that has a few inches of waistband sewn onto the end. So when you sit or bend over, the elastic stretches and the extra waistband kind of peeks out. But it looks like a fitted waistband. It’s pretty magical. I remember when Cashmerette came out with this pattern. I was like, poof. Mind blown.

Helen: Right? I know. It’s so cool. And you can also do a fitted front and an elastic back, especially if you wear your shirts untucked in the back. Like, no one’s ever gonna see the elastic back there. So that’s a good way to make them a bit more flexible.

Caroline: Totally. Kate wrote, “Dresses. I’m different size in the bust, waist and hips. I can buy pants that fit and tops that fit. But it was an epiphany when I started measuring myself and sewing for myself why ready-to-wear dresses never fit. I can now sew something that fits properly over my whole body.”

Helen: Ooh, yes. This is so cool. I mean, it’s so annoying when you go to shop and retail places sell the matching top and bottom sets together. And, like, bathing suits, too, sometimes, like, I wanna pick a different size for the top and the bottom. Most people are a different size, top and bottom. But that’s not a problem with sewing things for yourself, so: magic.

Caroline: Yeah. Do you remember when it was, like, a selling point when you’d shop for a bathing suit and they’d be like, “You can buy a different size on the top and bottom!” Yeah. It was, like, revolutionary. Like, they’re just discovering that women are all different sizes.

Helen: This just in.

Caroline: Yeah. This just in.

Helen: Well, speaking of swimming suits, Alex wrote, “Bathing suits! It is so hard to find ones I love in stores and I love that with sewing I can customize it to be the design I want AND the fit that I want. Nowadays there are so many great options for fabric and patterns I feel like I would be happy to sew only swimsuits.”

Caroline: I love this. Alex is gonna be the best-dressed one on the beach.

Helen: Totally. Swimwear crossed my mind when I was thinking about this because it is another one of those things that I love sewing. It’s so much fun. And I do not like shopping for it at all.

Caroline: Yeah. Same. Okay. Katie wrote, “Bras! Challenging but small, fit is exponentially better, and once you know how to make one you know how to make them all!”

Helen: Ooh, bra fitting is definitely a useful skill. I also like that Katie pointed out that once you get over the initial hurdle of learning how to sew a bra, the process gets way smoother. Plus, you get to use all of those pretty fabrics and trim, the lace, the little notions, the little rings and the sliders. I mean, everything about it is just delightful.

Caroline: Amazing.

Helen: I definitely think that, for folks who have trouble bra shopping, sewing your own bras is the way to go.

Caroline: Yeah. Brune wrote, “Jumpsuits. I love them and it’s hard to find ones that fit well!”

Helen: Ooh, very true. In our Overalls and Jumpsuits episode, we talked about why it’s so hard to find a ready-to-wear jumpsuit that fits. There are so many ways that it can go wrong. When you’re sewing them, potentially, there will be bodice adjustments and pants adjustments, maybe extra length adjustments to get a good fit. But it’s so worth it, ’cause you get this head-to-toe look and it’s just fabulous. And I feel like, when you wear me-made jumpsuits, you get the most compliments.

Caroline: It’s true. They’re kind of, like, striking. It’s such a style choice.

Helen: Right. And everybody wants one.

Caroline: I love the idea of Brune just going about life, just wearing only jumpsuits, like, forever. So easy to get dressed in the morning. But bathroom breaks would be challenging, potentially.

Helen: Yeah. You get really good at it, though. You know? You’d be speedy. You’d know exactly how much time you need. You’d be quick getting in and out of them.

Caroline: Yeah. You’d be really brave.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Our next group of listeners wanted their one thing to be a dream garment. Ksenija wrote: “Swimsuit! Cause I won’t stop dreaming about life on or near the beach.”

Helen: Ooh, I can totally relate to this one. You know I love swimming, even though it’s a seasonal activity for me. Making my own suits has been so much fun. Maybe I should start making them in the winter when I need a boost. Or I need to go on a tropical holiday.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s so true. As if you haven’t made swimsuits in the winter. I feel like you’ve made swimsuits every month of the year, Helen.

Helen: At least one a month. No, I have amassed quite the collection of bathing suits now, and it feels a little bit ridiculous when I go to get one out to go to the beach. I’m like, which of these 20 swimsuits should I choose?

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Lucky.

Helen: Right. Okay. Beth wrote, “Coats! I love sewing unique coats in great colours.”

Caroline: Ooh, this is a great idea. I feel like a lot of the coats you find in stores are more practical and neutral, and making unique and colorful coats is a great way to use your sewing superpower. Also, the trend of, like, candy-coloured coats.

Helen: Yes! I was thinking that, too.

Caroline: You could jump on that. Love it.

Helen: And so many fabrics that you can use. Denim, wool, rainwear, like, there’s so many different cool things you could experiment with, with coats. And you get to pick fun linings. Maybe I’ll switch mine to coats!

Caroline: Yeah. And you’ll never, I was gonna say, you’ll never have the wrong coat.

Helen: That’s true.

Caroline: Mm. Sorry. I’m throwing back to our Trends episode again.

Helen: Oh, okay. I was like, “Is that something you struggle with, or?” “I always have the wrong coat!”

Caroline: No, I just, I think about that Trends episode often when I am, like, throwing on, I don’t know, a coat that really doesn’t go with my outfit. And I just think, like, “I’m following the trends. I’m wearing the wrong coat!”

Helen: That’s what I love about, like, the ugly sneaker trend, too, where I’m like, “Yes. I love trends that let me be super comfortable and not care.”

Caroline: Stacey wrote, “A recreation of a very fancy dress my grandmother wore in a black and white photograph I have of her from the 1940s. It’s my ten year goal, for sure.”

Helen: Oh, I love the idea of having a goal that really stretches your sewing skills. I would also love to see a picture of this dress, Stacey, if you could send that to us. I wonder if they know what colour it is or, like, if they’re just gonna have to choose their own colour for it and interpret the black and white photograph? That would be cool.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh my gosh. I would love to see this photo, too.

Helen: Christine wrote, “Beautiful silk pyjamas made from the finest silk possible. Would love the challenge and to lounge in style!”

Caroline: Ooh, this sounds like the height of luxury. I would break in my silk pajamas with a glass of champagne, a box of good chocolate. Yes, imagine, like, if you’re only sewing silk pajamas, you can invest in the most beautiful, incredible silk.

Helen: It is true. I really like this interpretation of this question, is not, like, what would I sew for the rest of my life, but what’s my dream project if you put me on the spot right now, you know? It can be a good exercise, especially if you’re like, “I don’t know what I should work on next.” Maybe you should make luxury silk pajamas. I mean, if that’s the first thing that comes to mind, go for it.

Caroline: It’s so true. Or like, think, like, “This is the last thing I’m gonna sew. What would it be?” And then you’ll really know what you wanna sew.

Helen: I mean, that’s a bit macabre, but…

Caroline: Your death row sewing project.

Helen: That’s what we were gonna call this episode. But then we pivoted.

Caroline: Yeah. Next up we have a voicemail from Grace.

Grace Voicemail: Hi, this is Grace in North Carolina and I think I’ve sewn everything I can possibly imagine. I’m a professional seamstress and I think that there is just something about sewing a dress and putting it on and just feeling like magic. That’s one of the first things I made when I was a little girl with my mom. And, man, sewing a dress. It might be a little bit fussier or frillier or brighter than something you would probably buy at the store and you put it on and it is, mm! Can’t wait to hear the episode. Bye.

Caroline: Oh, Grace. I think so many of us can relate to the feeling of putting on a fabulous me-made dress and feeling that, like, mm! Magical feeling.

Helen: Mm! Oh, yeah. When she was like, “mm!” I was like, “Oh, I know that feeling.”

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. And I really love that your one thing connects you to the first project you made with your mom. It’s so sweet. Sewing is the best.

Helen: It is the best. I definitely, this episode, with every person’s answer, I’m like, “Ooh, I wanna change mine to dresses now.” It’s so true! When you, like, put it on, especially if it’s the kind that you can kind of throw on over your head and the fabric just goes whoosh around your body and you’re in the mirror, like, “Look at me! I’m incredible!”

Caroline: Yeah. You immediately twirl around. So good.

Helen: So good. Okay. A lot of our listeners focused a bit more on versatility and practicality when they chose their one thing, which is very fair because, let’s be real, we need to be practical sometimes.

Caroline: Sometimes.

Helen: Sometimes.

Caroline: So, Shreya wrote, “It would have to be a dress!! All in one outfit, perfect throw-on-ability, and you don’t need to worry about matching two pieces of clothing together.”

Helen: Yes. And Meg wrote, “I’d have to agree! People think you’re so put together when you have a dress on but really you just couldn’t be bothered matching pieces of clothing!”

Caroline: Abbie wrote, “Woven dresses! I love making them and wearing them but entering a breastfeeding stage of life again so I guess that means I need to actually master buttons.”

Helen: Ooh, that’s true. Or wrap dresses can also work. I’ve seen some cool maternity dresses, too, that have a bodice panel that goes down and then a skirt panel that kind of goes up and there’s a gap in between them that overlaps so that you can sneakily get the boobs out.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Those are cool. Erica wrote, “Dresses. They can do anything! You can clean cat boxes or go to the Met Gala in a dress.”

Caroline: Maybe not the same dress, but honestly, who knows?

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Dresses don’t get enough credit for being practical. I feel like even my comfiest me-made house dress gets compliments when I wear it out. And Abbie, one more thing about breastfeeding. I’ve heard that snaps are really great because they’re easy to do or undo with one hand, and you can use snaps on pretty much any pattern that calls for buttons. And we’re talking about small snaps here, not the heavy duty kind that you use on jackets. They work similarly. They’re just smaller. We’re gonna link up a couple of tutorials for inserting metal snaps both with and without a snap plier. And if you decide to go with buttons, don’t worry too much about it. Practice on some scrap fabric using the same amount of layers that you would in a finished button placket and you’re gonna be a pro before you know it. You got this.

Helen: Yes, you do got this. Buttons are fun to master ’cause then you feel like you can do anything.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Okay, our next listener, sneaky little listener, sent us a voicemail.

Caroline: You sneaky listener, you.

Helen: Sneaky little listener.

Laurie Voicemail: Hi, Helen and Caroline! It’s Laurie, otherwise known as Sam’s mom. I had to jump on here when I saw the question because the answer is so obvious to me. It’s the Yanta Overalls. I think I’ve made four pairs now. And why? Because they are so, so comfortable and you can make them in heavy denim, in linen, in shorts, stripes. You can make them with belt loops. You can…they are so versatile. I think people are getting used to me just living in my Yantas. And they have pockets, lots of pockets. Just love them. Love your show. Love what you guys are doing. Love you, too. Bye.

Helen: Oh my gosh. I’m so glad you called in, Laurie. You absolutely rock your Yantas. She really does. They look so cute on her. And I do think that there’s a little bit of a belief that older folks can’t pull off, you know, cute overalls or jumpsuits. Laurie’s out here proving everybody wrong, okay? She’s representing. They look so good on her and she gets so many compliments from folks in her age group about how fantastic they are and how people want to wear that kind of style. So, go for it. And I’m really glad that you enjoy how comfortable and practical these overalls are. I love them, too.

Caroline: It’s funny, ’cause I’ve only met Laurie a few times, but I do imagine Laurie wearing Yantas. Like, when I, when I picture Laurie in my mind, Laurie is wearing Yanta Overalls.

Helen: I really need to get some pictures of her wearing them to add to our product photos for that product. ‘Cause that would be so perfect.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: One of the best things about the Yanta Overalls is that they don’t, like, cinch in or dig in at the waist at all. Like, it’s like wearing a sack, which doesn’t sound that exciting, but it actually is really nice to be able to put on something that doesn’t touch your stomach at all, especially if you have sensory issues. So that can be really cool.

Caroline: Yeah. I really wanna make some Yantas for gardening, but, like, size up so they’re, like, really loosey goosey and, like, comfy to bend down in.

Helen: Ooh. I mean, they’re pretty loose to begin with. I don’t know if you need to size up on the Yantas.

Caroline: But I wanna be wearing, like, a sack sack.

Helen: Sack sack sack. Fair enough. Well, you can always make them bigger and then take them in as you sew them.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. Also, I kind of secretly just wanna avoid doing the zipper on the side, so.

Helen: Yeah. Obviously.

Caroline: All right, next, Cynthia wrote, “Mine is a bias-cut knee length skirt. It can be rayon or silk in a fun print. I usually wear it with a simple ivory or white sleeveless top. I have chosen all kinds of wild and plain fabrics to share my love of colour. I often put foldover elastic at the waist and often add a straight lining. It sews up so fast and with a pair of sandals I can go anywhere!”

Helen: Ooh, Cynthia, you sound like a very chic person. Like, I am picturing this. It’s such a vision. I think a bias-cut skirt is so beautiful and it’s a great choice for this challenge. Because it does give you a lot of versatility, even though, yes, it’s a skirt, so it kind of puts you in a box in that sense. But you can dress it up, dress it down. It’s such a great uniform, especially if it works for your lifestyle, and a way to get a lot out of your wardrobe. And it’s much more personalized than those lists of, like, capsule wardrobe pieces that are out there. I do think adding a fun bias-cut skirt to your wardrobe’s a great plan.

Caroline: Yeah. And bias-cut skirts just, like, sit so beautifully on the body. Like, they just, it just takes a skirt up a level.

Helen: Mm!

Caroline: Yeah. It’s another one of those. Mm!

Helen: Right. As Grace would say, “Mm!”

Caroline: Mm! Oh my gosh. That’s like the tagline of this, this episode.

Helen: What’s the project that makes you go, mm!?

Caroline: Oh, well, speaking of that, comfort was another thing on our listeners’ mind when they chose their one thing. Tamara wrote, “Bamboo underwear. Because honestly I could live in just those anyways.”

Helen: I love that. They’re like, “I don’t need any other clothes. I’ll just take the bamboo underwear.”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Knit viscose fabrics like rayon, Tencel, modal, lyocell, and bamboo are some of the most comfortable fabrics on the planet. They’re so soft, they’re breathable, they have a cool hand. And if you’re making undies, you wanna seek out fabrics with a good amount of spandex so that they have a good recovery. You want them to kind of, like, stick to your body and snap back. You don’t want ’em to be baggy. So that’s just a couple of fabric tips for you. But Tamara, I love that this is your choice. Comfy underwear rules. And when it fits well, I mean, I hate to do it again, but: mm!

Caroline: Di wrote, “A comfortable, supportive, non wired bra. Comfort is everything.” Okay, I gotta chime in and say, I totally hear you, Di. And agree. No wires for me, never.

Helen: Never again. Those days are over.

Caroline: And it is like finding a unicorn when you find that really comfortable, supportive bra. So making it yourself is really amazing. Listeners, if you wanna start your quest for a good bralette, we’ll link our episode about them in the show notes.

Helen: Yes. Ooh. Okay. This is another little plug for Helen’s, sneaky plug for Helen’s Closet. Franziska wrote, “The Arden Pants by Helen’s Closet. They fit perfectly, are comfy and stylish and I would be happy to live in these pants for the rest of my days. I already have like eight versions for myself and have sewed several versions for friends as presents.”

Caroline: Yes! Wow. That is a lot of Ardens. And this is a great way to get the full benefit of a pattern you love. It makes the fitting part worth it when you can just break out a tried and true pattern and make it out of a new fabric. This is a great choice.

Helen: Yes. Thank you for the Arden Pants love.

Caroline: Nikki wrote, “I love the Style Arc Brooklyn jumper in soft fleece or boucle. Love the fit, although I sized down a lot, and that it has pockets and a high neck.”

Helen: This is such a cute pattern. It’s like a sweater with a loose fit, a big funnel neck. And I think patterns like this are fabulous because they make you look really put together, but they’re the same amount of work as, like, a t-shirt. You know, you’re just adding a lot of extra to that neck band, and all of a sudden, you look super fashionable. It’s perfect.

Caroline: Yeah, I’m imagining, like, lots of textured fabrics. You can go thick. If you want to go, like, with a thinner fabric, it’ll have a totally different look. I think this is a great choice.

Helen: Mmhmm. Some of our listeners picked quick wins as their one thing. Claire wrote, “A dress. Specifically, a knit dress! I can make them in my sleep now. Tank top, long sleeve, knee length, maxi, whatever. But I swear I have perfected the simple knit dress on myself.”

Caroline: That is amazing, Claire, and this is another one that’s about the same level of work as a T-shirt, but can end up looking really put-together.

Helen: Yeah, and it’s so comfortable, too, like, talk about secret pajamas. When you’re wearing a knit dress, you’re just like, “Ha ha, ha, suckers!”

Caroline: Chickie wrote, “I always seem to sew skirts. I need to switch to tops, to go with all the skirts!”

Helen: Hey, Chickie. If you love only sewing skirts, we totally support you. But if you do wanna start making tops, you can definitely do that. If you’re interested in knits, it’s a learning curve, but very do-able. Use your scraps to adjust the settings on your machine so your fabric isn’t getting stretched out or bunched up. The settings that might need adjusting would be, like, tension, zigzag length, zigzag width. We’ll link a tutorial for getting started with knits in our show notes for any of our listeners who have been wanting to learn. But there’s so many different styles of tops out there that you could pair with a skirt. I just love a t-shirt and a skirt together. You know, it’s very casual, but modern. Little sneaker. You can’t go wrong.

Caroline: Yeah. No, it’s so true. So easy to throw on and wear, and it’s a perfect choice.

Helen: Mmhmm.

Caroline: A big theme we saw with our listeners’ responses was focusing on the process: doing something challenging and enjoying the satisfaction of getting it right. Kallie wrote, “Jeans! I love the process of sewing them, getting the fit just right, and nailing the topstitching on a fly front is so satisfying.”

Helen: Yes, Jay also wrote, “Trousers, for sure. They are the hardest to find a good fit for in ready-to-wear and it also involves hardware which is always fun to hammer!” That’s a really good point, actually.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: I get to do hardware with my denim choice.

Caroline: It’s so true. Yeah. It’s like you get the satisfaction of sewing and the satisfaction of anger management.

Helen: I feel really hardcore, especially when I get out that teeny tiny anvil.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh my gosh. The tiny anvil. It’s the best.

Helen: It’s the best.

Caroline: Beth wrote, “Jeans. The challenge in perfecting the fit, I want to learn to fell seams, and getting my topstitching better!”

Helen: Ooh, yes, definitely. You can do a faux felled seam. Like, you don’t have to do the full on tucking the edge under and like enclosing it all. You can just serge the edge and then push it to one side and top stitch it. And that, like, works pretty well, especially with jeans, I find, because you don’t want a ton of bulk in there. But also, felling seams is fun, too, so you should definitely try it.

Caroline: But, bonus: with the serging, you can use, like, a fun serger thread colour, like red, or…

Helen: Yes. Rainbow. Mm, rainbow serger thread on denim is just the cutest. I really love the challenge of sewing great jeans and trousers. And it can feel overwhelming if you sit down and think about all the techniques that you’re about to do. I do think, I’m sure there are listeners out there who have, who have not yet attempted jeans and are like, “That sounds hard.” But it is just like everything else, one step at a time, and it’s really satisfying when you finish some of those trickier steps like the zipper fly or the waistband. And in the end, perfect fitting pants. That is a very, very good reward.

Caroline: It’s worth it. Yeah, and just give yourself the time to, like, take your time with it and enjoy the process.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. @CelebratingNanaSkills wrote, “It would have to be a collared shirt. I really enjoy the magic of flipping that collar inside out, and the burrito yoke. It feels like there’s always an occasion for some style of formal or casual collared shirt, from variations in ease, collars, cuffs, sleeves…I guess with any sewing the possibilities are endless. On my to-sew list one day is a silk chiffon shirt, one day…”

Caroline: First of all, I love your handle. We’re all about celebrating nana skills. And second of all, traditional shirts have so many wonderful details. They’re really something that make people say, “You made that?!” Also, a silk chiffon shirt? What? Amazing.

Helen: That would be incredible. Also, really enjoying lace shirts. You know that, like, see-through. You can do shirt dresses. You got a little dress action in there. You could use your shirt to make, like, a jacket.

Caroline: Ooh, we’re stretching the rules. We’re stretching the rules.

Helen: I just like thinking about how you can, like, get away with stuff with this question.

Caroline: Can the shirt be a shacket? I don’t know.

Helen: It can! It can.

Caroline: Is it still a shirt if it’s a shacket?

Helen: Okay. You take the buttons and you move them onto pants and then… Ann wrote, “Coats. I find making a coat endlessly fascinating. There are so many types for different occasions and environments. You can make them quick and dirty or using haute couture techniques. I always have an a-ha moment and learn something new when I make a coat.”

Caroline: It is so cool to choose something complicated and kind of difficult as your one thing. I can really relate to all these listeners who love learning new techniques. And coat fabrics are also so fun to shop for. This is another one that I feel like is up for interpretation. Like, if you’re using a heavy fabric, can a coat be a jacket? Can it be short? Can we stretch the rules a little bit? You know?

Helen: If you make it out of swimwear fabric, is it a swimsuit?

Caroline: What if you make it in silk? Is it a dress? Is it a coat dress? Is that a thing?

Helen: Ooh, that’s a, that’s a thing for sure. That’s more of a thing than a coat swimsuit, but.

Caroline: No, it’s so true, though. I feel like, coating fabrics, there are so many options out there. You can go with something that’s, like, more textured, like a boucle or a tweed. You can go with something that’s more sleek, like a melton. You can even do a coat out of, like, a cotton twill to get a totally different look. So you’re gonna be making coats for decades, and you got a lot to work with. Sue wrote, “I really enjoy sewing tailored blazers. I don’t wear them much, but sewing them is meditative.”

Helen: Sue, it is so interesting that you don’t wear your one thing that much. You’re very much a process sewist, but I love that. Tailoring is one of those advanced level sewing skillsets that is so impressive. Definitely applaud you on that front. I mean, when we talked to Patrick Grant on the podcast and we were talking all about tailoring, truly, you could spend a lifetime learning about how to properly tailor a coat, and people do. So this is a great choice.

Caroline: It really is. Cristina wrote, “I think it would have to be bags. I’ve already sewn a few but there’s so much I need to learn and so many patterns to choose from or to imagine. I love the mix of hand sewing and machine sewing with a bag.”

Helen: Yes. Bag sewing is another thing that has a unique skillset and some unique materials that you get to use. I love that you enjoy the hand sewing part of it, too. There’s so much out there to learn with bag making, and you can really take it far and make unique structured bags, quilted bags, you could get into leather work. The possibilities are endless here.

Caroline: Yes. I feel like there are just so many patterns out there for bags. You can make every kind of bag under the sun.

Helen: It’s true. Great gifts, too, like, really fun to make for other people.

Caroline: Okay. Here’s a loophole, Helen: what about those, like, coats that turn into bags?

Helen: Oh yeah. Where it all, like, packs up into the, the hidden pouch that’s, like, in the hood or something. Yeah. Now we’re talking. I like it. I like it. Nikki wrote, “Underwear! Specifically using fabric scraps to create very fun, patchwork, granny-inspired undies. I made 15 pairs last year in one sitting and they are all I wear, LOL.”

Caroline: Okay. This is really cool, Nikki. I love that this is how you bust scraps. They sound like they would look really fun, too, and I wonder if there’s anything you do to make the seams more comfortable. Or maybe, if you use the right fabrics, it’s not a big deal. Or maybe you wear a lot of dresses, so it’s not a big deal for, like, the seams to rub too much. ‘Cause there’s, like, nothing rubbing against them.

Helen: It is true. I like to tack down my seam allowances when I make undies. I did go through a big undies making phase. Well, we both did, actually. We were pretty into it for a minute there. And it is super fun to slap them together. And I used to, like, cut my undies out with my project. So I cut out a t-shirt pattern, for example, and then immediately got out my undies pattern and cut out from the scraps, the pieces, and then put them all in a bin. And then you can do a batch sew, like Nikki did, and make 15 pairs at once.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, it’s so smart. ‘Cause then, when you have all your machine threaded up to make your t-shirt, you just throw in a pair of undies and then you’ve got a bonus pair of undies.

Helen: Exactly. Brilliant. You got a whole outfit.

Caroline: Alright. Some of our listeners wrote in with a pattern they would choose as their one thing. So Linda wrote, “The Merchant and Mills Ottoline Jacket. I’ve made four, in varying weights and fabric types. It’s a great wardrobe staple, seasonal, and can be worn with dresses, pants, skirts, dressed up or down. It’s my go-to pattern. I love it.”

Helen: Ooh, okay. The Ottoline is a workwear jacket with really nice topstitching details and patch pockets. I could definitely see having four of these. And this looks like a really fun sew. Very cool. Bridget wrote, “Oh, that’s so hard! If I had to choose just one thing, it would be the Merchant and Mills Trapeze Dress. It was one of the first garments I made and my first version was the simplest possible: sleeveless with no buttons. Since then I’ve lengthened the pattern and sewn tucks to hitch it up at each side and made a tulle skirt for underneath. I’ve made a sleeved version. I’ve made the button backed version. I just love the simple shift shape.”

Caroline: Ooh. I love a simple, wearable pattern like this. I feel like it’s great for showing off nice fabric. I love that you can layer it, too. This is a great versatile one.

Helen: Yeah, it’s so true, and you’re making the most of it with all of these pattern hacks, which you know is totally my jam.

Caroline: Jyoti wrote, “The Fringe Dress from Chalk and Notch. Sometimes it feels like it is the only thing I ever sew, I’ve made so many of them. It fits me so well. And it’s so versatile. I have really casual ones, ones I wear to work, and even a sparkly one I wear out dancing!”

Helen: Okay. Changing up the fabric can stretch a pattern to lots of different occasions and different scenarios. I love that you’ve made casual workwear and dressy versions of this one pattern, and I do know that the Fringe Dress has, like, a cult following. It’s so popular and I have seen so many beautiful versions. It is just one of those designs that you’re like, “Yes, obviously I want that dress. It’s perfect.”

Caroline: Absolutely. Yeah. It’s, like, classic, timeless, will always, it’s always gonna work in your wardrobe.

Helen: Yeah. Anne says, “Maybe the Closet Core Kalle Shirt, as it is so versatile. You can make it into a dress, a shirt to go with jeans, or smarter with different fabric. It can be more feminine with a viscose satin or a shacket with a heavier fabric and the long sleeve extension. And I’ve just made one for a beach cover up! Love this pattern!”

Caroline: Ooh, these listeners are really making me wanna dig out some of my TnT patterns and make them again. We both love the Kalle. We’ve both made it before. And I also love the idea of a shirt as, like, a swim coverup. Mm.

Helen: Mm mm mm! Yeah, the Kalle’s another community favourite, for sure. Definitely a lot of versatility.

Caroline: Cynthia wrote, “I have a pattern for cigarette pants that I have made multiple times, in denim, twill, canvas, and in prints, solids, stripes. In every length from knee to ankle. I have perfected the fit so it works every time. It is by far my most used and versatile pattern.”

Helen: Ooh, this is so inspiring. Cigarette pants are closely fitted from the waist on down, so they’re one of the more challenging patterns to fit. And you know, Capri pants are actually coming back into style, which is so funny. I really used to wear a ton of them when I was younger, so I’m kind of excited about this one to come back in. I wish I had a cigarette pant pattern that fit me perfectly. Maybe we need to add one to the Helen’s Closet collection.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Yeah. Cigarette pants. Oof. I, I mean, actually I think, specifically, Capri Pants, I, they, I don’t know if I’m ready for them to come back, personally.

Helen: We’ll see. You’re saying that now

Caroline: I have Capri pant trauma.

Helen: By next summer, you’re gonna have a Capri pant pattern.

Caroline: I know, I know. I just need to warm up to it. I gotta see more of it out in the world. I have to just, yeah, let it wash over me for a season or two.

Helen: It is really smart to take something that, you know, you love to wear, a style you know you love to wear, and just perfect a pattern to fit so that you can make it again and again and again. I love that.

Caroline: Yeah. Riya wrote, “Honestly, the Helen’s Closet Lockhart Jumpsuit and Dress has me in a chokehold currently. It’s such a versatile pattern that you can dress up for a more elegant and elevated look or dress down for a casual and comfy style. I have four finished versions and three more in the making. Minimalism who?”

Helen: Seven Lockharts! Oh my gosh. This pattern’s only been out for a year. I’m so impressed.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: That’s amazing. That might even be more than I have. But it’s so awesome to make so many versions of a pattern you love. I mean, similar to Cynthia with her cigarette pants. Like, when it works, it works. And then you can just repeat and make them in different fabrics. And when you find something that perfectly fits your style, it makes sense to just run with it.

Caroline: Yes. I remember when you were designing Lockhart, you were talking about wanting it to be, like, the perfect classic dress and jumpsuit…

Helen: THE dress.

Caroline: Like, THE dress, and Rhea agrees, so you really hit it. Helen, you hit the nail on the head there.

Helen: I love hearing that. You can also make tops and skirts and pants with that pattern. We have some blog posts about that. So it truly does run the gamut.

Caroline: Yeah, you should have picked Lockhart, Helen.

Helen: I know. It’s true. Dang it.

Caroline: A few of our listeners wanted their one thing to be for someone else: their children. How selfless. Wow. Dawn wrote, “A child’s dress-up or Halloween costume, preferably using at least some recycled materials. I made my wee son a beautiful, if I do say so myself, Robin Hood costume, complete with a quiver made from a used suede garment in the junk bin at the thrift store. Thrills me to think of the hours of joyful imaginative play.”

Helen: Aw, Dawn, your son is so lucky. Stuff like this makes childhood feel magical. I can remember all of the costumes my mom made me when I was a kid. I have such fond memories of Halloween and getting to wear this creation that has come to life, like, exactly what I asked for. And seeing the joy on a kid’s face when you give them something that you made is also the best feeling. So this is a really, really fun choice.

Caroline: It really is.

Helen: Merry wrote, “It would be dresses for my girls. I just love seeing their faces beam when they wear them and I can tell they feel beautiful and special. And I feel so much pride in my work and in my beautiful daughters!”

Caroline: Oh, this is so sweet. Such a good answer, Merry.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: Shem wrote, “My oldest daughter is six years old. If I could only sew one thing I would want to be able to spend the next couple decades working on learning all the necessary skills to be able to make her her dream wedding gown! As a father who loves to sew, the idea of being able to walk the girl who turned me into a father down the aisle, in the dress of her dreams that I made for her, would be more than I could ask for.” Excuse me, while I go cry. Oh my gosh.

Helen: I’m literally tearing up. Okay. And this is really cute, too, because for our listeners who pay very close attention, you may remember Shem from a really great letter he wrote us a few years ago about sewing for his toddler daughter, and I cannot believe that she is six now. That is wild and amazing and incredible.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah. A bunch of the letters we got in our Love to Brag episode were from parents who made their children wedding gowns. It seems like such a beautiful and meaningful thing. I really hope you get your wish, Shem, and your daughter will be so lucky to wear a wedding gown that you made.

Helen: Yeah, that would be amazing. I mean, we’ll probably still be doing the show. So Shem, if you could give us an update, you know…

Caroline: Yep. Yep,

Helen: 20 years down the line.

Caroline: Circle back. Even if we’re not doing the show, I’m expecting you to figure out how to get in touch and let us know how it went.

Helen: Reach out.

Caroline: Oh, my heart is warmed.

Helen: Okay. Most of the responses we got from listeners were for garments, but there were some non-garment answers. So here’s a few of them. Marcia wrote, “Dog blankets from my sewing remnants for needy dogs.”

Caroline: Oh, this is so sweet. This is a great way to scrap bust and support dogs who need comfort. Yeah. I gotta do this. This is a great idea.

Helen: Right, and also, I have a lifetime of scraps, so I can relate to wanting to just choose your scraps and then you’ll finally use them up.

Caroline: Me, too. It’s becoming a problem. Jennifer said, “Stuffed animals. My favourite pattern makers are Studio Seren, 10×2 Studio, and Mes Petites Lunes Dolls! If I could sew these, uninterrupted, for the rest of my days, I’d be so happy.”

Helen: I have never sewn a stuffed animal and I want to so badly now.

Caroline: I’m surprised. I feel like this is up your alley, Helen.

Helen: I would love to do something like this and my niece and nephew are still pretty young, so now’s the time. You know, I gotta get on it.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: These pattern companies are so cute. Thank you for the recommendations. We’re gonna link these up in the show notes so that people can find them. Also, stuffed animals sometimes come with little clothes they can put on, so you’re still sewing garments, just a little bit.

Caroline: Oh, so cute.

Helen: On a related note, Kyla wrote, “Dolls! Why? Because they can be quirky and always fit. Dolls can be friends!”

Caroline: So cute. Kyla, I have to say, we peeked at your Instagram and your dolls are absolutely beautiful. They have such cute embroidered faces, and I love the soft colours you chose for your fabrics. If you all wanna check out Kyla’s dolls, she’s @Kyla.Something on Insta.

Helen: Yes, go check it out.

Caroline: Annette wrote, “Bestie Bags. Endless possibilities. And what would you do with your lippy and essentials if you didn’t have one?”

Helen: I like this string of emojis after this comment, too.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: So perfect. Shout out to the Bestie Bag. Another cult following pattern out there. You could make a Bestie for literally every outfit, every occasion. You can make it in a casual fabric. You could make it in a fun, shiny, out there fabric. And it’s super roomy, but it never feels too heavy, you know? ‘Cause it goes across the body. It’s really just a dream.

Caroline: Yes, I should have picked the Bestie Bag, probably, because I also love sewing it, and I have many, many, many versions.

Helen: Yeah, I know. It’s so true. Well, maybe you can sneakily make Bestie Bags with your block print leftovers and just don’t tell anybody.

Caroline: Yeah. You won’t tell. I, I won’t. Thank you, Helen.

Helen: If you use a matching fabric, it will blend in with your dress and nobody will even be able to see it.

Caroline: I love it. So sneaky.

Helen: Aly wrote “Workwear, like aprons, overalls, toolbelts, multi-pocket bags, etc.! It feels so amazing to be doing crafts and hard-wearing jobs while wearing one of your own makes!”

Caroline: Ooh, this makes so much sense. It’s like a confidence boost. Like, I’m making something while wearing something I made. I think all of us sewists that have another kind of hobby should make workwear to go with it. This is awesome.

Helen: Yes. I love this answer. This goes well with my denim, too. Like, aprons you can make, yeah. Bags, overalls, tool belts. So fun.

Caroline: Okay. We have one more. Helen, I feel like you’re gonna love this one. Amber wrote, “Quilts! Quilting was my first love and gateway into sewing. There’s a feeling of being home when I quilt. I know it’s not a clothing item, but I feel it should count. Lots of love.”

Helen: Oh my gosh. I know there are a lot of sewists out there who feel like you do, Amber, and I feel this way some of the time. I definitely considered picking quilts,

Caroline: Mmhmm. Mmhmm.

Helen: But like I said at the beginning, I’m like, I can’t give up garments, but maybe I spoke too soon. I could do quilted garments if…

Caroline: I was gonna say, I think if I, it had occurred to me to pick quilts for you, I would’ve confidently said quilts, because you could do quilted bags, you could do quilted garments. You could even make quilted pants, Helen. I’ve seen ‘em.

Helen: I know, but I also run hot. This would be great if I lived in a cold climate and I, and I was a cold person, but I’m a hot person.

Caroline: Yeah. You are.

Helen: Yeah, I can’t be wearing quilted pants, but I love this. I mean, I do think you could easily spend the rest of your life quilting. There’s so many things to learn, so many different blocks to try, different fabrics. It’s just, like, a love that lasts a lifetime.

Caroline: Okay, Helen. Enough about quilts. This isn’t Love to Quilt, okay? Just kidding. Okay, we’re gonna end this episode with a comment from Shallett: “Constantly. I would like to sew constantly.”

Helen: I love this. If you could only sew one thing, what would it be? Constantly.

Caroline: Constantly. Yeah.

Helen: That’s the perfect answer. I want that one.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Mmhmm. Well, I think that just about sums it up.

Helen: Yes. Okay. Luckily, we don’t have to only sew one thing for the rest of our lives, but this was a really fun experiment. I enjoyed it.

Caroline: Yeah, it really was. And now I’m feeling really inspired. And luckily, I can sew whatever I want, so I’m gonna go do that.

Helen: Yeah, me too.

Caroline: That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Caroline, at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns, and Helen at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. And we are recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Helen: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes, and that’s over 75 hours of love to sew. So head to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Caroline: You can head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT? That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at [email protected]. We’re also on social media. Follow us on Instagram and Pixelfed @lovetosew.podcast, on Bluesky @lovetosewpodcast, and on facebook.com/lovetosewpod.

Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We will talk to you next week.

Caroline: No, we won’t.

Helen: Oh shoot. We will talk to you next season.

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Bye-bye.

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