Love to Sew

We each sewed an eyelet garment, and now we’re going to tell each other about it for the first time! We discuss our fabric choices, pattern choices, sewing experiences, and lots more.

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

Show Notes: 

From the Listener Feedback Section:

Caroline’s Eyelet Top:

A post shared by Antonella (@antotheartist)

Helen’s Eyelet Dress:

Our Previous Eyelet Me-Mades:

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Fabrics:

Patterns:

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 essentially all we wanna talk about.

Caroline: We each sewed an eyelet garment and now we’re gonna tell each other about it for the first time. We discuss our fabric choices, pattern choices, sewing experiences, and lots more.

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

Caroline: Ooh, Helen!

Helen: I know. I’m so excited. I feel like this new format is just blowing up, exploding.

Caroline: I know! In my, in my mind it is. I really had fun recording…well, actually, wait, I shouldn’t say I had fun because I think I had a whole, I went on a whole emotional journey in the last episode.

Helen: You had a transformative experience.

Caroline: I did. But it was really fun to try out a new format and fun to get our audience reaction and people seemed to love it.

Caroline: And then we both, like, listened back to the episode and enjoyed it. And then we had a conversation where we were like, “Maybe the whole podcast should just be this,” which it won’t be. That would be too much work. But it was really fun.

Helen: We love our other formats, too, but the sewing something and then revealing it to each other has been a lot of fun, and that’s what we’re gonna do today with eyelet. And we’re so pumped.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: But first we wanna do a quick little reminder that the best way to support us is by supporting us over on Patreon or Apple Podcasts.

Helen: You can join us over there and get access to bonus content every month. We have so much fun catching up with you all on those more casual bonus episodes. We actually talk a lot about what we’re sewing over there, so that’s always fun. And it really means a lot to us if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two.

Caroline: Yeah. And if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally get it. We appreciate so much that you’re listening right now and cheering us on. That is absolutely enough for us.

Helen: Yeah. Okay, Caroline, I feel like maybe we need to do a little update about our skorts from our last episode because we got so many lovely comments when we shared them online, especially yours, because you were on the fence about it. People are loving your skort. So how are you feeling about it now?

Caroline: I did wanna give an update because I feel like I was sharing some, like, more difficult parts of my sewing process in that episode. And it was a while back, like, I’ve had a little bit of time to process, and I will say, that skort was in a time out for a while. But I had to pull it back out when we were gonna release the episode and I wanted to get some content and film it. And so I tried it on again and I kind of came around to it, in a way. I don’t know if it’s gonna be, like, my go-to summer garment, but I was really focused on the fact that it was too short, and then when I put it on again with, like, a different outfit and like a longer top, I ended up wearing it with a Nicole Top for the content that I made for Instagram, and I just kind of wore it lower in my hips. It was, like, loose enough that I could sort of, like, pull it down a little bit and not wear it as much on my natural waist. And obviously, that made it longer and that did make a difference for me in the way that I, it looked like just that extra, like, inch or inch and a half really impacted how I felt in my body in that skirt. So, lesson would be, I guess, it would’ve been good to lengthen it, but also maybe try it on with some different outfits.

Helen: Styling is everything.

Caroline: Yeah, exactly. Styling is everything. I’m feeling better about it and I liked the way I looked in it when I was taking those videos and, and pictures and stuff for the pod. So I’m feeling good about it. And it was definitely a learning lesson. And I just wanna say thank you to all the listeners who just came out and said that they related and gave me compliments and really lifted me up when I wasn’t feeling amazing. And I’m just glad that it resonated with some of you folks and, yeah. Thank you. And it was really fun to read the comments. And your skort got some great responses, as well.

Helen: Oh, I know. Everybody is loving them. I know. It was so fun to share the finished versions with the listeners, too. And I’m really pumped to share the eyelets, as well, ’cause I have a feeling we made some pretty cool things.

Caroline: Yes, yes, totally. I cannot wait. Actually, while I was sewing my eyelet garment, I was pretty thrilled just thinking about the idea of revealing it to you and also discovering what you made.

Helen: This is a new form of motivation we didn’t even know existed.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I love it.

Caroline: Okay. I wanna share a little bit of listener feedback before we get into the eyelet chat. So this is feedback about our episode with Sewstine, and this is from Sophia. “Thank you for your podcast and for the really interesting episode with Christine Millar. I know how much work it is to make podcast episodes and yours are so carefully made and edited and researched. Christine Millar mentioned an unspoken rule in historical costume making about avoiding the 1860s. I live in Memphis, Tennessee, where the Ku Klux Klan has rallied in my memory and sometimes in historical costumes, so I understand how avoiding this time period can relate to one’s social values. But just two days ago I heard from four historians about Anna Murray Douglass, who made and cared for her husband Frederick Douglass’s clothing as he went on abolition speaking tours in Scotland in 1847-8 and 1859-60. Sir Isaac Julien’s installation “Lessons of the Hour” actually highlights her historical labour, mixing in careful shots of an actor playing Anna Murray Douglass sewing a bright blue coat on a hand-cranked machine before he goes to speak in Scotland. Frederick Douglass was the most photographed person in the world in his lifetime. The role of photography, and what one wore in one’s portraits, occupies central space in theory produced by African American thinkers. One more anecdote – Dr. Earnestine Jenkins showed a photo from her own collection of a young woman in Memphis just after the Civil War. She had the means to have her portrait taken at a studio run by white photographers. In it she reclines in a tailored, checked dress with complicated seams down the front. She likely engineered it well from an older garment and cared for it with small repairs. She was skilled and showed off! There’s room for historical costume sewers to experiment and repair the costumes they make, honouring talented Black sewists from the 1860s.”

Helen: Ooh! Hi, Sophia! Thank you so much for this incredibly thoughtful email and the education that you provided us. This is such a great point. Even in time periods like the mid-19th century where there was a lot of horrible stuff going on, there are heroes like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman that we can admire, plus a ton of unnamed people who were doing good in the world and making incredible things. The resources you shared are really wonderful. So we’ll make sure to link up Isaac Julian’s website; a short film of “Lessons of the Hour,” made in collaboration with the Edinburgh Art Festival; and some of Earnestine Jenkins’ amazing photograph collection. You definitely wanna have a look at that. It’s so cool. We also wanted to mention Cheyney McKnight, aka @NotYourMommasHistory on Instagram, a public historian and sewist who teaches a lot about the 19th century. Go follow her. She’s so cool. Add a little bit of historical sewing knowledge to your sewing practice.

Caroline: Yes, absolutely. Okay. Are we gonna move on, Helen?

Helen: Yes. I can’t wait.

Caroline: Okay. So this is our second ever “We Sew” episode. I feel like there are gonna be many more in the future. But this one is extra exciting because it’s more fabric-focused. The last one was garment-focused; this one is fabric-focused.

Helen: Yes. And so, in this episode, we’re going to be making projects using eyelet. And we wanna describe eyelet fabric for our listeners who might not be familiar with this: eyelet is a lightweight woven fabric that’s typically made out of cotton. It has a pattern of small holes that are bound by buttonhole stitches. Eyelet is also known as cutwork, or, oh, Caroline, I always mess this up. Let me try. Oh, no. Okay. Sorry.

Caroline: Oh wait. No, you try. You try.

Helen: Okay. Broderie anglaise. Okay, good. Yay. Classic eyelets are made of white fabric, but there are some really beautiful coloured versions you can buy, too. Uh-huh. There are. It’s true. I know.

Caroline: Spoiler alert.

Helen: Spoiler alert. There are little holes in the fabric, as I mentioned. And because the base fabric might be a bit sheer, people often choose to line eyelet garments or wear a slip underneath them. It’s really fun to play with the transparency, too. And eyelet fabrics have great dimension and texture. They are a classic choice for warm-weather clothing. So, summer, here we come!

Caroline: Yes, perfect timing. Ooh, I have a fun fact because another spoiler is that we designed a custom eyelet collection at Blackbird this year, and through that we learned that, when you’re manufacturing eyelet, the bigger the hole, the more expensive the fabric.

Helen: What? But you’re getting rid of fabric. No, that kind of makes sense. Is that ’cause there’s more thread involved, or?

Caroline: Yeah, I think so. Maybe harder to keep it stable. ‘Cause the more holes, the more, like, shifty things get. I’m not really sure the reasoning, to be honest, but we just were told that: big holes, big money.

Helen: Big holes, big money. Yeah, I’m curious about that. ‘Cause I feel like if you’d told me the opposite, you know, the smaller the holes, the more expensive, I would’ve been like, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: So who knows?

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah. And I mean, obviously you don’t want huge holes on your eyelet. Either way.

Helen: No, it does make it more difficult. Do you wanna tell us a bit more about the Blackbird Collection? I wanna hear about it.

Caroline: Yes! Okay. It’s actually dropping today, so you can go to the website and check it out. But we really wanted to do some really fun, kind of different eyelets in fun colours. So, eyelets often are available in just kind of classic colours. We’ve seen some fun, bright colours, but I don’t know. We’ve always had trouble finding, like, just the right ones that we like for our store. So we thought it’d be fun to design them. And I think the timing is good ’cause I feel like eyelet and broderie anglaise is having, like, a moment right now. So there are a few different designs and each of them come in a few different colours. And then we also have an eyelet trim that we’re bringing in, in white. So if you got, like, a white eyelet, you can use the trim to finish off the edges. And then it also, all of these eyelets come with a matching cotton voile. Like, we have the same color palette in a cotton voile so you can get matching lining for the eyelet. And it’s a really beautiful, soft cotton voile. It’s not too stiff. And I did use one of these fabrics for my make and I’m really excited for you to see it. And I loved working with it. So I’m hoping that everyone likes these eyelets as much as we do.

Helen: I love them. I didn’t, I didn’t get to use one for my project. I used something else ’cause it wasn’t available yet, but I’m so excited about them. Especially the, like, windowpane one. You have one that’s like a bunch of squares and it looks kind of like a window and it’s just, like, so gorgeous. It’s like eyelet without the, like, super floral-y style.

Caroline: Mm-hmm. Yeah. A bit more geometric. Well, very much more geometric.

Helen: Yeah. Sharp angles. Yeah. It’s so cool.

Caroline: Yes, it was definitely cutting it really close. This collection was delayed a couple times and I actually got the fabric in my hands one week ago to make this garment. So, not to say that I would’ve started earlier anyways, ’cause you know I love sewing last minute. But it was touch-and-go there.

Helen: Well, I’m glad it all worked out. Do you have any prior experience sewing eyelet? ‘Cause you guys have carried it before, I believe, right?

Caroline: Yeah. I was, like, trying to think of the eyelet projects that I’ve done. ‘Cause I’m gonna talk about two here, but I feel like I’ve done more. I just can’t really remember. But I did make an eyelet dress for my sister about 10 years ago, maybe a little bit over 10 years ago. It was the Chantilly Dress, which was from Colette Patterns, which is now Seamwork. Formerly Colette. Very, like, feminine, ruching around the chest and, like, gathered skirt. Very, very cute. And I can dig up some pictures. I know I have pictures of that dress. And I think I still have it, actually. It has a hole in it that I need to repair and it’s been sitting in my sewing room for years, so I should really get to that.

Caroline: But then last summer I also made a Selina Skirt hack in a white eyelet that I’ve been wearing a ton. I love it so much. So yeah, big fan of eyelet. Would love to make more eyelet things. I’m very inspired. I’m sure you’re gonna inspire me, too. So I feel like I see more eyelet in my future, even beyond the project that we’re gonna talk about today.

Helen: Yeah, it is pretty fun to work with. I haven’t made very many eyelet things. The only thing I could think of was a black Reynolds Top that I made when we did the pattern release for that pattern. And I didn’t line it or anything, so it was kind of like a sheer moment. And I really liked it, but I ended up parting with it recently ’cause it was too small, so I consigned it. But it was really cute and I do think a little pop of eyelet in the form of, like, a cute tank top is a nice way to dabble. You don’t have to make, you know, a full on cottagecore gown, you know?

Caroline: Wait, is that a clue, Helen?

Helen: No! I went so over the top of this project. Just you wait.

Caroline: Oh my God, I’m so excited. This is thrilling.

Helen: Thrilling stuff.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay. Who should go first? Who should go first?

Helen: I don’t know!

Caroline: Wait, are we gonna guess what each other made?

Helen: Oh yeah, we wanted to do that. Okay, so I’m picturing…why don’t you go first.

Caroline: Okay.

Helen: So I’ll guess for you.

Caroline: Okay. Well, I kind of know the fabric that you used because you spoiled it because you were telling us about it in one of our podcast meetings.

Helen: I know, It was early days. Literally the moment we were deciding that we were gonna do eyelet, I was like, “I know what fabric I’m gonna use.”

Caroline: But actually, to be honest, I know it’s a melon-coloured eyelet, but in my mind I’m, like, kind of mixed up because I think I originally thought it was gonna be orange-y, but then maybe it’s more of a green melon. But maybe it’s orange. I don’t know. So this’ll be a surprise either way. ‘Cause I don’t actually remember what melon colour.

Helen: It’s one of the melons. It could be watermelon.

Caroline: It’s, it could be, it could be watermelon. No, I think you went dress. I think you went dress with it. I think you leaned in and needed full melon dress.

Helen: A melon dress. Well you can have a look at my video that I sent you now and I will describe it. Let me know when you hit play.

Caroline: Oh my God. Hold on. I’m so excited. Ahh! Oh my gosh. Okay, hold on. I’m looking at the…oh, wow.

Helen: Okay, so I made the True Bias Lora Dress, which I think came out a year, maybe two years ago. And when it came out, I was jaw-on-the-floor about this design. I absolutely love this dress. I’ve been meaning to make it since it came out. It’s, like, just kind of a dream dress for me. I love the silhouette. I just know it’s perfect for me. And it comes with a sleeved option, and the sleeves are incredible and would’ve looked great in the eyelet, but I felt like they would be, in this colour, a little bit much. So I did the sleeveless view. It has spaghetti straps, it has an empire waist, beautiful gathering under the bust. It has a straight skirt, kind of a fitted silhouette, and it’s got the cutest little buttons and button loops down the front. It’s very, like, dainty and sweet, pretty and springy and romantic. I chose an incredibly bold colour for this. It’s, like, the green melon. It is the honeydew. It is like neon honeydew. And I’m so into the colour. I think it looks really great with my kind of pale complexion and my dark hair. Something about this colour, I’m always drawn to it and I don’t see it very often in fabric. So when we decided to do the eyelet episode, I was like, “I have been passing by this eyelet fabric at Fabricland.” Every time I go there, I’m like, “Oh, that melon eyelet just calling my name,” but I didn’t have a reason to buy it. And then when you suggested we do eyelet for this episode, I was like, “I can finally go get the melon eyelet!”

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: And I was so excited. So that’s what I did.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, it’s so cute. First of all, the pattern fits you so well.

Helen: I know, right?

Caroline: Like, it’s quite fitted around the bust and under the bust, and it’s just perfect on you. So I’m really excited to hear if you made a muslin and how all of that process went. But no, I do, I love the colour on you. It’s not as, I don’t know why I was imagining, like, more volume.

Helen: Mmhmm. Like, extra. I did say it was, like, over the top, but I feel like it’s over the top in this, like, dainty, feminine way. That’s not my typical style, you know?

Caroline: Yeah. And it’s quite a sleek silhouette. Like, really simple, which I think really lets the eyelet shine. Did you get, like, a matching lining or…? Wow. So they sold, they were selling the same colour of, like, plain cotton?

Helen: No, they were not.

Caroline: Oh, okay. Wait, okay. I need more information.

Helen: So what I decided to do, because this color is not a color you see very often, and I, I thought about lining it with white or even black, like, something to, like, make the eyelet pop. ‘Cause you can do that with eyelet, right? You don’t have to do matching. You could do contrast and then you end up with some cool duo tone kind of effects. But I thought lining it with a matching green would be ideal. So what I ended up doing was matching it to my Art Gallery Fabrics quilting wall, ’cause I have all the chips on, like, little magnets on my wall.

Caroline: Helen, that’s so smart.

Helen: I know, right? I was like, “Oh, I can just pick one.” So I end up going with, I think it’s called Pistachio. And I ordered a bunch of it online from my quilting store that I like ordering from, Peace Fabric Co. over in Alberta, and it’s a perfect match. So that was really great. And Art Gallery lawns, they’re a little bit lighter than quilting cotton. They’re not quite as stiff as your average quilting cotton because they are lawns. So they have a little bit more of a luster and a little bit more drape. It’s still a bit stiff. Like, ideally it would’ve been a voile or something like that. But I think, like, in a pinch, it was kind of the perfect option for me.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Mmhmm. Yeah, it looks so good. Honestly, I am surprised. It’s not what I was expecting, but I love it. I love it so much. Wow.

Helen: I think it’s the perfect wedding guest dress.

Caroline: Totally. Oh my gosh. Like, a summer garden wedding? Gorgeous. Yes. Okay. Helen, are you ready to look at mine?

Helen: I am so ready. Okay. Wait. But first I have to guess what you made.

Caroline: Oh, yeah. Okay.

Helen: Oh, I’ve seen the collection, but I don’t know which one you chose. I think you told me which one you were gonna choose. Maybe it was the red one. I think it’s the red one. And I think you made a matching set. I think you made, like, a elastic waist skirt with some gathering, and I think you made, like, a kind of billowy peasant top to go with it. And so it’s, like, matching, but you could wear it as separates. So that’s my guess.

Caroline: Okay. Okay.

Helen: I’m so excited. Okay, hold on. Let me get, pull up your video. It is the red one! It is a peasant top! Oh my god, it’s so pretty. Oh, okay. Wait, what pattern is this?

Caroline: It’s a hack.

Helen: Oh, fun.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. I’ll tell you about it.

Helen: Oh my gosh. It’s so cute. Yeah, it’s got, like, these gorgeous gathers along the bust and then the arms. Oh, this looks so good. Are you thrilled with this?

Caroline: I am so happy with it. I love it. Okay, so you guessed basically halfway right? Or, like, two thirds of the way right. ‘Cause I did use the red and I did make a billowy, kind of, peasant-y top. It’s the red from our new collection and then matching cotton voile. The red just spoke to me. I was originally gonna use, we had, like, a darker kind of, like, purple-y brown, but then when we got the fabrics in and I kind of knew the direction I wanted to go pattern-wise, I was like, “I think red is, is the move.” And I also could really imagine wearing it on my vacation this summer. So I went with that. So this is a heavily, heavily hacked Sundaze Dress from Les Perlines. So, do you remember I made this for our friend’s wedding two summers ago? It’s, like, a puff sleeve dress with, like, gathering around the bust and a keyhole neck opening. So I went in that direction, but instead of having it be a dress, I just extended the, like, top part down so it’s more of a top. And then I had to change the back because the back sort of had shirring that led into the skirt and I didn’t wanna do that. So I changed that. I, like, extended the back to be a little bit wider. And then I put an elastic into the back neck line to, like, cinch it all in. I knew I wanted it to be, like, really loose and billowy and, like, a little bit cropped. And I added, instead of having the ties extend over the shoulders and to the front, I had, I had an elastic over the shoulders. So it felt, like, a little bit more snug, I guess. And then the elastic attaches to a tie that ties in the front. So it’s all, like, in this casing over the shoulders in the front. But anyways, I can get more into that. I feel like I’m getting too technical right now.

Helen: No, it’s so cute.

Caroline: But I also wanna say that I was super inspired by Antonella, who is @AntoTheArtist on Instagram. She shared a top out of our gingham linen that is very similar to this, and I totally fell in love, but it’s self drafted. So my brain was just, like, spinning, trying to figure out, like, “I don’t really wanna completely self-draft. Can I hack a pattern that I have to make it similar?” And I was kind of, like, doing a little bit of browsing and I ended up on the Les Perlines website because Sarah just does such a great job with this sort of style of, like, really feminine, gathered, puff sleeve, like, tied kind of garments. So I, I felt like she would have something that I could work with. And it turns out, I own the pattern already. And I did reach out to Antonella to let her know that I was gonna be doing this and got her blessing to mention her on the show and stuff.

Helen: Oh, that’s sweet.

Caroline: But yes, it’s, it turned out really, really well. And I’ll, maybe I’ll send you the picture of her top, hold on a second, so you can see.

Helen: Yeah, I’d like to see that. It’s really cute. I like how, in the video, you’re showing that it can be worn with the puff sleeves more up on the shoulders. Or you could kind of pull it down if you want, like an off-the-shoulder look.

Caroline: Yes. That was kind of, like, a surprise bonus because I put the elastic in the shoulder. Once I tried it on, I was like, “Oh, what if I could wear this as like a little off-the-shoulder moment? And it worked really well.

Helen: Yeah. Oh, this is really cute.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s cute, right?

Helen: Yeah. I love this. Mmhmm. Yeah. Hers has, like, a little back tie, too. I like that detail.

Caroline: Which I was originally thinking of doing, but then it stayed on really nicely without it, and I felt like that would’ve interfered with my ability to have it, like, off the shoulder. So I went with just no tie in the back.

Helen: Yeah, this red looks fantastic on you. It’s not, like, fire engine, but it’s also not, like, wine. It’s, like, in between. It’s like a rich, juicy red, you know?

Caroline: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It’s not an orange-y red. It’s more of like a cool tone red, but it’s still pretty bright. I’m really happy with it. I know I’m gonna wear a ton.

Helen: It’s fantastic. You should be, this will look so cute on your trip. It’s perfect. It’s perfect.

Caroline: Yay! Okay. We did the big reveal.

Helen: Are you gonna make a matching skirt now? As, as per my idea?

Caroline: Honestly, that is a really cute idea. I don’t think so, right now.

Helen: It would be a lot. It would look almost like, I don’t know. Like, it’d have, like, a flamenco vibe.

Caroline: I know. I was gonna say, it’s, it’s like that dancing emoji. Like, I’d be like, I would be the dancing emoji.

Helen: Nothing wrong with that.

Caroline: No. Oh my gosh. Okay. Well, I think we both did really good with this challenge.

Helen: I know, I’m so proud of us. Yeah. I really had a lot of fun with this one. Definitely got outta my comfort zone a little bit with my sewing, so that was cool.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay. Can you tell me about your actual experience sewing it up? Did you make a muslin? Did you have to do any fit adjustments? What was that like?

Helen: Yeah, so I did make a muslin because, you know me.

Caroline: Of course.

Helen: And it’s a fitted dress. So with, like, the bust fit, I didn’t wanna end up with anything, like, that didn’t fit well in the front. So I did whip up a quick little muslin and, lo and behold, it fit like a dream. Just, like, one of those sewing moments where I’m like, “Ugh. The sewing gods are smiling down upon me. They’ve blessed me with the perfect fit. I’m so grateful.” And, I mean, Kelly at True Bias, their patterns fit me really well, and I knew that, but it’s been a minute since I made a True Bias pattern. So it was fun to come back and make one of her patterns again and be reminded of how well-drafted they are. It was so good.

Caroline: I feel like Kelly’s patterns are kind of magical, ’cause they often fit me right out of the quote-unquote envelope, and I don’t know how she does it.

Helen: She is good. She is real good.

Caroline: Yeah, she is really good at drafting.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: The only things I did was: I took in the back darts on the skirt a little bit and the back bodice to match, just to get a little bit of a better fit at the mid-back. But other than that, I didn’t make any changes. I decided not to lengthen it. Even though I didn’t lengthen the muslin for my height, but when I tried on the muslin, I was like, “I like this length.” So I just left it as-is. But yeah, the drafting was spot-on for me, so that was really fun. And the only other changes I made during the sewing was that she has you interface both the outer fabric and the lining on the bodice, which makes sense. But, of course, working with the eyelet, interfacing can become a bit tricky, because there’s holes, so you don’t want, like, glue interfacing showing.

Helen: So I just interfaced the cotton lawn underneath. And I used a white interfacing. And I applied it all and then I realized, oh, because of the hole…again with the holes. Like, this interfacing’s going to show through because I don’t want the, like, the interfacings not gonna be facing my skin. It’s gonna be facing out. And it was one of those moments where I’m, like, trying to, like, A Beautiful Mind it. I’m like, “Which direction is which? And where? What’s going where?”

Caroline: And you’re like, “Is there a way I can make this work?”

Helen: Yeah. And then, ultimately, I was just like, I laid the eyelet over the interfaced piece, and I was like, “Oh, it’s fine. Like, if anything, it just sort of accents the edge and you can’t even really see it.” So I just decided to go with it. So if you look really closely, you can see. I think you’d have to be, like, literally about to motorboat me to see the interfacing.

Caroline: Wait, where is the interfacing? I can’t even see it. It looks green.

Helen: Yeah, it’s, like, along the whole edge of the bust pieces and then down the whole center front.

Caroline: Oh, I see. Okay. Yes, yes, yes.

Helen: You can see it’s, like, just a slight little bit, like, brighter.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: But like, you would not notice it if I didn’t tell you it was there, you know?

Caroline: Yeah. No, no. Totally. Like, no one’s gonna be zooming in on your boobs this close, you know?

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah. No, it’s, I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t pointed it out. Awesome.

Helen: Yeah, that was the only moment where I was like, “Oh, I have not thought this through. Oh no, I made a terrible mistake.” Oh, and then also, the Lora Dress has the lined bodice, but doesn’t have a lined skirt. So I did extend, I basically just made two skirts. Then I just treated one as the lining and one as the outer. And so I did end up adding a skirt lining, which wasn’t hard to do, ’cause there’s a facing down the front already. So I just sort of followed the construction as instructed, but with the lining as a part of it.

Caroline: And where does the lining, does it go all the way down to the hem?

Helen: Yeah. And so then I had to decide if I was gonna hem them separately or together. It’s better to hem separately because they could drape differently and the fabric will hang better. But I hemmed mine together because it was sewn in as the front facing, it was already fully attached all the way to the hem along the center front. So then I basically just made the decision that I didn’t care that much and hemmed them together.

Caroline: Yeah, I had this same beautiful mind moment with my wedding dress ’cause it’s a very similar construction to this down the front. And I remember getting to the bottom and being like, “How am I going to…” I wanted to hem them separately and I, like, I don’t remember what I did, but I figured something out. But it took a lot of, you know, it took a lot of brain power.

Helen: I probably should have, and if, over time, I what I, my thought process was like, “I’m going to do it together and then I’m gonna wear it and wash it and, like, live with it. And if I hate it because it’s like bubbling and hanging differently and it looks weird, I will just unpick the hem and I’ll do something else.”

Caroline: Yeah, totally. Yeah, I think that’s a good call.

Helen: Yeah. I mean, I will admit that it was kind of borne out of laziness.

Caroline: You know what? No judgment from me.

Helen: Yeah. I’m like, “I’m finishing this dress today and I don’t have time for this.” Okay. How about you? How was your fit process?

Caroline: Okay. So I had a dress that I had already made out of this pattern. I tried it on again to make sure it’s still fit, and then I was like, “This is good enough.”

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Which, I know, was a risk, because this was very hacked. Like, I extended the sleeves, I extended the bodice pieces. The back of the dress, I sort of put the two back pieces together into one. And then I extended those and I made them wider. Like, I made quite a few adjustments, and going into sewing it, I didn’t exactly know how it was gonna come together, so I just, like, looked at the instructions and I was like, “I’m just gonna take this one step at a time and, like, I know this is gonna come together. It’s gonna be fine.” So I think it was like a bit of a risk to hack this pattern so heavily and not make a muslin, but like, I had a week and I am who I am, so.

Helen: Yeah, you, you sew how you sew.

Caroline: Yeah. And I had a really similar experience to you with this, with, for me, it was more seam finishes, because there were parts where the lining attaches to the outer bodice and you had to sort of like trim the seams and grade the seams or, like, cut into the curves to, like, kind of make everything lay flat. But I was like, “This is gonna be somewhat exposed.” ‘Cause you’ll see the seam through the eyelet holes, even though the holes are really small. And I was worried that, over time, if I didn’t finish the seam allowance…’cause normally if it’s just, like, inside, you don’t really have to finish the seam allowance. And even if it frays a little bit, it’s all, like, hidden, right? But I knew that if I washed it, it would probably fray and the seam allowance would, like, knot up. So I was like, “I know I need to finish this somehow.” So I ended up clipping the parts that needed to be clipped and then running them through my serger.

Helen: Mm. Yeah.

Caroline: And when I ran them through my serger, I, like, made sure to, like, separate them a little bit, like each little chunk of fabric, so that it had some movement there. And then at least I know that I can, like, wash it and it won’t fray. For the most part, it didn’t finish, like, the little clipped parts, you know, like, the part that touches the stitch line or almost touches the stitch line. That part’s not finished, but I feel like there’s enough of the seam lines finished that it should be fine and I feel comfortable, like, washing it and, but it did, for a moment, I was like, “Oh, how am I gonna do this and make it look good?”

Helen: That’s a great tip, though, for underarms, especially, have that issue. Typically, when you go to serge them, especially if you’re not cutting off a lot when you’re serging, if you like to leave more seam allowance, it’s nice to clip in and spread them out and then serge along that clipped seam so you have movement.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. The other thing I fiddled with, which I kind of alluded to earlier, was I knew, like, the original pattern had shirring in the back and then, it’s kind of unique, you have to, like, see it to understand. But, like, there was a tie that went from like the back neckline over the shoulder and then through the front neckline. And then you sort of, like, gather up the fabric and you distribute that to make it sit where you want it to sit. So it’s, like, kind of a little bit convertible, which is nice. And it can grow or shrink with you however you wanna wear it. But I wanted to have elastic in the shoulder, but then the tie in the front. So I sewed, like, a length of elastic to a tie so it was connected, but I inserted the elastic over, like, into the seam allowance where the back shoulder meets the back neck line. And then, yeah, so the elastic kind of went through that casing and then it sort of, like, changed to a tie in the front. So it makes it kind of, like, stretchy and sits really nicely on the shoulder. And I was a little bit worried. There’s also elastic in the hem of the sleeves. I was a little worried, ’cause I only had black or white elastic, that that would show through the eyelet. Because it’s sort of, like, inserted in between the eyelet and the lining. But I ended up going with black, truly ’cause that’s what I had enough of.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: And it’s fine. I don’t think it shows, I think, like, the holes are small enough and it’s gathered up enough that it’s not noticeable. So it, that ended up being fine. I was, like, worried it would be really obvious, but it wasn’t. So that worked out. Yeah.

Helen: Cool. Yeah, that’s kind of like me with my interfacing, too.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah, totally.

Helen: Yeah, seam finishes are interesting with eyelet, for sure. Like, I think people do tend to do French seams. Like, you kind of wanna keep it tidy on the inside because it will be visible and also just to strengthen it.

Caroline: Yeah. And, like, you could underline, depending on the garment. Let’s say you’re doing something, like, really fitted. You could underline all of the eyelet pieces, but it would add quite a bit of structure, right? So, like, say if you didn’t wanna worry about the interfacing, I think you could have underlined all of your eyelet pieces and then lined it as well. But that would have been three layers of fabric.

Helen: I know, right? Yeah. That would work if you, yeah, if you were doing something really structured.

Caroline: Yeah. Again, that’s kind of what I did for my wedding dress, which, duh. I actually used eyelet on my wedding dress, so.

Helen: Oh, there you go. That’s a big one.

Caroline: That’s another eyelet project. That’s what it was. Dur. But yeah, I think that’s what I did in my wedding dress. I, like, underlined all the pieces and then also lined.

Helen: Also lined. Yeah, that would be a really nice finish. Yeah. How did you find sewing the eyelet?

Caroline: Okay. I didn’t find it tricky at all, but I think it’s because my particular eyelet had really small holes. And so it was really easy to work with. It didn’t feel tricky. But I know other eyelets with bigger holes, it’s, like, a little bit humpier, you know? Like, when you’re sewing through, it’s like, dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun.

Helen: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mine was definitely more like that. Like, the holes aren’t huge by any means, but I think they are bigger than the ones on yours. There’s, like, some big circles. Mine’s kind of, like, I didn’t really describe it, but it’s like circles and leaves, I think is what it’s like. Fronds and circles. There’s no flowers. I don’t know what the circles are supposed to be. Just circles, I guess. But because of those big holes, it was definitely awkward at times. Like, the edges would pucker as I sewed them because as soon as the machine was not stitching on anything, it would start, like, gathering up a little bit. So I was having some issues with that. And then, like, stay stitching, for example. Like, anything on a single layer, it was like, “No, I don’t like this.”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And then also, the bumps and holes can make it hard to maintain a consistent seam allowance. So that can feel a bit frustrating. Like, you’re used to being able to sew straight and then, all of a sudden, the eyelet sort of, like, it’s like driving over like a poorly paved road, you know? You’re like, “Whoa!”

Caroline: “There’s potholes every centimeter!”

Helen: Exactly. But it’s also cotton, so it does press well and it’s pretty easy to handle in that regard. So there’s some benefits and drawbacks, for sure. But I think if you’re nervous about sewing eyelet, definitely go smaller holes and you’ll be totally fine.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. So did you finish most of your seams with a serger, or how did you?

Helen: I actually didn’t, and maybe I’ll regret that. Listening to you talk about how they’re gonna unravel, I was like, “Hmm.” Because I decided to, like, fully enclose the inside of mine. I just left all the seams, like, I just pressed them open and I left them raw. So we’ll see how that goes.

Caroline: Okay. Well, maybe we’ll get an update next season.

Helen: Yeah, I don’t think it’s gonna be a heavily worn item of clothing. This is, like, a occasion dress, you know? I’d like to try styling it for more casual. Like, it’s definitely giving wedding guest attire. It could be giving garden party or, like, barbecue.

Caroline: Yeah, I was gonna say, I could see you, like, having lunch on a patio this summer in this dress, you know?

Helen: Yeah, right? With the right styling? I think it’s just, that melon colour feels very wedding to me for some reason. But I do wanna wear it just as, like, a casual eyelet summer dress. But the bust fit is very, like, “Look at my chest.” So there’s also that element to it, where it’s like, how presenting do I wanna be, you know?

Caroline: Yeah, this is…okay, so I was gonna ask you, like, do you feel like you went out of your style comfort zone with this make?

Helen: Yes and no. It’s definitely a bit more feminine and fancier than I usually go for. And it’s out of my sewing comfort zone, for sure, because I don’t tend to choose projects that are complex like this. I love a quick sew. That’s, like, why all of my patterns are pretty straightforward. I like things that are a little bit more casual, everyday wearable. I am not getting super dressed up a lot, so I don’t tend to go for things like this, especially when I’m sewing. Like, I was quite intimidated by this project. I’m like, there’s the bust pieces and gathering and then there’s, like, these little loops down the center with little buttons and all these like kind of fiddly details that I don’t tend to gravitate towards with my sewing. So in that regard, it was definitely outside of my comfort zone. And then, style-wise, yeah, it’s just a little bit more dressy than I usually go for on the day-to-day. But you know I love a spaghetti strap. I love a tank top. And I like a dress, you know, I definitely wear lots of dresses, so it’s adjacent, for sure. It’s in my wheelhouse.

Caroline: Yeah. It feels kind of similar, in some ways, to the other True Bias pattern that you’ve made, that you wore it to Frocktails with, like, the wrap.

Helen: Oh, the Calvin? Yeah.

Caroline: The Calvin Wrap Dress. ‘Cause it’s got a similar sort of, like, busty, like…

Helen: A V.

Caroline: Yeah. Like, a presenting…

Helen: A presenting bust?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I literally never heard that before. I don’t know why I said it like that, but.

Caroline: It really works, though. I was, like, painting a picture. I present to you: my breasts.

Helen: It feels that way, for sure. And I’m relatively comfortable with that. So that’s not an issue. But it is just, like, something you think about when you’re getting dressed to go somewhere.

Caroline: Yeah. I actually feel similarly about the original Les Perlines Sundaze Dress that I made to wear to that wedding. ‘Cause it is quite boob forward, you know? And like, I remember thinking, like, “I would love to wear this to work, but it feels like a little bit much.” You know, it’s like, it’s, it’s just, like, one notch up. So I’m like, I actually think I’m gonna bring that dress on my trip this summer, but like, I’m gonna wear it to, like, dinner. You know? Not for a day of sightseeing. Yeah. We’ll see.

Helen: Yeah. Those, that style with the gathering on top of the bust and then the gathering below the bust, it really does, like, accentuate everything.

Caroline: Yeah. Totally.

Helen: Yeah. How about you? This feels pretty much in your wheelhouse, I would say.

Caroline: Yeah, yeah. It feels pretty comfy for me. I mean, I will say, the, like, puff of the sleeve is pretty intense and, like, it’s, like, very gathered and voluminous, but I guess I do wear gathered and voluminous things, so…

Helen: It kind of reminds me of your red block print top that you wear that’s very, like, ’cause it sticks out from the body and kinda has this fun movement around the waist and, yeah, it looks great on you.

Caroline: Yeah, yeah. No, I’m really happy with it and it, I can see it integrating so well into my wardrobe. I actually think it would be so cute with the white eyelet skirt that I have, paired together. So, yeah. And it looks great with…

Helen: Real Canada vibe.

Caroline: Yeah, I’ll be wearing that on Canada Day. But it looks great with jeans.

Helen: For sure.

Caroline: I think it would look really cute with, like, a little elastic waist pant in a complementary color.

Helen: I was considering a styling of my dress, like, just buttoned down to the waist and then jeans underneath the dress, like, could be kind of cool. I don’t know.

Caroline: I mean, dress over pants, that’s in, right? We didn’t talk about it in our Trends episode, but.

Helen: That’s an easy one to play around with styling.

Helen: I also think that, as I was making this, because the fit was so good, I thought it would make a really cute top. Like, you could just hack it off and sew a top, especially in the eyelet. It’s very romantic and that kind of romantic, camisole style from the aughties tops are really popular right now. And so I thought that would be a fun way to, like, play around with the trend even further and just do, like, a touch of eyelet.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Yeah, really cute.

Helen: Okay. Caroline, if you could go back in time and give yourself a piece of advice before you started sewing your garment, what would that be?

Caroline: Honestly, I wouldn’t change anything about this. I had a really fun time sewing it. It didn’t take too long. There wasn’t really anything frustrating about it. I enjoyed the, like, mystery of how this is gonna come together. Like, I knew it would work, but I didn’t know exactly how, and I really enjoyed that. So I think my advice would be like, “Forge on. You got this. Have fun.”

Helen: Yeah, I was so confused. Like, “for John.” I thought you were like, “Dear John.”

Caroline: No, no.

Helen: I’m like, who’s John?

Caroline: No, forge on, like, like, don’t, don’t worry. You, you’re, you got this. It’s not really advice, it’s more encouragement, but the peace of mind knowing that it would work out would’ve been nice. So, yeah, I don’t know. Future me telling past me, “It’s all gonna be great.”

Helen: Yeah, that’s similar to what I would say about mine, which is just that: “It’s not gonna be as hard as you think it’s gonna be.” I kind of had built this project up in my head as being a quite challenging sew and it really wasn’t. So if anyone else is interested in making the Lora dress, go for it. It’s not that hard to sew. It came together really quickly, actually. There’s lots of little, like, the little loops down the front but, you know, you just make one long loop and then you chop it up into pieces and you slap ’em on there. It’s, like, not that complicated, but I had definitely built it up in my mind as being a hard project and it wasn’t. So, yeah, that would be my advice.

Caroline: I feel like, yeah, this is like a take your own advice situation. ‘Cause it is just a series of small steps.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: I’ve heard you say this many times, Helen, like, “You can totally do it. Just break it up into small chunks.” And I feel like it is quite relatable, as a sewist, to, like, look at a garment that you’ve never made, with techniques that you’ve never tried, and feel, like, almost that paralysis of like, “Oh gosh, I have to do all these new things.” New things are hard, but they can also be really fun and satisfying. And then you have, like, a new technique in your arsenal.

Helen: It’s true. Yeah. You’re building up your experience. Totally. Yeah. Yeah, it was definitely fun to sew. I enjoyed it.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay. Helen, how did you feel about eyelet before making this episode, and how do you feel about it now? Have your feelings changed?

Helen: I think my feelings have changed. I don’t think I had a strong opinion about eyelet beforehand, so I guess it’s more just that my interest in sewing with this fabric has definitely increased. I would like to make more eyelet projects in the future. And I do feel like I have more experience under my belt working with this fabric, now that I’ve done a project that includes lining and the inter, the whole interfacing situation. I have a lot more experience now, I feel like, so I’m excited to sew more eyelet in the future. How about you?

Caroline: Okay. I don’t think my feelings about eyelet have changed too much. They’ve strengthened because… I feel like I’m on The Bachelor. My feelings, I’m, I’m not just falling in love. I’m, I am in love.

Helen: What? But it’s only week five!

Caroline: I love eyelet.

Helen: Too soon!

Caroline: Uh, no, I already did really like eyelet a lot. And now I’m just, I’m even more into it and I’m really excited to work with it more. I just think it’s such a fun, exciting fabric to work with and it, it adds texture and interest and there’s just something really, like, romantic about eyelet and I think it just adds a little something something to a project. So I’m excited to work with more eyelet this summer. I already have ideas brewing, so, yeah.

Helen: Ooh, wait. Tell, say, say more.

Caroline: Ooh. Okay. Well, I wanna do our new pattern, the Daphne Top and Dress. I want to do just a simple top, like the, not with a peplum, but just the regular top version. And I think I wanna try keeping it sheer, like, keeping, I guess it’s not really sheer ’cause, you know, it depends on the size of the holes, right?

Helen: Keeping it transparent?

Caroline: Yeah, a little bit more transparent, so, not lining the main part, but then I can line the, like, yoke and the straps with the matching cotton. So I wanna try that. I’d also really love to do something in, like, a white, like a top with a white eyelet, like, very feminine, with the broderie anglaise, like, trim and, like, lots of, like, frilly gathers and something that feels, like, really a little bit out of my style comfort zone. There’s a lot of inspo from the brand Doên. I think that’s how you say it. But if you look that up there, they do a lot of this kind of, like, white and some black eyelet, really, like, girly, romantic pieces that are quite pretty and unique.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: So I want to experiment with something like that.

Helen: Ooh, that all sounds amazing.

Caroline: What about you?

Helen: I love the windowpane eyelet. So I’m probably gonna be getting that one. And I really love it in the black.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: It’s so pretty. And I feel like black eyelet has the romance, but it also has the drama. You know, it feels dark and mysterious and moody and I love that. And I’m picturing, like, a gathered elastic waist skirt with a gathered tier but, like, having the lining just be short so that it’s very sheer around the bottom. Or maybe even just wearing it with, like, black bike shorts underneath, you know? So it’s, like, sheer all the way around. Yeah, something like that is what I’m picturing in my mind for my next eyelet project. I do have another eyelet in my stash that’s like Barbie pink, but I don’t know what to do with it, so maybe I also need to figure out what to do with that one.

Caroline: That sounds really fun. I have some eyelet, like, inspo boards that we put together when we were designing our collection. Maybe I’ll send them your way if you wanna see some, like, different examples and iterations of, like, what you could do with eyelet. There’s just so many possibilities.

Helen: So many possibilities. I mean, I love your top. I wanna copy that now, too.

Caroline: Yeah, you are welcome to.

Helen: Thank you.

Caroline: Yeah, no, I’m so excited that we did this episode. I kind of wanna hear from our listeners. Well, one, let us know your eyelet sewing experience and if you have a favourite eyelet garment. If you have experience or, like, advice on seam finishes with eyelet. What did we miss? Let us know.

Helen: Yeah, tag us in your eyelet projects. If you wanna share on social this week, tag us and then we can reshare. That would be really fun.

Caroline: Yes. But I also wanna hear what you think our next “We Sew” episode should be, ’cause we have an idea for next season, but I feel like we’ll probably do more than one, so. Yeah. Let us know what you think would be fun.

Helen: Get us out of our comfort zones, too. I’m having a lot of fun exploring different styles, different fabrics, so I’m loving that element of this. So if you have something you’d really like to see Caroline and I try, let’s hear it.

Caroline: Yes, absolutely. Alright, Helen. Well, I’m gonna go dream about my next eyelet make. Gotta go.

Helen: Me too. I’ll let you go.

Caroline: Oh, okay.

Helen: Get it? Get it?

Caroline: Yeah, I get it. I get it.

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 links and pictures from this episode. Lots of pictures of our makes, if you wanna see those right now. 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]. And we’re on social media. You can follow us on Instagram and Pixelfed @lovetosew.podcast and on Bluesky @lovetosewpodcast and on facebook.com/lovetosewpod.

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 for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.

Helen: Buh-bye.

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In this episode, we chat about a really interesting email we got from a listener who doesn’t enjoy the sewing process. We talk about sewing for practical reasons versus sewing for the process, how to make the sewing process more enjoyable, and how to decide whether sewing is worth it. Plus, we have some fun voicemails from listeners to start it all off!

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

Show Notes: 

From the Listener Feedback Section:

Resources:

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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 all we ever talk about.

Helen: In this episode, we’re going to chat about a really interesting email we got from a listener who doesn’t enjoy the sewing process. We’re gonna talk about sewing for practical reasons versus sewing for the process, how to make the sewing process more enjoyable, and how to decide whether sewing is worth it for you.

Helen: Plus, we have some fun voicemails from listeners to start it all off.

Caroline: If you love to sew, this is your show. Hello, everybody! And Helen.

Helen: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What? “Hello, everybody?”

Caroline: Hello, everybody! Other than Helen…no, I’m kidding.

Helen: Hello.

Caroline: How are you?

Helen: I love that. Maybe we should change the opening to the show.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know what I did there. That was weird. Wow.

Helen: We’re bringing everyone into this conversation today.

Caroline: We really are.

Helen: Okay. Before we get to our super fun voicemails, which I’m very excited about, we wanna remind you that you can join us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions and help support Love to Sew by subscribing over there and getting access to our bonus content.

Caroline: Yes, we release bonus content every single month and we have so much fun catching up with you all and each other on those more casual bonus episodes. Sometimes it’s all fresh and we haven’t even talked before, and you’re hearing our reactions in real time. It’s riveting.

Helen: Yeah, that is my favourite part. It really means so much if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two, and get access to some of that content. And if it’s not in the cards for you right now, that’s also totally fine. We get it. Thank you for listening. Thank you for following along, and thank you for sewing, first and foremost.

Caroline: Yes. Thank you for sewing. Yeah. Okay. We’re gonna start this episode with some voicemails from our listeners, and first up, we have one from Jamie.

Jamie: Hi, this is Jamie from California. In your last show you said you were looking for a pattern and I wanted to tell you my new favourite way of finding a pattern that I want to sew when I’m like, you know, I need a flowy shirt, or I need like a, a pencil skirt or something, right? When you’ve got some criteria. There’s an app called Threadloop that used to be called Backstitch that I just absolutely love. It’s made by two people in Europe who are just, like, the sweetest and they pay the most attention to their users, and they’ve built this beautiful, beautiful app. And by app, I mean a website. It has a crowdsourced pattern list. And so basically anybody can enter any pattern. So it’s, if you’ve got vintage patterns in your stash, you can enter them. And if you’re a designer, you can enter your patterns. And the thing that’s wonderful about it is that, first off, it’s got so many patterns, but also it’s so easy to search. Like you can search by “jacket,” you can search by if it’s made for male or female or children’s bodies. But also if you really want a shirt that has princess seams, you can search “princess.” If you really want a pencil skirt, you can search in “pencil.” If you want, like, a shirt that has ties, you can search “ties” and it’ll give you all of those options. So it’s really, really easy to narrow down if you have specific things that you’re looking for. And so what I did for my last project that I was like, “What pattern should I make?” I wanted to make a jacket, and so I searched through all of the jacket patterns that met my criteria. And they have this list feature and so I added all of the things that I liked to a list and then I ordered the list so that I was, like, “One to 25, like, what are my favourite ones?” And then I was like, “Well, obviously, the Tamarack Jacket is the one that’s on top that I’m most excited about making now that I’ve looked at all of these options.” So now I’m making the Tamarack Jacket. So I just wanted to recommend that as a way to search for patterns and also to help you choose a pattern out of a selection that you have. Thank you so much. Love your show. And I just want everybody who sews to know about Threadloop because it’s amazing. The creators are awesome and it just is so helpful for so many things. It’s got so many more things than what I’ve said here, so you should go check it out. Okay, bye.

Helen: Hi, Jamie. Okay. Thank you so much for calling us about this. We’ve had a few emails about Threadloop as well. It seems like a great option. Pretty similar to Ravelry, but for sewing, and it’s really just what we want and need in the sewing community, so we definitely wanna encourage our listeners to go check it out.

Caroline: Yes, definitely. We’ll link it up in the show notes. I wanna check this out. I haven’t experimented with this app before, but we have had quite a few people email us about it, so I feel like it’s, there’s some fans out there.

Helen: Yeah, it’s picking up steam and I love that.

Caroline: I love that too. Okay, next up we have a great tip from Sherry.

Sherry: Hi, my name is Sherry Barrett. I’m from Gardena, California. What you do is you have your favourite needle, right? Okay. If you have a tequila bottle, you can just pop open the cork. The top of it is, you know, like, wood, and then the cork is popping out. You just take your needle, your favourite needle, poke it in there. You don’t have to wait around looking for it in your pincushion anymore. It’s right there. It’s like a little castle. If you leave a piece of thread in the needle, it’s friendly. It saves a lot of time. It’s always waiting for you.

Caroline: Sherry, we love this voicemail so much. You sound like a really fun person. And Sheri’s talking about using one of those part wood, part cork tequila bottle stoppers as a needle keeper. I think cork would work really well. When I put needles in a regular pin cushion, sometimes they get lost inside, sometimes they fall out. It’s a good excuse to make some margaritas, too. If I’m ever in California, Sherry, let’s go get some margaritas.

Helen: You pretty much have to finish the bottle before you can do this, so.

Caroline: Yeah, actually, you do.

Helen: My favourite part of this voicemail was when she said it’s like a little castle. It’s so true!

Caroline: It’s like a little castle. It’s always waiting for you. I love it. Yeah. No, this is such a good idea. I mean, you could use this for pins, you could use this for sewing needles. I was thinking, like, what if you mounted a bunch of corks on, like, something, and then you use them for your, like, sewing machine needles that you haven’t used enough to throw out, but you need to change out. And you could, like, just write on each little piece of cork, like, what kind of needle it is. I don’t know.

Helen: Organize them. That’d be cool.

Caroline: I feel like there’s a lot you could do here. This is a great idea. Thank you so much, Sherry, for taking the time to let us know about this genius idea.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: All right. Next up, we have a voicemail from Julia.

Julia: Hi, Helen. Hi Caroline. This is Julia calling from Columbus, Ohio. I just wanted to share something a little funny. I was listening to your most recent episode, the Velvet and Corduroy one, and something early on in the episode made me start reminiscing about this piece of clothing that I’d given away, you know, donated to Goodwill or whatever, like, more than a decade ago because I’d outgrown it and all this, that, and the other, and I still think about it about once a year. “Oh, that was a really good piece of clothing.” Imagine my surprise, then, when you got to the velvet section and Caroline started reminiscing about, as far as I can tell, the exact same piece. My velvet jacket from the Gap was spring green and I wore it to France on a family trip, not Italy, but otherwise, everything that came out of Caroline’s mouth, I was like, “Yep, yep, yep. Exactly. Correct.” Anyway, thank you. I love your show and I learn so much and always come away with a smile on my face. Hope you’re having a good day. Bye.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, Julia. I cannot believe that we had exactly the same experience. I love this so much. So, for those of you who missed it, I had this brown velvet jacket from The Gap that I was obsessed with when I was a teenager and I wore it on a trip to Venice with my mom when I was 16 years old. And after getting this voicemail, you inspired me to dig up some photos from that trip and we’re gonna share them in the show notes. I have, actually, a great picture of the jacket, so I’m so curious, Julia, if it actually is the same one. But if you’re interested in seeing, you can check out the show notes if you wanna recreate it. We have some pattern ideas, as well, but honestly, it just made me so nostalgic to look at those pictures. ‘Cause I’m gonna be going to Croatia in a couple of months. It’s been 20 years. And that trip was Italy and then Croatia. So I’m just, I’m feeling all the feels and boy do I wish I still had that jacket and it could still fit me ’cause I would totally bring it just for the vibes.

Helen: Caroline, you gotta whip one up. What are you waiting for?

Caroline: I don’t know, seasonally, it feels like I won’t be wearing any velvet, like, blazers.

Helen: Yes, that is totally fair. But if our listeners are interested, we were thinking the Auburn Blazer by Cashmerette. It has a very similar shape. This is, like, a single-breasted fitted blazer with narrow lapels and kind of small buttons. If you wanted to make a similar thing, the Auburn Blazer would work and the only change you’d have to make is to make the buttons and buttonholes a little bit smaller. But this pattern has cup sizes and princess seams. The shoulders aren’t really wide. It’s a bit more of a, like, Y2K style than a lot of the oversized blazer patterns that are out there right now.

Caroline: Yeah, and my jacket had some, like, gathers at the top of the sleeve, so I think you could easily hack that into this pattern if you really wanted to get the look. The only issue is that this pattern goes only from a size 12 to 32. So if you’re a smaller size, we would recommend the Francine Jacket by Sew Over It. This looks like a great option. But, yeah, and the colour, too. I’m just, like, still thinking about this jacket. I can’t handle it.

Helen: Maybe for fall you need to recreate this.

Caroline: Maybe. It also just was making me think…

Helen: I feel like it would be business appropriate. Fabric mogul.

Caroline: It’s true. I think it could be business appropriate. And I think the colour would totally fit with my wardrobe. It also just made me think about other, like, nostalgic jackets. I feel like I’ve talked about pea coats on the pod before, but, like, a corduroy peacoat, says, just screams, like, nineties to me and screams my childhood, and I really wanna make one.

Helen: That would be so fun.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay. But, speaking of fabric, Farmhouse Fabrics has some beautiful velveteens and velvets in shades of green and brown. Just make sure to avoid knits and stretch wovens, and I would choose sew-in interfacing rather than fusible so that you can avoid pressing as much as possible. But yeah, if you’re feeling inspired, I say let’s fill the world with gorgeous velvet jackets.

Helen: Yes, let’s do it. Thank you, Julia. Thank you to all our listeners who called in. We love getting voicemails. It’s literally so much fun for us to go into our little voicemail provider and listen to what you all have to say.

Caroline: Yes, to hear your voices. It’s so great. Alright. Today’s show is a bit of a different format than our usual. We had a really interesting question from a listener that we thought a lot of people could probably relate to, so we are actually just gonna discuss that today. A lot of times when we answer questions on the show, they’re pretty cut-and-dry answers. We can link to a tutorial for a technique, we can give some tips. But this one is a bit more open-ended, so we wanted to spend a bit more time on it. We thought it would be fun and interesting to just have a little casual discussion.

Helen: Yes. Okay. Let’s stop being mysterious and get to the question. Listener Ineke wrote us this email: “Dear Helen and Caroline, I have a conundrum. And I’m wondering if others have the same issue. I started sewing because I don’t fit into a lot of clothes. I’m very tall and so, often, everything is too short. My solution was to learn to sew. Through my sewing classes I have met many wonderful people and even made some nice things to wear. But I don’t LOVE sewing. I think it’s the only hobby that I don’t love. And that’s because there are always challenges. Changing a pattern to fit is a challenge. Matching the fabric to the pattern. Challenge. Sewing techniques that are tricky. It just goes on and it never seems to stop challenging me. Maybe other people love that but I find it frustrating. I don’t get the warm fuzzy feeling others talk about when sewing. I am very proud of my makes and I love wearing the ones that turn out well, but I don’t enjoy the process most of the time. Can anyone relate? Any suggestions?”

Caroline: I’m really glad that we got this email because I think it’s super relatable and I just think that it’s important to have this conversation. ‘Cause so much of what we talk about is sewing, it’s positive, it’s exciting, we love it. We love it. I mean, that’s literally the name of the show, Love to Sew. But I dunno about you; I don’t always love to sew.

Caroline: I feel like we should talk about that.

Helen: I think I love sewing as a whole, as a hobby, but there’s definitely elements of it that I don’t love or that feel tedious and feel challenging. And especially when you’re newer to something, the process of learning things, especially as I get older, is just so frustrating.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I wanna be good at something immediately. I don’t wanna do the work. And I know that’s so silly and, like, shortsighted because it’s in the process that you really discover all the nice, beautiful things. But it’s annoying to have to learn how to do something. And I don’t like being bad at stuff.

Caroline: Yeah, I totally get it. I also just think, even if you’re not bad at it, like, you could take the time, learn it, get good at it, practice, practice, practice, but there might be a point where you realize that you just don’t love the process. Like, even if it’s not hard for you or it doesn’t feel difficult. Maybe you just like the result more than the journey. And I think that’s okay.

Helen: Yeah, I think that is okay. And in this case it does sound like the simple answer of, “Well, it’s okay. You don’t need to sew. You can just go buy the clothes. Don’t worry about it,” doesn’t fit for this person because they’re wanting clothes that fit them better. Which is a great reason to sew. And it sounds like they’ve really put in the work to learn how to sew and done all of the things and met the lovely people and there’s lots of benefits, but it’s still just not that enjoyable of a process, which is too bad. I don’t like hearing that, but I do think that a lot of our listeners out there can relate on some level to some aspect of that. For sure.

Caroline: Yeah, I agree. And I think it’s, like, valid and okay that sewing is just a means to an end. And I think it can just be that. And we can all recognize that it’s not always easy. But some people kind of have to do it out of necessity which I think is powerful and something that you should be proud of. The fact that you recognize that this is something you could do to help you feel good, help you have clothes that fit, and you went for it. So I think that’s, like, something to be proud of, if nothing else.

Helen: Yeah. I wonder, too, if there’s, like, an area of sewing yet explored that might be more exciting or fit your personality better or satisfy a little bit more? Like, is it the fabrics you’re working with? You know, like, many times, I have taught people to sew and offered the advice of, like, “Use good fabric.” It’s kind of like when you’re learning how to paint and it’s like, “Use good quality paper and paint.” You know, the materials really matter to the experience. So that’s something that you could think about, is maybe I’m just sewing fabrics that I don’t enjoy sewing. I should try a different fabric.

Caroline: It’s so true, like, try a different fabric. Even, like, machines, tools, setups, your environment. There’s so many things that I think can contribute to a positive versus a negative sewing experience. And you might not know what you don’t know, right? So if you’re finding a particular thing really tricky to do or frustrating to do, you might wanna evaluate, like, am I using the best tools for the job or is there another way that I could do this so that I can avoid this, like, one thing that I hate doing and sewing, you know?

Helen: Pinpointing the tasks you don’t enjoy and trying to find ways to avoid them or make them more enjoyable or faster. That’s a really good tip, for sure.

Caroline: yeah. I’ve definitely felt like this in the past. I don’t know if quite to this degree. I mean, obviously we have this podcast and I think that I do love sewing. I definitely love sewing, but sometimes I’ve felt disconnected from it. And because there’s extra pressure there, like, running a business centered around sewing and hosting this podcast, I think that’s sort of kept me, like, tethered to this hobby. And I sometimes wonder if I would’ve taken a step back or taken longer breaks if that wasn’t the case. But in a lot of ways, I’m grateful to have the podcast and the business to have, like, kind of kept me connected to the hobby. But I think it’s super relatable to feel challenged and frustrated and just, like, you know, question whether it’s worth it and, like, is there something wrong with me? You know, I’m surrounded by all these people that are obsessed with this and, you know, maybe I don’t feel that way right now. But for me, that feeling has always passed. But yeah, I don’t know.

Helen: Yeah, sometimes you need a break to come back to it and really love it again. But sewing is challenging. Like, it really is. It is so hard. There’s so many steps. And then there’s the fitting and there’s the fabric and there’s the little fiddly zippers and buttonholes and hems and like, ugh. Like, why? Why do we do this to ourselves? Like, I do enjoy a lot of the process, but I also do find it challenging, for sure. It’s not an easy hobby. I think about my experience teaching Sam how to sew, ’cause I’ve tried to get him into it over the years. He does work for me, for the business, and I would love it if he was obsessed with sewing and we could be, like, sewing powerhouse couple. But I have tried to teach him how to sew and he hates it.

Caroline: Oh no.

Helen: He is just like, “Everything is so fiddly and slippery and annoying, and the fabric’s just, like, going everywhere and, like, I can’t control it. It’s like it’s got a mind of its own. I can’t hold on to these, like, layers and pins and I’m stabbing myself and, like, it’s just awful.” He’s like, “I hate it.”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And, like, meanwhile, he’s over in his office painting teeny tiny little miniatures and, like, with, like, microscopic paintbrushes, you know. Like, I don’t wanna do that. It’s all relative.

Caroline: I do get into that kind of situation with Shea sometimes, where he’ll be like, “Do you want to try this hobby that I’m really obsessed with right now?” And he just cannot fathom that I would be like, “Actually, I’m good.” Like, I don’t really want to do that. You know, I wanna do the things that I wanna do, and vice versa, you know? And I think it’s okay to, like, not be super excited about certain things. Or sometimes it just doesn’t click, right?

Helen: Totally. Yeah. Yeah. And the excitement about the end product is a big part of that, too. I’ve always been obsessed with clothing and sewing is a great way for me to capture that excitement and create the things that I love and want to wear. So it’s very fun to think about all of the different things I wanna make and then execute on some of those plans.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Yeah.

Caroline: I feel like we should touch on something that I sort of saw on the community, or in the sewing community, somewhat recently. And it was a post by Jess from Muna and Broad on Instagram and it had an interesting caption and discussion in the comments that I feel like we should chat about a little bit.

Helen: Yes, I love this. Let’s do it.

Caroline: Yeah, so Jess wrote, “Is slow sewing inherently anti-fat? A delicious little discussion had unfolded amongst @munaandbroad Patreons about how the veneration of slow sewing and considered making often ignored the reality for fat bodies, which is that they need to sew everything in their wardrobe. There’s not so much ‘sew frosting’ when you need to sew all your underwear if you want natural fibre undies that don’t dig in. There’s no slow-cooking a blazer when you can’t buy PJs in your size, and there’s no lengthy fitting process for every single pair of pants if you have to make all your pants to avoid the RTW plus-size-pants-camel-toe. I feel like the sewing community has become complacent, and if you’re not fat then you maybe think that the issue has been solved and because some designers have expanded; the fats are now sorted. But, we’re still over here sewing our basics as fast as our thighs can wear through our pants. We don’t have time for slow sewing yet.”

Helen: Mm, yes. This is so interesting. Different perspectives, depending on whether you are sewing out of necessity versus sewing for fun.

Caroline: Yeah, for sure. And I think this does relate a lot back to what Ineke said about sewing out of that necessity and really kind of needing the, like, finished garments to be able to wear something. ‘Cause otherwise, you know, your pants are too short or you’re not finding what works for your body. I think that’s, like, a really common problem. So, it’s important to, I don’t know, just consider that when you’re talking about sewing as being this, like, really fun hobby, is that, like, maybe it’s not always for everyone and they’re just doing it because they have to.

Helen: Yeah, that’s so true. And that they’re not necessarily in a position to be taking their sweet time with every project and enjoying every part of the process because they’re just mass sewing all of the underwear for their underwear drawer.

Caroline: Yeah, and it, I think that, like, the plus size ready-to-wear world has expanded and there are more options out there, but there’s still, like, so much missing and just, really, it’s truly an injustice that fat people can’t just go to a store and buy clothes for their body. Like it’s, it’s not right. And it’s, it’s something that you can have a little bit more control of in sewing. But we still have a long way to go, I think, in, like, understanding, recognizing, and considering fat sewists and, like, making sure that we’re supporting them and including them.

Helen: Yeah, including them in the conversation and acknowledging that their experience is different. Yeah, I do think that’s really important.

Caroline: Yeah. So if you are feeling challenged by sewing, I guess, just know that the longer you sew, the more time you spend on it, the less challenging it’s gonna become. Especially if you’re sewing for practical reasons. Sewing is just made up of lots of steps. And when you’re a beginner, they’re all gonna be challenging and it can be overwhelming. But the longer you go, the more you master. And even really tricky stuff like invisible zippers doesn’t feel like a challenge anymore. And the more you figure out which types of garments and fabrics match your style, the less you’re gonna have to think about fabric and pattern choices.

Helen: Yeah. And it is okay if you decide that it’s not worth it for you or it’s something that you don’t necessarily wanna pursue. There’s a spectrum of how involved you can be in sewing, from, you know, “I sew everything I wear” to “I only sew stuff I can’t find in ready-to-wear shops,” or “I only sew for special occasions.” And again, in some cases you might be sewing for necessity, to clothe your body. So there’s a spectrum for how much of an option this is for you.

Caroline: For sure. I wanted to share some tips of things that you could do to maybe make sewing either quicker, more enjoyable, or just, like, try some new things to see if this could work a little bit better for you.

Helen: First up: cut corners. I love a cut corner situation. If you wanna make it speedier, easier, you can cut corners. For example, maybe don’t worry about finishing the inside of your garments beautifully, especially if that doesn’t do it for you. You don’t get no satisfaction from a bias bound seam. Don’t do it. And you could do things like leave the pockets off if you don’t think that you’re gonna use them. That really speeds things up. There’s lots of areas where you can go a little bit off-script. And just do what you need to do to get ‘er done.

Caroline: Yeah, I mean, I do that all the time. I’ll leave pockets off or certain details off of a garment just because I’m like, “You know what? I know I’m not gonna use it. I don’t really want it. I don’t really need it.” And that’s okay. You don’t always have to follow a pattern to a tee.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: You can reuse patterns that you’ve already adjusted. If you want it to look different, you can change up the fabric or maybe choose a different sleeve view. But if you’ve already put a lot of work and troubleshooting into making something fit for you, then that’s a huge thing to be able to just reuse that pattern again and again.

Helen: Totally. It’s also just so much easier the third or fourth time around ’cause you’re so familiar with it and it stops becoming so frustrating. I do a lot of re-sewing ’cause I mostly sew my own patterns, so I’ve used some of them dozens of times and it really just feels like putting on a comfy, cozy sweater that you love when you’re making it.

Caroline: It is so true. Like, this kind of makes me think of yoga, in a way, too. Like, if you’re thinking about a pattern through the lens of, like, did I enjoy sewing this or did I enjoy sewing this more than other things. Like, for me, with yoga, I love yoga, but I don’t love every yoga class I take, right? So when I find a class that’s, like, that perfect mix for me, I’ll bookmark it and I’ll take it again and again. ‘Cause I know it made me feel really good. I know it really worked for me. So if you’re thinking about sewing that way and just figuring out, you know, what patterns or what techniques, like, really, sort of, like, are more enjoyable for you and just try to turn to those as much as you can.

Helen: Yeah, definitely. I think that’s a great way to, again, cut some corners to make it a little speedier. Make it easy on yourself. Take a load off.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: If you like the way that one of the samples of a pattern looks, copy their fabric choice. A lot of times, pattern designers include their info about what fabrics they used in the photo shoot on the product page. Or you can ask them. And they’ve probably put a lot of effort into deciding those fabrics, speaking from experience. So those are the perfect fabrics for the pattern. So they’ve done the work for you and you can just copy their fabric choice. And that can make your life a lot easier.

Caroline: It’s so true. You can also consider getting a serger and or a rotary cutter setup for cutting if you don’t already have these things. These save a lot of time and effort, so going through that extra expense might end up being worth it in the end.

Helen: Yeah. And add something that you do enjoy to the process. So, great music, a funny podcast, a reality television show in the background. Just a little treat for yourself so that you’re marrying something you really enjoy with maybe something that you’re feeling frustrated or challenged by so that you can add a little bit more pleasure to the process.

Caroline: Yeah, you’re, kind of, like, coupling things.

Helen: Yeah, little rewards.

Caroline: Yeah. I can think of certain, like, phases in my sewing based on, like, shows that I was binging. Like, I definitely went through a dateline phase where I was just, like, watching every episode of Dateline I could find while sewing. And yeah, that was 15 years ago, maybe.

Helen: I have different things I like for different processes. Like when I’m at my cutting table, I like setting up my laptop with a TV show. But if I’m back and forth from my machine and my ironing board, I prefer a podcast ’cause I have to, like, look at what I’m doing more. And then, also, just mood dependent. Sometimes you just need, like, to blast the music.

Caroline: I was gonna say, whenever I know I’m gonna be up late sewing, I get my headphones and I put on, like, a really good boppy playlist. And I know I’m just gonna be, like, singing and dancing and it’s, like, soul nourishing while I’m also doing this thing that, like, maybe is last minute and a little bit stressful.

Helen: Yeah, you gotta keep the energy up.

Caroline: You can also share your process with sewing friends who will cheer you on. If you tackled a complex step or did some neat understitching, you can show it off to your friends. Don’t wait until the end to feel proud of yourself. Listener Ineke mentioned that they took some classes, but I think if you met some people that you wanna sew with, that could be a great way to add a little touch of fun to sewing, as well. Just, like, get together and sew.

Helen: That’s true. Make it more of a social occasion. Also, this sounds simpler than it is, but let go of perfection, because sewing really is that growth process. You are going to make mistakes. The stitch lines are not going to be perfectly straight. If you’re improving as time goes on, that’s definitely worth celebrating. It’s gonna get better with time, and it doesn’t need to be perfect to be wearable, like, at all.

Caroline: Yeah. So true. You also could consider sewing a capsule wardrobe. And then you would need fewer garments to keep yourself dressed well. And fewer garments equals less pressured sewing. You could really make a lot of outfits out of just, like, 10 garments. So that’s something you could consider, as well. And then it’s not this, like, sort of endless journey of sewing, sewing, sewing forever and ever.

Helen: Wow, you’re describing my dream.

Caroline: And somebody else’s nightmare.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Sam’s nightmare.

Helen: Sam’s nightmare. I wonder if there’s, like, a moment where Ineke is feeling the frustration more? Like, if it’s like, it’s all going great until about an hour and a half in and then they’re like, “I can’t with this anymore.” You know? In which case, maybe doing shorter sessions. So, instead of spending hours at a time sewing on the weekend, which is can be physically exhausting as well as mentally exhausting, you could consider doing an hour session a few times a week. 15 minutes, you know, put a timer on. You can get a lot done in 15 minutes. You can sew a few seams then you’re just like, “Before I get frustrated, I’m putting this down. I’m walking away and I’m leaving on a high note.”

Caroline: Mmhmm. It’s true. Like, sewing in shorter sessions can be satisfying in itself and it just feels like you’re taking less time out of your regular day, your normal tasks to do this thing that maybe you don’t enjoy as much. So that could be a great strategy. I also think batch sewing could be fun. I know this is maybe slightly conflicting with some of our other advice…

Helen: So, more?

Caroline: But I don’t know, try different things. I think batch sewing is fun because you can get more done in less time. So if you’re like, “I need to sew underwear,” then why not sew 10 pairs of underwear in a row all in the same colour, or in similar colours, so you can use the same thread. And then you’re just getting so much more done in a more compact amount of time.

Helen: That’s true. And efficiency can be extremely satisfying for certain people. If that’s your personality, then you really enjoy efficiency, then I think that is a really good strategy.

Caroline: Absolutely.

Helen: I have another tip, which is to, I kind of mentioned this at the beginning, but, like, trying a different fabric is one way you can try something else, but you could try a different form of sewing, too. I know you’re trying to sew to get clothes that fit you better, so you’re obviously more focused on garments. Caroline, do you know where I’m going with this?

Caroline: I do. I do. I do.

Helen: You should try quilting. It’s like sewing, but different, ’cause you don’t have to worry about your body and you can just enjoy the process. And the process is very straightforward ’cause you’re sewing straight lines and it’s wonderful and I just think you should try it.

Caroline: I love this. Honestly, why not?

Helen: But in addition to quilting, I made a couple other notes, like: refashioning. Could be an interesting way, if things are too short, maybe figuring out fun, creative ways to add length to things, alter them to fit your body better. And that way, maybe a little bit more of a, like, creative approach where you’re working with a base garment and you’re kind of, like, cutting it up and creating something new. That might really spur you on, you know, that might excite you. I don’t know.

Caroline: Yeah, no. Like, you could even thrift like certain components, right? Like, what if you really love, like, I don’t know, a collar or something on, like, a coat, and you could, like, cut it up and use parts of it for different things and, like, reuse that collar and patchwork.

Helen: You totally can.

Caroline: Collars are fussy.

Helen: It’s true. You don’t like sewing collars, just cut one off one shirt and stick it on another one.

Caroline: No, I do think, like, altering, refashioning, that could definitely be a way to skip a lot of steps.

Helen: Yeah, and just get into a different sewing headspace. Scrap busting sewing to working on patchwork or using up scraps, that can really get your creative juices flowing. Bag making, as well. Maybe what you need is something a bit more, like, freeing and fun.

Caroline: Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I also think, like, thinking about the things that you can maybe, like, outsource or, I don’t know. I’m thinking of, like, you don’t have to always make your own bias tape. Or sometimes you can go to, like, a cleaner and they’ll do your buttonholes for you. You know, like, there’s certain things that you can outsource or pay people to do. So you could find some of those things. Or maybe, like, instead of getting a fabric that you need to, like, block fuse, like, just get a heavier fabric. You know, like, try to think about how you could eliminate certain steps to make the process easier or quicker.

Helen: Yeah. You know what Ineke needs? They need a Kathy. Let me explain.

Caroline: Please explain.

Helen: My sister’s mother-in-law, Kathy, she will make my sister anything. My sister just literally orders stuff from her. She’s like, “I want the Helen’s Closet Falconer pants in this denim,” and Kathy makes it for her. And I know this is completely unrealistic and not all of us are gonna get a Kathy, but maybe you could find a Kathy somewhere.

Caroline: I am just picturing…Kathy’s gonna write in to us. Not this Kathy, but, like, the Kathys of the world are gonna be sending us emails, being like, “You are telling people to ask me to sew things for them. I don’t appreciate it!”

Helen: But the thing is that she likes it, though. ‘Cause she loves to sew and she’s not that interested in making it for herself.

Caroline: I hear you. I hear you. There is a certain person out there that wants to sew for other people and that is absolutely amazing for them.

Helen: I know. They’re rare, though. So if you have a Kathy, consider yourself lucky.

Caroline: If you have a Kathy, you hold onto that Kathy real tight. You give her gifts.

Helen: Yeah, right?

Caroline: You pay her for her time. Justice for Kathy.

Helen: Yes, it’s so true. You gotta at least get her a bottle of wine every once in a while.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh no, it’s true. Especially, it’s like, yeah, now my mind is just, like, say you were like, “I hate plackets, Caroline. I never wanna sew a placket, but I need this placket in a shirt.” I’d sew a placket for you.

Helen: Yeah, that’s true, actually. Maybe you could have a little sewing exchange. Like, “I will cut out your paper pattern in your size if you sew my invisible zipper into my pants.” Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow.

Caroline: Wow, wow, wow. Amazing.

Helen: We’re onto something. I think we solved it.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: We need to start exchanging with each other and doing the tasks we don’t wanna do.

Helen: What would you give up in your sewing practice if you were gonna outsource one thing?

Caroline: Probably buttons and buttonholes.

Helen: Yeah. Fair. I don’t mind buttonholes, but I don’t like sewing on the buttons.

Caroline: Yeah, or, like, any hand sewing. Still not a fan.

Helen: But what about, now you have the tequila bottle topper method…

Caroline: That’s true.

Helen: So it’s gonna be so much more fun.

Caroline: Sherry has potentially changed hand sewing for me, so thank you,

Helen: Now you have a little castle.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface of this discussion. Like, there’s just, I don’t know. I feel like our listeners are gonna relate to this. I wanna hear from you all. What do you think? Do you like sewing? If you don’t, that’s okay.

Helen: There isn’t a clear answer unless, you know, if you wanna move on from sewing and leave it behind, we support you. Maybe tailoring, you could get your items tailored instead. Sewing’s expensive, as we know, so it could be a trade-off price-wise, in that regard. But I don’t think there’s a cut-and-dry answer, unfortunately.

Caroline: I agree. And just know that if you don’t really enjoy sewing, there’s nothing wrong with you.

Helen: Oh, absolutely not. Even if there’s just, like, parts of it that you hate…hate’s a strong word, but sometimes we do feel that way.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah. For anyone out there listening who doesn’t really enjoy sewing: We got you. It’s okay. You’re allowed to feel that.

Caroline: It’s okay. You can still sit with us.

Helen: Yeah. If you’re just doing it for the finished product, that’s fine. If you don’t have fuzzy feelings, you just want the clothes that fit, that’s fine. There’s people out there who love the process and the challenge and the creativity. But at its core, sewing is a practical skill. So if you’re just doing it for the practicality, great. That’s amazing. Good for you.

Caroline: And, like, remember, everyone comes at sewing for their own different reasons and everyone’s reasons are valid.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: And you can be proud that you are doing this practical skill, even if you don’t love every part of it. So be proud of yourself. Keep doing what you’re doing. Or don’t.

Helen: You should be extra proud. Next time you show off your garment, you can be like, “I made this jacket and I didn’t even enjoy it.”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: “But I did it anyway.”

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely. We support you. We support all of you, all the sewists in our community. And let us know what you think. I wanna hear from you guys.

Helen: Yes, me too. This would be a good candidate for some feedback, for sure.

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 our bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That’s over, I wanna say, like a hundred hours of Love to Sat this point. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Caroline: You can head over 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. You can send us a voice memo, too, at [email protected]. Maybe we’ll do another episode where we play a bunch of voicemails soon if we get enough of them. So hit us up, please.

Helen: Yeah, call us.

Caroline: And, just a reminder, we are also on socials. You can follow us on Instagram and Pixelfed @lovetosewpodcast, 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’ll talk to you next week.

Caroline: Buh-bye!

Helen: Bye!

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This episode is all about a lesser-known fiber: hemp! It’s super environmentally friendly, breathable, antibacterial, and has great body and texture. We talk a bit about hemp’s long history, how it goes from plant to fabric, and what to sew with it.

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

Show Notes: 

Some of our Hemp Me-Mades:

Resources:

Fabrics:

Patterns:

Where to Buy Hemp Fabrics:

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: 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 wanna talk about.

Helen: This episode is all about a lesser-known fiber: hemp! It’s super environmentally friendly, breathable, antibacterial, and has great body and texture. We talk a bit about hemp’s long history, how it goes from plant to fabric, and what you can sew with it.

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

Helen: Hi, Caroline.

Caroline: How are you?

Helen: I’m good. How are you?

Caroline: I’m really good. I love hemp.

Helen: Really good. I love hemp, too. I’m really excited to talk about it.

Caroline: Yeah, me too. I love these fabric deep dives. I always learn something new when we do these.

Helen: It is really interesting to learn a bit more of the history behind the fabrics that we love.

Caroline: Yeah. And we’re really starting to get to the point where we’re like, “Well, what could we do next?” ‘Cause we’ve covered a lot of different fabrics.

Helen: That’s true. If our listeners have suggestions…

Caroline: I was just gonna say, please get in touch with us if there’s a fabric you want us to cover on one of these episodes. But for today, we’re gonna talk about hemp, which is a real favourite. And a community favourite, too, so I’m excited to get into it later.

Helen: Okay. We have a couple things to get outta the way. First and foremost, we wanted to remind you that the best way to support Love to Sew is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions. And if you join us there, you get access to bonus content every month. We have so much fun catching up with you all on those more casual bonus episodes. It really is a highlight of our month.

Caroline: Oh yes. We get to be really chatty in those episodes. And this past one that we did in April was really fun. We got to talk about your weekend playing so many board games.

Helen: Yes, that’s true. And your new truck.

Caroline: Yes, my new truck, or Shea’s new truck, and my future vegetable garden, and, of course, sewing. It was really fun. So go check it out. And sometimes they’re really long, so if you just need more Love to Sew hours…

Helen: We got you.

Caroline: We got you.

Helen: Yeah. Literal hours and hours and hours.

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

Helen: Yeah! And on that front, we have a little announcement, which is that you can now follow Love to Sew on Bluesky and Pixelfed. We know that there are a bunch of listeners out there who aren’t on Meta social media, so we thought we’d spread out a little bit so that you can access our content in other places. And if you are on those platforms, check out our accounts. On Bluesky we’re @lovetosewpodcast and on Pixelfed we’re @lovetosew.podcast. And we’ll see you there.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. We’re gonna talk about some feedback, because after our sewing machine chat episode came out, we got some great comments from listeners about what they named their sewing machines and we wanted to share some of them with you. They’re so good.

Helen: Oh my gosh, I loved this. It was so much fun. Som Sarah wrote, “My very first machine was a basic Singer bought in 1989 called ‘Old Faithful.’ But at some point she broke down and was never quite right so I renamed her ‘Old Fickle’. Then I had a Walmart Singer – “The Goodtime Gal” because she only worked on the easiest of projects. I had a brother serger that I called any string of profanity that seemed fitting at the time. That thing was a menace. (Not its fault – a friend accidentally knocked it off the table and sent it flying across the room. It was never the same again). I had a 1970s Pfaff that replaced Old Fickle and The Goodtime Gal and she was simply ‘The Workhorse’ until her cam shaft wore out. Is that what it was called? That sounds like a car part. Maybe I’m wrong on that. I’m still trying to find someone who can fix it. I currently use a yet un-named Bernette and a Singer Serger/Coverstitch.”

Caroline: Sarah, I can’t wait to get a follow up once you name these two machines. ‘Cause you’re really good at naming machines.

Helen: Yeah, I like the descriptive name approach. It’s very fun.

Caroline: Yeah, they’re so fun.

Helen: Next up we have Nicole, who wrote, “My sewing machine is a Janome Magnolia so I named her Truvy after Olympia Dukakis’s character in Steel Magnolias.”

Caroline: Yes. I love the idea of naming a machine after a favourite character.

Helen: Yeah, so smart.

Caroline: So cute. Julie wrote, “BERNINA – Bernadette Peters…no nicknames, full name only.”

Helen: Wow. The whole legal name every time. Very nice. I bet there’s quite a few Bernadette Berninas out there.

Caroline: Yes, for sure.

Helen: Annie wrote, “My rules for naming machines is: first letter of the brand and popular name (in Quebec) the decade the machine was made. 60’s Kenmore is Karole, 90’s Kenmore is Karine, 2020 BabyLock is Béatrice.”

Caroline: Okay. I have to say it would be like, (speaking with a French accent) “Karole and Karine.”

Helen: Thank you, Caroline. You gotta help me out. What about Beatrice? What do you got for that?

Caroline: Uh, (with a French accent) Béatrice!

Helen: It’s so much better.

Caroline: Yeah, no, I was, my mind was going to, like, popular names of my childhood, my generation, and I was like, “I feel like a Janome named like Jessica would be hilarious.”

Helen: Totally. So popular. Shout out to all the Jessicas out there.

Caroline: Absolutely love that name.

Helen: Probably at least half of our listeners are named Jessica. Okay. Last one here. Kat wrote, “I call my vintage Pfaff ‘Pfaffy Duck!’”

Caroline: It’s so cute. It’s perfect. I love all of these names. It’s really inspired me to be more creative with naming my machines.

Helen: I know! You gotta get on that. We’ll check in with you next season and see if you’ve come up with anything.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. Before we get to the show, we have a question as well. So this one comes from Kimberly. “I’m thinking about getting a serger but have a few questions. In patterns, you’ll see the suggestion to finish your seams and one option is a serger. Why wouldn’t you just do the seams with the serger and skip that step? I’ve heard it mentioned for knits but usually not for wovens. Why?”

Helen: Hello, Kimberly. Okay, here’s the official advice for rule followers: all-in-one serging is for knits only. With wovens, you should sew the seam separately. But with that said, and you probably saw this coming, you can totally ignore that rule with pretty good results a lot of the time. But we have some things to keep in mind before you start rebelling because there’s definitely reasons why you don’t wanna do this.

Caroline: Yeah, so keep in mind that unpicking a serged seam to fix a mistake is going to be more difficult than unpicking a regular seam. There are tricks to make it fast, but…

Helen: It is just a pain.

Caroline: It’s a pain. Yeah.

Helen: Yeah. And seam allowances will be stuck together with the serged seam, so you’ll need to press them to one side instead of pressing them open. And this would only really affect heavier fabrics or maybe certain sewing steps that require an opened up seam allowance. So just pay attention to what’s gonna happen next before you go right in with the serger.

Caroline: Mmhmm. It’s also more difficult to sew curves or points on a serger, especially if it’s like a inside point.

Helen: Mmhmm.

Caroline: Like, if you’re having to turn a steep curve or corner it’s gonna be nearly impossible to get it to be nice and secure and also look good.

Helen: No, you really cannot turn very well on a serger. You can’t put your needle down and pivot like you do on your regular sewing machine. And this is a big one: serged seams are not as strong as traditionally sewn ones. And you would think it would be the opposite because there’s so many threads involved in a serged seam. So you technically do have a lot of threads happening, and you even have two rows of stitching if you’re using a four thread serger. But for parts that undergo a lot of stress, like the crotch seam on pants, for example, it’s better to sew with a regular machine for that main seam and then just use the serger as the secondary finishing step. But for looser garments, a serger should work fine. The reason it’s not as strong is because serger cone thread is typically not as strong as regular sewing thread, so it comes down to the actual thread itself.

Caroline: I feel like it’s just also just leaving more margin for error. Like, you know when you sew a seam on your serger and you pull the seam apart and you get that laddering? Sometimes it can be hard to fix that, and you don’t want that if that’s the only seam that you have.

Helen: Tension issues. Yeah. Exactly. You can get away with a bit of a looser tension if you’re just using it for finishing.

Caroline: And you will lose a lot of your seam allowance. So obviously, if you’re doing a one-and-done on your serger, you need to trim your seam allowance if it’s not already a quarter of an inch. That’s usually the seam allowance of a serger. But you might actually wanna keep that seam allowance in case you ever want to let the garment out in the future. So you’re sort of getting rid of that option if you do the all-in-one method.

Helen: Yeah. Caroline, do you ever do all-in-one, just serge with your woven fabrics?

Caroline: I honestly don’t. I used to, like, when I first got my serger when I was in high school, I was like, all the time, only serger. I thought it was so cool that I could do that. But I think in my sewing practice I’ve realized that I’m not that adventurous. And, in fact, often when I sew with knits, I’ll sew on my regular machine, and then go through it with my serger again, just for, like, extra security, which I know is definitely overkill. But no, it just, I feel like this is kind of similar to that, like, do you trim your seam allowance when you finish it or not debate that we had a couple months back.

Helen: Yeah, no, totally. In this case, you’re definitely trimming if you’re going right in with the serger.

Caroline: Exactly, and there’s no going back. But yeah, so I don’t, I don’t often serge my woven garments as, like, a one-and-done. I do serge to finish the seam allowances, but I don’t sew them completely on my serger.

Helen: I don’t, either. And I’m, this question really made me think about that. ‘Cause I’m not really sure why. It’s, like, never occurred to me to do that.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Like, I think every once in a while, maybe I would go in and, like, do like a side seam on, like, a straight dress or something, you know, that’s, like, loose. But even then, I just always do the sewing machine and then the serger as two separate steps. And I think it does come down, to me, to the, like, unpicking it. If I make a mistake, I wanna be able to do that. It’s so much easier with the sewing machine stitch. And then I had that situation in high school where I, like, chopped a hole in my dress.

Caroline: You have serger trauma.

Helen: I have serger trauma. So now I’m like, I don’t really wanna take something that’s pinned and not secure to the serger because that’s when that kind of stuff happens where you like lose control or you things get bunched up and, like, if you’re trying to sew a sleeve or something, like, that’s not really a good place to do that. So I just don’t. I avoid getting into that situation.

Caroline: I concur. I think there are a lot of reasons why you should maybe consider not doing it. But you can!

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: But we support you if you don’t wanna do it. And if you just wanna finish everything or sew everything with your serger and that works for you, then absolutely.

Helen: Yeah. Lickety split. And make sure your tension’s real good and you’re good to go.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay. Finally we get to talk about hemp!

Helen: Yeah, we’re gonna take a deep dive into the, one of the less common fibers that you might encounter out there in your sewing, which is hemp. Maybe you’ve seen some hemp fabrics around and you don’t quite know what to expect from them. Maybe you’ve heard hemp is super strong and sustainable and you wanna find out where you can get your hands on some.

Caroline: Yes. In this episode we’re gonna talk about the history of hemp fabrics, how hemp is grown and made into fabric, and what the fabrics are like. Plus, we’ll talk about sustainability, how to care for it, sewing tips and indie patterns that would go great with hemp fabrics.

Helen: So, hemp is one of the earliest fibrous raw materials used in textiles. It might even be the first one. Hemp fibers were being used to improve pottery 10,000 years ago, and hemp textiles were being made 4,000 years ago, about a thousand years earlier than cotton.

Caroline: Wow. I almost don’t believe it because cotton is the fabric of our lives.

Helen: It’s true, and we’re gonna talk about why that is in this episode.

Caroline: Okay, so there are a lot of misconceptions about hemp, which is probably because its legal status has changed over time and in different places. The cannabis sativa plant has been selectively bred by farmers to have distinct types, each with different characteristics.

Helen: Yeah, so some varieties of cannabis have a high percentage of THC, which is a mind altering substance that’s used medicinally and recreationally. It may or may not be legal where you live. And to differentiate it from hemp, in the USA, it’s called marijuana.

Caroline: However, industrial hemp has less than 0.3% of THC. It’s been bred to have long fibrous stalks for use in textiles.

Helen: Because hemp is rich in CBD, which is a non-mind-altering chemical substance that has therapeutic uses, some hemp has been bred to have shorter stalks and bigger flowers. Now, they’re all considered hemp, but they’re different strains from the ones that are used for textiles. So basically, the stuff used for marijuana to make cannabis is different than the stuff used for textiles is what we’re getting at.

Caroline: Yeah, same plant-ish, but different uses. Yeah, I think it’s pretty common to assume that because all these plants are from the same species, that hemp fabric is made from the same plants that people use for their mind altering chemicals. But, like you said, they are actually not, to be clear. So no matter where you stand on marijuana, you can enjoy hemp fabrics and not have to think about that part.

Helen: Let’s talk about how hemp goes from that plant to fabric. When hemp is harvested, it’s left in the fields for about five weeks. This is called retting. The stalks partially decompose, which loosens the fibers from the woody inner core. Retting can be done simply using the natural dew, bacteria, and fungi found in the field, and some farmers will wet the stalks and use enzymes to help with that breakdown process.

Caroline: After retting, the stalks are dried and broken, and the breaking used to be done by hand, but now it’s done by a machine called a decorticator. This peels the surface layers off of the woody core of the stalk.

Helen: Next comes scutching, which is beating the stems to separate the last bits of woody core from the fibers.

Caroline: Then comes hackling, which is like combing the fibers to separate them.

Helen: And the smooth loosened fibers are loosely twisted into roving and then spun into yarns. And finally, those yarns are woven or knit into fabrics.

Caroline: Like magic.

Helen: It’s so easy.

Caroline: You just needed a decorticator…

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: And some hackling.

Helen: It really is so cool, though. And we have a great video we’re gonna link on YouTube of the hemp production process from harvest to finished cloth. Caroline, I loved this video. It was, like, very soothing.

Caroline: Me too. The music was great.

Helen: Yeah. It doesn’t have any talking, it’s just visuals. You can watch them create the fabric. And it was mind-blowing, especially, any textile mill behind-the-scenes stuff. I’m just like, my mind is always blown because there’s so many machines, there’s so many spools, there’s so, like, it’s, the scale of it is kind of incomprehensible. So that was very cool.

Caroline: I know, it is really just an art and it’s so fun to watch. We’re gonna get into the characteristics of hemp fabric soon, but first, let’s talk about sustainability. Hemp is actually a sustainability superstar.

Helen: Yes, it’s one of the strongest and most durable natural fibers available. In fact, the ban on growing hemp was lifted during World War II so that rope could be made to support the war effort. Hemp rope is especially good for ships because it’s naturally resistant to mildew and rot. And historically, ships’ sails were made of hemp, too.

Caroline: It is naturally antimicrobial and hypoallergenic, and this reduces the need for pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Helen: It also requires four times less water to grow than cotton and it leaves the soil in better condition than cotton does. It also takes half the land to grow the same amount of fiber for the fabric. So basically, it takes a ton less resources to grow a successful hemp crop.

Caroline: Finally, hemp is a great carbon sink. It absorbs and stores more CO2 than any other crop or forest.

Helen: Wow, this really is a superstar. It’s pretty incredible.

Caroline: Yeah. Superstar in reality and in our hearts, because the bonus is that hemp fabric is amazing.

Helen: Yes. Okay. And that’s exactly what we’re gonna talk about next. We talked about growing. Let’s talk about the finished product. Finally. Hemp fabrics kind of feel similar to linen, but they do have a bit more body and a bit more texture.

Caroline: Yeah, you can find hemp in wovens and knits of varying weights. And hemp fabrics are also resistant to pilling. They do wrinkle, though. They’re probably on the same wrinkle level as linen.

Helen: Also like linen, hemp fabrics soften with washing and wearing and become that beautiful worn-in kind of texture.

Caroline: Yeah, and hemp fabric is smell-resistant because it’s antimicrobial. It’s also breathable, which is great.

Helen: You’ll find a lot of hemp cotton blends on the market. Hemp brings the durability and texture while cotton brings the softness and makes it a little bit less wrinkly. So if you’re looking for hemp fabrics, don’t shy away from those blends.

Caroline: And while cotton hemp blends are the most common, there are hemp fabrics on the market that are blended with silk, rayon and linen as well.

Helen: Now, hemp fabrics do tend to be a little bit more expensive than cottons, and even some linens, and this is for a couple of reasons. There’s fewer hemp fabric producers than there are for other fibers, and there’s a bit of a stigma against hemp because of its connection to marijuana.

Caroline: Honestly, it’s sad because hemp actually takes fewer resources to produce. But there are more farmers growing hemp as the legal status has changed in the past 10 years, so things might change.

Helen: Yeah, I feel like things could change in the future and that would be really positive. ‘Cause I do love hemp fabrics. I think they’re great. As far as care, you can wash your hemp fabric in cool water and tumble dry it on low. There’s mixed opinions about whether hemp fabrics shrink a lot or not. I would definitely pre-wash and dry your fabric before you cut into it, especially if it’s a blend. And just use whatever method you’re planning to use with your finished garment as usual.

Caroline: Mmhmm. And if you have a silk or rayon hemp blend, make sure to air dry it instead of tumble drying.

Helen: Okay Caroline, I wanna know, as a fabric store owner, what’s the deal? Do you like hemp fabrics? Do you have trouble sourcing them? Have you sewn with them? What’s going on?

Caroline: I will say that sourcing is challenging. Like, we only have one or two suppliers that we buy hemp from. We don’t come across it very often. Or if we do, it’s like maybe not the right one for us. But we’ve carried a few hemp fabrics. I’ve worked with a few hemp fabrics and I really, really like them. I especially love our hemp and cotton denim, which is like a lightweight, sort of semi-drapey hemp blend that is a darker indigo denim, but it fades really beautiful. That one’s definitely my favourite. And yeah, we’re always on the lookout for new hemps, but I wish there were more options out there.

Helen: Yeah, I love that fabric. It’s truly, like, a GOAT fabric for me.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Yeah, you’ve made a bunch of things out of it.

Helen: I always, yeah, and I, like, just, I repurchase it for whatever future thing might come down the line for Helen’s Closet. ‘Cause it’s so versatile and it works for so many things. So I always like to have a little bit of that hemp denim in my stash. I also like the hemp jersey that you guys have carried previously. I’ve made t-shirts out of that and I really like the weight and the breathability of that fabric. I’m pretty sure those are my only hemp fabric experiences. I’ve worked with hemp fabrics a little bit but not a ton because I just haven’t encountered them that much out there. And even though I know that hemp fabrics can pretty much look and feel like a wide variety of things, anything, I still just picture, like, the classic hemp pullover hoodie sweater that, like, my friends wore in high school and they were listening to reggae and, like, with the stripes and yeah, it’s a look. That’s what I picture when I picture hemp fabric. That’s it.

Caroline: Hemp needs a rebrand.

Helen: Yeah, it really does.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah. And speaking of that hemp jersey, I actually pinged Laura when I was reviewing the content for this episode and I was like, “You know what? We need to bring that jersey back.” So we’re gonna be bringing in some in time for this episode to come out because I love it too. And if you’re looking for that hemp denim that we were just talking about, it’s back ordered, but we’ll be getting it I think within the week of this episode coming out. So keep your eye out on our website.

Helen: Oh, fantastic.

Caroline: Anyways, we should talk about what kinds of patterns go well with hemp fabrics. Because most fabric recommendations on patterns aren’t gonna mention hemp just because it’s less common. But you can kind of figure out what works from hemp with some of the tips that we have below.

Helen: Yeah, so for most plain weave hemp fabrics, you can treat it like linen. So, for example, if your pattern recommends medium weight linen, you’d be good with a plain weave hemp blend or a hundred percent hemp fabric that weighs like four to six ounces.

Caroline: Yeah. And there are other kinds of hemp fabrics, too. Cotton blend jersey, silk blend charmeuse, French terry, fleece, twill, denim, and canvas. So for these, I think it’s a good idea to pay attention to the weave or knit when you’re choosing a pattern. So for French terry, that would make a good lightweight sweatshirt. Charmeuse would make a nice evening dress. Just keep in mind that these fabrics will probably have more texture and body than they would if they weren’t blended with hemp. And just pay attention to the weight.

Helen: Yeah, I feel like we’re mentioning texture a lot, and I wanna iterate that it’s not, like, crazy texture or something.

Caroline: It’s not, like, slubby, necessarily. Sometimes it can be, but…

Helen: Yeah. It can be, but it’s not, like, rough to the touch or anything. It’s just, like, a subtle texture, which is actually really beautiful. So I would recommend. The heaviest hemp fabrics are for structured bags or upholstery. Do keep in mind that hemp canvas can get really heavy, like 17 ounces. So for sewing patterns, you probably wanna cap it around 12 ounces for most domestic machines.

Caroline: For sure. I think a chore jacket would look really cool in a hemp or hemp blend fabric. We have a six ounce hemp cotton railroad stripe canvas at Blackbird. It has a really nice body to it even though it’s just six ounces. And it has a subtle texture that you find with hemp and linen. Again, not too textured, just a little.

Helen: Just a little texture.

Caroline: But I can really imagine, like, a stripy chore jacket with the pockets and the yoke cut on the cross grain. I think this would be so good. This one is really nice.

Helen: Really nice. We already talked a little bit about hemp knits. These are generally best for patterns that aren’t supposed to be really tight. A lot of them don’t have a ton of spandex in the blend, so don’t expect the recovery to be amazing. A relaxed fit tee, like the Jackson Tee, would be a good choice in this instance.

Caroline: Yeah. I really love the slubby look of this jersey. It’s so pretty. And you’ve made some amazing garments from it.

Helen: Yeah. Super fun.

Caroline: We also have a lighter weight hemp cotton chambray at Blackbird. It’s 3.8 ounces. This one would look great as a button-up like the Archer by Grainline or the Cameron Button Up from Helen’s closet. I also think a relaxed dress like the Skyline Dress by Syd Graham would be great. Just keep in mind that, because hemp has more body than cotton, gathered dresses and skirts will have a little bit more volume. But I think that would be a great look for the Skyline Dress. And this chambray, in particular, is quite drapey.

Helen: Ooh. Excellent. Yeah, I do think it would look so cute with the gathers.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. Should we talk about sewing tips?

Helen: Yeah, overall, hemp is pretty nice to sew with. It presses really well, much like cotton. The layers don’t slip and slide over each other ’cause it has a bit of grip to it, so it’s quite pleasant to sew.

Caroline: Yeah, I mean, some hemp fabrics do have fraying issues. You’re definitely gonna need to finish your seams, and if you can, try not to handle your pieces too much. If you need to handle certain pieces a lot, you might wanna finish the edges before you even sew them up, or you could increase the seam allowance to allow for the fraying.

Helen: And when it comes to pressing, use the same heat level you would for cotton fabrics. And steam is a-okay.

Caroline: You are gonna use a regular point needle with wovens, a ball point needle with knits. And hemp fabrics don’t come in a ton of colours. Threads Magazine test dyed swatches of hemp fabric blends in their fabric lab. And the hemp cotton blends turned out great with RIT powder dye. The rayon and silk blends dyed unevenly. So you’ll be fine dyeing a 100% hemp or hemp cotton blend with regular dye. if you have a different blend, you might want to look into specialty dyes. So if you can’t find the colour you want, you might want to dye it.

Helen: And there’s also hemp thread out there. It’s pretty much only heavy duty upholstery thread or hand sewing thread for leather, for example. Neither are really good for garment projects. So just use an all-purpose thread for your hemp projects.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. Before we go, we wanna name a few online shops where you can buy hemp fabrics that you can check out.

Helen: Yes, we’ve mentioned it a few times, but Blackbird fabrics has some hemp fabrics. Core Fabrics also has some hemp blend options. They also have hemp buttons in a bunch of pretty colours, which is kind of cool. So those are great for Canada options.

Caroline: Mmhmm. In the US, Hemp Traders has a wide selection of hemp fabrics in different weaves and blends. Dharma Trading Co. has undyed hemp fabrics for low prices, including hemp and Tencel blends. Very cool.

Helen: In the UK, The Hemp Shop has the largest range of hemp-based fabrics in the EU. Well, that’s pretty cool. And Hemp Gallery Australia has an impressive collection of different fabrics, weaves and knits. Jersey, canvas, velour, fleece, and more. I’m kind of jealous of this, Australia and UK options here.

Caroline: Hemp velour. I’ve never seen that before. Very cool. Alright, if you have one takeaway from this episode, I hope it’s that hemp is good.

Helen: Yes, it is good. It’s so earth-friendly. It lasts forever. It’s a nice fabric to sew with and nice to wear, especially with those blended and softer fibers. How can we get the word out? We need, like, a slogan.

Caroline: Okay. How about “Hemp! I need somebody. Hemp! Not like anybody.” (Sung to the tune of “Help!” by The Beatles)

Helen: Okay, I like it. Okay. What about “Make every day hemp day?” “Live every week like it’s hemp week.”

Caroline: What about, like, a mascot called Hempty Dempty?

Helen: Aw, Hempty Dempty.

Caroline: Aw, like a little hemp plant with little eyes.

Helen: Okay. But I feel like that’s not a fun story. Like, what’s gonna happen to Hempty Dempty?

Caroline: Yeah, he’s gonna get turned into fabric. Yay!

Helen: Yay!

Caroline: Oh my gosh. We should probably leave this to the professionals. But, Big Hemp, If you need us, you know where to find us. And we, we’ll advertise for you.

Helen: I look forward to seeing more and more hemp fabrics over the next decade. I’m sure it’s gonna come back in a big way and I’m excited.

Caroline: Me too.

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: And 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’ll talk to you next week.

Helen: Bye bye!

Caroline: Make every day hemp day.

Helen: Thank you.

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This episode is like a mini sewing challenge! We each sewed a skort and we discuss it for the first time on the pod. We chat about the patterns and fabrics we chose for our skorts, our experiences sewing them up, and how we wear them!

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

Show Notes: 

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Helen’s Skort:

Caroline’s Skort:

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 literally all we wanna talk about.

Helen: This episode is like a mini-sewing challenge. We each sewed a skort and we’re about to discuss it for the first time. We chat about the patterns and fabrics we chose and our experiences sewing them up and how we wanna wear them

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

Helen: Hello, Caroline.

Caroline: How are you?

Helen: I am doing well. How are you?

Caroline: I’m pretty good.

Helen: I am really stoked about this new podcast format.

Caroline: Yes, me too. It is weird to do something new after so many years of recording the podcast with you, and I don’t know why we haven’t done this sooner, because it was really fun.

Helen: I know! This is such a great opportunity for us to try something new, maybe experiment with some design elements or fabrics or patterns we haven’t used before, and then we get to talk about it. And I haven’t seen your skort and you haven’t seen my skort, so we’re in for a treat.

Caroline: Yeah, we really are. We’re going to, live on the show, see footage of our makes and talk about it. But before we go on, we need to talk about something else.

Helen: Oh yes, I forgot. We need to tell you about Patreon.

Caroline: Yes! and Apple Podcasts. We wanna remind everyone that the best way to support Love to Sew is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast Subscriptions. And if you do that, you get access to bonus content every month. We have so much fun catching up with you all, and those episodes are more casual. We actually talk about what we’re sewing in those episodes. So if you like today’s episode, you might like our bonus episodes.

Helen: Yeah. And it means so much to us if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just temporarily. And if it’s not in the cards for you to do that right now, we totally get it. We love you for listening and cheering us on and you’re still part of our Love to Sew fam.

Caroline: Absolutely. Okay, segue over. Let’s get back to the task at hand.

Helen: Yeah, so this is a format that we are planning to do ongoing, every once in a while: a “We Sew ___” episode. Caroline and I are gonna sew something around a theme, like a garment type, a fabric, or a technique. In this episode, we each sewed up a skort. And, like I said, we haven’t shared any of the details with each other yet. So we’re gonna get to hear about each other’s makes for the first time in this episode, discuss our pattern and fabric choices, and our experiences sewing the skorts and how it felt to wear them.

Caroline: Whew. It’s gonna be intense, Helen. Spoiler alert!

Helen: Is it? Okay, I’m bracing myself. I’m ready.

Caroline: Okay, before we start our discussion and reveal our projects to each other, I wanna talk about what a skort actually is for those of our listeners who maybe don’t know.

Helen: Yeah, so a skort is a combination of, you guessed it, a skirt and shorts. And usually it looks like a miniskirt from the front and then a pair of shorts in the back, although some designs look like a skirt all the way around and have built-in shorts underneath. There’s quite a few different ways to interpret “skort” out there.

Caroline: I wanna know, Helen, how you felt about skorts going into this challenge.

Helen: Well, we brainstormed a lot of ideas for this episode, or for our We Sew episodes, in general, and you were the one that put forward skorts, and I’ve never thought about sewing a skort in my life. So I was like, “Yeah, you know what? I’ll try that. I’ll try anything once.” And I do enjoy wearing shorts. It’s a go-to garment for me in the summertime. Love shorts and a t-shirt. So, you know, there’s not that big a difference between shorts and a skort. It’s just a panel of fabric, usually. But I don’t wear short skirts. Like, I am a midi-length skirt girl all the way. I want it down around my calf. I’ll go maxi. But, like, I don’t do knee length or miniskirts very much. So that element is definitely outside of my style comfort zone.

Caroline: Okay. But why don’t you do miniskirts?

Helen: I think it’s, like, comfort level with just, like, feeling like exposed to the world. You know, that makes me sound prudish or something, but it’s just like…

Caroline: Well, you don’t wanna flash someone, right?

Helen: Yeah. And it’s not even that. I don’t even like, like, sitting down in a miniskirt feels weird ’cause, like, your butt is just on stuff. Like, I like a little more coverage. So, realistically, a skort is the perfect garment for me.

Caroline: This is what I’m saying, is that if you are worried about feeling exposed in a short skirt, then it feels like a skort would be the answer, right?

Helen: Yeah, that’s true. And I do love the look of a miniskirt. But it’s not something I’ve really managed to work into my personal style wardrobe. I like a more bohemian, relaxed, kind of hippie girl vibe, so.

Caroline: I am similar, like, I am not a skort gal. I’m not a short skirt gal. I’m not even a shorts gal. So why did I suggest skorts is a great question.

Helen: Because you were being brave.

Caroline: I think I was wanting to choose something that I’ve never made before and that was very much out of my, like, style comfort zone. I thought it would be fun to just, like, try something totally out of left field and, yeah. Was it fun? I’ll let you know once we get to that.

Helen: Okay. I’m picking up some interesting undertones here.

Caroline: Yeah. No, I mean, it is this, this is all fun because we’re sewing and we love sewing and I do think it was really interesting to try a new project that I definitely wouldn’t have tried without the prompt of this episode. But, as with many things in sewing, it brings up a lot of feelings that don’t have anything to do with sewing. Right? Like, it’s also about our bodies and craft and, like, style. Yeah. So, I have a lot to say in that department, but I feel like we need to save it because we gotta get through the, like, nitty gritty of what we sewed and what it looks like. And I really wanna reveal my project to you and I really wanna see your skort. So should we get into that part?

Helen: Yeah, sure. Who should go first?

Caroline: I want you to go first.

Helen: Okay, sounds good. You can look at the pictures and video I sent now, and I will describe it to you while you’re having a look-see. Okay. So, for my skort, I chose to make the Made for Mermaids Rose Skort, which was actually designed by past guest Aaronica Cole. So that was a really nice little tie-in to the podcast. And this pattern has a ton of options, so it’s a great one. If you want this classic skort with just the front flap or like a full skort with built-in shorts underneath, it’s got different options. You can go more sporty, you can go more regular kind of woven fabrics direction. And I really like the simplicity of it. It’s just a classic, regular short with front and back darts. And then the front panel piece over top. This one goes from a 34 inch to 64 inch hip. And that’s 86 centimeters to 162 centimeters. And so it’s got a great size range. One interesting thing I wanted to note about this pattern company is that they don’t use numbered or lettered sizing, which is cool. They use colours. So I made size yellow. And it also has a ton of tester photos to look at so you can see different fits and fabrics, which is always kind of nice when you’re debating whether or not you wanna make a pattern.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, Helen. It’s so cute. Honestly? It’s so cute! It looks so good. I love how you styled it, kind of summery vibes. I could totally see you wearing this. It is a little bit outside of your style identity, I think, but it really looks great. It’s like, you’ve managed to look really, like, casual and cute and the fit is incredible. And I love the simplicity of the pattern. I love that it’s just a simple panel. There’s not too much going on. Obviously, you know I love this fabric. I almost used this fabric for my project, so.

Helen: Yeah. Okay. I didn’t mention the fabric yet. Okay. So I used a hemp denim from Blackbird Fabrics, which is one of my all-time favourite fabrics. It’s one of those things I like to keep in my fabric stash. So when I make something out of it, I just buy it again.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Because I’m always happy to make something out of it. It’s a great fabric. It’s like around a six ounce, I believe, six and a half ounces. So it’s a nice weight. It’s got some drape to it, classic denim blue, and it washes and wears beautifully. So because I was outta my style comfort zone, I thought I’d stay in my fabric comfort zone to help make the project a success. And I also, you know, I wasn’t sure about wearing a skort, so I thought about what fabric I would consider wearing a miniskirt in. And what I came up with was denim because classic denim miniskirt, right? So then I was like, “I think I’ll go with that because that way it makes sense in my mind,” you know? And it’s not, like, too…I have a tendency to choose, like, electric yellow or something and then I don’t end up wearing it ’cause it’s a little too out there. So this is a very neutral, classic miniskirt fabric. So I do think that helped to make it a success.

Caroline: It is very, very cute. I love it.

Helen: Thank you.

Caroline: And I love that past guest Aaronica designed it. It’s perfect.

Helen: I am really happy with how it turned out. It’s obviously not super summery…

Caroline: Yeah. Outside, you mean. Like, when we’re recording.

Helen: Yeah, totally. So I haven’t had a ton of chance to wear it. I could style it with tights and boots and stuff, but that’s also not really my style. So I am looking forward to wearing it in the summertime, and I think I will definitely get wear out of it because the shorts are really comfortable and it looks really cute and I can definitely see it paired with sandals and a tank top and…

Caroline: Yeah. The fit is super spot on, too. I think it looks great.

Helen: Yeah. Okay, I really wanna hear about your skort and what pattern you used and what you made.

Caroline: Okay, so I went with the Sunrise Skort, which is a pattern from Jessilou’s Closet. And I’ll just read her description for it. So: “The Sunrise Skort pattern is a modern take on a traditional skort. It features shorts hidden behind either a full wrap skirt with a tie on the side, or a half skirt that covers only the front of the shorts.” I ended up going with View B, which has the full skirt over the front and back. And this pattern goes from a 24 inch waist to a 54 inch waist and a 34 inch hip to a 65 inch hip. So size 0-34. And just those two views in there, I ended up doing a size 24. And I chose this pattern. I mean, there aren’t that many skort patterns out there, but this one immediately came to mind. And after looking at other options, I decided to go ahead with it ’cause it just, like, I couldn’t get it out of my brain. And I really like that there’s like a wrap skirt on the front and the back of this one. And I really love the side tie detail. It reminds me of one of my favourite patterns that I’ve made a million times, the Peppermint Wrap Skirt. So that part was kind of in my comfort zone a little bit. Fabric-wise, maybe I’ll tell you what fabric I used. I went with our mini gingham linen in black/ecru; it’s like a really lightweight, soft, a hundred percent linen fabric. I almost went with the same denim as you, but I’m glad that I didn’t because I feel I like it would’ve been funny, but also kind boring if we picked the same fabric. But yeah, I kind of thought of that fabric as something that I could style for both fall or summer because of the gingham. Like, it kind of gives, like, Clueless vibes, I think, when you, like, wear it with tights, which I liked.

Helen: It does!

Caroline: But yeah, I mean, we could talk more about, like, our feelings about the project after, maybe.

Helen: First, I do wanna say that it looks so freaking cute. I love it. I love it in this black and white fabric. It definitely gives Clueless vibes. And you styled it in this video with tights, which is so cute. Like, it looks really adorable on you. And I really like the styling that you did and yeah. I want another skort now, in a checkered fabric.

Caroline: Yeah, I styled it with, like, my, like, loafers and a Carrie Crop. And you styled yours with, like, sandals and a Jackson Tee, right? Yeah. So we both wore our t-shirt patterns with it, which is kind of funny. But I feel like you styled yours more for spring/summer vibes and I styled mine more for fall/winter vibes. Which is also a fun contrast. But yeah, it was a fun project. It was fun to go out of my comfort zone and fun to sew a pattern from a different company that I’ve never sewn from before. I’ve never tried a Jessilou pattern, so.

Helen: Yeah, same. I haven’t tried a Made for Mermaids pattern. And they have so many designs, so it was really fun to give the company a try. And I’m encouraged to learn that their pants block fits me so well because they do have many options. And I had a lot of success with it. So yeah, it was fun to get out of my comfort zone, too. I sew a lot of my own patterns, of course, ’cause I’m always thinking of ways to hack and make different versions and promote them and do marketing and stuff like that. So I don’t always get the opportunity or take the opportunity to sew other designers’ patterns anymore. So that was a really fun element of this challenge.

Caroline: Absolutely. Okay. Should we talk about what our sewing experience was like?

Helen: Yeah, for sure. Okay. So I did sew a muslin because I wanted to make sure that the shorts fit before I made them. So I didn’t do the skirt part, I just slapped together the shorts so I could try them on. And I’m glad I did because they were a good fit, but they were quite snug and I wanted them to be a little bit looser. Like, I didn’t want, like, a tight fit on the shorts. They fit, but they were just tight. So I decided to size up. And they were also really short, so I added like an inch and a half, maybe even two inches to the length. Like, ‘ cause they just felt like they were too, too short for me. So I added a little bit of length and I sized up and I lengthened the rise, which is a typical adjustment for me ’cause I’m almost 5’10”. So I almost always lengthen the rise. But it was fun to throw together the muslin and check the fit and then make the project. I’m not always good about doing that test version ahead of time, but this time I was like, “I’m gonna do it ’cause it’s just shorts. I can do it really quickly.”

Caroline: Okay. I feel like, I was gonna say, this episode is probably, like, a really great representation of how you and I approach projects slightly differently because you were like, “It would be wise to make a muslin” and you did. And I was like, “It would be wise to make a muslin” and I didn’t. Because I will avoid it at all costs.

Helen: But you knew, you did know that it was smart. And? It fit, so it wasn’t necessary to make the muslin. So that’s good.

Caroline: Yes, it fit. I wish I had lengthened the pattern a couple of inches. I often do that anyways. Like, most of the time when I sew patterns, I will add a few inches ’cause I’m like, “I can always take them away,” especially if it’s something that’s easy to just, like, lengthen from the bottom. But in this case, I was like, “Part of the fun of this exercise, for me, is that I really wanna try, like, a short style.” So I was like, “I’m all in. If she’s short, we’re going with it.”

Helen: Yeah, that’s fair.

Caroline: And, like, more on that later. But, like, she’s short. Like, it’s a short skort.

Helen: Yeah. I would say yours is the length that mine was before I lengthened it.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. So do I wish I made muslin so I realized that I needed to lengthen it to be comfortable? Then yes, I do. But it was a fun exercise and I do think the fit was really good in the end. Like the, the shorts fit perfectly. I wouldn’t have had to, like, lengthen the rise or anything. It literally was just the length of the garment itself. So.

Helen: Oh, that’s very positive. Yeah. So you didn’t end up making any adjustments on the fly, like taking it in or changing seam allowances, or…?

Caroline: No. I didn’t have to make any adjustments, no.

Helen: Oh, that’s awesome. Yeah. After I sized up, I ended up taking it back in at the waist because the waist felt a bit loose. And I do have a somewhat funny story because I got caught up in the sewing of the skort and I was so confident, overconfident that I knew how it went together. I’m like, “Oh yeah, skort: shorts, skirt, panel, facing, zipper. Got it. No problem,” that I completely missed that there is an elastic back on this skort. And so I tried it on in my sized up one and I was like, “Oh, it’s so loose in the waist. I wish there was an elastic back in the skort. Like, that would’ve been such a great detail to include in the pattern. Why didn’t they think of that?” And literally didn’t realize until after that that is fully in the pattern, of course, because it’s smart and they put it in there. And I just breezed right past that. Didn’t notice it at all. So I don’t have an elastic in the back of my skort. I just, like, took it in so it was tight in the waist. But I did have to laugh at myself and check myself a little bit. And I honestly think pattern designers probably make the worst sewists because we’re not following those directions. We’re just like, “Oh, I got this.”

Caroline: I definitely had times like that, too, where I had to check myself. ‘Cause I would be, like, breezing past instructions. Like, “I know how to do this.” Or like, “I wouldn’t do it that way, so I’m gonna do it my way.” And then I’d be like, “No, Caroline, follow the instructions.” And, sure enough, usually, like, when things are done a certain way, it’s for a reason. It’s probably because 10 steps later you needed to have done it that way, you know? So, yeah, definitely, like, an exercise in trusting the process, trusting the designer. Like, leaning into not being the one making the decisions.

Helen: Be a bit humble and…

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely.

Helen: Yeah. Yeah, that was pretty funny. I also think that reading the instructions in full before you begin is always a good idea and I’m really bad about doing that. Yeah. And I breezed right through it. It was also a different style of instruction booklet, like, this, the Made for Mermaids instructions have photographs throughout instead of illustrations and my, like, visual brain, like, doesn’t gel super well with photo instructions. So I know some people prefer them and that’s great, but I was just, like, kind of jumping around because I’m like, where am I with…I need, like, line art to, like, really focus in on things. But I think that’s also just because that’s my style as an instruction maker. So it was definitely interesting. Assuming I knew how to make the project and then being like, “Oh, right, right, right.”

Caroline: One I didn’t thing mention is that the pattern includes, like, in-seam pockets, and I mean, you can probably guess that I didn’t do them. Because who wants pockets, like, in a tight skort? Short skort? I don’t know…

Helen: I mean, some people just want pockets in everything.

Caroline: I know. I feel like, for me, I was like, “They’re gonna be flopping around.” Also, my fabric is so light that if I put anything in them, they’re just gonna kind of get weighed down and I just can’t be bothered. I did go rogue in that department. I was like, “Absolutely not. Absolutely will not be doing that.”

Helen: I think that is wise. I think, in this style, the pockets aren’t necessarily gonna, yeah, add much to the look of it. Obviously great for functionality, but mine didn’t have pockets, and I don’t know how you would put them on successfully, too. ‘Cause then it adds, like, even more layers. Like, oftentimes the front or back skirt panel is sewn into the side seam, and then that’s where the pocket also goes. So it would be, like, a lot of fabric all at once.

Caroline: Also, your pattern has an invisible zipper on the side seam, right? Mine has an invisible zipper in the center front, so I feel like it left space for pockets on the side seams. But with an invisible zipper and pockets? I don’t know how you would even do that. You could only have one pocket.

Helen: Yeah. You could just do one. I probably would’ve done the same thing and left the pockets off if I were you. Plus, it’s a first go at it, too. Sometimes I’ll leave details off if I’m like, “This is just my first attempt.”

Caroline: Yeah. Totally.

Helen: I really like how yours ties. I think that’s really cute. And you can, like, fully open it like a towel. Like, whereas mine is, the skirt is sewn into the waist. So you can lift it up like a flap, but you can’t fully open it.

Caroline: So how does it close? Is it like a button?

Helen: It’s sewn right onto the waist, and then there’s a waist facing, so it’s all tucked in. So there’s no button.

Caroline: But, like, the flap. How does the flap close?

Helen: It’s sewn right into the waist…

Caroline: Ohhh. Oh, sorry, sorry, I get it.

Helen: No, no, that’s okay.

Caroline: It’s fully sewn all the way across. Interesting. Okay. I thought skorts always opened ‘cause how else would you reveal that It’s a skort? Isn’t that part of wearing skorts?

Helen: I don’t know. Do you have to?

Caroline: That you walk into a room and you go, “Guys! Look! Woo!”

Helen: “You think this is a skirt? Guess again!”

Caroline: And then it’s like, (clicking noises) open it up.

Helen: You don’t have to open it. You can just turn around.

Caroline: Yeah, that’s true. Your reveal is you’re turning around.

Helen: Yeah. Well, and you can lift up the flap if you want.

Caroline: Absolutely. It’s just maybe not as dramatic.

Helen: Peekaboo. It’s true, it’s not. And I do think the little, like, tie detail adds something. I love a waist tie. My pattern also had a cute, there’s a view where you can do a bias binding along the front of the skort and the, and the flap is, like, curved, so it gives it a bit more of a sporty look. Which I thought was cute because I definitely feel like, when I’m wearing it, I’m like, “I should be holding a racket and wearing sneakers and heading to my nearest court.”

Caroline: I know, I, we were talking about this before we hit record, but I was like, “I feel like skorts is like, I feel like either like a school girl, like a young lady, or like I am about to do sports, you know, like I’m gonna be golfing or playing tennis.”

Helen: Oh yeah, golf’s a good one. Yeah. I mean, I considered making a sporty skort because I play pickleball and I was like, “It would be cute to have something more athletic for playing pickleball.” But I couldn’t find the right fabric and then I just decided to go with this denim one instead. But I do know what you mean. I feel a little bit juvenile in it, which sounds like a really negative thing. But it could be a positive thing. It makes me feel youthful, you know?

Caroline: Oh my gosh. We need to keep it moving. Okay. Helen, if you could go back in time and give yourself a piece of advice before you started sewing your skort, what would it be?

Helen: I think we all know it’s: “Read the instructions before you start, you dummy.”

Caroline: Yeah. Mine would be: “Make a muslin, you dummy. Or just, like, lengthen. Lengthen the pattern.”

Helen: No, make a muslin!

Caroline: That’s pretty much it.

Helen: That’s good. You know, this is positive. We both learned something. What would you say was the best and worst part of making your skort?

Caroline: Okay. I feel like it’s the same thing because the best part was: I love sewing with linen and I love how, like, airy it is, how beautifully it presses. Like, I really love this fabric and I love wearing it and I just think it’s a really nice match for the pattern. But it was also hella shifty, like, this linen and, like, the ties, especially when I was turning out the ties because they’re pretty narrow. As I was, like, turning them out, I feel like I was almost, like, stretching the fabric. So then when I went to go press the ties, my gingham looks like a wavy gingham. Like, it’s no longer straight. And I, like, could not get it to look straight and I had to be like, “You know what? This is imperfect and that’s fine. Like, I can live with it.”

Helen: Yeah, it’s fine. It’s gonna be tied.

Caroline: It’s gonna be tied. No one’s gonna be paying attention to whether my ginghams are, like, perfectly straight in this little tie. But yeah, there were some parts where I was like, “Ooh, this fabric is maybe not the most perfect match for this pattern.” Like, the panels are double layered, like the front and back skirt panel that you sort of, like, wrap around and tie, it’s a double layer of fabric. So getting those two layers perfectly flat and not having one sort of bubbling anywhere, like, it was a little bit challenging. And I think it ended up fine, but I worry that when I wash it, it’s gonna be kind of a nightmare to, like, press nicely and get it to, like, get it back to looking good. And, honestly, these might never get washed, because linen shrinks. I pre-wash my fabric but, like, I cannot afford for this skort to be any shorter. She’s getting hand washed.

Helen: Imagine. Oh my gosh. Well, maybe that’s for the best.

Caroline: What about you?

Helen: I really enjoyed looking at all of the skorts patterns that I could possibly find on the internet.

Caroline: Oh really? Do you have, like, a database you can share with us?

Helen: Well, there’s not that many out there. So I really did a deep dive into the sewing community to try to find all the skort patterns I could find so that I could compare and decide which one I wanted to make. And it was interesting because there aren’t that many. So it was cool to see how people interpreted the style and see different companies I’d never heard of before. And just, like, explore a little bit in a very specific pattern area. Like I said, it’s not something I do a ton. Like, obviously when we’re coming up with designs for Helen’s Closet, I’ll go and look and see what’s out there, but I also try to keep my blinders on a little bit ’cause I just wanna do what I wanna do and I don’t wanna be distracted by what else is out there, what other people have done. So it was fun for me to explore other pattern designs. And to try another pattern company. That was really fun. And I love working with this fabric. So of course that was really fun. And I think I will wear this skort. I am excited for the summer months ’cause I think I’m gonna get some wear out of it for sure.

Caroline: Yeah, I’m excited to see you wear it this summer. I’m gonna expect to see it show up during Me-Made May, Helen.

Helen: I think the worst part of sewing the skort was my first muslin. ‘Cause when I put it on, I was like, “Oh no.”

Caroline: Oh no.

Helen: ‘Cause it was so tight and, you know, muslin doesn’t, like, give it all. So it was also just this, like, papery, tight shorts and I was like, “Oh, what am I doing?” But we got there in the end.

Caroline: We both, like, questioned our life choices during this project.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Caroline: It’s like, it went from like, “Why are we sewing skorts” to like, “Why do I have a podcast where I now have to talk about sewing a skort?”

Helen: This is all part of the sewing process.

Caroline: Okay. So you, I think I know that you stand by your fabric choice. You were happy with the fabric you went with.

Helen: Yeah. 10 outta 10, would use it again. It’s in my Blackbird Fabrics cart right now. I’m buying some more.

Caroline: Yeah. That fabric will, we will have it forever, if, as, as long as we can. As long as it’s being made, it will be in our store. It’s so wonderful.

Helen: Yes. Total staple. I love it. How about you? Are you happy with your linen?

Caroline: I really like it and I hope I can wear it in the summer. I was thinking it would be really cute, like, at the beach or something. I think that if I were to do it again, I would probably go with that denim because I just love it so much and I think it’ll, it would look really good in this pattern. And with a couple of little fit adjustments, like mainly just lengthening.

Helen: I think if you added a couple inches to that, you would probably love it. Like, yeah, I feel like it could be perfect.

Caroline: Okay, so in terms of the pattern, we kind of already talked about this, but you, were you into the pattern that you chose in the end?

Helen: Yeah, I totally was. I now would know, going into it, working with this pattern company, that the instructions are the photographs. And I would read them more carefully before I begin so that I can, like, get the lay of the land a little bit more. But the drafting was on point. Like, it fit really well. Hardly any adjustments. And they have so many patterns and, like, so many versions of their patterns. So it’s a good company to look at if you’re looking for something specific because, chances are, they have a version of it. And they even have a youth version of this pattern, which I thought was cute. So you can make the women’s version or you can make the youth version.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, so you could make your nieces matching skorts.

Helen: They’d probably love that, actually. It definitely feels like a more youth-oriented style, the skort. I probably had one when I was a kid.

Caroline: Because you, if you’re doing cartwheels…I’m just imagining that’s what the youth do all day is, like, cartwheels.

Helen: That’s what my niece does all day. She does a thousand cartwheels every day.

Caroline: If, yeah, you’re doing cartwheels all day long, then you can’t be wearing a miniskirt, right?

Helen: I mean, you totally can, but…

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay. I really liked my pattern, too.I thought that the drafting was good. I liked that the design was really cute and simple. The instructions were pretty clear. I think my only thing that I would maybe change, other than lengthening it, is adding a little bit of shaping to the overskirt part, especially in the back. It doesn’t have any darts, so with my larger bum, I feel like it just kind of sticks out a little bit. It doesn’t drape as nicely, especially ‘cause it’s a more fitted style. So I think I would add darts or some kind of shaping to that back skirt so that it fits my booty a little bit better.

Helen: Yeah. Fair. That’d be cute.

Caroline: Alright. Should we talk about styling?

Helen: Yeah. I mean, I styled mine with a t-shirt, which I think looks really cute, and Jackson Tees go with everything. So it was an easy choice. But I also could see it with a tank top, a swimsuit. I like your idea of wearing it on the beach, like I could see it with a swim top and, like, a little beach coverup would be cute. And then I like the idea of winter styling as well, but I don’t have a pair of, like, nice boots right now. I have Blundstones. That’s it. Period. So I don’t know if that’s the vibe. But, like, I could see it with a tall leather boot and some nice sheer stockings and a turtleneck. I think it could look really cute.

Caroline: Yeah, yeah. A tall boot with a short skirt is so cute. And man, I wish, I can’t find tall boots that fit me, but if I could, I’d be all over that. Absolutely.

Helen: I know, the calf fit is always such a struggle. If anyone has any recommendations…

Caroline: Yeah, you know, I’ve done so much research.

Helen: Oh no. Why, world? Why?

Caroline: Also, I was gonna say, don’t send me recommendations ’cause I, I can’t buy anything this year. I’m on a no buy year. But no, do, I would love to know and…

Helen: I mean, I think an ankle boot, like, you could, I could imagine, like, a lace-up, cute, kind of, like, high ankle boot with some cute socks. And then the tights and the skirt would look really cute, too. And I would even consider adding belt loops to my skirt so that I could style it with a belt because I like to style everything with a belt.

Caroline: Whoa. Curveball. A belt over a skort, Helen?

Helen: I know, kind of, probably not correct, but my skirt is built into the waistband, so I could just slap some belt loops on there and make it work. I just like the look of a belt.

Caroline: I think you could style it with Blundstones if you went, like, a little bit more grunge with it. You know, like, I don’t know, like a graphic tee and some black tights or something.

Helen: Yeah. Yeah. Or, like, some cool checkerboard socks or something. Yeah, I could see it. That’s true. Maybe I need to give that a try.

Caroline: Can I tell you a story?

Helen: Yes, I wanna hear it.

Caroline: Okay, so I finished this skort…also, like, truly on brand. Do you wanna know when I finished this skort?

Helen: I don’t know, like, 20 minutes before we started recording?

Caroline: We were joking about me sewing the final stitch, like, minutes before coming on. That didn’t happen…

Helen: On the show. “You go first. I’ll be done in two minutes.”

Caroline: But, obviously, I left it to the last minute. I sewed it over the last week, basically, and I finished it up on Monday night and it’s Wednesday. So, like, honestly, proud of myself. I gave myself a 24 hour buffer.

Helen: That’s good. That’s really good, actually.

Caroline: But I am in a fragile state, currently. As you know, my cycle, I’m in, I’m in the, I’m in the phase of my cycle where I’m very sensitive and, and I finished my skort, put it on, hated it. Like, literally, I was like, “I do not like how this looks. It is so short. I’m not comfortable. I just don’t wear short things. I’m just not comfortable and I’m trying to work through it. But anyways…

Helen: Yeah, I mean, part of the reason we wanted to do this was to, like, push though that a bit, so yeah, I can imagine that was a challenge.

Caroline: And honestly, I don’t have that many sewing projects where that happens. I think I’ve been really lucky because I often finish a project and I’m, like, so incredibly stoked about it. And so, when I finished this project and I wasn’t loving it on me, that made me really sad. And then I was like, “Okay, we’re recording this episode in two days. I need to, like, figure out how I’m gonna style this. Figure out, like, can I make this work for what I’m, something I’m comfortable with and my own personal style and everything. So I, like, tried it on. I, like, put on some black tights and, like, loafers and, like, a cute little t-shirt, like a kind of looser t-shirt. And I, like, tucked it in and I came out and I was like, “I finished my skort. What do you think, Shea?” And his first reaction was like, “Is that what you would wear it with?” So, like, just picture, I’m fragile, I’m in a fragile place. Okay. And I was like, “Yes. I just put on this outfit, like, to show you this skort. This is how I would wear it.”

Helen: Right. Also, “It’s, like, Monday night and I’m wearing tights. Like, what do you think is happening here?”

Caroline: Yeah, exactly. Like, “Do you think I just threw this on?” I was like, truly, he couldn’t have said anything worse in that moment and I, so I was like, “Yeah, this is how I’d wear it.” And he was like, “Oh, like, it just doesn’t feel like you. Like, you’ve never worn anything like that before. And, like, I just am having trouble seeing past the way that you’ve styled it.”

Helen: Oh my god!

Caroline: He was like…Okay, I love Shea. I love you. Like, he is a wonderful, wonderful partner. And like he truly compliments me all the time. Like, it’s a, I don’t want anyone to come for Shea. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into in that conversation. Like, he, the only thing he could have said that would have made me feel good was like, “You look incredible. Like, no notes,” you know? But, I didn’t feel incredible. So, obviously, when he was like, “This doesn’t feel like your style,” I was like, “Oh God.” And so I immediately just, like, spiraled, you know? And I was like, “I hate my legs. I hate the way this looks. I don’t know how to style it.” And, like, Shea’s, like, comforting me. And he is like, “Don’t worry, Babe. Like, why don’t you just, like, go back to the drawing board and, like, you can make another one.” And I was like, “I can’t make another one! Like, I’m recording in two days. Like, I don’t have time.” And he was like, “I’m sorry.” This poor man.

Helen: Oh my gosh.

Caroline: I did fully spiral after this project, which is unusual for me. I’m gonna work through it. And I think, with some time, I’m, I’m, like, liking it more and I showed, like, pictures of it to some folks at work and everyone was like, “Oh my God, it’s so cute.” And you like it. And, like, that helps.

Helen: I think it’s adorable.

Caroline: Yeah, that helps, for sure. And like, I will be showing everyone this skort. Like, this is a podcast. We are real. I’m, I’m showing it to y’all. So just know that I might still be fragile.

Helen: Get ready, world, because you’re gonna be shocked by how adorable it is.

Caroline: But yeah, it, it brought up some feelings, which I think and I hope that some people can relate to because I think, with sewing, you don’t always love the project right when it’s finished. Sometimes you need a little bit of space from it, or time, or, like, you need to try different, styling it differently. You need to talk to people about it. And sometimes you just like, don’t like it and you’re like, “I’m not gonna wear this.” And that’s also okay. Like, I do think I still got something out of this project. And not everything can be a win. And it’s not necessarily a reflection on the pattern or the fabric. It’s just, like, a combination of all of those things. It, like, maybe didn’t work out exactly how I imagined it, and then, yeah, when you’re bringing, like, fitting and styling and body into the equation, like, everyone has their stuff, right? And I’m no exception, so it did bring up a lot, and that was an interesting thing that I wasn’t necessarily expecting.

Helen: Yeah, that’s totally fair. And I think a lot of our listeners can definitely relate to that, feelings about your body, and also just the feeling of finishing a project and hating it. And then sometimes you come back to it the next day and you’re like, “Oh, it’s really not that bad.” And then sometimes you come back to it and you’re like, “Yeah, this one didn’t work.” And then you move on. But you do have to grieve the time and the money and the energy that you spent. ‘Cause it sucks when it doesn’t work. It really sucks.

Caroline: Yeah, I know. And we’ve talked about this on the show before. Like, I often think about that conversation we had where we were talking about artists and how you’re painting as, like, a practice and it’s not, you’re not always gonna have, like, finished projects that are perfect and that you would, like, display, right? Like, it’s kind of similar with sewing. I have to remind myself that, like, not everything is going to be something that I’m going to wear with pride, and that is totally okay. That’s, like, part of practicing this craft. Yeah.

Helen: Yeah, it is a practice. Well, do you think that you will give it another go at a longer length, or do you think you need more time?

Caroline: I think I do need more time, but I, I might, honestly, I might because I do think it has potential. I, I think this pattern’s really cute and I wish I had gone through the muslin process and made that change. ‘Cause I think that could have really changed how I felt about the finished project. It’s just so short. But, you know, the funny thing when I was trying it on, I was like, “This is so incredibly short. Like, I could never wear this outside.” And then I was like, “Wait, that’s why it’s a skort. Like, I won’t flash anyone because I am wearing a skort, and that’s the beauty of a skort.” So it’s like, if anything can be that short, it is this project, you know?

Helen: Well, and I think shorts is one of those things that, like, you can have a preferred inseam length for your shorts and know that, you know, kind of like your preferred length for a skirt. And then every time you make a pair of shorts, you just, like, check the inseam. I like it four inches, so I’m just gonna go ahead and make it four inches. ‘Cause I know that’s what I like and it looks good on me. So it’s one of those numbers that you kinda have in your back pocket. Haha. See what I did there?

Caroline: See, I didn’t know that ‘cause I’m not a shorts girly. So now I need to figure out what my inseam length is and I’m gonna write it down and remember for next time.

Helen: Like, this is what I need.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah. And everyone’s comfort level is different, right? Well, thank you for being so vulnerable with us about your skort, and I appreciate it.

Caroline: Thank you for listening. Thank you for listening, listeners, as well. To be clear, like, you can all wear whatever length skirt you want. And I would never, like, look at somebody else and be like, “That’s too short.” Or like, “Your legs don’t look good.” Like, this is my own stuff that I’m working through and I realize it might not be fun to hear for everyone ’cause I think it could probably make you feel some type of way if I feel some type of way about my own body. So yeah, I…yeah. It’s not at all a reflection on anyone else. It’s purely my own stuff.

Helen: Yeah. Well, I think, as sewists, everybody’s interested in that part of the equation, right? It’s really interesting to have a hobby that is both about the making of a craft and the enjoying it on our physical body, right? It is a very interesting hobby in that regard. So I think it’s cool to hear about.

Caroline: This was really fun, Helen. Do you have any other thoughts that you wanna share before we wrap up this, I was gonna say, inaugural episode. What’s the right word for this? Premier episode of We Sew.

Helen: We Sew series. We have another one coming later this season, too. So that’s exciting. I’m excited to get started on that project. But no, I don’t have anything else to add. I do think a skort is a fun thing to try, so if you’re listening and you’re like, “Maybe I’ll try a skort,” yeah, go for it.

Caroline: And we’d love to hear about it.

Helen: Yeah, and we’ll be sharing our skorts on our Instagram @LoveToSew.Podcast. So you can head there or to our website to check out what we made.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Be blown away by our adorableness.

Caroline: All right, well, we’ll catch you next time. Bye. 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 help 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. 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’ll talk to you next week.

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Bye.

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We interview Christine Millar, aka Sewstine! She talks to us about her stunning historical costumes, from drafting the patterns to designing and machine embroidering the sumptuous fabrics.

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

Show Notes: 

Find Christine Online:

Some of Christine’s Makes:

A post shared by Christine Millar (@sewstine)

Resources:

Machines and Tools: 

Fabrics: 

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.

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 in Cedar Quilt Co.

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

Helen: Today we are interviewing Christine Millar, AKA Sewstine! She talks to us about her stunning historical costumes and where she wears them. We also cover how she creates these incredible gowns, from drafting the pattern to designing and machine embroidering the fabric.

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

Helen: Hi, Caroline.

Caroline: Today’s guest is bringing something a little different to the podcast. Christine Millar, known online as Sewstine, is known for her absolutely stunning 18th century gowns. She’s also an accomplished machine embroiderer. She even designs her own historically-inspired embroidery files. And in addition to all that, she has a day job as an anesthesiologist, a great YouTube channel, and a wardrobe of romantic me-mades for everyday wear. I have so many questions for her. I think we should get into it.

Helen: Yes. Hello, Christine! Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Christine: Hi, Helen. Hi, Caroline. Thank you so much for inviting me.

Helen: We can’t wait to chat with you all about historical costuming today, but we’re gonna start by asking the question that we ask all of our guests, which is: how and when did you learn how to sew?

Christine: So, my mother taught me when I was five. I still remember, the very first thing that I made was a little pin cushion for her, and we still have it, actually. But, the thing is, my parents didn’t let me sew all that much, because in Korea, sewing was considered not a good wage-maker. So my mom really tried to discourage me from sewing. Clearly it didn’t work.

Helen: She got you hooked, and then she was like, “No, don’t do it.” And you were like, “I can’t! I can’t stop!”

Christine: Exactly. I still remember, when I was 14, we grew up really poor, so my mom couldn’t buy me a fancy dress, so she sewed me one, and I turned out to be the best-dressed one at the party. And that feeling of walking in wearing a dress that you know fits you to perfection, even at 13, was so mind-altering that I became hooked on making dresses forever.

Helen: Oh, I love that. Okay. I wanna hear a bit more about your journey as a historical costumer. When did your interest in historical costuming start?

Christine: So, I always loved costuming. In general, I think that costumes are the most fun way to sew things, because you don’t necessarily wanna sew things you can just buy off the rack. So I’ve always been part of the cosplay scene in the, in New York City, back in, like, the early 2000s, there were, there was Comic-Con, and costuming and cosplay weren’t that big then. But I really enjoyed cosplay. I kind of realized that my favourite dresses in movies were all historical ones. For instance, Sleepy Hollow. You know the black and white dress that she wears for, like, 10 seconds at the end of that movie?

Helen: I know it now, from following you and seeing your version of it, and it’s my favourite one that you’ve made. I love black and white print, so it’s just everything.

Christine: Thank you so much. That dress lived rent-free in my head for probably two decades, and I’ve made it four times now. And, really, that dress is what got me into historical costuming because I made it, but realized in order to make it look good, I needed a corset and I needed panniers and I needed all this. So I just kept making it over and over again.

Helen: Wow, that’s amazing. I can’t believe you’ve made it four times. Wow.

Christine: Each time it’s different. My last one, I think I finally got it right. It turns out that the secret is: not only do you have to have the right undergarments and the right shapewear and know how to make 18th century costumes, but it’s also that you have to get a sharpie and draw the stripes in yourself.

Helen: Wait, what? You drew them in onto, like, an ivory silk?

Christine: Yes. So, someone sent me a museum, the dress in a museum exhibit, and it said that the stripes were actually just drawn in with sharpie. And once I realized that, I realized why the stripes were one inch and one inch and a quarter apart as opposed to one inch, one inch, one inch, one inch. But that slight difference made such a huge difference to me.

Helen: Oh my gosh. That must have been very time-consuming. And also it’s incredibly brave to take sharpie to fabric. Like, were you so nervous about that?

Christine: I wasn’t that nervous because, I figured, if I made a mistake, what’s another, paying for another yard to make the dress of your dreams, right?

Caroline: Mm.

Helen: Preach. I love it.

Christine: But the biggest problem was that, after, like, an hour of sharpie-ing, you get a really bad headache.

Caroline: Oh no, the fumes!

Christine: The fumes are real. So I actually had to switch to Arteza markers. And Arteza makes these great fabric markers. They don’t bleed that much. I actually experimented with about six different brands of markers to find the perfect one and the silk taffeta that bled the least. So, between the two of them, and I wanna say about a hundred hours of just drawing stripes in, I’ve managed to make the dress.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. This is an incredible story. Was this the first costume that you made, or was this, like, further down in your journey?

Christine: I would say that I’d made other historical gowns. I love steampunk, and I was really big into steampunk back when it was big in New York in 2008. Oh my God, that just dates myself. But, because steampunk was so big then, I would make these, uh, 1880s bustle dresses go to steampunk festivals. But, really, the, I would say that my, like, gateway dress into historical costuming was definitely the Sleepy Hollow dress because you, really, the only way to make it look right is to have the right 18th century stays, know about 18th century dress construction, and then also, sharpie the fabric.

Helen: The secret was sharpie-ing the fabric all along.

Christine: Yes.

Helen: Well, we are gonna get into some of these technical details with Christine, so don’t worry, listeners, but I would love to hear about taking us from that Sleepy Hollow dress, the first one, ‘til now. How has your historical costuming journey progressed over the years?

Christine: I have to say, compared to a lot of other costumers, I was a very slow grower. I knew the basics of pattern construction and machine sewing all through undergrad and I would just sew my costumes for conventions. However, once I got into medical school, I had less time for sewing. So I would really pick one or two dresses a year to make. I’m a very slow seamstress. I don’t claim to make a lot of dresses. I just take my time and go very slowly with them. And in medical school I got more and more into the Victorian historical costuming sewing groups. I honestly read a lot of blogs. I don’t know if you remember the time when American Duchess had a blog about historical sewing and she had a lot of tips. And I just remember reading voraciously on the internet about how to sew. And once I got out of medical school into residency, I continued, and I realized, at that point, that’s when I really focused in on historical costuming. I managed to buy some proper underwear now that I was no longer, you know, a poor medical student. I was making very minimal as a resident, but that was still making something as opposed to just paying for medical school. So at that point I was able to invest in an actual 1880s corset, some, a proper bustle instead of a pillow tied to a string. And I got much more into it. And at that point, I think that’s where I started progressing a little bit more and more. And I definitely would say that my two favourite eras were 1770s to 1780s to about 1880s to about 1890s. And I think it’s about how you have that beautiful hourglass shape and you have dresses with such incredible silhouettes. So around that time is when I started getting more and more technical and learned how to pleat better, learned how to make my seams better. And after residency, my dream was to make a fully embroidered 18th century court suit because I think that embroidery is just so beautiful. So with my very first paycheck as a full-fledged doctor, I actually bought an embroidery machine and that’s where the journey began.

Helen: Oh my goodness. So many beginnings, though. ‘Cause I do think, once you’ve invested in a bustle, you’re kind of committed, you know?

Christine: It’s so true. Honestly, having that lobster tail bustle, because that’s what they’re called, ’cause you kind of look like a lobster tail. You can’t just, like, wear that by itself. But you wanna wear it and then you put a dress on it and it drapes well and you look like the beautiful centaur lady that you are. It really makes it so much more magical.

Caroline: Oh my gosh.

Helen: Oh, the centaur reference is so real. It’s true. It kind of looks like you’ve got four legs going on under there.

Christine: That’s the thing we, we call ourselves, in the historical costuming community, we’re like, “Oh, you’re going for the centaur look.”

Helen: I love that for you. Well, we were really excited to have you on and get your perspective on the historical costuming community because it’s a community that we really admire, but Caroline and I don’t have a lot of experience with that type of sewing. Tell us a little bit about the historical costuming community. What’s it like?

Christine: Well, it’s not a very large community, especially compared to, say, cosplay and quilting. It’s a very niche community. There’s maybe, like, tens of thousands of us, if that. But I do think we’re a really dedicated crowd and, for the most part, I think we’re really supportive of each other. We used to be mostly on Instagram. Most of the groups are all on Facebook and everybody’s really keen to answer questions and help each other. The thing that I really like about it is that you go to these events and you meet each other and it’s so nice meeting someone else who also does it because there’s new techniques that they learn. Now for different eras, there’s different communities, because there’s more or less different scholarship based on each one. The big thing is whether or not you wanna be historically accurate, or HA, as we say. Bernadette Banner, who is a major player in the 1890s historical costume community, calls herself “historically adequate,” because we recognize it’s very impossible to be historically accurate. And there was, for some time, a lot of snootiness between people who would machine sew and who would not machine sew, or who sewed everything by hand, because it was historically accurate to the 1700s or whatnot. But nowadays, it’s become less and less of a thing, which I’m really excited about, because people could be so snooty, and you didn’t wanna gatekeep the new people, right?

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Yeah, I was thinking about that, because there would be so many different things to learn, and obviously getting these machines and these undergarments and all the fabric would be a costly endeavour as well. So trying to, like, encourage new people to come in and participate, even if they’re not HA, you know, would be, probably, a big deal for you guys.

Christine: And that’s actually something I really like about the community these days. I think we’re a lot more accepting of people who are new. And we also accept that not everyone can buy everything. So if you wanna start off pretty small and just, like, come in, in, like, a store-bought costume and then come later and then just, like, slowly build your portfolio, we’re happy to help. Or if you wanna stay someone who just buys costumes the whole time. Now we are very accepting of that because I think we also recognize that we need people who are willing to buy costumes and buy costume parts to keep the other people funded, right? Because there’s so many people who make money on the side by selling corsets, selling undergarments, selling gowns, selling accessories, that if we boo everyone who wants to pay to be part of the community, you’re basically killing the community as well. And there’s different scholarship levels, as I said. So, for instance, 18th century, AKA, the 1700s Marie Antoinette era, you know, they didn’t actually have patterns back then. They didn’t actually, like, have patterns that people could buy and sell and just use. What they would do is they would have, a dressmaker would draft the pattern directly on your body, and then they would drape the pattern pieces on the fabric on you, cut the pieces out, and then sew it together for you right there.

Helen: Right. Truly custom to the individual.

Christine: Exactly. There’s no pattern, so there’s no patterns that survive. There was no machine embroidery, so you have all these historic stitches like the English stitch, the stitch with no name, et cetera, that are very unique to this period.

Helen: Oh, that’s so cool. So are there some historical costuming events where people mix and mingle from different time periods, or does it generally try to focus on a certain time period when you’re getting together to have some kind of event or gathering?

Christine: I would say that the biggest event in all of historical costuming, at least for 18th century, is the ball at Versailles. Versailles holds a ball every May, uh, late May, early June. It’s always the first Monday of June or the last Monday of May. Anyways, you go in, and the only way you’re allowed in is if you’re wearing a historically accurate costume from 1690 to 1790, because that’s when, you know, Versailles fell.

Caroline: Wow.

Helen: Wow.

Caroline: Ooh, that’s so cool. Have you been, have you been to this ball?

Christine: I’ve been three times, and I can honestly say that, like, if you have any interest, please go. You can rent a costume if you don’t have it. No one will look down at you. I’d say 80, 90% of the people there are people who rent costumes, and it’s so magical. You walk into the Hall of Mirrors. It’s lit by candles. Everybody’s wearing a historically accurate costume to 1690 to 1790. And I say “accurate” very loosely, because there’s a lot of people who are not accurate, but they still let you in. And it’s beautiful. You drink champagne, you learn historical 18th century dances from a dance instructor in the Hall of Mirrors, and then at midnight you watch fireworks from the beautiful glass windows of Versailles and you go home.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, that sounds like a movie. It’s incredible.

Christine: It’s magical. It’s not even that expensive. It’s about 150 euros to 350 euros for a ticket.

Helen: Okay. Yeah, but, like, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yeah. That sounds incredible. My goodness. Okay, I’m adding that to my bucket list. Thank you.

Christine: But that answers the question of, no, it’s not like everybody has to be in exactly 1787 or you’re kicked out, you know. Like, we do it in like, hundreds, I’d say. We’d say Georgian era, Victorian era, or, like, late Victorian era. When you get to Victorian era. around 1860, you start getting patterns, like, published patterns in magazines like Ladies’ Home Journal and everything. They would have these patterns that women could cut out and use.

Helen: Right.

Caroline: Yeah.

Christine: Then you also have machine sewing at that time. So, then, historically accurate for the era means something different than in 18th century. And the scholarship is different. And then you also get these books where you could literally read how they sewed step by step. And that’s free on Online Archive as well.

Caroline: Very cool. You talking about this ball at Versailles and the in-person community is making me wonder about, like, any of our listeners who are interested in getting into historical costuming, and I wonder how important you think it is to try to find that local community where you can really, like, see the work in person and talk to people face to face about this craft. Is that a big element of this for you, or do you think, like, finding an online community is just as good?

Christine: Oh my God. I think nothing beats being person to person, face to face when you’re sewing, even if you’re having just a sewing buddy. Getting to learn from other people is such a huge part of it. For me, personally, I’ve been a big believer in starting these communities where they don’t exist. For instance, back in 2016 when I lived in St. Louis, there was nothing like it. There was a reenactor community, but I was less interested in reenacting because reenacting is usually lower-class and I want to reproduce higher-class outfits, like the ball gowns that you get. So, for me, I started my own, um, like, sewing community in St. Louis and I found dozens of us. The first meetup I had, I had like 12 people show up to my house and I was so excited because I hadn’t really met anyone face to face other than some other conventions for sewing. So it was really important that I start that. And now, in Chicago, there is the Chicago Historical Costuming Society, which I am a member of. I’m not an officer, but I also wanna throw my own events, like my own balls and everything. And it’s much easier if I do it on my own. So I also create the Salon Society of Chicago where we can all help each other as well.

Caroline: Yeah. And we saw on your social media that you’re planning a ball right now, so how’s that going?

Christine: Oh my God, it’s going really well. We’re already sold out of tickets.

Caroline: Oh my gosh!

Christine: They sold out in, like, 30 hours, actually.

Caroline: Wow. Congrats. That’s awesome.

Christine: Thank you. Which I think proves that there’s a large community of people who want to go to these events. And I had 200 tickets and, again, they sold out completely in 30 hours. And the big thing about it is that. That’s Versailles, which is the big 18th century ball. There’s lots of, like, Victorian balls in other parts of the country. But there’s nothing really like that on a yearly basis in Chicago. Chicago Historical Costuming Society threw one, I think two years back, and it was a huge success but, um, they weren’t gonna be throwing one anytime soon. So I said, “You know what? I’m just gonna throw it myself. I’ll just rent a venue and I’ll do it.”

Caroline: That’s so cool. We’re, like, a year out from this event, right?

Christine: Yes. I’ve thrown other balls before. I’m a big believer in giving people one year to sew, so that if you are a beginner, you have time.

Caroline: Yes. That’s what I was thinking, is you must need to give people that runway to be able to make these incredible gowns to wear to this event. So that’s awesome.

Christine: Thank you. I really wanna give people the time to actually make whatever they want because I’m not a fast sewist myself. I’d say my dresses usually take four months minimum. So who am I to give people less time than that?

Caroline: Yeah. We wanted to ask you a little bit about, sort of historical costuming in general and, and your perspective on it. I think that some people think that it romanticizes the past a little bit, and I wanted to know what your perspective on that is.

Christine: Oh man, that’s a loaded question.

Caroline: I know.

Christine: I also think it’s a really, really important question. It’s one of the most important questions out there. We have this community of people that say the phrase “Vintage style, not vintage values.” And that is what we really say. Because, in truth, like, 18th century, yes, we’re dressing like Marie Antoinette, but it’s also a time that had slavery. You know, women had very little rights compared to now. We had no vaccines and we had nothing of the modern amenities that we do today. So we don’t wanna celebrate the way that they lived because we think that that was a better life. We’re not looking, “Oh, the good old days.” We’re just saying, “Man, those fashions are fun.” And we really just wanna say we like the fashion. We don’t like the way that they viewed people of colour. We don’t like the way that they looked at people of different transgender status. We only, only to look at the fashion, and maybe that’s such a narrow view, because it is impossible to look at it in a certain light and not know what it means. So, for instance, there’s this general unwritten rule in all of historical costuming in the United States that nobody does 1860s, because the 1860s gowns, even though they’re really pretty with the, you know, tiny waist and the big skirts and the hoop skirts, they’re also kind of worn a lot as a symbol of the Good Old South nowadays. And the Confederacy.

Helen: Oh, okay.

Christine: And, unfortunately, Gone with the Wind has ruined that for everyone forever at this point, even though we love the costumes in that movie, I mean, the, those costumes are gorgeous. But I mean, think about the last time you saw anyone in the, in the United States, not Europe, do 1860s on purpose.

Helen: Mmhmm. Yeah.

Christine: And for that era, we really understand that there’s no way to do the 1860s without also, like, saying something about what it means and the idea of the Southern Belle and the idea of the Good Old South. So we just stay away from that in general. Also, for a lot of easy’s sake, a lot of people will do 1870s events and beyond but, um, they won’t throw balls for, like, Georgian era as frequently, or eras before that. So, I mean, you’d find people doing Georgian eras a lot in Europe because, you know, they didn’t have that question of slavery as deeply as we do in the United States. I have thrown Georgian balls as well, but I mean, it’s a little different when you really just try not to touch anything from 1840 to 1860s.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: It’s truly so much to consider when you’re making these costumes, and I’m sure you have historical interest in the time period as well. So it’s a unique opportunity to learn about what was going on in the time period of the costume that you’re making. And another interesting thing is just that a lot of times the costumes are being made by people who would never get to wear those costumes. So in a unique way, you’re celebrating the people who are actually doing the work of making the costumes, the mantua makers and embroiderers, not just the people who are wearing them, if that makes sense.

Christine: Helen, you are so right. I can’t agree more. The bulk of all the sewing, all the embroidering, was done by women. At the end of the day, when you are remaking a museum piece, 99.999% chance, you are celebrating women’s work and the work of unnamed women, because very few women signed these gowns. So for instance, I make fun of Worth because he’s, like, the quote “first designer,” but, like, at the same time, women did the sewing. So you are also celebrating the women who did that.

Helen: Yeah. That’s so cool. We love that.

Christine: Yes. I really wish that more women signed their work. I have a bunch of Sewstine labels that I sew onto my dresses now.

Helen: Yes. That’s so smart. Well, and I just went to a quilting convention, and there was a big emphasis on labeling the quilt because there’s so many quilts where we have no idea who made them, historical quilts, for very similar reasons. So, yes, it’s important to sign your work.

Christine: That’s so sad. I’m so glad that we’re emphasizing that now because it’s never a problem when it’s, like, men’s labour. Like, when every single sketch that Picasso does, he, like, numbers it and signs it, and women make these amazing gowns that take three times as much time as Picasso spent on that drawing, and they will not even put their initials. It just breaks my heart.

Helen: Yeah. Okay. Well, let’s switch gears here for a second because I’d love to know what your favourite and least favourite parts of making these costumes is. Do you have something that you absolutely love and something that you dread?

Christine: Oh my God, that’s such a good question. My favourite part is that moment when you have that dress and you put it on the dress form and you realize that the vision that you had in your head is going to come out exactly the way you planned it. That is, like, the moment I live for, it’s the highest of high endorphins I get, sewing. And you know how, when you first start making a dress, you have this vision in your head of how you want it to look. You can draw it out. Some people draw it out, some people go directly to making it. And then, you know, you’re not quite sure if it’s going to work. You know, you have all the pieces, you have the fabric, you have the pattern, you’ve been sewing and you’re not really sure. But then there’s that moment where you’re like, “Oh my God, it’s going to be just as good if not better.”

Helen: I love that. Yes. I’m sure all of our listeners can relate to that magical feeling.

Christine: That is my favourite part. You know, obviously I love drafting the pattern. I like realizing that the drafting came out right. I like digitizing, seeing that embroidery stitch out just right and making it work. And I do love the whole process. It’s really funny. My least favourite parts of sewing are sewing on the closures, AKA the hooks and eyes and the bars. Oh my God, I hate that part. I will literally pin myself into every dress I can until I absolutely have to sew in closures.

Helen: That’s so funny. But I’m sure the closures result in that, like, final fit, right? So it’s, like, the part that you dislike the most is the part that gets you to that end phase where you can really see how it finally fits.

Christine: I mean, it’s yes and no. But, like, 18th century dresses, you don’t have hooks or eyes, really. You actually pin yourself into the dress.

Caroline: Wow. So do you ever pin yourself into the dress, like, forever? Like, never put in a closure?

Christine: So, 18th century dresses, there are some hooks and eyes, but those are more like rare cases. Usually, you will pin yourself into the dress, and that’s historically accurate. They have these dress pins that are very thick. And you’re not gonna hurt yourself because you have these stays on which protect you from the pins.

Caroline: Right. Are they like safety pins, or?

Christine: Nope, they look like nails, honestly. A lot of us often will use very fine nails from the hardware store,

Caroline: Wow. Okay. That’s very cool.

Christine: And the skirts are tied on. The pins just, like, pin you in and the stays protect you from the pins. So I don’t actually have to sew closures until after, like, 1870.

Helen: Oh, well that’s why you like 18th century gowns. I get it now.

Caroline: Okay, my next question was gonna be like, are there any historical design features or details that you’d like to see come back to modern clothing? And I’m assuming it’s not the nails. Or maybe it is?

Helen: Maybe it is, though. Yeah, she might not like sewing invisible zippers.

Caroline: Yeah, you can just pin yourself in. But yeah, tell us, are there any details that you’d like to see come back into modern clothing?

Christine: I want more bishop sleeves. And I want, honestly, I want more embroidery. And thirdly, the other thing I would really love to see come back, I think this is a big part of the historical costuming community as well, is the idea of sustainable clothing that we fix and mend and wear and wear and wear for years.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Christine: And again, like, that’s such a privileged thing to say. I want, you know, clothing that we can wash and over and over and over again. ‘Cause there’s so much money that goes into it to begin with. But the idea of clothing was very different in the 18th century because fabric was so expensive. The reason that almost all the shapes are squares is because squares was more economical than cutting, like, wedges out for skirts and so forth. So all, almost all the shapes in 18th century sewing is either a square or triangle. And it worked for them. And uh, you know, because they would use every possible scrap. And I love the idea of making do with less and just re-wearing and mending. And I love that trend for a lot of historical costumers.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah, that’s a great one. Well, and I imagine the undergarments helps a lot in that case because you do have these under things that you’re washing more, maybe more frequently than the exterior garment, which rarely gets washed.

Christine: Exactly, Helen, that’s 100% true. They would wear these linen shifts and they would wear it under their stays, AKA what we would call a corset today. And that would get sweaty and they would just wash that. And that would get washed every day. Like, they would have seven for seven days of the week.

Helen: Wow. Okay. So we just all need to wear linen shifts. We solved it.

Christine: Well, I actually wear just a lot of linen dresses. And linen dresses, fabric, linen is the, is one fiber that gets stronger when it’s wet, versus weaker when it’s wet like cotton. So linen, you can machine wash it like 300, 400 times and it’s fine. So most of my wardrobe is actually linen now.

Caroline: Mm.

Helen: Well, I think a lot of our listeners can relate on that one. We have a lot of linen fans out there. Including ourselves.

Caroline: Yeah.

Christine: Again, I feel bad saying that because, I mean, linen is so much more expensive than cotton to begin with, too, so that’s not fair. But it’s just one of those things where, when you invest in linen to begin with, it just lasts for years.

Caroline: Yeah. Amazing. Okay, I think we wanna get into the technique side of costuming and talk about the details a little bit. You mentioned that you work on about two dresses a year. But I’ve also heard you say that you have many projects kind of on the go at once. So can you tell us a little bit more about how you balance your different projects and how many things you have going at once?

Christine: So currently I have six projects going. I don’t always have this many, but I just finished moving my house and I had zero projects going, so I kind of overcompensated and started six at the same time. Normally these days I put out probably four dresses a year. Two dresses a year was during medical school and residency, when I had a lot less time. Because residency is this period after medical school where you work about 80 hours a week, and for very little money, and you’re getting more training, which is great, but it is also a system of abuse because residents are so much cheaper than doctors and you still get a lot of labour done. So in any case, during that four year period, I definitely did not sew as much. Nowadays, I would say I sew somewhere between four big projects and two littler projects a year. And I usually have them in different stages. The reason being is that depending on whatever I feel like doing that day, I can do that. If I feel like just embroidering about 150 hours for a court suit, I can have my machine going and just do that and still feel like I’ve accomplished something while I’m babysitting an embroidery machine. I usually have one dress or two dresses in the hand sewing stage so that I have something that I can sit while watching TV on my post-call days, after I’ve worked 24 hours but can’t sleep, and just do a little bit of hand sewing. And it’s so relaxing with my little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel on my lap. It’s very idyllic.

Helen: Oh my gosh. What a picture.

Christine: It makes a beautiful picture, but in actuality, he has the worst sinus, though. It’s very noisy and not that peaceful.

Helen: It still sounds pretty good.

Christine: Thank you. And then, for days when I feel like puzzling something out, I usually have a project that’s in the drafting stage, where I’m still trying to piece, draft the right pattern and get the pieces together. So, and then other times I just have it in different stages. Every now and then I’m, I’m gonna get more absorbed in one project than another and just finish it and, like, hammer it out in like a week or two just because I get obsessed with it. And then the other will go to the back burner. And I often do this because, um, that way if one of the projects really just aren’t turning out right, like I really, really hate it, I can drop it, chuck it and not feel bad because the other five are still going.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: You’re like, “I don’t need you anymore.”

Christine: “I don’t need you anymore.” Like, the thing about it is, whenever you’re drawing, you know, how many times do you mess up a drawing before you get a drawing that you love? Versus every single time we start a dress, if it doesn’t turn out, you’re like, “Oh my God, we’re a failure because this one dress is not working out.” But the truth is, you know, it’s okay to mess up in sewing and say “This is not gonna work out” and chuck it. And I feel like, because it takes us so much more time to get to the point where we know that a project is a failure in sewing than drawing, we try not to and make excuses and let that, like, stop us from doing something else.

Helen: Yeah, it’s true. You feel like you really invested time and a lot of money, in some cases, so it can be really hard to let it go. But, ultimately, it’d be so much better to start on something that is gonna work out or take the lessons that you’ve learned and apply it to the next project.

Christine: That’s exactly it, Helen. Like, I just feel like we put so much pressure on ourselves to make every project worth it because the cost for the fabric and the time cost is so much higher for sewing than drawing or anything else. I say this as someone who also draws a lot. I actually started out in, wanting to become a fashion illustrator back in high school.

Helen: Oh wow. That’s so cool. I’m sure that comes in handy.

Christine: It does. Actually, I think that’s why I like digitizing historical embroidery, because it’s basically just drawing, but with threads.

Helen: Oh, amazing. Okay. You mentioned so many things that we need to follow up on. First things first, can you set the scene for us in your sewing room? What kind of sewing machines do you have and use to make these historical costumes?

Christine: Okay, so I have a Baby Lock Soprano; that’s my main sewing machine. My embroidery machines are two Baby Lock Ventures. They are downstairs because they’re very loud and they need their own room. I also have a Baby Lock serger as well. Just a heads up, full disclosure, I am sponsored by Baby Lock. I had the opportunity to be picked by multiple machine companies, ’cause they were all looking for an embroiderer. But I really liked Baby Lock because they were St. Louis located, which is where I was living at the time, and I wanted to support local.

Helen: Yeah. Very cool. Oh, well, congrats on the sponsorship. That’s awesome.

Christine: Thank you. They have paid for my two Baby Lock Ventures, which are 10 needle embroidery machines. They’re big, powerful workhorses with a 14 by 8 inch hoop. So even though one, you know, 14 by 8 is fairly large, it’s not large enough to, say, do a full court suit. So something like my husband’s last court suit took 34 different re-hoopings and embroideries to do.

Helen: Yeah, because you’re not just embroidering a small area on the project. You’re often embroidering, like, a whole trim or whole yardage in some cases. Is that right?

Christine: Yes, that is correct.

Helen: Wow. So you have to kind of move the area that the machine is embroidering on constantly to create that whole thing.

Christine: Yes, exactly.

Helen: Oh, very cool. Well, since you got the machine for free, how much does a machine like that cost?

Christine: You know, I haven’t asked. Back in 2018, when I signed the contract, I believe it was a $22,000 machine.

Caroline: Wow!

Helen: Wow. Okay. No joke.

Caroline: Yeah. I’m sure there are more entry level machines out there, though.

Christine: There are. That’s a 10 needle machine with a 14 by 8 inch area. My very first one, I believe it’s called the Pathfinder now, the Baby Lock Pathfinder. That’s the one that I got when I first started out. And I wanna also encourage everyone to also look on the used market because I think that people really don’t want to buy a used machine. But, you know, that’s a really great way to get started for, you know, half the price or even less.

Helen: Yeah, that’s really great advice.

Christine: The important thing, though, is that what you do need, if you wanna digitize your own things, is a digitizing software. Baby Lock’s version is the Palette, and I use Pallette 11. So, basically, it’s a special software where you draw whatever shape you want, embroidered. Then you choose to stitch type what, whether you want a satin stitch or a fill stitch. and then you can draw lines and you actually determine the stitch density, the stitch directionality. You have a lot of control and it’s actually not that hard to get started. I even have some videos showing how to digitize because I like showing and sharing all knowledge so that nobody has to reinvent the wheel every time. And then you can basically draw whatever you want and the machine will stitch it out. It’s so magical seeing it happen.

Helen: Oh, that’s so cool. Yeah. And we’ve seen you replicate some historical embroideries from museum pieces, which is absolutely incredible. And then recreate that, and then you can use it for your projects. And you also sell them in your Etsy shop, is that right?

Christine: That’s right. There’s a lot of other historical digitizers as well. For me, personally, I price mine based on what other people are pricing it at, because I want to make sure I’m not competition. This is not my main living. I work full-time as a physician, so for me, I just wanna make sure that the files are available for people who want to do it. I will say, my files are designed for a 10 needle, so there’s, like, sometimes there’s like 43 color repeats on mine.

Caroline: Wow.

Helen: Wow. That’s so cool. It must be so much fun to watch it go.

Christine: It’s honestly so rhythmic. When I’m tired and post-call and I have no energy, I’ll just bring up a chair and watch it embroider. It’s, it’s so awesome.

Caroline: Okay. I’m, my mind goes to, like, I freak out when I have to re-thread my four thread serger. So what is it like threading a 10 needle embroidery machine?

Christine: Okay. So, my suggestion to anyone buying an embroidery machine is: do not buy any machine that doesn’t have an auto-threader. Like, do not thread your own machine like an animal. Like, make it do it for you.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: If you’re investing this much already, just spend a little extra. Get the auto-threader.

Caroline: So true. It’s so true.

Christine: So, it’s so miserable. So, again, I do recommend, like, an entry, good entry-level is a Pathfinder. It has a thread cutter. It also has an auto-threader.

Helen: Okay, that’s great. We’ll link that up in the show notes. Okay. You said you like to sit and watch the embroidery, but I wanna know if you have to sit and watch the embroidery while it works or can you kind of set it and forget it?

Christine: I honestly set it and forget it. One thing that I do like and hate about my embroidery machine is that there’s an app that connects on my phone that lets me know when the machine runs into trouble. So I can literally just walk around the house or even go to work and just forget about it, and I’ll come home later and check on it when I want to or when it dings. Again, like, sometimes I hate the notification system because I just wanna not think about it. And here it is, dinging at me.

Caroline: It’s like a robot vacuum.

Christine: Exactly! So, a lot of my embroideries, like, they take forever. I’m doing this current embroidery where every repeat of it is about six hours.

Helen: Wow.

Christine: It’s like 50,000 stitches per repeat. And it’s beautiful. It’s very dense. And I do it because, in order to get that painted look that’s very historical in 18th century, you know, you do need a stitch density of about 140 stitches per inch. So it’s a lot of stitches, so it takes forever. But so, oftentimes, I’ll do it and it’ll ding often, you know, depending on the type of stitching I’m doing. It might need me to come and check on it every 15 minutes. Other times it’s every, like, hour and a half.

Caroline: And like what sort of issues come up? Is it, like, threads getting knotted? Is it running out of thread? Like, what is it dinging for?

Helen: Is it, it’s, it’s just stitching a totally different thing now?

Caroline: Yeah.

Christine: Honestly, all of the above. Um, the most common thing is that I use silk threads because, even though they’re very expensive, nothing really replicates that 18th century shine on the fabric than silk threads. So I use a lot of silk threads and those only come in a hundred meter little spools. They’re so tiny, so you have to refill them constantly.

Caroline: Okay.

Christine: Sometimes, it might get tangled and need me to, uh, do it. Other times I need to replace the bobbin. It doesn’t get lost or do the wrong thing very frequently. Or the tension on the machine has been so high that the thread snapped. But silk thread and polyester threads are the two most strong fibers. So I will try to sew with one of those, too.

Helen: Right. And then, what kind of fabric and or stabilizer are you embroidering onto, typically?

Christine: It depends on the look. If I’m going for a full frock coat, I will often use a double-faced silk satin. I will usually use a pretty strong tear-away. Baby Lock, of course, since I’m one of theirs, will send me free stabilizers. So I use Baby Lock, and their tearaway is great. I have used other ones from Amazon and it’s worked fairly well. If I’m working on, say, something that is very delicate looking, say a cotton dress with very, like, light embroidery, I will often use one layer of cotton voile. I get that from Burnley and Trowbridge. And the cotton voile I’ll often machine wash, iron, and then back with two layers of wash-away stabilizer.

Helen: Okay, so ideally, the stabilizer’s not visible in the end.

Christine: No. I think, in an ideal world, there is absolutely no stabilizer at the end, but we both know that doesn’t happen.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Yeah. So, since you’re replicating gowns that didn’t have this machine embroidery technology, at the time, it would’ve been done by hand. Right?

Christine: Yes. My favourite era for embroidery is 18th century, and that’s one of the reasons I’m so obsessed with it, is because to some degree it’s very naturalistic, and at the same time it’s fantasy because they didn’t know that much. But you can see how they hand drew it and everything’s done by hand, so everything’s just a little clumsy. No two flowers, if you look closely, are exactly the same. They’re always slightly different. The way that it was done is they would have a large piece of silk, like the entire frock coat, on a huge hoop. The master embroiderer, usually male, would draw out the pattern, and then the embroiderers, usually women, would then sit and embroider the piece over months, and we’re talking about not one woman sewing and making it. We’re talking about six women working on one piece, all huddled together, gossiping while they sewed it together.

Helen: Oh, I love that visual. That’s so incredible, though. Like, the amount of craftsmanship and effort that would go into just a single piece of fabric is mind-blowing.

Christine: And it’s so beautiful. Like, you can look at these embroidered frock coats and I think they’re absolutely stunning and masterpieces. And, as I said, because you had so many different people and doing this by hand day after day, no two flowers are actually exactly the same, if you look. So, frequently, to try to mimic that, I will have multiple repeats of different pieces, slightly different from each other, to kind of replicate that feeling of 18th century embroidery. And I try to capture that feeling of the layered look as well as the shading that they did. And because everything was done by hand, they don’t care when they’re changing thread, if they’re changing colour or not. ‘Cause it’s not much more effort. So there’s so many color changes that I have to replicate. So then you end up changing threads like 60 times on one repeat.

Helen: Right? I wonder if those people back then would look at the machine now and think, “Too much effort. I’ll just do it by hand.”

Christine: You know, I think there is something like that. And I actually used to get a lot of crap from the historical community because I was using a machine and it wasn’t historically accurate. But I also don’t have six women working for me in my basement.

Caroline: Yeah. You’re like, “I have a full-time job. Come on.”

Christine: So, like, the machine is, you know, is my people working. And on top of that, I do think that people put too much pressure on themselves, like, to get everything right. Because nowadays everyone’s like, “Oh, I have to make my own corset. I have to make my own hat. I have to make my own dress. I have to make…” One person didn’t do it all back then, you know. There was a hat maker, there was a mantua maker, there was a…stay maker was a completely different profession, you know?

Helen: Yeah, totally. That’s a great point. Well, it just speaks to the dedication of the costuming community, wanting to do it all.

Christine: I think it’s amazing, but also, I am at the point where I’m like, “I’m just gonna do the parts I like.”

Helen: Yeah. Totally. Do the parts that excite you.

Caroline: It’s supposed to be fun, too, right? Like it’s, this is a hobby. It’s…

Christine: Completely. So, I’m a cardiac anesthesiologist. I often work in ICUs and everything, and the mortality can be depressing. So a lot of this is also done for my personal emotional stability. It’s so nice coming home and trying to make something beautiful. Because there’s surviving and then there’s making art. Because making art is really living.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Oh, that’s beautiful. Okay, I wanna come back to drafting and patterns for a moment, ’cause we touched on that. But I’d love to hear a little bit more about how you learned how to draft your own patterns. We know you’ve made your own bodice block, and there’s also historical pattern companies out there. So can you talk a little bit about patterning and how you approach that?

Christine: Sure. I am very, very lucky in that I have a dress form that is my body shape wearing a set of 18th century stays. I got mine from Beatrice. They make a really great 3D scan body that they then cut out. And once I have that, I will use one eighth inch paper tape to basically draw out the pattern pieces onto the dress form itself. And I often will use books, like there’s a book that just basically shows you how every single decade of dresses put their seams and where all those seams go, what the shapes of those seams are, and I’ll replicate it on my dress form. And once I have it drawn on my dress form, I then put cotton muslin on and then trace it out piece by piece. I then add a seam allowance, cut it out, make a mockup, and then kind of clean it up a little bit. And there you go. You have your pattern.

Caroline: So it’s sort of like a draping technique, right?

Christine: Yes. I think it’s exactly the draping technique. And I learned it mostly just by reading a lot of different blogs. I can’t give credit to any one blog. It was just by reading a lot of different ones and also reading books on draping and combining the two.

Helen: Wow. That sounds so cool.

Christine: Thank you. And then, for the sleeves, I often will just buy the pattern. There’s a bunch of great 18th century patterns, places like Scroop Patterns, that sell great patterns if you want to just work from someone else’s. And oftentimes, even though I can drape my own, I will often use someone else’s pattern because it’s actually faster to cut out a pattern and then pin it to your body and then adjust it than it is to do the draping technique.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Right. Yeah. Let someone else do some of the work for you. Take a load off.

Christine: Exactly. And those places have great sleeves because I personally haven’t found a great way to draft sleeves yet. So that’s my method. I use, uh, the bodice, the body block that I basically drafted and then add the sleeves and the skirts from other pattern companies.

Helen: Very cool. So are you often re-wearing the, kind of, base layer undergarments that you have and then you’re adding the dress on top, right?

Christine: Yes.

Helen: Or are you starting from the bottom up every time?

Christine: It depends. I only really go get and make, make a whole start from the base up when I’m starting a new decade. So 18th century, it’s the conical shape. Every dress has that shape, basically. It’s slightly different on whether or not you’re before 1870 or after 1870 because of the way that the back is shaped. But other than that, it’s very, very similar. And I use the same stays and underwear for almost all of it. When you get to 1880, an 1880 body shape is different from an 1870 body shape, which is different from an 1890s, which is different from a 1900s. So then I have four different corsets for those four decades.

Helen: Obviously.

Christine: It’s, so, it gets very expensive. But if you’re not sure about the 1880s, just buy an 1880s corset. It’ll be almost perfect for all four decades.

Helen: Okay. Yeah. Wow. It’s really cool that you’re drafting your own patterns for these garments. It sounds really complicated, but I’m sure as you get into it and you practice, it’s maybe a little bit more straightforward than it sounds to people out there. And the dress form sounds amazing, so we’ll link up the resources for that as well.

Christine: I also wanna mention, if you don’t wanna spend like $1,600 on a dress form immediately, please just get duct tape and make your own duct tape dress form. It works the same way. And then you, once you make that dress form and put it on a microphone stand, just put your corset on it, lace it up to the same measurements as yourself, and you can basically do the same thing.

Helen: Oh, great tip.

Caroline: That’s a great tip. Yeah.

Helen: We’ve seen a lot of duct tape dress forms out there.

Christine: Yes. And it’s so great for drafting. My first 10 dresses were drafted on a duct tape dress form. I have nothing against it.

Caroline: Oh, awesome. I find myself thinking about fabric for these huge gowns.

Helen: Do you, Caroline?

Caroline: Yeah. I’m, like, just imagining the fabric consumption charts for a dress like this, and I just, I must know how much fabric you use for one of these gowns.

Christine: I am five foot zero. I am five foot three wearing heels. So I probably use less fabric than anyone else on the planet for these dresses, and I still use somewhere between 10 and 12 per gown.

Caroline: Wow. 10 to 12, that’s, okay.

Helen: Wow. I’ve never worn that much fabric at once, honestly.

Caroline: Yeah. Is it heavy?

Christine: It’s so heavy. So, remember when you asked me earlier, what are your least favourite parts of it? I would say that my other least favorite part is actually wearing it. I love making it. Like, wearing them is, is sometimes such a pain in the butt. So I, like, I love going to the balls and everything and I love it and have such a great time, but it takes me like 25 minutes to get dressed. And, like, the older I get, I’m just like, “Oh my God, I could put on scrubs in 10 seconds.”

Helen: Yeah, that was a question that we had coming up, actually, was how comfortable are you when you’re wearing these costumes? ‘Cause we had Bernadette Banner on the show and she swore up and down that she’s comfortable AF and loves wearing her costumes. But it is a different era, so, you know.

Christine: So, you know, that’s the thing I, I think I said I hate putting on the costumes. I actually love wearing it.

Caroline: Okay.

Helen: Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. ‘Cause you get it all in place and laced up and everything, it kind of settles in. Is that right?

Christine: That’s right. And so I wanna emphasize that how I wear a dress for a photo shoot is very different from, say, how I would wear it to a ball or an event or just around. When I wear it for a photo shoot, I will tight lace the crap out of that corset. It’ll be so tight, it’ll be like skin tight, trying to get me that very cinched waist and silhouette. And it is not very comfortable because no one in the 18th century really dressed like that unless they, too, were trying to send a message. And there are people who were known to have tightlaced, but for the most part, like, I usually will put my corset on and it’s pretty loose. I can breathe in it, run up and down stairs. It’s not a big deal and it’s not very uncomfortable at all. It’s, honestly, 18th century is one, one of my favourite decades to wear because it’s so comfortable. So, that, I wanna emphasize, Bernadette is not wrong. It’s just, it still takes me like 25 minutes to get dressed.

Helen: Yeah, that’s a lot, with all the different layers.

Christine: All the different layers. And then, um, doing my hair and makeup. I’m someone who very rarely wears makeup. So, you know, that’s the pain in the butt. Honestly, once I’m wearing it, it’s like, whatever. I can, I can drive a car in this, it’s fine.

Caroline: Oh my gosh.

Helen: That’s impressive. Even with the lobster tail?

Christine: The lobster tail, like, collapses. It’s actually really one of the most comfortable eras. The less comfortable eras are, like, 1880s, where they have the big pillow butts and there is no, like, collapsibility to it. So you’ll sit in your car and you’ll have to be, like, leaning forward, hoping your big hedgehog head won’t get squished in the, in the rear view mirror.

Helen: We need to hire you a driver, Christine. I’m concerned for your safety.

Christine: Thank you. So it’s like, that’s the kind of thing that’s a bigger problem is like, there is a whole thing of hats versus cars, like, in costuming. ‘Cause like our hats and hair will always be a…will get in the way. ‘Cause our cars really aren’t meant for our big hair.

Helen: Yeah, it’s true. They need, you need to be in a carriage for that.

Caroline: Yeah. Yes. It’s really not meant for it. So it’s, that’s one thing. But as I said, I hate getting into it because it’s so many layers and so much, like, pinning, especially for 18th century. I will say, Edwardian and 1890s is a lot more comfortable. And Bernadette also, um, I don’t believe she wears stays very frequently because of her back. So that’s the other thing. Bernadette once said in one of her videos, um, she and I are friends, that she finds skirts so much warmer than pants. And it is so true. Like, in the winter when it gets really cold in Chicago, like negative 10 degrees, I’ll put on wool stockings, some petticoats, a wool petticoat, and my skirt. I am so much warmer than I am wearing jeans.

Helen: Oh, that’s so interesting. I guess it’s like the glove versus mitts thing, right?

Christine: Yes, because you have layers. Yes.

Helen: Because your fingers are separate, and then when you get cold, you put them together, then they’re toasty.

Christine: Yes. And you, and you have so much heat trapping under all those layers of wool. And wool works.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah.

Helen: It’s true. It’s a magical fiber.

Caroline: Oh, wow. This is all so fascinating.

Christine: So yeah, as I said, I just hate putting it on. Once I’m in, it actually is fairly comfortable unless I’m doing a photo shoot and the whole idea of it is to look very, very high fashion. And there are certain dresses that I have made that I love but I hate wearing because they’re so uncomfortable. For instance, recently I made that bee gown. It’s a dress that I embroidered with a ton of bees, and in order to get that, like, heavy draped look for the skirt, I ended up using 80 yards of silk gauze on the skirt.

Helen: Oh my gosh. Wow.

Christine: And I was like, “Oh, 80 yards of silk gauze.” That’s not a big deal. It’s only three ounces per yard. It turns out that when you have 80 of it, it’s a lot. So that skirt is like 25 pounds. It really is a pain in the butt to wear, but it’s so beautiful. I need to fix it at some point. But it has, I, I haven’t done it yet.

Helen: It is so beautiful. I can’t even believe that you can fit 80 yards of any fabric in one dress. That is mind blowing. Wow. So do you have a favorite source for your fabric? Do you always kind of go to the same places? I know that sometimes your costumes come from finding the perfect fabric, and then you’re ready to make the costume, right?

Christine: Yes. I mean, there’s a lot. We don’t make the same fabrics that we used to make back in the 18th and 19th centuries. The way that we weave it is different. The thickness is different, but, um, certain silks, I find, embroider extraordinarily well. So, double-faced silk duchesse from New York Designer Fabrics is my go-to for silk embroidered pieces, just because, you know, when you embroider, there’s that tension in the fabric, right? So then you have those, like, the wrinkles between embroidery that show up, which is very, very hard to avoid. I realized the secret to avoiding it is: just use very thick fabrics to begin with, which is also the technique that was used in the 18th century because their silks were so tightly woven that they didn’t really pull the same way.

Caroline: Mm.

Helen: Right.

Christine: And so, to do that, I find that I use a, I I keep going back to New York Designer silk fabrics for that. My favourite cotton voile, or mull, M-U-L-L, is from Burnley and Trowbridge, just because it embroiders so beautifully.

Helen: Oh, okay. We’ll definitely link these up for people who wanna source these fabrics, too.

Christine: So those are my two go-tos. Otherwise, every now and then I just find the perfect fabric. Duran Textiles makes the most beautiful 18th century silk that are brocaded, and so I try to get some from them as well. And otherwise, every now and then, you know, I just have to buy some silk taffeta and start going at it with a sharpie.

Helen: You’ve really inspired me, honestly, because I, like I said, I love the black and white prints. And since you said that at the top of the show, I have just been thinking about sharpie-ing fabric and how much fun that would be. I probably wouldn’t do 10 yards of it, but just to do a top or something. It could be so much fun.

Christine: It really worked. And, uh, the Arteza markers, I want to add, after you do it, you iron it and it doesn’t bleed. So you’re all set there. And remember, it’s not about the speed. It’s about making what you want to make.

Helen: Yeah. Very cool. Well, with that in mind, we have one final question before we wrap up, and that is: what advice would you give to our listeners who are interested in starting to sew historical costumes?

Christine: Oh my goodness. I would say, you know, it’s okay to start from anywhere. Do the part that inspires you. If, you know, you can get a cheap corset, do everything else. Just make what you want. And don’t be afraid to start small. And also don’t be afraid to start big, just start with your favourite part that inspires you the most and just go for it. I also wanna mention that, the way that I sew, the reason I’m so slow is because I don’t have that much free time. So what I do is I force myself to sew one hour a day. And it turns out, if you sew one hour a day every day, that’s seven hours a week. That’s 30 hours a month. And in four months, that’s 120 hours. You have just finished an extremely fancy dress.

Caroline: Oh, that is great, like, universal sewing advice. Work on a project that inspires you and excites you, and just do a little bit every day. I love it.

Christine: Thank you.

Caroline: Okay, Christine, can you tell our listeners where they can find you online and see all of these incredible gowns that you make?

Christine: I am mostly on Instagram and YouTube. My handle is Sewstine, S-E-W-S-T-I-N-E. That’s because my husband’s nickname for me is Stine, or when I’m a mom, I’m Momstine. When I’m at work, I’m Doctorstine, and so forth. So when I’m sewing, I’m Sewstine.

Helen: I love it.

Caroline: Awesome. It was such a pleasure talking to you today. Thank you so, so much for coming on the show and sharing all your knowledge with us.

Christine: Thank you so much for having me. This was a lot of fun.

Caroline: Okay, bye.

Helen: Bye. Take care.

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. 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 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 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’ll talk to you next week.

Caroline: Buh-Bye!

Helen: Bye!

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Ease is the extra length and width that pattern designers add so that you can move in your clothes. In this episode, we talk about how ease works and how to figure out the amount of ease that YOU like. It’s a game-changer for making clothes that fit! We also answer a listener question about grading between sizes vs. pattern adjustments.

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

Show Notes: 

From the Listener Questions Section:

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Resources:

Sewing Patterns:

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: 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: Today we are taking it easy. Ease is the extra length and width that pattern designers add so that you can move in your clothes. We’re gonna talk about how ease works and how to figure out the amount of ease that you like. It’s a game-changer for making clothes that fit.

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

Caroline: Hellooo, Helen. How are you?

Helen: Hellooo, Caroline. I’m doing good, thanks.

Caroline: It’s a really sunshiny day in Vancouver today. It’s putting me in a good mood.

Helen: It’s sunny here, too. And when this episode comes out, it’s April 1st, and I love April. One of my favorite months.

Caroline: Oh my goodness.

Helen: It’s my birthday month, so obviously that is a point in its favour, but it’s also just, like, “spring has sprung” month and I love that.

Caroline: I feel like there’s a real missed opportunity. We could have pranked all of our listeners with some kind of April Fool’s joke.

Helen: Oh, you’re right!

Caroline: You’re welcome, everyone, for not doing that.

Helen: Yeah, we’re not that creative, I guess. I didn’t even think about that.

Caroline: No, I know. April 1st. When was the last time an episode came out on April 1st? Who knows?

Helen: We could try to come up with a prank on the fly. Like, “Oh, we don’t like our listeners.”

Caroline: Wow, that was so convincing.

Helen: JK, we love you!

Caroline: There we go. Perfect.

Helen: Okay. Before we get into the episode, as usual, we just wanna remind everybody 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 if you subscribe. And we have so much fun catching up with y’all on those more casual bonus episodes. Our last one was like an hour and a half-plus long.

Caroline: Oh my gosh.

Helen: We had a lot to say.

Caroline: Yes. We did have a lot to say in the last episode. We have a lot of fun in those episodes and I’m hoping that y’all will give them a listen, if you’ve checked them out before. But it really does mean a lot if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two. And of course, if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally get it. Thank you so much for listening and for cheering us on. We love you.

Helen: We love you.

Caroline: All right. Let’s start off this episode with a question. We have a question here from Brooke-Lynn. “Hello from Queensland, Australia! I am getting back into sewing after not touching a machine for 15 years. This is the first time I’m my life I am trying to make garments for myself. I am a plus size woman. For context I have a large tummy, and very small breasts for my size. Think a size 28 on the bottom but a size 18-20 on the top. Making myself tops and dresses is a nightmare. Is it possible to blend that many sizes? Help! I don’t know how to go about making my me-mades fit well. I’m not looking for perfection. Just not too tight across the belly and ideally I’d like to keep my bra to myself. My clothes tend to be a bit… floppy on the top.”

Helen: Oh, this problem is so relatable. Lots of people have to grade between sizes. So let’s get into this. First of all, Brooke-Lynn, I’m really excited that you’re getting back into sewing. I think you’re gonna love making custom fit garments. And learning how is gonna take some effort, but it will be worth it, I promise.

Caroline: Absolutely. And generally, grading between sizes works best if you’re grading between, like, one to three sizes. If you’re working between four or more sizes, it’s still possible, but you definitely want to make a muslin because it could get tricky.

Helen: Yeah. I mean, anyone who’s tried to do that knows how, sometimes, if you try to grade between three or four or five sizes, the pattern pieces start to look real wonky and they get a little bit out of proportion, and that doesn’t always result in the best-fitting garments. I think that pattern adjustments would work even better for you than grading between sizes. Adjustments work in three dimensions while grading between sizes only works in two. So here’s a plan that I think would work well for you: for tops and dresses, choose your size based on your upper bust measurement. That will probably fit your neck and shoulders the best, so your tops won’t be so floppy. And you’ll probably get a better fit at the underarm. And then check if you’re gonna need a bust adjustment to accommodate your chest. If your full bust measurement is smaller than the one on the size that you chose, you can do a small bust adjustment, but I kind of wonder if you’re even gonna need to do that. It sounds like you’ve been choosing tops based on how they fit around your waist. So if you’re choosing the size based on your upper bust, you might not have the problem with bust fitting. I think the main thing you should look into is a full tummy adjustment, also known as a waist expansion or a large waist adjustment. That’s gonna give you more room at the waist while still letting the rest of the top fit you around the shoulders and bust area.

Caroline: And for pants and skirts, you’re gonna wanna choose your pattern based on your hip size. And then you can compare your waist measurement with the one listed for that size. And if your waist is bigger, you can do a full tummy adjustment. If it’s smaller, you can do a small waist adjustment.

Helen: And with all that said, there are some garment types where you won’t need to make any adjustments. So, for example, swingy tops are already larger at the waist and hips than they are at the bust, so you can just choose based on your bust size, in that case. Gathered skirts are not gonna need as many adjustments. You can choose your size based on your waist measurement rather than your hip. And empire waist dresses, especially ones with elastic at the back, like the Daphne Maxi Dress, for example, probably won’t need as many adjustments. Shirred dresses are fabulous, too. They’re really, really stretchy, but they still kind of cinch everything in wherever it feels like it wants to cinch on you, which is really beneficial.

Caroline: And we’re gonna link some tutorials for all the adjustments we mentioned in the show notes, plus some of our favourite fitting books. But we really wish you all the best in your sewing journey, Brooke-Lynn. You can totally do this!

Helen: Yes, and like I said at the top, you’re not alone. There are lots of folks out there with smaller tops and larger bottoms. So also, trying to find a community online of people or even just individual people who have similar measurements and proportions to you would be so helpful.

Caroline: Yeah, for sure. Okay, let’s switch into easy mode now.

Helen: Yeah, let’s take it easy and talk about ease.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, I’ve been joking about this episode with you that it feels like kind of a boring topic.

Helen: How dare.

Caroline: I know, I know. How dare I. But you made a good point recently. You were like, “It’s one of the most essential things in sewing patterns.” And that’s so true.

Helen: Yes, it is. I think it’s really important and also a little bit hard to wrap your head around, as a beginner. So I think this episode is really gonna be beneficial. I, as a pattern designer, get a lot of emails with people who are getting started sewing and they’re confused about the difference between the size chart and the finished garment measurements chart, and “How do I pick a size? What do these two different charts mean and how do they relate to each other?” It might seem obvious if you’ve been sewing for a while, but when you’re just starting out, it’s like, “Wait a second. There’s multiple charts here, and I don’t know if I’m supposed to choose based on this one or that one, or what’s going on.”

Caroline: Yeah. And not to get too ahead of ourselves, but the comparing of the, like, body measurement chart and the finished garment measurement chart is a really great way to get a quick handle on how that pattern is gonna fit. So if you’re seeing the finished garment measurement chart being way bigger than the body measurements, then you know you’re gonna have a really oversized fit. That’s something I came across recently when I was helping my sister-in-law, Adrianna, pick out some sizes for patterns. And we were looking at the finished garment measurements and, like, there was just so much ease. We ended up going down a couple sizes ’cause we were like, “Oh, maybe we don’t want that super, super oversized look.” So it’s a really great way to make that informed decision for yourself.

Helen: Totally. It can make a big difference. Give you that good jumping-off point to start from.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Okay. Let’s start off with a definition of ease. So, ease is the extra width and length added to garments during drafting. And every pattern that you buy has some ease added to it. Patternmakers use slopers, which are basic patterns that have no ease added. If you sewed up a bodice using just the sloper pattern with seam allowance, it would fit so closely to your body that the seams would split if you bent over. So pattern designers add ease so that you can actually move around and live like a normal human being in your clothes. So this is called “wearing ease.”

Helen: Yes. And there’s also another type of ease called “design ease.” This is any ease that’s added to a pattern just for the style of it. So, for example, a circle skirt has a lot of design ease added around the hips so that the skirt is really nice and full.

Caroline: Ease can also go the other way. So, tightly fitted patterns for knits have negative ease, which is length and width subtracted from the original sloper. The stretch of the fabric makes up the difference when you wear it.

Helen: Another thing we wanna mention is: we talk about “easing in” stuff like sleeve caps, which is not exactly the same as what we’re talking about today, but it is related. There’s a little bit of extra width added to sleeve caps so that it’s easier to move your arms when you wear the shirt. There are different methods of distributing that ease so that it fits into the armscye, and that’s what we call “easing in.” And that’s not the only instance of easing in you might encounter in patterns, but it’s one of the most common. If you wanna hear more about those kind of techniques, listen to episode 225 which is “Sleeves.” And we’re not gonna be covering easing in in this episode. We’re gonna be talking about wearing ease and design ease today.

Caroline: Okay, so we’re gonna talk about how to tell how much ease your pattern has, how to figure out how much ease you like. And with this info, you can go a step beyond the size chart and choose the pattern size that will actually fit you best.

Helen: Now that we all know what ease is, let’s talk about how much ease you need or want. So, different fabrics have different ease needs. This is the other variable at play here. You can do all of the research and make your informed decision about what size you’re gonna make, and then you end up choosing a fabric that has some growing that happens as you wear it. Maybe it’s a little more relaxed. Some fabrics are really tightly woven. There’s lots of different styles out there. So, non- stretch wovens that are cut on the grain need the most ease. Bias-cut garments have a little bit of give, so they’re not gonna need as much ease as a woven fabric that’s cut on the grain. And knits and stretch wovens need less eas, in general. They can have zero ease or negative ease, like we mentioned earlier, because the fabric is gonna stretch to fit. The stretchier, the fabric, the less wearing ease you need. And like I said, there’s a whole spectrum in between, of all these different fabrics that have, they just perform differently. They have different characteristics that make them sit differently on the body. And it can be really hard to know right out the gate what’s gonna happen when you actually cut it out of your fabric.

Caroline: It’s so true. I think it is really important to think about the fabric weave when you’re selecting a pattern for a fabric or, like, vice versa. ‘Cause a loosely woven fabric, for example, is not gonna do well with a pattern that has a low amount of ease, because that stress on the seams is just gonna cause them to split, or, I don’t know what it’s called when it kind of, like, opens up a little bit. Like, the threads almost, like, pull apart. It doesn’t rip, but it, like, I don’t know.

Helen: Yeah, I don’t know either, but you can mitigate that by adding a lining or something. But it does take a lot of practice to kind of work with these fabrics and become aware of how they are going to perform in different scenarios.

Caroline: Totally. The type of garment you’re making is also gonna influence how much ease you need. So, for example, a jacket is gonna need more ease than a button-up shirt because it’s supposed to layer on top of the other clothes you’re wearing.

Helen: And wearing ease comes in a broad spectrum. There’s a range because your distribution of flesh might change more or less dramatically as you do things like sit, stand, squat, bend over. Generally, larger sizes need more wearing ease than smaller sizes because of how the bust, waist, and hip measurements change when standing versus sitting. So there’s a lot of factors at play.

Caroline: And another thing which influences how much ease you add is your personal preference. So, designers have ease preferences. Some pattern designers want a super close fit. Others like an easier, slouchier feel. And wearers have preferences, too. So two sewists with the exact same measurements might prefer a different size of T-shirt, for example.

Helen: Oh, Caroline, I’ve been making a lot of pants lately, because we released our Falconer Pants this past month, and I’ve been trying them out in all sorts of different fabrics. And let me tell you…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: It is wild, the difference between, like, a really, really tightly woven denim and, like, a looser, really broken-in denim, like a light wash that’s been, like, laundered a whole lot and treated a whole lot and is super soft. I could make an 18 in the softer denim and then I’d have to make a 20 in the tighter denim. Like, it can be a whole size difference sometimes, for how comfortable you feel. And that’s also down to personal preference. But it can be really interesting to compare different fabrics that are, like, seem really similar, but actually perform really differently.

Caroline: It’s so true, and it’s not even that simple, because a really rigid denim that doesn’t have a washed finish to it or laundered finish to it, it will soften over time. Right? So as you wear it and wash it, it’s gonna become looser. So maybe you’ll have wished you made a smaller size and, like, it’s kind of hard to predict what’s gonna happen. And I think it really comes with experience of working with different fabrics and different patterns and learning what you, personally, like.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. And like, especially with denim, where it molds to your body over time. Oh my gosh.

Caroline: Yeah, I know. I, personally, don’t really do, like, super tight jeans anymore. Like, the ones that are like, rib cage high, sucking everything in, so you feel like you can’t breathe when you sit down. Like, I just, I can’t handle it anymore. The hard pants are hard.

Helen: They’re too hard.

Caroline: They’re too hard. The hard pants are hard.

Helen: Well, I will say that a wider leg can make a huge difference in comfortability when sitting in a rigid pant. So Falconer is a little bit tight at the waist and hip, Caroline, but I’d love for you to give her a try, you know?

Caroline: Okay. I hear you. I hear you. And also, you can always size up, right? A pant can always be sized up if you know that you don’t want a really, really tight fit, but you like the look of the pant, or like the design details.

Helen: Yeah, and you make that decision by looking at the finished garment measurements to see how much ease was included in the waist and hip. So you know whether or not it’s something you might wanna size up on. So, let’s talk numbers here for a second.

Caroline: Generally, the minimum wearing ease on woven garments is one and a half to four inches at the bust, one to one and a half inches at the waist, and two to four inches at the hip.

Helen: Exactly. And then, of course, there’s design ease on top of that. So you can have a ton of extra ease just for design purposes, but you do need this minimum amount in order to move around in a woven. And then ease for knit garments is calculated based on the fabric stretch percentage. So for example, a close-fitting knit top might use the following formulas: a 10% stretch fabric could have zero ease. 20 to 30% stretch fabric would have 10 to 20% negative ease. And a 40 to 50% stretch fabric could have 20 to 30% negative ease. The more the fabric can stretch, the more negative ease it can handle.

Caroline: And we’re providing these numbers just so you can get an idea of what pattern designers are working with. You don’t need to memorize them or anything. But I just think it’s helpful to put the numbers out there so that everyone can get a better understanding of what we’re talking about here.

Helen: Caroline, do you have a personal preference when it comes to ease in garments? Is it something you think about when you’re sewing?

Caroline: I do. I mean, I think it does depend on the style of the garment, obviously. Like, I made the Seamwork Otto Vest back in September, before we went to Stitchfest, and that has, like, a pretty close fit. So I wouldn’t want it to be oversized but, generally speaking, I think I prefer something with a little bit more room, especially around the hips and the bust. But then when we’re talking knits? Again, it depends on the garment. I love, like, a tight-fitting t-shirt, like the Carrie Crop Top. But I also love a loosey goosey t-shirt, like the Jackson Tee. It depends on my mood. It depends on the style. It depends on the fabric. So I can’t say I have, like, a specific preference, but when it comes to, like, picking a…I’m like, “I wanna make a loose T-shirt,” then, yeah, I know how loose I want it to be, you know?

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: How about you?

Helen: I am very much the same. I think it definitely depends on the garment, and I like having some tighter things in my wardrobe and I like looser things. I think you and I both really love voluminous fashion, so, you know, in that case, I find it’s easy to make something like that because you know there’s gonna be plenty of room. There’s not gonna be any major fitting issues when you’re working with, like, a tiered gathered dress or something. You just have to focus on the upper bust and shoulders and the rest is gravy, which is really satisfying. But not everybody likes that kind of style. So if you do prefer more fitted clothing, then ease is something you kind of have to pay more attention to. And then in pattern design, it’s similar. Of course, it’s dependent on the garment. And dependent on feedback, too, over time. If people say, “Oh, this one had a little too much,” “This one had a little too little.” I listen to that and I try to adjust accordingly when I’m making my future patterns and what feedback I’ve received on the past patterns.

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely. I think doing that and, like, fit testing is really important, too. I know you have samples that you wear around as you’re, like, working on a pattern. We do that, too, and I think that’s really helpful to see. Like, “Oh, this is feeling a little tight in the underarms, and maybe when I just did, like, a quick try-on at the warehouse, I didn’t feel that, but after wearing it a few times and moving around and doing errands, I know that it’s not quite right.” You know? So that step in the process, I think, is really important.

Helen: Yeah, totally. I agree.

Caroline: Okay. Let’s talk about how to figure out how much ease you like.

Helen: Okay, we have a little formula for you. Your body measurements + the wearing ease + the design ease = the finished garment measurements. And the same equation can also be said as: finished garment measurements – body measurements = the total ease. So, we’ll be using this formula to figure out how much ease there is in finished garments or in sewing patterns.

Caroline: A good way to figure out how much ease you like is to measure your favourite garments. You can put them on and make little marks at the bust, waist, and hip with an erasable pen, and then take them off and measure the width of the garment at those points. Make sure the garment’s lying flat when you measure it. And if the front is different from the back, which would be true for most woven garments, measure each side separately and then add the numbers together and get the full measurement. And now that you have your finished garment measurements, you can subtract your body measurements to find out how much ease they have at each point. And this will give you a good idea of how much ease you prefer.

Helen: Yeah, this is a really great trick. And you can do this when you’re looking at a certain style. I often recommend this for our Cameron Button Up pattern because it’s one that people make a lot of times as a gift. And so I tell people, “If you’re able, sneak into your partner’s closet, or the person that you’re making it for. Grab one of their shirts that they like and measure that shirt. And that is gonna give you a whole other set of numbers and information you can use when comparing to these charts.”

Caroline: Yeah. That’s so smart.

Helen: So, you can figure out the amount of ease included in a pattern and then use that to choose your size, and it’s gonna give you a better idea of how your garment will fit than choosing your size based only on the body measurements chart. For example, the big four pattern companies notoriously include more ease. So if you know you like your garments more fitted, you can just go ahead and choose a smaller size and get a smaller amount of ease.

Caroline: Some companies will include info about their wearing ease on their pattern envelopes or website. You could even email the designer of your indie pattern to ask them about it. But you could also figure it out yourself. So, if your pattern has a finished garment measurement chart, you can use it with the size chart to calculate the amount of ease included. For example, let’s say a size 22 has a 48 inch full bust on the body measurement chart and a 52 inch full bust on the finished garment chart. 52 – 48 = four inches of ease at the bust.

Helen: And if your pattern doesn’t include a finished garment measurement chart, you can measure the pattern itself. Lay the pattern over yourself to estimate where the bust, waist, and hip points are, if necessary, and then measure the front and back pattern pieces separately. Make sure to subtract any seam allowances from the numbers you get. But that’s gonna be a way that you can actually figure out the finished measurements of the garment, just using the pattern pieces.

Caroline: I will say, this is a lot easier for a simple pattern than something that has a lot of style lines. Like, I’m imagining a bodice with, like, princess seams or a, like, back style line or something, and you’re dealing with, like, six different pattern pieces and you have to measure them all and subtract the seam allowance. It can get a little bit complicated. So yeah, simple patterns are best for this method.

Helen: Yeah, definitely. And if you are gonna just, like, choose a smaller size to get a smaller amount of ease, that can be kind of tricky, as well, because other things are gonna start to scale smaller and so it might not work proportionally on your figure. So try not to jump down like six sizes.

Caroline: Yeah. So true.

Helen: It’s probably not gonna work out. But one or two is usually okay.

Caroline: Sometimes finished garments feel too big or too small, even if you choose your size carefully. So here are some reasons why that might happen. First of all, fabrics perform super differently. For example, drapey fabrics hang close to the body, while crisper fabrics stand away from it. So you could make a pattern in a Tencel twill and love how it looks, and then make the same pattern in cotton poplin and be surprised that it looks so big. So we have some other fabric characteristics that can affect what size you choose.

Helen: Yeah, so a knit with really good recovery, like a cotton with 10% spandex, is gonna fit more tightly than a knit that bags out, like a rayon with 2% spandex.

Caroline: A jeans pattern that looks great in non-stretch denim will look baggy if you make it in stretch denim. And, like Helen said, even all non-stretch denims are not created equally.

Helen: It’s so true. Thick fabrics, like coatings, need a little extra room. So if you did a fit test of your coat pattern with a really thin cotton muslin, then it might feel tight when you sew it up in a really thick wool.

Caroline: Ooh, it’s so true. Also, some fabrics can really grow. Double gauze is notorious for this. I often think about you telling me about the Lawrence Dress, Helen, and how your double gauze sample ended up, like, two sizes bigger than all the other ones.

Helen: Yeah, it’s so true!

Caroline: ‘Cause it’s, like, a tiered maxi dress and it was double gauze and it’s a stunning, stunning sample, and you wouldn’t even really notice from the pictures, but, yeah, it happens. Double gauze grows.

Helen: It totally grows, especially if you do it in a pant or something. And I did a ton of tiers, like, gathered tiers on that one. So it was also really heavy. It seems like a light fabric, but when you throw that much double gauze together, it can weigh quite a lot. And again, this is one of those tricky things that comes down to experience and practice. And we’ve all made things out of a fabric and then afterwards been like, “Oh, this fabric, by the end of the day, is just, like, a hot mess.”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And had regrets. And that’s learning.

Caroline: Yeah, it really is.

Helen: Another reason why you might be surprised by the finished size of your makes is that taking accurate measurements isn’t as easy as it seems. So we do have some tips here for accurate measuring.

Caroline: So if you’re measuring yourself, you want to use a mirror. And then you can make sure that the tape is in the right place all around. If it’s drooping or twisted in the back, where you can’t see it, this will give you an inaccurate measurement.

Helen: Don’t pull the measuring tape super tight around you. It shouldn’t be compressing your body at all. We just want it to be snug.

Caroline: When you measure around your bust, don’t hold your arms away from your body. Wrap the tape around the largest part of your bust, check that it’s laying smoothly across your back, and then let your arms down. As your elbows lay against your sides, you might notice that your bust measurement grows a bit.

Helen: When you’re measuring your bust, wear the bra that you plan to wear with your finished garment, if you’re gonna wear a bra. That’s very important.

Caroline: Yeah. When you measure your hips, your feet should be about 12 inches apart. Wow. Do you do that, Helen? That’s so specific.

Helen: I try to.

Caroline: Really?

Helen: I try to. Well, and also, just relaxing, too. Whenever I’m measuring somebody else, people tend to be very stiff and upright and I have to be like, “Okay, deep breaths. Let’s take a few deep breaths. Let’s relax, let’s shake it out.” Yeah, it makes a big difference. You wanna measure your waist and hips standing, and then again while sitting. Compare your sitting measurements with the finished garment measurements to make sure that it’s still gonna fit when you’re sitting down.

Caroline: That’s such a great tip. And if you’ve had your measuring tape for a while, you might wanna check it against a regular ruler to make sure it hasn’t stretched out.

Helen: Right? All those vintage tapes out there.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And retake your measurements often. Sometimes things change and we don’t realize it. It’s totally natural for bodies to change. You just wanna be sure you’re working with accurate information so that you can make clothes that will fit the body you have now. I mean, I fluctuate all the time.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: I measure myself all the time because I just seem to fluctuate one or two sizes constantly. So that’s just life.

Caroline: That’s just life. Yep. Another reason you might find the finished garment doesn’t match the intended fit or the finished garment measurements chart is seam allowance. So it’s important to be as accurate as possible with your seam allowances when you’re sewing. If you’re off by even a quarter of an inch, that could add up to an inch or more all around the garment, especially on tighter-fitting garments. So this can really impact the overall size of the garment and how it fits on you. Keep that in mind. I mean, I will say, I’m not, like, perfect with my sewing. And it’s the most important when you’re sewing something fitted. But it can make a difference, like, on a pair of trousers, in the waistband, like, a waistband growing an inch or shrinking an inch.

Helen: Huge. Yeah.

Caroline: That can really change the fit. So it’s important when it matters.

Helen: It is important and, I mean, a positive benefit to this is that we have, usually, a five eighths of an inch seam allowance to play with. So if you’re baste fitting something to see how it fits, you can take things in in all of those little places or let them out in all those little places and it can add up to a lot, overall, in the garment. So you actually have a lot of control mid-sew because of the fact that a little bit goes a long way.

Caroline: Do you always look at the size chart versus finished garment measurement chart when you’re picking a size? Is it, like a, something that you always, always, always do?

Helen: No brainer? I do, but I think that’s the pattern designer in me, too, you know?

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: You know, I wouldn’t base the entire community off of my habits. But I’m always interested to, to find out the amount of ease that’s included. And I do, kind of, have a general idea of the amount of ease I prefer at, like, the chest, waist, hip levels.

Caroline: I do, because I tend to be between sizes a lot of the time, or a different size in my bust, waist, hip, and, like, it’s always easier to just make one size if you can, even though, like, that’s not always possible. But especially with, I love, like, a looser-fitting dress in the hips, and you can usually get away with just going by your bust size, and if there’s enough ease in the hips, like, not having to cut a larger skirt. So often I look at it just so that I can, like, cheat the system a little bit and not have to grade between sizes.

Helen: Yeah, but that’s so smart, though. And a lot of times, like, there’s already built-in volume in a lot of designs, so you don’t necessarily need to worry about having that larger hip measurement. But, yeah, I, I get a lot of emails about choosing size. It’s definitely one of the biggest sticking points for people when they’re getting started on their project. So I hope that this episode kind of gives people a bit more of lay of the land, of where to begin.

Caroline: It’s so true, and that’s such a glorious thing about sewing, is that we’re not prisoners to the sizes that people decide ready-to-wear should be. And we can, like, absolutely customize every bit of our clothes.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: And understanding ease is a huge part of that.

Helen: Yeah, for sure. Well, that was super easy, I think, right?

Caroline: Yeah, I’m, I’m feeling pretty at ease right now. Easy breezy. I think we can probably wrap things up.

Helen: We will be linking some additional resources in our show notes on our website if you wanna learn more about ease. It’s also really fun to do your own slopers and then play around with ease, designing your own patterns. So keep that in mind.

Caroline: Yes. Oh my gosh, yes. Definitely. Let’s talk about ease on socials this week.

Helen: Yeah, let’s do it.

Caroline: Let’s have some lively conversations. Let us know how much ease you like or don’t like.

Helen: That’ll be a really funny caption thread. It’s like, “Eight inches.” “Six inches.” “Five and a half inches.”

Caroline: Perfect. Oh, alright. Well…

Helen: Keep it breezy. Easy peasy.

Caroline: Easy peasy.

Helen: Easy breezy lemon squeezy.

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 sunny 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. 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. 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’ll talk to you next week.

Caroline: Bye-bye.

Helen: Take it easy.

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In this episode, we’re reacting to rising fashion trends for spring 2025! Whether we love ‘em or hate ‘em, we’re gonna tell you how you can incorporate them into your me-mades.

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

Show Notes:

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

The Trend Articles We Used:

Me-Mades Mentioned:

Resources:

Sewing Patterns:

Fabrics:

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 want to talk about.

Caroline: In this episode, we’re reacting to rising style trends for spring 2025. Whether we love ‘em or hate ‘em, we’re going to tell you how you can incorporate them into your me-mades.

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

Caroline: Woo! I love these trend episodes! I’m so excited.

Helen: Me too. They make me feel cool.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, I know. We are trend forecasters. Except it’s already been forecasted. We are just telling you about it.

Helen: You’re welcome.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay, Helen, before we jump into today’s topic, we want to remind everyone the best way to support the show. Also, we just love you guys. Thank you.

Helen: We do. We love you. We have so much fun over on Patreon and on our Apple Podcast Subscriptions, sharing a little bit more behind the scenes about our lives, what we’re sewing, pattern releases, tips and tricks, all sorts of fun stuff. And you can get access to that bonus content every month by supporting us on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. And it means so much to us if you’re able to do so, even if it’s just for a little bit.

Caroline: Helen, you didn’t mention that we talk about what we’re cooking/meal prepping. And I just need to say that you recommended overnight oats. And Shea is literally obsessed with overnight oats right now. It’s like, he would marry overnight oats. Like he loves them so much.

Helen: Oh, I feel so validated. It’s, like, such a life-changing breakfast.

Caroline: Our fridge is stacked to the brim with overnight oats.

Helen: I noticed you’re not saying that you love them, but…

Caroline: I’m not an oat girl. I’m not an oat girl, but…you know what? We’re going to save this for the bonus episode.

Helen: Yeah, we can’t get into this.

Caroline: We can’t get into this right now, but just know that we both make recipe recommendations and we’re both pretty serious about food. So if you want to hear about that from us, then go over and support us. And, obviously, if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we completely understand. You are here right now listening to the main show and that is the most important thing. Thank you so much for listening and just cheering us on.

Helen: Thank you so much.

Caroline: We gotta get into this show. I am so excited to do another one of these episodes. Our first one was last fall and we had such a good time. Do you remember the sweater that was sewn on top of another sweater?

Helen: I literally think about that every day.

Caroline: Yeah? It lives rent free in your brain? Okay, me too.

Helen: It does. Every time I put on a sweater, I’m like, “What if there was just another sweater sewn onto the front of the sweater? That would be wild.”

Caroline: Just flopping around. Wait, did you watch The Bachelor this week?

Helen: Oh no, I haven’t seen, I haven’t seen the most recent ep, actually.

Caroline: Okay, I’m gonna age, like, when we’re recording this episode. So if anyone watches The Bachelor, you’re gonna know our secrets. But in this past week’s episode, Carolina is wearing, like, a pair of men’s suit trousers as a top. The front fly and the button is, like, at the front and it’s, like, a cowl-y off-the-shoulder cropped top made out of, like, the top half of a pair of men’s trousers. But, like, legit, it looks like upcycled men’s trousers. It’s not like they’ve been recreated as a top. Like, no, it’s like someone took a pair of men’s trousers and cut armholes out of the sides.

Helen: I am dying to see this now. This sounds…

Caroline: Honestly, I need to know how you feel about it because I was so, I could not…

Helen: It sounds pretty cool.

Caroline: It was really cool but so distracting. Like, I just couldn’t get past the, like, front fly across her chest. It was, it was weird. It was weird. I want to know what everyone else thinks.

Helen: I feel like this is, in fact, very on-trend and in line with our first line item that we’re going to be discussing. I cannot wait to see it. I hope she made it herself because that would truly make my day.

Caroline: That would be wild. Oh, I need to do more research on this.

Helen: Yeah. Okay, we did pull today’s content from a couple of different trend articles. So you can check those out to see pictures as we go along, if you want. We’ve got “9 Trends Set to Define Spring 2025 Fashion” in Who What Wear and also “The 10 Spring 2025 Trends That Will Be Everywhere Next Year,” and that was from W Magazine.

Caroline: Yes, and a little disclaimer, a little word about trends. Don’t feel like you have to follow them. If a trend gets you excited and fits into your personal style, then that’s amazing, but don’t feel like you have to change your whole look just to fit in. And also, no judgment at all. If you like a trend that we don’t like, or if we like a trend that you don’t like, we will be reacting today. We will be sharing our personal opinions and tastes. Just remember, this is not personal. It’s, it’s fun. Not personal towards you. It’s personal for us.

Helen: Yeah, exactly.

Caroline: Alright. Should we get into it?

Helen: Yes. Okay. Our first trend is: Soft Power. You have to say it like that.

Caroline: Soft Power.

Helen: It’s like a less-structured version of Corporatecore. So think oversized drapey blazers, trench coats with really wide lapels, soft silk blouses, lightweight, wide wool trousers. And the colours are soft here, too. We’ve got pale greys, pale blues, neutral browns, and creams. It’s pretty, but also masc. I like it.

Caroline: I really like it, too. I would totally want to try this trend. I have an oversized blazer that I love wearing. It’s more of, like, a brown plaid. So I don’t know if it fully fits into this trend, but I really like the oversized look a lot. And I like that this is sort of, like, paired with maybe some, like, softer colours that make it feel like a little bit less intense. But yeah, Corporatecore? I’m all about it.

Helen: I was thinking about the Taylor Trousers you could use to, to make this if you use a, like, softer fabric. Also, our Pona Jacket would be great ‘cause it’s got that oversized blazer shape already. And you can make it in, like, a Tencel twill and you’ve got, like, a very drapey layering piece. I don’t work in an office, so a lot of this stuff doesn’t really appeal to me, like, on the day-to-day, but I like the idea of incorporating some pieces here and there, you know?

Caroline: Yeah, no, it’s so true. I can see this fitting into, like, my wardrobe fairly well because I do go to the office and I’ve been enjoying playing a little bit more with the, like, blazer-trouser looks.

Helen: Yeah. You’re the CEO. You gotta wear that blazer!

Caroline: I’m the fabric mogul. Yeah. But I feel like, you’re working from home, so like, if you walked in one morning in a blazer and, like, pleated trousers, like, what do you think Sam would say?

Helen: I mean, he’s always just like, “Cute outfit.” Because a lot of the time I’m wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. So anything outside of that is exciting. But I do have a pair of Lockhart pants in, like, a pinstriped viscose linen noil that you guys had for a little bit. And it’s really drapey and fun and voluminous. And those are basically as comfortable as sweatpants. So you can have the best of both worlds.

Caroline: Alright, the next one is: Powder Pink. Red has been trending for so long that it’s basically become a neutral. And this pale, blue-toned pink is what’s coming next. It’s not as peach-coloured as millennial pink was 10 years ago. It’s what we used to call “baby pink” in the nineties. It’s showing up in ultra-feminine, ruffly, lacy dresses, which is no surprise, but it’s also being used in super modern sculptural garments as well.

Helen: I’m all for a colour for a season or whatever. I think it’s really fun. I just don’t like this colour on me, personally. I’m a warm tones girl. So, like, cool-toned pink? I’m literally actually wearing something that’s kind of close to this colour right now, which I’m just noticing in our meeting here, in my little video.

Caroline: Well, it’s quite dusty. I feel like your sweater is more of, like, a dusty brownish pink. This is very cool-toned. I like it. We’re actually bringing in some fabrics in this colour. I like the, like, nineties nod of this color. Like, it’s giving Spice Girls, you know, it’s giving Baby Spice.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: It’s not my colour, personally. But I like it. Like, I can appreciate it for sure.

Helen: Yeah. I mean, it’s fine. We can just keep wearing red, you know? A good way to incorporate a colour like this into your everyday wardrobe would be to just make, like, a t-shirt in this colour, and then you’re trend forward while still just having, like, you know, a nice relaxed personal style, if that’s your vibe. You don’t have to make a frilly dress out of it. You can keep it simple.

Caroline: And you can also pair it with, like, a modern minimalist pattern for a more unexpected look. Assembly Line patterns has some really good options there. Or maybe you just want to go all in and go, like, super girly and look for, like, powder pink fabrics in, like, chunky lace or slinky satin and just, like, dive into this trend.

Helen: Ooh, yeah. Satin, for sure. Satin slip dress in this? Gorgeous.

Caroline: Can I make another bachelor reference?

Helen: Of course.

Caroline: I promise it’s the last one. Okay. When you said, like, “I can get behind any colour for a season,” it made me think of…

Helen: Brat girl summer?

Caroline: No, it made me think of Chloe being like, “I think I meet people for a season or a reason or a lifetime.”

Helen: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I have heard that line before, too.

Caroline: I, yeah, it’s such a bachelor line, but I feel like a colour can be for a season or a reason or a lifetime. And, like, maybe you’re wearing powder pink because you’re a bridesmaid and you have to. That’s the reason. Maybe you’re wearing it for a season because it’s on-trend and you want to try it out. Or maybe you’re a lifer and you just have always loved powder pink.

Helen: Yeah, because it looks damn good on you.

Caroline: Yeah. In which case, lucky you. It’s in the trends.

Helen: It’s so true. Okay. We’ll keep that in mind as we go through these trends.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: This next one is my favourite, I think. Personal Touches. I love this as a trend because it’s so generic and can be interpreted in any way you want, but: Personal Touches. This is more about accessorizing or putting pieces together in a really individual way. So, the writer of the article we pulled this from points out that at some shows designers are styling the models in looks that feel really personal to each one rather than having a similar style for, like, the whole show. For example, at Chloe, a simple all-black look with drapey trousers, a lacy camisole, and a blazer was then styled with a cream pillbox hat, big seventies sunglasses, and gold jewelry. It doesn’t have to only be about accessories, though. They also featured some really cool statement garments that were put together in interesting ways. Think outside the box, think thrift store chic, think wear whatever you want. And as long as you have confidence, it will look cool. I love this kind of thing. And I think it’s because, when I was younger, like, in my early twenties, thrift store and vintage clothing was, like, the height of being fashionable. So there was just a lot of weird clothes going on and, like, you could pretty much wear anything and people would be like, “You look cool.”

Caroline: I love this one, too, because it’s, like, not really a trend. It’s like the anti-trend because it’s saying, like, figure out what your personal style is and incorporate that and, like, make your style unique. And that means it can be so individual and you can really use what you have. It’s more about styling than, like, adopting a new trend, right?

Helen: Exactly, because it can apply to everything that you put on and every outfit that you wear.

Caroline: It feels like a sustainable take on a trend, you know? I feel like we’ve both tried this because it is how we aspire to dress, right? Like, I aspire to dress with personal touches that feel unique to me. I think you’re very good at doing that, too.

Helen: I try, but I don’t look as unique as these models in the, in the example photo.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I could definitely push the boundaries a little bit more. I do think playing with accessories like hats and sunglasses is a fun way to incorporate this unexpected moment in your outfit. Elsewhen Millinery on Etsy has great patterns for a wide brim sun hat, pillbox hat, and a teardrop hat, all of which are featured in this photo. So that’s a good place to go if you’re looking for those kinds of things.

Caroline: Mmhmm. If you usually make a lot of basic garments, you can also consider making a statement piece with, like, a bold print fabric and then building outfits around that. I have one more thing to say about this trend that, maybe it’s more of like a tip, but it’s something that I learned from, like, a personal stylist, like, TikTok person. She was talking about how she looks at, like, putting together outfits as, like, you’re looking at like sections of your body and adding something to each section. So you don’t want, like, all your accessories up at the top. That might feel wrong, but think about it as, like, your, like, chest to, like, the top of your head is a section, and then, like, your chest to, like, your waist is another section and, like, waist down to your feet is another section. So, like, you might add a necklace and a belt and, like, an interesting sock and that feels more balanced than, like, necklace, earrings, hat, like, all at the top, you know? So if you’re wanting to, like, incorporate personal touches in your style, maybe you put on an outfit and you’re like, “How do I make this feel more like me, more styled?” Then think about adding one thing to each section and it’ll feel maybe more right than having it all in one place. But also, like, I feel like rules don’t matter. I’m just, it’s just a little tip, you know?

Helen: I love that. And I’m, I’m obsessed with those videos. It’s like, “wearing versus styling.” It is so cool to see people take something that looks so basic and generic, spin it into this absolutely incredible outfit that’s, all of a sudden, like, a work of art. It’s amazing.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s definitely made me, like, think about my own wardrobe differently and how I can wear my own pieces in unique ways versus, like, I need to buy this new thing that’s on-trend. Like it’s, yeah, it’s great. Alright, next up we have: The Modern Socialite.

Helen: Ooh!

Caroline: It’s kind of funny that they titled it this, because what they really mean is, like, “90s minimalism comes back.” The socialite they’re talking about is Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, who really did have amazing style. And these garments are ultra simple, made in luxurious fabrics and neutral colours. I’m seeing a lot of, like, creams, whites, blacks, browns, navies. High contrast, but minimalism.

Helen: Yeah, and we’re talking, like, poise. We’re talking, you are put together.

Caroline: Yeah. Slick back hair…

Helen: Pass.

Caroline: I was gonna say, I feel like our reactions are really lukewarm on this one.

Helen: It’s not for me. I do love black and white. It’s one of my favourites. But I like them together in a print. Separately, you know, I’ll wear black. I hardly ever wear just white because I’m messy. I’m too messy for white. And I just don’t vibe with this, like, super slick modern look. It looks great on these models, though.

Caroline: It feels like the, like, clean girl aesthetic, kind of. And, like, I’m not a clean girl. Like, I just think I don’t…I also don’t fit into that style identity. Like my hair never looks slick, you know? It doesn’t do that. How do you get your ponytail to be slick without little bumpies everywhere?

Helen: I don’t know. But even the, like, fabrics feel high-maintenance to me. Like, I don’t work with a lot of silks and satins and things. Yeah. Don’t wear a lot of white. Don’t wear a lot of, like, shift dresses. And I love print and colour and texture. And this is, like, the antithesis of that. So.

Caroline: A hundred percent. Yeah.

Helen: But it is an easy one to, like, work into your wardrobe if you’re into it, because you can choose high quality, natural fiber fabrics in basic colours like white, cream, and black, and then classic silhouettes, like trench coats, sheath dresses, drapey button-up shirts. I could definitely get behind a, like, silk, black, oversized button-up. That I would really like.

Caroline: Yeah. And I can see this trend being quite timeless, as well. Like, it’s not leaning into one particular aesthetic that is gonna go out of style, you know?

Helen: True. Yeah. It does feel very timeless.

Caroline: Alright. We’re going in a totally different direction with the next one.

Helen: Yay! Next we have: “Isn’t It Grand?” And it is quite the opposite of the last trend. This is maximalist luxury: shiny brocade fabrics, bead encrusted jackets, feathers, lots of details. I’ve also heard this called Loud Luxury, as opposed to Quiet Luxury, and it feels like a return to the over-the-top evening styles that were really popular in the 80s. So much fun here, especially if you are a fabric lover because, oh my god. Incredible.

Caroline: Yeah, loud luxury is everything. I love, I love that this is, like, from a sewist’s perspective, you know, like when you start sewing and you’re, like, buying all the shiny things. You’re like, “I want this fabric ‘cause it’s, like, so striking and beautiful.” And then you have it in your stash and you’re like, “When am I going to wear this” The time is now. Like, this is the moment for those crazy fabrics.

Helen: Yeah, get them out…

Caroline: The shiny, the metallic, the brocades, the crazy prints. Like, just bring it all together in one of these outfits. Like, now’s the moment.

Helen: A lot of this stuff is very holiday-looking, like the kind of fabrics you would see around November, December in preparation for holiday season, but I love that this is, like, bringing it into the everyday.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And you don’t have to wear head-to-toe brocade or sequins. Just, like, a little bit. You can add some drama to a basic pattern by, like, enlarging the buttons, adding some ruffles, or drafting, like, a bigger collar, sewing it in a contrast fabric. Maybe you’re just making a little cropped jacket to wear that’s made out of a brocade or something. Really easy to incorporate it without going over the top like they’re styling it here.

Caroline: I feel like you could do this trend, Helen. Like, you have some hero pieces that I can think of that would totally fit. And you just have to, like, put them all together in an outfit and you’re there.

Helen: That’s true. I do love it.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s very, very fun. Alright, we’re going to go through this next one quickly because it’s about shoes, but it is: Just a Peep. Basically, peep toes are back. Some of them are a little different from what we’ve seen before, kind of like an offset opening that shows only your big toe. Sorry, just a moment of silence for that. But mostly, they’re just classic peep toes. I can’t with the big toe.

Helen: Only the big toe?

Caroline: Only the big toe.

Helen: Honestly, Caroline, all my good toes are on the sides, I think.

Caroline: Nobody wants only the big toe.

Helen: Like, I don’t want to be highlighting the front two. Like, my little toe and next to little toe, who knows what that toe’s called, those are the best ones.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. Your little baby toe on the ends. Yeah, well you need to…the next trend is gonna be only the side toe.

Helen: Only the side toes. Baby toes. One day. We can only dream.

Caroline: That would be it. Yeah.

Helen: I mean, I’m all for people who like this style. I don’t really, like, own or wear a lot of shoes that are outside of, like, regular shoes, sneakers and stuff. So I don’t know. Sure. Peep toes. Great.

Caroline: Yeah, why not?

Helen: Why not?

Caroline: Let’s move on.

Helen: Okay. Back to sewing-related trends. We’ve got: Craving Romance. This one is all about garments made out of flowing, sheer chiffon. Soft colours, floral prints. We’re seeing ruffles, gathers, bubble skirts, and 1920s-inspired drop waist silhouettes.

Caroline: I like this one.

Helen: Yeah. I’m not, like, loving a drop waist silhouette, but I do love a flowy fabric. I love a floral. I would probably choose a, like, rayon satin or something over a silk or chiffon, just ‘cause I like easier fabrics…

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: For sewing. But I do think that sheer fabrics are absolutely gorgeous and it would be really fun to play around with this trend, making something sheer.

Caroline: Yeah, I think that, like, sheer pants trend would be a fun one for this. I also feel like you could get this, like, romantic look with, like, a bias-cut satin skirt maybe in, like, a soft, romantic floral print or something like that. Like, you don’t have to go, like, full draped in chiffon, you know, to get this, like, romantic aesthetic. I also think this is, like, a really fun aesthetic for, like, a wedding. Like, if you’re wanting to make a dress to attend, like, a summer wedding or a garden wedding, this is, like, the perfect look for that.

Helen: Yes. Oh my gosh. Totally. It’d be really fun to have an event to go to, to make something like this for.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Okay, wait, sewing tip break, ‘cause…

Helen: Yes. Help me.

Caroline: Chiffon. We don’t talk about chiffon that much on the show, but I feel like, to get this look, chiffon is a great way to go, to achieve this look. So just keep in mind, it is a tougher fabric to work with, but it is so drapey and pretty. So we have some tips. Number one: use spray starch to stabilize so it’s easier to work with.

Helen: Yes. Cut on a single layer so you have more control and you can make sure you’re cutting everything on grain.

Caroline: If your fabric is prone to fraying, consider finishing the edges before you start working. Or you can cut a larger seam allowance to, kind of, allow for the fraying.

Helen: And rolled hems are the way to go with chiffon. You can use a rolled hem foot on your machine or you can sew one by hand. There’s also the method where you fold up the hem and press it about an eighth of an inch longer than you want it to end up, and then sew a line of stitching really close to the fold, trim the excess fabric away, and now you can press the fold up and top stitch it, leaving, like, a super teeny tiny hem. Works really well, so that’s a good option too.

Caroline: Mmhmm. And Silversaga patterns go really well with this ethereal style. So if you’re looking for a company to check out, check them out.

Helen: Yeah, true.

Caroline: Mmhmm. I’m, like, already laughing at the next one.

Helen: I like this one.

Caroline: Okay: The Wrong Coat.

Helen: It’s so easy. Basically, I like any trend that’s easy to pull off. Where I’m like, “All I have to do is put on an ugly coat? Down. I’ll be there.”

Caroline: Oh my gosh, yes. I’ve seen something similar on TikTok as, like, “the wrong shoe theory.” So the idea here is to choose a jacket or a coat that doesn’t match the style of the rest of the outfit. So this article in particular features a lot of sporty, outdoorsy, like, anorak-style jackets with glam going-out dresses. It feels unexpected.

Helen: Now is your time. If you have just been wanting to wear a windbreaker with everything, wear the windbreaker to the gala, wear it out to dinner, wear it. Doesn’t matter. You can wear it anywhere. Now’s your time. You have full permission.

Caroline: It’s such a rule-breaker. I can’t with this, Helen. I can’t.

Helen: I love it in concept, but I know that if I put on a beautiful head-to-toe dress like these people are wearing in these pictures and then ruined it wearing the ugliest coat I could find, I just don’t think I could leave the house, you know?

Caroline: Yeah. To me, these coats aren’t that ugly, they just don’t go. Like, it’s like, they’re just wrong. That is the trend. They’re wrong. Like, every rule book would tell you, do not wear this kind of coat with this kind of dress. Like, we’re looking at sequin dresses with raincoats on top.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: And the, like, length of the coat isn’t good. Like, it’s just all wrong.

Helen: It’s Pacific Northwest realness.

Caroline: Honestly. Yeah. Like, relatable in that way. ‘Cause who has, like a, a coat to go with their sequined dress, right? Like…

Helen: No, I’m still wearing my raincoat.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: It is the most dressed-up looking of my jackets.

Caroline: The idea here is, like, you don’t have to be embarrassed. You can own the wrong coat.

Helen: This is the kind of trend that works if you are a very fashion-forward individual. But for regular folks like us, people are just going to think you didn’t have a good coat option for your outfit.

Caroline: Yeah. And like, to be fair, like, the wrong shoe theory and, like, the, like, the idea of wearing, like, a fancier outfit with like a sportier shoe…

Helen: Croc or something.

Caroline: I’m into that. Like, and I think that that’s been around for long enough that we’re all used to it. And it’s like, it’s a statement. It’s cute. It’s cool. Like, I think most people can pull that off. Anyone can pull it off. But, but maybe in a few years we’re going to be like, “Yeah, the wrong coat. Like, that’s normal.” Like, right now it’s, it’s really not landing for me.

Helen: Well, if you are interested in making the wrong coat to wear with your next beautiful gown, you could try technical fabrics. If you want to make these kind of softshell windbreaker styles, you could use that kind of fabric. Softshell fabrics have, like, a pliable water-resistant outer layer and then a soft fleece inner layer. And they’re also great for layering when you’re not dressed up in a sequin gown. You can wear them in your everyday life, too. Bonus.

Caroline: Bonus! Oh my gosh, okay, one pattern idea we have is the Fibre Mood Maggie Coat. Would be perfect for this trend.

Helen: Oh, this coat is so cute. It would be perfect.

Caroline: It really is. Mmhmm. Mmhmm.

Helen: Okay. Our next trend is a lot of fun. It’s called: Feel Good. And this one is all about using unusual materials and techniques to create interesting textures. So there’s a tweed white coat with stripes of feather trim, an open skirt with big wool bobbles. There’s a colourful hand woven fabric. There’s some really interesting long fringes. They look like they’re made of strips of laser cut fabrics. And one of these is a jacket by Alaia that has this voluminous spiral fringe on it. So we’re going to tell you how you can make this fringe yourself.

Caroline: Okay. I really like this trend. I like the idea of clothes feeling good. Like that, like, sort of soft texture. It’s, like, really comforting and, yeah, like, it makes me want, like, a big puffy faux fur jacket or something.

Helen: Yeah! Or, like, a tinsel coat. I’ve seen those, where they just look like big, like, disco balls. There is something really satisfying about a lot of texture in a garment. A real statement piece. It could be difficult to find fabrics for this, but you don’t have to go full-on. You could just find fabrics that have subtle textures and it would still feel like this trend, but on a smaller scale.

Caroline: Yeah, and like, you can use a base fabric and embellish with trim if you can’t find the right fabric for this. So I think there’s a lot of options here. I like the idea of incorporating it into a skirt, too, instead of, like, a big jacket or something. Like, something really subtle, like a fringe on a skirt could be really cute.

Helen: Yeah. Now’s your chance to go into the trims area of the fabric store, which I don’t go into that often, but there’s so much fun stuff in there. And if you’ve ever gone in and looked at all of the different trims and fringes and things that you can buy and wondered if you’ll ever get to use them, now’s your chance. You can even buy feather fringe and you can make it removable by sewing snaps to it so that you can wash the main garment and then, like, snap back on the feather fringe if you wanted to add that to, like, the hem of the skirt.

Caroline: I’m just imagining, like, I’m running for the subway and my, like, fringe gets caught on something and then it just, like, rips off of my skirt because it’s only attached with snaps.

Helen: And you twirl around. Yeah, the drama.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s, it is a dramatic trend, for sure. If you wanted to make your own spiral fringe, you would just cut out a circle of fabric and then cut it into a strip following a spiral pattern. And then when you hold one end of the fabric up, it will twist up into a spiral. You can either choose a fabric that doesn’t fray, like a knit, or you can finish the edges with a zigzag or by serging.

Helen: This would be really fun to experiment with. I like that.

Caroline: The next trend is: Candy Coated. Lots of coats that we see out in the world are made from, like, dark, neutral fabrics. And this trend is all about brights. So: kelly green, royal blue, lilac, and cornflower coats in simple, long silhouettes. So it’s specifically candy coated coats, which…

Helen: Yes. Candy Coat-ed, Caroline.

Caroline: Yes. right. Of course. I love this.

Helen: I love it. Personally, me, I love it.

Caroline: I really love it. There’s a green coat in these photos that is really beautiful. And the colours are beautiful. I also love the, like, pale powder blue. It’s not my colour, but I still want to wear that coat. It’s so beautiful.

Helen: It’s so cute. Yeah, this reminds me of that car coat pattern that you made recently. That was so cute. And you did make it in a brown. But you could make it again in a green. It would look just like this.

Caroline: Yes. It’s the Daughter Judy Thompson Coat and there is a cropped view that I think would be really cute in a bright colour. It’s just such a fun way if you want to, like, dip your toes into incorporating more colour in your wardrobe. Having a coat, it’s, like, not necessarily always the feature of your outfit. You’re just wearing it to and from places and you take it off. So just get a little taste of what it’s like to wear bright colours.

Helen: Yeah, it’s true. It is really fun. And it, like, it’s a bright spot in your day and other people’s day, too. I think it will make people cheerful.

Caroline: I feel like you probably have a bright coloured coat, right?

Helen: I have a hot pink vintage, like, anorak-style coat that I do really love. It doesn’t get a ton of wear because it’s not a me-made and I’m, like, very partial to wearing my handmade items. But I haven’t let it go because I love the colour so much. So I’m feeling encouraged to maybe do a me-made coat out of a bright colour so I can have that in my wardrobe.

Caroline: Love it. Okay, so if you want some ideas for incorporating this into your me-mades, you can look for a simple coat pattern like The Eliza Trench by Papercut. And fabrics to look for include gabardine, twill, wool and poly coatings, and softshell. And there are candy colours out there, but they are rarer than neutrals. I want to add one thing. We’re bringing in some really fun candy colours in a bunch of our bottomweights for spring. So if you’re looking for something to do this trend, we’ll definitely have some options at Blackbird.

Helen: Yeah. I think twill is a perfect choice. It’s timeless. It’ll wear well. It’s easy to sew. You can’t go wrong.

Caroline: Absolute.

Helen: Okay. Our final trend for this episode is: School Ties. Pleated skirts, letterman jackets, sweater vests, blazers, polo shirts. Very Chilton-coded. You want to get your Gilmore Girls on. And sometimes they come in unexpected colours, like a lime green blazer, or unexpected materials, like a leather bomber jacket. There’s really lots of ways to incorporate this trend. And this trend is another one that’s fairly timeless. It’s kind of always in style to dress in this school uniform-esque vibe. So you really can’t go wrong.

Caroline: Would you try this trend, Helen?

Helen: There are elements of it that I like, but it’s not really up my personal style alley. I do think that, like, little sweater vests with, like, the V in the front with the white stripes is really cute. Or there’s a vest in this picture where the stripes are on the shoulders. I really like the idea of a small item, like a vest, to tie this together. I don’t know if I would rock a pleated skirt, personally, but it’s a really fun opportunity to use beautiful plaid fabrics. So I’m a little torn on that one.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Yeah, I feel like there could be, like, a little bit of crossover with the Soft Power if you are wearing more of those, like, suiting fabrics. You could probably put together an outfit that has this vibe. I like the sweater over, like, a button-up shirt look. It’s a loose interpretation of this trend, ‘cause I think that that’s just, like, a look that is pretty timeless. But that, paired with, like, a little pleated skirt, I think there you have it.

Helen: A loafer.

Caroline: A loafer, yes. I love a loaf. I love a loaf.

Helen: And bomber jackets, too. I could totally see myself rocking a bomber jacket. And you get to use fun fabrics with that, as well. The Causeway Bomber by Itch to Stitch would be a good choice to check out.

Caroline: Yeah. Style Arc has the Candice Skirt, which would work really well for this trend.

Helen: And the Carly Dress and Top by Sew Over It is really cute, more of a polo style. So if you want that look, especially the dress, I really think that would work.

Caroline: And in terms of fabrics, you’ll probably want to look for, like, a mix of neutrals and brights. I think a wool would work really well for the pleated skirts and trousers. You could use faux leather sleeves on a letterman jacket-inspired look. Ribbing is also your friend for bomber jackets. You can use ribbing for the cuffs on the sleeves. So you’ve got lots of options. You might even have something in your stash that would work for this.

Helen: Yeah, totally.

Caroline: Helen, have you made your choice of your favourite trend from this list?

Helen: I was gonna go with Personal Touches, but I think I’ve been convinced to try to gather all of the brocade and sequins and sparkly things that I’ve ever made and put them together and see what happens.

Caroline: I love it!

Helen: So I choose Isn’t It Grand?

Caroline: I’m going with The Wrong Coat. No, I’m kidding. No, I think I want to do Soft Power.

Helen: Oh, I love it. Yes. I see that for you. Fabric mogul realness.

Caroline: I think I can pull it off. I think I have the pieces already to pull something together that would be really fun. Yeah. I just think that’s a really fun trend and I could see it working with my personal style the most. So that’s great.

Helen: Ooh, okay, cool! Can’t wait to see it.

Caroline: Ooh, oh my gosh. Okay. I want to hear from our listeners about what their favourite trends are. Let’s talk about it on social this week.

Helen: Yeah. And this episode actually comes out the first week of spring. So happy spring to everybody and happy sewing!

Caroline: Happy sewing! Bye.

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 catalogue of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. So 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: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.

Helen: Bye bye.

Caroline: Bye.

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We interview Brandon Hayden, a pattern designer, sewing teacher, and content creator who makes menswear with bold fabrics and cool details. He wants to empower sewists to build their skills and express themselves!

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

Show Notes: 

Where to find Brandon online: 

Some of Brandon’s projects:

A post shared by Brandon Hayden (@happilydressed)

A post shared by Brandon Hayden (@happilydressed)

Sewing 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.

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 the only thing worth talking about.

Caroline: Today we’re chatting with Brandon Hayden, aka Happily Dressed. We chat with him about designing interesting menswear, becoming a pattern designer, and his best and worst thrifting experiences.

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

Caroline: Hi, Helen!

Helen: Hi, Caroline!

Caroline: I am so excited to talk to today’s guest because I’ve been following him online and I always love to see what he’s making.

Helen: Me too! Brandon Hayden is a pattern designer, sewing teacher, and content creator who makes menswear with bold fabrics and cool details, and he wants to empower sewists to build their skills and express themselves.

Caroline: Honestly, same. I think we should get into the interview.

Helen: Yes! Hello Brandon! Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Brandon: Hi, I’m so excited to be here.

Helen: We want to start things off by asking you the question we ask all of our guests, which is: how and when did you learn to sew?

Brandon: I bought my first sewing machine. Actually, I just checked this the other day. It was November 15th, 2017. I bought it to take in clothes that I would find at the thrift store because I am and was and will always be an avid thrifter. But I didn’t really start using that machine until January of 2018. That’s kind of when I dug my feet in to try to make real things.

Helen: That’s really cool. So, did you have prior sewing experience, like from home ec or something like that?

Brandon: Not at all. And there’s actually, it’s kind of sad because, when I was younger, I asked my grandma to teach me how to sew and she never did. Like, literally just never followed up, never followed through. And I was like, “I’m just a kid…”

Helen: Grandma!

Brandon: I know. Exactly. “I’m just a kid.” So it probably just, like, went to my brain and left. But now, as an adult, I was like, “Oh, wait, I asked to learn how to sew and no one ever taught me.”

Caroline: Oh my gosh. So cool, though. And we’ve heard you say that sewing has changed your life. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Brandon: Yes. How can I tell you a little bit and not a lotta bit.

Caroline: Tell us a lot about it.

Brandon: It just really taught me or reminded me of my own agency. Like, I started sewing around a time where I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. And I was doing photography for a little bit. I was, like, really good at that. And that was fine. But I remember, one morning I woke up and was like, “Oh, I want to make a crossbody bag. I have this old pair of Dickies that I thrifted. Let me see if I can make a cross body bag.” And it took me the whole day. But at the end of the day, I had a finished bag. And I was like, “Whoa, there’s something,” like, it just felt like a really special moment. I was like, “There’s something here.” So I just continued to sew. And like, that was probably in 2018. And like, you fast forward till now, how it’s changed my life. It’s just so crazy. Like, one, I get to wear clothes that I’ve made myself that express who I am as an individual. I’m a twin and I’m from a big family. So individuality wasn’t easy for me to find growing up. And so, sewing really allowed me to just discover who I am, who I’m always becoming, all that kind of stuff. And it’s just been a very, very, very fun ride that has not stopped, nor do I want it to.

Helen: I really love the, this origin story of learning to sew to differentiate yourself from your twin.

Brandon: Yes.

Helen: I know that’s not the whole story, but it’s really, really cute. I love it.

Brandon: Thank you. Yeah, that was a recent discovery. I was like, “Oh my God, that makes so much sense now.” And that’s why I still get mad when he borrows my clothes. It’s like, “No, I make, I make these to not look like you.”

Caroline: Oh my gosh, yes. I love that you mentioned the crossbody bag because when you agreed to come on the show, we were deep diving into your YouTube and we found some videos where you were showing some of your first upcycle designs with the crossbody and the belt bags and they were just so cool. Hopefully we can maybe get you to send us some pictures or something that we could share with our listeners, ’cause…

Brandon: OMG. Yes.

Caroline: You were just so impressive right from the jump and so creative and that has really been, like, a through line, through your whole sewing journey. So, it’s just awesome to see.

Brandon: Wow, thank you , thank you, that’s baby Brandon. Some of those YouTube videos, I’m like, “Oh my God, they’re so old. I look so young.”

Caroline: I love it. We went deep, for sure. Okay, I want to dive into your designs because your personal style is amazing. You wear so many unique pieces that you make yourself and we just want you to start off by describing your style for our listeners.

Brandon: My style. That’s, like, always the hardest question for me to answer. It’s like, “Oh, describe your style,” I’m like, I don’t know. I will say, I love workwear. I’ve always loved workwear, and, like, utilitarianism and, like, just the sharp corners and things like that. Besides, like, my Ranger Jacket. There’s a round corner and I do love that. But, like, structure, heavyweight material. Those are kind of, like, my favorite things to work with and, like, designs get built from that. But yeah, I would definitely say my style is, like, a mix between either bold fabrics or, like, very structured and, like, really cool silhouette pieces. But I don’t know if I can, like, put an actual adjective to it currently.

Helen: That’s good. That’s the perfect little teaser to make people want to go and see for themselves.

Brandon: Exactly. They can tell me what they think my style is.

Helen: I mean, I do love the utilitarian design elements in your clothes and also the silhouettes, like you mentioned. You play with volume in a really fun way that I enjoy, especially with pants. Very cool.

Brandon: Thank you. Yes. Silhouettes is how I fell in love with making clothes. Like, I have a extremely high torso, even though I’m only, like, 5’9”. But I learned very early in my sewing career, like, oh, like, more high waisted or more cropped jackets and shirts fit my body better and, like, help my body look the way it’s supposed to, and not just what the current clothing industry says my body’s supposed to look like. So yeah, that’s been really fun, to play with silhouettes in fashion.

Caroline: Yeah, and it’s funny you mention kind of, like, the current clothing industry because most of the menswear out there is pretty basic, and even menswear sewing patterns out there. But your style and your design perspective is anything but basic. So can you talk to us a little bit about designing menswear patterns and your perspective on that?

Brandon: Of course. I almost scream because they are so basic. Like, every men…like, it’s crazy, when I first started sewing and, like, you go into a Joann, RIP, and you’re like, “Oh, let me try to find a fun pattern to sew for myself.” And everything is, like, the same iteration of a button-up shirt or a two-pocket jacket. And it just all looks the same. It’s all really big. And so when I started making patterns for Happily Dressed, the original goal was to be, kind of, as unisex as possible. But then I also realized that there is not really a strong footprint for men’s patterns. And so I was like, you know, I do need to start focusing more on making patterns for men or masculine-presenting people. And that’s when, like, the Ranger Jean came about, the Ranger Jacket. And for me, that was just kind of like me having fun. I really wanted some baggy jeans. I really wanted to attempt a pleated front jacket. And, kind of, that’s how those two came. And then, just through inspiration on Pinterest or through Instagram, seeing what other people are kind of, like, gravitating to, that has inspired, kind of, my pattern development.

Helen: Yeah, that’s really cool. And I see you making things on Instagram sometimes, and then people get really excited about it in the comments. And then you’re like, “Oh, well, maybe I’ll make a pattern for you.”

Brandon: Oh my God. Yeah, that, that, there are some things I make, too, that I don’t always share because I know people will ask for a pattern for it and I’m like, “No, this one is for me, guys.” You’ll just see it in, like, a random Instagram dump or on my stories randomly, but I’m not posting this because I know I’m going to get so many comments.

Helen: “You’re never going to get this jumpsuit. You can’t have it. It’s mine.”

Caroline: You know your audience.

Brandon: Exactly. There are some things that I gatekeep for myself.

Helen: That’s fair. That’s fair. We’ll just have to be patient and just get what we get.

Brandon: I tell people, “As soon as I have a team.” Like, I’m a one man band. As soon as I have a team and, like, employees working under me, you can get whatever pattern you want to, because I don’t have to do it. But, currently I have so many other things that I’m, like, trying to juggle while also being a pattern designer. I can’t, I can’t handle the volume of demand.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, we all need to manifest a team for Brandon. Okay.

Brandon: Please, please.

Helen: Well, we’ve also noticed that you do make things using women’s patterns sometimes, I’m assuming because there’s a lot more options out there for the patterns, like you were saying. So when you do that, do you make any adjustments to the patterns? How do you approach that?

Brandon: Yes. First I make, believe it or not, I do make a toile. Like, that is rare for me sometimes, but when I’m using a women’s pattern, I do test it out first. And then from there, just because I do like a higher waisted pant, I don’t normally have to make too many adjustments. Maybe in length. Like, I have made the Adams Pant by Daughter Judy Patterns a few times and I lengthened it just because I didn’t like the crop that was on there. I will say, the Helene Jean was my very first jean pattern I ever made, and that one, I think, is specifically for women. Like, I loved it. I loved making it and I wore it to death, honestly, but now I’ve been in the gym more and I, like, if I tried to put that on, it would not work. And it definitely has a certain silhouette to it that is very feminine. It doesn’t always agree with some of the other clothes that I wear. But when I am making women’s patterns, I do tend to adjust where I can, whether it’s…even in the arms, like with the Nikko top, I think it’s also a very popular sweater, shirt, long sleeve option. I tried that, but my arms were too big to, like, make it work. And, thankfully, now I can draft my own patterns, so I run into that less, but when I do work with women’s patterns, I do make a toile first just to see what I need to adjust.

Helen: Yeah, that’s really smart. It’s cool to see you experimenting with that. And of course, now that you have your own pattern company, like you were saying, you can just design whatever you want for yourself, which is very exciting. So tell us a bit more about how you went from buying your first sewing machine to having a pattern company.

Brandon: That story is actually very ironic because when I first bought my sewing machine, I told people, “I don’t want to make real clothes. I’m just getting this to alter my clothes. Like, I’m not going to make real clothes.” I don’t know why I kept saying that, but, like, for three months straight, I was like, “It’s just to, like, take things in. Like, I’m not going to be a designer.” I think people wanted me to. And I was just kind of, like, running away from it in the beginning. But after that, I played around with my sewing machine from January 2018 till about, like, March. And I actually did a project that, like, took me out and I stopped sewing for like four months. I was like, “This is too hard. I’m not doing this anymore.” I think I took an old Carhartt jacket that a friend gave me and I made it into a bag. I think it’s actually one of those first bags that I showed in that YouTube video from a very, very long time ago. But that bag took me out and I stopped sewing for a little bit.

And it wasn’t until January of 2019, I was working with a coworker, her name is Blanche, she’s so sweet, but she would make her own clothes as well. And she would just come into work and I’m like, “Oh my God, you look so good.” She’s like, “Thank you. I made it last night.” I’m like, “You made this last night?” She’s like, “Yeah, it’s a knit. You just need a serger.” I’m like, “What’s a serger?” And so she taught me, she taught me about a serger. And then from there, I was like, “Oh my God, I’m making real clothes. ‘Cause now I have a way to encase all the raw edges and actually wear this piece for a very long time.” So I will say, I think 2019 is where I really started to, like, make my own patterns from scratch because I remember going to the pattern store and trying to buy one and you get that big brown paper, all these words and markings. And I was like, “Oh, absolutely not.” I literally balled it up and threw it away, which is so sad. It was, like, a waste of $20. Cause I was like, “I’m not doing this. This is too complicated. It’s too hard.”

And I was like, you know, “Sewing is math and shapes. Those are two things that I’m good at. Let me just hunker down and figure it out.” And slowly, but surely, I drafted my own pant pattern, drafted my own bodice block, and just made kind of, like, good-for-me patterns for a while. And it wasn’t until 2022, I took a Confident Patternmaking and Grading course by Victoria. That’s semi-popular right now online. I don’t know if I could say really popular. But I do think that a lot of people know about it, but taking that course just leveled up my skills in so many ways. Like, it leveled up my confidence, hence the name, but it really felt like I was drafting from science and formulas and not just, “Oh, I’m going to put this curve here and put this dart here just ‘cause I don’t know what I’m doing.” But that course really gave me the confidence to, one, pattern draft, and then do it digitally. I’ve always worked in Adobe Suites growing up, whether it was Illustrator, Photoshop, even Lightroom. So that was like a comfort for me, knowing that I could draft them in Illustrator. And then, from there, I kind of just let it all, all the information digest and see where my intuition and my brain took it. And now we’re here.

Caroline: Awesome. Yeah, we’ve heard of that course and it’s been really fun seeing people in the community take it and sort of, like, their patternmaking careers take off. And it’s just a great, great resource. So we’ll definitely link that up in the show notes for folks if they’re wondering what we’re talking about. That is really cool. And your patterns include some really cool details. I think that’s one of the things that sets your designs apart. I’m thinking about the topstitched pleats on the Ranger Jacket or like the exposed button fly on the Noella Wrap Trousers, for example. So I wonder if you could tell our listeners a little bit more about how you come up with your designs. What is that process like for you?

Brandon: Of course, of course. Oh my god, I almost shed a tear hearing you name my patterns like that. It’s like, it’s, it’s so real. I’m like, “Oh my God. Yes. Yes. Those are mine.” It’s, it’s very lovely to hear. For me, I tell people all the time that I love to share. Like, whenever I find out information that’s, like, good for the soul or, like, could be good for someone in any kind of way, I, like, run to go tell them, just because, you know, we need more of that in life, anyways. But when I started to make sewing patterns, because I love sharing so much, I know that, like, really complicated or very detailed patterns can be intimidating. So with Happily Dressed Patterns, I’m always trying to find a bridge between simple enough with some kind of, like, added flair to where they can, like, differentiate their clothes from the clothes that they can buy in-store. So with the pleated front jacket, I’ve been seeing Levi’s do something very similar, and I was like, “You know what, how can I put this in a pattern that is simple enough, maybe a skill builder with flat felled seams, et cetera, but has a little bit of flair.” And then I just kind of, like, mold it. So I work with it. First, it was the pleats. But the thing I love about the ranger jacket the most is the continued seam from the front yoke down the sleeve just because you can play with color blocking, as well, when you introduce that into the pattern. So that was really fun and, I think, a fun way for beginners or confident beginners to kind of express themselves through the pattern, not just sew the pattern. And even the wrap trouser, which is something that can be looked at as a very simple pattern, having the exposed buttons allows you to add your personality in some way to it, with the buttons you choose, the size of those buttons, even if you want to, like, differentiate from the pattern. Yeah, my biggest goal is kind of, like, bridging style with simplicity.

Caroline: Awesome. Yeah, no, we absolutely love your designs and we want to encourage our listeners to definitely go check them out if you haven’t already, because they’re just so cool and so different and they include so many fun details. I know you mentioned the pattern course, the Confident Pattern Making and Grading course. Do you have any other learning resources that you would recommend to listeners who are maybe dreaming of starting their own pattern business?

Brandon: I think there’s so much free education through YouTube. There are so many cool sewing YouTubers who exist. There’s like, I think his name is Cornelius Quiring. He’s awesome. There’s also another girl. Oh my God. I wish I could remember her name. It’s like stage fright, but she, she has a lot of really popular patterns right now and also took Victoria’s course. Syd, I think her name is Sydney.

Caroline: Syd. Syd Graham. We love her.

Brandon: Yes. She’s also a great resource. So yeah, I definitely think, accessibility-wise, those two people, YouTube, and kind of just figuring it out. And then when you’re ready to level up, then it’s more like taking a course like Victoria’s course or buying a pattern grading book, just because those can be a lot of information in the very beginning. Like, you can, like, build your skills and then go out and get the books and things like that.

Caroline: Yeah. We’ll definitely link those up.

Helen: Yeah. It’s been so fun watching your journey, becoming a pattern designer, and how exciting it was last year when you said it was, like, your first year doing it full-time, which is really cool. And you’ve been putting together your studio and it’s very fun to see. And I have to imagine it’s been very exciting for you.

Brandon: Oh, it has. So, like, Zodiac-wise, I’m in cancer, and they’re very emotional. And that is very true for me. I, at the beginning of, or at the end of last year, I was like, wow, I quit my job to do this full-time and I made it work. Like, I made more than I made at my full-time job previous, which is great. And, like, to be able to, I think, afford to explore this skill more and to share this skill more. And to, like, set this place up, like, I’m in my studio currently. I just feel, not only lucky, but proud of the work I put in, because it also is, like, so demanding. I’m sure Helen, you also know, and even Caroline, ‘cause Blackbird has patterns now, how difficult it can be to, like, be a pattern designer while also trying to, like, be a content creator while also trying to, like, have a healthy life outside of work. It can definitely be a lot.

Helen: For sure. I mean, it looks like you’re handling it beautifully, as it always does on social media. And we really enjoy the content creation that you’ve been doing, now that you mentioned it. We’ve loved seeing your projects and your outfits and your sewing tips on Instagram. You also have a TikTok and YouTube, so people can check that out. And you recently did a collaboration with Disney+. You made a project inspired by Elton John. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Brandon: Yes, that was actually really fun. They reached out to me. That’s the wild part about last year and this year, et cetera, is that I’ve had companies reach out to me to do things like that. And it’s just been such a dream. I’m like, “Oh, little old me? You want me to make something for this?” But for that, I’ve always loved the way Elton, like, differentiated his style and kind of just did his own thing. And once they reached out, I was like, okay, I had a few ideas of what I wanted to recreate, but they were like, “Okay, cool, here’s the clip that you need to recreate.” I was like, okay, I can do that, still. And from my skills from Victoria’s course, I drafted a really fun jumpsuit. And I think the really cool thing about doing stuff like this is that now I’m taking that jumpsuit and trying to modernize it in a way that anyone could wear it. And then maybe it comes out as a future pattern in 2025 or 2026. But it was just fun to kind of just be creative. It’s rare that I get to do that now, because I’m always thinking about what I and other people can sew when it comes to making patterns. But when I had to draft that for myself, I was like, “Oh, that’s, there’s no rain for, I can just do whatever I want to for this. Cause this is just for me. It’s not going anywhere. It’s not going up on a site. It doesn’t have to be graded. I can kind of just have fun.” And so it was a really fun project to do.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s such a good reminder, as business owners and people that have almost, like, turned sewing into our livelihood, not almost, we all have, to keep some things for yourself and remember to, like, nurture your own creativity once in a while, ‘cause I think that just helps us bring our best selves to our businesses, as well. Um, So yeah, no, it was so inspiring to see you put together that jumpsuit and I’m very excited, not to say that you should turn it into something that’s going to be part of your business, but I am excited to see that jumpsuit pattern come out someday.

Brandon: Yeah, it was one of those things. So I have, like, an invisible zipper in the back and I was like, “Oh, I’m really proud of the construction of this.” But even with, like, the road to Happily Dressed patterns, like, “Oh, I’m doing it for fun.” Then it ends up a pattern. That’s how the Half Pint Harness came about, actually. I made it, originally, for the Atlanta Frocktails event. The theme was “Secret Garden.” And my kind of vibe was going to be, like, the gardener, like, a fashionable gardener in the secret garden. And so I made that little, like, half vest for that, specifically. And, just like you said in the beginning of the podcast, I got so many comments that were like, “Oh my God, we need this vest. Oh my God, we need this vest.” And I was like, “No, you’re never getting it.” And then enough people, and my partner at the time was like, “You should just put it out. Is it easy to make?” I’m like, “It is easy to make, but it wasn’t, I’m like, it wasn’t on the, on the docket for this year. I have other things.” But anyway, I did it, and I’m so glad I did because, honestly, the success that I had towards the end of last year came from that video. The reel I posted of the Half Pint Harness was my first ever million view reel, but it also ended up, like, landing at 3 million, which is insane. Yeah, it’s insane. People are still commenting on that video, so I’m glad I did it. I need to just start listening, but…

Caroline: Never say never, I guess, anymore.

Brandon: Exactly. I’m just, I’m so routine. I was like, “I have a plan already. No, you can’t, you can’t add this.” But I’m trying to be more flexible.

Helen: I’m just thinking about, at the beginning of the show, when you were saying when you bought your machine that you weren’t going to become a pattern designer and you weren’t going to become a business owner. “I won’t release that harness. You can’t make me.”

Brandon: Yeah. I see a pattern. I really do. Like, especially after talking this through, I’m like, “Oh, okay. Okay.”

Helen: It’s good. It’s good to recognize these things in ourselves. You mentioned loving to share information and we noticed that you do have a course available for beginner sewing. Can you tell us about that?

Brandon: Yes. I made that course right before I left my job. It was kind of like my Hail Mary. I’m like, “While I still have this, while I’m still holding on to this full time nine-to-five, let me do something I’ve always wanted to do,” which was create a beginner-friendly and accessible sewing course. Like, that course takes you through, I had an intro, beginning sewing, in-person course that I did in Atlanta all throughout 2022. It was a four-week course. We went through, like, sewing machine literacy, how to read and print out and tape together a PDF pattern, and normal patterns as well. And then we, we sewed, I think, the Nino Open Jacket by fabrics-store.com. And, basically, my online beginner course is that course put into, like, six different videos that also has a pace that I think is approachable and manageable for anyone who has any prior commitments, like, outside of just learning how to sew, whether that’s a family, a job, et cetera. But, making that course, my biggest goal was just to give people the, like, knowledge and confidence to just play with their machine. Like, sewing machine literacy, for me, is not being scared to approach your sewing machine with any project you feel ready to attempt. ‘Cause I know, in the beginning, for me, I’d have a project in mind, but not know how to make my sewing machine do that. And so I walked through that, like, extensively through the course. And then, similar to, like, a YouTube video or, like, a Skillshare course, the last two videos in that course are me walking the learner through how to make the Nino Open Jacket, step by step. With added tips here and there.

Caroline: Awesome. Yeah, we’ll definitely link that up, as well. And that’s on your website, right?

Brandon: It’s in the link in my bio on Instagram. It’s not currently on my website. Yeah. Just because it’s through Vimeo and not my website.

Caroline: Oh, perfect. Okay, we’ll find that link for sure. So I’m also wondering if you have any favourite projects that you would recommend for someone who’s just starting to sew and wanting to get into it.

Brandon: I feel like, honestly, anything from Chelsea over at Daughter Judy Patterns, though I think the skill levels vary from a lot of her patterns, she does give a lot of great information when reading through her pattern instructions. And then also, any pattern that has a YouTube tutorial. Like, that is my, my go-to hack. I’m like, does this pattern have a YouTube tutorial? Because it’ll probably answer any question I cannot answer myself, especially because I’m such a visual learner, like I’m sure a lot of people are.

Caroline: What is your perspective…This is, I just, I’m coming in with a curveball question. What is your perspective on, like, beginner projects in general? Like, do you think that beginners should be doing quote-unquote “easy” things to start off or do you think, like, jump in the deep end, try whatever project you’re excited about? I’d love your perspective.

Brandon: That is a great curveball question. I, ‘cause I’ve actually, I don’t think I am a fan of beginner projects. Like, I know for me, when I, when I first got my machine, like, I think the very first thing you should do should be easy, whether that’s a pillowcase, a tote bag, something to build your confidence. I do agree that that is necessary, but I think you only need one project, truly one project, and then go into what you really want to make, especially because a lot of people don’t start off with a sewing machine and a serger so, like, you should just go for what you want no matter what skill level you are, what resources you have. Like, right after I did the pillowcase I, like, made a bag from a jacket with no pattern. Just straight from the dome. I also think that that’s kind of, like, where your, your specific voice in sewing can come into play because you’re not following someone else’s instructions. You’re kind of, like, doing it yourself. But I will say, to round out that question, I do think one beginner project is a necessity just to build up your confidence. But after that, I think that the world is your oyster. And let that beginner project be something that is a little bit more creative or slightly more challenging. Like, for me, I suggest the Nino Open Jacket for beginners just because you can actually wear that piece out and about. And it’s just a bunch of straight lines similar to a tote and similar to a pillowcase, but you get a piece you can, like, hang in your closet versus, like, throw away after two weeks ‘cause it rips.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. Yeah, that’s a really good tip. Starting with one simple project and then diving in and, like, kind of harnessing that creativity. I feel like it can be kind of stifling as a beginner to, like, be sort of, you’re like, people are shoving like, you know, box tops and simple skirts down your throat and you’re like, “But I want to, I’m sewing because I want to make the things that I want to wear and that I’m excited about.” So, like, follow that creativity and dive in. I love that.

Brandon: Definitely.

Caroline: In your YouTube intro, you also say that “Happily Dressed is a sewing resource dedicated to self-acceptance, self-confidence, and self-sufficiency.” I love that you say this every time, by the way. It’s so great and it’s just such a great reminder. Can you tell our listeners what those three terms kind of mean to you?

Brandon: Of course, and thank you for saying that, because, saying it in every video, I’m always like, “Oh, I think they’ve heard enough.” Like, I’m ready to stop. They’ve heard enough!

Helen: You’re saying it faster and faster every time.

Caroline: No, I love it!

Helen: “Self-acceptance, self-confidence, self-sufficiency.” Done.

Caroline: It’s your thing. I love it.

Brandon: Exactly. I need to, like, bring that down to like, just one word. ‘Cause they all, they, they all kind of mean the same thing. But, for me, when Happily Dressed first started, which, actually, Happily Dressed just had a birthday. Can’t believe I didn’t mention that. Yeah, so Happily Dressed was born January 20th, 2015. So it’s 10 years old, which is crazy.

Helen: Oh, amazing.

Brandon: Thank you. But it was “Happily Dressed: Mind, Body, Style,” and it was about overall wellness. So I kind of, like, took that with the self-acceptance, self-confidence, and self-sufficiency and tried to, like, build that into what Happily Dressed is now, just because, like, being Happily Dressed, it’s not just what you wear, it’s also, like, how you feel about yourself, how you present yourself, not just through clothes, but through action, through intention. And so I’m always trying to just throw in some, like, wellness into the Happily Dressed brand, because it wouldn’t be here without that. But yeah, I feel like those words just kind of, like, sum up this idea of, like, self-love and self -acceptance and just knowing that we are always evolving as people and that we need to give ourselves those moments to be, like, unshaped and undefined, because in those moments is where we find how we want to be shaped and how we want to be defined.

Helen: Oh, that’s beautiful. It’s so powerful. The act of taking, just, material and crafting this vision for yourself, how you want to be seen, how you want to present yourself. And, like you were saying, how you want to feel in the world. And you can really support yourself in that way. And, like you said at the top of the show, you get a lot of agency out of that. You’re making a lot of decisions for yourself in that process. So I think that’s really beautiful.

Brandon: Yeah, and what’s really cool, too, is that when you start making your own clothes, kind of, like, as a symbol of who you are, your individuality, then when you go out into the world and have that appreciation reflected through people being like, “Oh my God, I love your outfit. Oh my God, I love your jacket. Oh my God, I love your pants.” And you get to say, like, whether you tell them or not, you get to know like, “Wow, I made this. And they’re seeing this part of me and, like, it’s being acknowledged and it’s being appreciated.” I think there’s something so beautiful about that. And that’s kind of a main reason why Happily Dressed is still here, just because, like, every day someone’s like, “Oh, I like this. I like this.” I’m like, “Thank you. I made it. And you could, too. Like, you can get the same feeling that I have.” That’s a big reason, actually, why I don’t make clothes for other people. Like, that’s something that I get asked a lot on Instagram, is if I do commissions, etc. And I’m like, “No, because I’m more of a ‘teach a man how to fish’ than ‘give my fish.’” Like, I started, I started making clothes to be an individual. So I don’t necessarily want to see you in exactly what I have on, but I would love to teach you how to make it yourself and then see, like, the “you flair” you put into that pattern. Like, that brings me joy, more just because I get to see you stand out instead of you wearing what I just made because you think it’s cool.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Yeah, totally. And you don’t have to make the same thing like 20 times, which is great.

Caroline: Yeah.

Brandon: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Caroline: I feel like we need a word for that feeling of finishing a make and going out into the world and having someone compliment you on what you’re wearing. Like, there’s got to be a word…

Brandon: No, yeah, we, we need one.

Caroline: A sewist’s term. Send us your ideas, listeners.

Helen: What about “self-acceptance, self-confidence, self-sufficiency?”

Brandon: As one big, yeah, one long word.

Helen: One long word.

Caroline: Just one word. Perfect.

Brandon: Oh, that’s funny. I think, definitely, “joy” should be in that word, somewhere.

Caroline: Yes. Yes. Okay. Switching gears a little bit. We have a few questions about nitty gritty sewing stuff. So, you work with a lot of heavyweight fabrics like denim, canvases. You mentioned you love working with these fabrics, but they can be a little tricky, a little intimidating. Can you tell us about how you got comfortable sewing with them, and if you have any tips for our listeners?

Brandon: Of course. It took me a long time to get comfortable. I actually still have some, like, PTSD. Once, I was sewing denim on my Singer Heavy Duty, I think it was, 4452, and my needle broke and, like, hit my glasses. Yes, the needle, like, broke off and, like, smacked my glasses. I’m like, oh, so every time I hit, like, a thick flat felled seam, I was like, “Oh no, I’m so scared.” But I love working with heavier weight fabrics just because I’m, like, not delicate. I don’t like to work with, like, silks or any kind of, like, mesh, anything that needs more attention than me just, like, running it through the sewing machine. That’s my laziness or my Achilles heel as a sewer. I want it to go through that machine without me having to, like, use tissue paper without me having to, like, fix the tension. I just want it to go. But I will say, something that helped me is, one, getting a better machine. Like, the Singer Heavy Duties, I do think, do a great job for beginners. And one tip I have when using those, if you’re going to sew denim. And so, when you get to those really thick parts, one, use a mallet, and then two, just walk the needle, which is, like, a term I use in my beginner sewing course, but, like, just use your hand wheel. Turn your machine into manual. Do not press that foot pedal. Just use your hand wheel and get that needle through there, move the fabric through, and then once you’re over it, go back to using the foot pedal. But there is no need for, like, all that energy when you know it’s not going to work. So I always walk my needle. Even now, I have a Juki 2000 QI, I think there’s a T in there somewhere, but, I use that machine. Even then, there’s some moments where I’m like, “Ooh, I’m just gonna walk the needle because I don’t need anything breaking.”

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. Don’t just, like, close your eyes and put the pedal to the metal and hope for the best.

Brandon: Oh my God, I have a very funny story. I don’t even think that she’s gonna listen to this, but I had one student in the very, very beginning. I wouldn’t count her as a student, ‘cause she’s a friend, but she, like, bought me lunch and I taught her some beginner sewing machine stuff. And this was back in, like, 2018. And I was like, “Okay, we’re going to just move the fabric through the machine. Are you ready?” And, you know, most people are timid to press the foot pedal and they’re scared. She truly just, like, threw her foot like a cement block on that pedal and just, like, shook that fabric through, like, the table was shaking, the machine was shaking. And she got finished. She was like, “Okay.” I’m like, “How did that…” I was like, “How did that feel?” She was like, she was like, “Kind of, like, nerve-wracking and scary.” I was like, “Yeah, we need to slow down on that foot pedal.”

Caroline: I love the therapizing. Like, “How did you feel about that?”

Brandon: Like, “Did that, yeah, did that feel any kind of, like, safe or secure? Like, that was wild, girl.”

Caroline: That’s so funny.

Brandon: I still think about that, actually, a lot. ‘Cause it was, it was really funny to me. ‘Cause I was like, “Well, you’re at least you’re confident. Like, that’s all we want. At least you’re confident.”

Helen: Coming back to one of the tips you mentioned, which was to use a mallet, and I feel like some of our listeners might be like, “But, for what?” So can you be a little more specific?

Brandon: Yes. When you are dealing with, like, multiple thicknesses, like, if you’re putting together two flat felled seams, what I like to do is use a mallet and mash right at that seam to just kind of, like, take away some of the bulk, similar to what you would do to a chicken in the kitchen when you want to flatten it out a little bit before you cook it.

Caroline: Oh my God, perfect. I love it.

Helen: Now I’m just going to think of that every time I hammer my denim: “like a chicken.”

Brandon: Yeah. Well, it just came to me ‘cause I made chicken yesterday and I had to hammer it kind of flat so, so it cooked evenly. I’m like, “Oh, that is truly the same thing.”

Caroline: You can even use your meat mallet if you want.

Brandon: You could, if you want to…

Helen: Okay, I would not recommend that. I’m out on that one.

Brandon: You would have to wash it first, you know, I think salmonella is real and things like that.

Caroline: I would hope everyone is washing their meat mallet after pounding chicken, but…

Brandon: Yes. I will say, a bumper jumper, I think that’s, like, a street name, is very helpful when you’re working with thicknesses as well. I only recently found that out when it comes, like, putting back pockets on to denim pants. A lot of companies who make selvedge denim use those. I stick to my mallet because it’s fun.

Caroline: I love it. That’s great.

Helen: Yeah. I think they call them hump jumpers as well. They’re really handy. They kind of level out your machine foot so that you can get a solid start on the seam. And I’ve seen people use, like, needle cases, as well, for that because they’re a good thickness for that.

Brandon: Oh, that’s good to know.

Caroline: You’ve made some amazing projects from thrifted fabrics as well. And we wanted to touch on that because I know that was, kind of, your roots of starting to sew, was upcycling thrifted items. What are your best thrifting strategies?

Brandon: I love thrifting and I always have to give credit to my best friend in high school. Her name is Emily Clark, but she was thrifting before it was cool. Like, she was thrifting when you didn’t want to be caught dead at a thrift store. And she shared her love with me. And I have not, like, bought retail clothes in over 13 years. Like, it’s been a very, very long time. I even used to work at Urban Outfitters and I would never buy anything, just because I love thrifting clothes so much. But I always tell people: if you want to go thrift, one, have some time set out in your day. Don’t think that you’re gonna just spend 20 minutes and you’re gonna find something. Like, you need to have at least an hour to an hour and a half. Make sure you eat lunch or you eat breakfast so you’re ready. And my favourite thing to do, and I think everyone should do this, no matter what section, men’s, women’s, even kids. Go through and just pull out the pieces that speak to you. It’s okay if they’re not the right size or the right colour, or it’s not for, “Oh, I’m doing it for this business event.” Just pull out anything that speaks to you and that feels like you, and then go in that fitting room and just try things on. I think that’s what really helped me develop a sense of silhouette with the patterns that I make, as well. It’s because I’ve spent, like, hours and, like, collectively, not at once, but, hours in the fitting room being like, “Oh, I like the shape on me. Oh, I don’t like the shape on me. Oh, this really called out to me. I’m kind of disappointed. It doesn’t work. But this is a great alternative.” And I think that also allows you to start dressing for your body and not trying to make your body fit the clothes. And so, I think that’s a great way and a very healthy way to start thrifting. And then, after that, you’ll kind of, like, develop, “Okay, I like these colours or like these textures.” Like, for me, when thrifting fabric, because that’s what I mostly thrift now, I’m always like, “Is it heavy? And is it a hundred percent cotton?” That’s what I want.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Yes.

Brandon: And if it’s not 100 percent cotton, but it is a really cute pattern or a really fun texture, I’ll still get it because it’ll speak, it speaks to me and I’ll figure out something once I have it. I am a fabric hoarder, but it’s kind of my job now, so it’s okay.

Helen: Yeah, you’re allowed now. Oh, those are great tips for thrifting. You’re really making me want to go and spend a couple hours at a thrift store now.

Brandon: You should. That used to be, like, one of my favourite, like, solo dates to do. I’m like, “Oh my God, I just ate lunch. I’m about to go to this thrift store. I’ve got to get a playlist on. I’m about to have a ball.”

Caroline: I love this “don’t go thrifting on an empty stomach” idea.

Brandon: Do not, do not, do not.

Caroline: Have lunch first.

Brandon: Yes, cause you’re gonna, you’re gonna be mad ‘cause, like, you’re like, “Oh, I, I have to try this on, but I’m kind of hungry.” And then, also, go by yourself. Like, I’ve gone with my brother or I’ll go with my friends. They’re like, “Are you ready yet?” I’m like, “No. And you should have known.”

Helen: No, you have to go with someone who takes thrifting as seriously as you because most people just want to, like, poke around for half an hour, and then, like, they don’t even, like, look at anything, really. I’m like, “Why are we here?”

Caroline: Yeah.

Brandon: Exactly. And you know what? There are consignment stores for that. ‘Cause, you know, there is a difference between consignment and thrift. Consignment is pulled for you. The prices are a lot higher, which is insane. But, go to a consignment store, you’ll find something in five minutes. You’ll spend 60 bucks and you’ll leave. I am gonna go to the thrift store, find, like, 15 items and spend $25, but spend an hour and a half.

Helen: I’m going to go to the fabric store and spend $200 and leave with nothing.

Brandon: Oh my God. That’s very, very, very true.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Do you have any good stories for us about maybe your best and worst thrifting experiences?

Brandon: Oh my God. I do. At first I was like, “No, I don’t know.” I do. Um, this one goes under “worst.” Oh, and I have a “best” too, because I still do this best, but the worst one: I found a beautiful, like, green quilt that was big enough. I was like, “I want to make a vest and a pair of pants.” And I was so excited. This is when I was still just drafting patterns on the fly and just kind of, like, having fun. And I bought the fabric. I was like, “I can’t wait. I’m not going to wash it. I’m just going to make it.” And so I make the pants and I make the vest and I actually have a rule here at Happily Dressed. No matter what it is, if I make something, I wear it the next day. I wear it out. No matter if I like it, no matter if it came together exactly the way I want it to, I wear it the next day out to appreciate the fact that I can even do this skill. So anyway, I make this vest. I’m so excited. I make the matching pants. I wear it to work the next day and I look cute. I can’t lie. I look cute, but I do not smell great. Because I was, like, sitting at my desk at work and I was like, “Does anyone smell, like, cat pee?” And I’m like, “Oh, I think that that is me.”

Helen: Oh, no!

Brandon: “I think that, I think that this quilt is stinky.” And I did not realize that as I was making it. And the whole day I had to walk around, ‘cause I didn’t live close to my job at the time, so I just had to, like, walk around smelling like cat pee. And it was like, after that I have always, always, always washed my fabric from the thrift before I sew with it.

Helen: Yeah. And even then those kinds of smells can linger. Like, you want to smell it pretty good in the thrift store too and make sure.

Brandon: Yes, I was not doing smell checks back then. Now I always do a smell check. And there’s a few, there’s, like, a few, like, top-tier smells that, you know this is not coming out. So I’m just gonna leave it here at the thrift store.

Caroline: Yeah, top tier smells. You know, the rating system for thrift store smells. What about your best experience?

Brandon: My best actually has nothing to do with clothes or fabric, but I found a pair of Harley Davidson boots sometime in 2017, and have always found a pair of Harley Davidson boots every year since then that just feel like me, that I love. I don’t even have a motorcycle, which, I know some people will hate, but there’s something about wearing, like, a moto boot or a harness boot, specifically from Harley, that just feels so right to me. And they come to me. I find them every single year. I’m not even looking for them. I find them every single year. But it almost feels like a hug from the universe. Like, “Here you go. Here’s your, here’s your, your yearly Harleys.”

Caroline: It’s meant to be, obviously.

Brandon: It is. It really is. So, I found the pair I’m wearing currently towards the middle of last year. And I was like, “Wow, man, I don’t ever want this to stop.”

Helen: Oh, that’s amazing. I need to be looking in the shoe section more thoroughly.

Brandon: Oh, definitely, definitely. Like, I just make sure I bring it home, I spray it with some, like, shoe, like, Clorox disinfectant, some stuff, and I let it sit for a little bit. But then they’re mine after that.

Helen: Brandon, it’s been so fun chatting with you, getting to know you today. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Brandon: Thank you guys so much for having me on. This has been a dream come true. You know, all the, all the fun sewing guys and girls and theys do this podcast. So I’m so excited to join that list.

Helen: Oh, that’s awesome.

Caroline: Thank you so much. We were so excited when you agreed to come on the show. We already told you this, but I, it’s, we’re saying again, you’re so talented and you bring such a unique design perspective to our community, so we’re all lucky to have you and, and really, really happy that you came on.

Brandon: Thank you. Right back at you both. Truly.

Caroline: Before we wrap up, can you tell our listeners the best places to find you online?

Brandon: Yes. You can find me online on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok @HappilyDressed.

Caroline: Easy peasy. Awesome. Well, thank you so much again and take care.

Brandon: Thank you. Bye guys.

Caroline: Bye.

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 catalogue of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew! You can 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, 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 bye.

Caroline: Bye.

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We’re back with the first episode of the spring 2025 season! We chat about our sewing machines – the ones we learned on, the ones we have today, and the ones we want in the future. Plus: we catch up about what we did on our winter break, name our fave sewing machine features and pet peeves, and share what our machines are named!

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

Show Notes: 

Photos From our Winter Break:

Photos of (Some) of our Sewing Machines:

Excerpts from Caroline’s Sewing-Themed Art Book:

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 essentially all we want to talk about.

Helen: In this episode, we’re chatting about our sewing machines – the ones we learned on, the ones we have today, and the ones we want in the future. Plus, our favorite features, pet peeves, getting machines repaired, and more.

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

Woo! Hi Helen!

Helen: Hi, Caroline!

Caroline: We’re back!

Helen: We’re back, baby. It feels so good to be back. Happy spring.

Caroline: Yeah, it doesn’t feel like spring yet here, but I can’t wait for it to feel like…

Helen: It’s around the corner. I can feel it. Gardening season, flowers, sunshine. It’s happening, baby.

Caroline: Yeah. Yesterday, when I left work, there was still, like, a glimmer of light. It was not pitch black. So that’s a win, right?

Helen: That is a total win. Yes, a hundred percent.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. No, it feels so good to be back recording with you, Helen. Catch me up. How was your break? Tell me what’s new. What’s going on?

Helen: My break was really great. Lots of cozy Christmas vibes, as per usual, time with family, lots of quilting. I do love the winter months for the cozy indoor hobby time vibes. Yeah. That’s one of the benefits, when it’s so dark outside that you’re like, “I don’t need to go out there. I’m going to stay right here in my sewing room and just sew, sew, sew, sew, sew.”

Caroline: I love it. Oh, so you had a cozy break. That’s perfect.

Helen: I did. And I haven’t gone to QuiltCon as of this recording, but by the time this episode comes out, I will be back from QuiltCon. So I’m very excited to catch up with you, over on Patreon, all about that. It’s going to be so much fun to talk about.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. I don’t know that we’ve mentioned on the main feed that your quilt was accepted into QuiltCon, right?

Helen: Yes. So I will get to go and see it. And yeah, I have a feeling that’s going to be a pretty momentous occasion. It’s going to be amazing to see it hanging in the show. I still can’t believe it got accepted. I’m so pumped.

Caroline: Congrats. I can’t wait to see all the pictures of you, like, proudly standing in front of your quilt at QuiltCon.

Helen: I’m trying to think, already, of the kind of content I want to make. ‘Cause it’d be fun to have some dancing in front of the quilt, some goofing off. But we’ll see. Maybe there’ll be hundreds of people crowding around it talking about how amazing it is and I won’t even be able to get a photo. Who knows?

Caroline: There’s going to be a lineup of people wanting to get photos with you and your quilt.

Helen: Fingers crossed.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah. It’s so great. And you are turning it into a pattern, right?

Helen: Yes, I am working on the pattern for it. It’s going to be called Game On because it’s inspired by board gaming. So you can look out for the pattern for that quilt over on Cedar Quilt Co. And yeah, we’ve got a new pattern coming out on Helen’s Closet very shortly here. too. So I’m very excited to share more about that with y’all. It’s going to be a pair of pants, which is always exciting because I love sewing pants. And pants are just so much fun to make because you can make them perfect to your size and then you have the perfect pair of pants.

Caroline: Ooh, exciting things coming up. I love it.

Helen: Yeah. How about you, Caroline? How was your break and what’s going on with you lately?

Caroline: My break was really good as well. I felt like it was also very cozy and relaxing and nourishing. I ate delicious food. I slept a lot. I went for lots of walks with the dogs. And it was really nice. And I didn’t get a puppy, so I’m feeling a lot better than last year.

Helen: Yeah. Good. Good resisting.

Caroline: But yeah, it was an interesting new year ‘cause I was feeling really excited to, like, put 2024 behind me. I feel like it was a year of, like, highs, but also a lot of lows, personally. So I was like, “Yes, good riddance 2024. Hello 2025!” And I’m feeling, like, strong and grounded going into this year. And that’s a good feeling. So, looking forward to all the things that we have planned. And it’s going to be a good year.

Helen: Yeah. Oh my gosh. You’re not going to give us anything that’s coming up with Blackbird or BF Patterns?

Caroline: We do have a bag, the Mia Messenger Bag, coming out in a few weeks. So I can’t wait for that. By this time, I feel like we’ll be doing the photo shoot, this week, potentially, when this episode comes out. So that’s exciting. And we’re also working on a top and dress for the summer that I definitely have already teased over on Patreon, so if you want a sneak peek you’re gonna have to go over there and join up. But it’s a fun, kind of girly, almost like nightie-inspired dress that you can also make into a top. It’s really cute. It’s gonna look so good in block prints. I feel like I’m gonna wear it all summer. Very excited about that one.

Helen: You had me at nightie.

Caroline: Yeah. How stress people unite.

Helen: Yeah, totally.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah, no. And I think, like, for 2025, Shea and I have committed to doing a no-buy year, or I guess, like, a low-buy year, because we do have to buy some things, like, you know, essential things, but we’re basically committed to not buying anything that isn’t essential. So outside of, like, food or things that we need for our house repairs or whatever random stuff that comes up. And yeah, I’m nervous. But it’s been going really well and it’s kind of a huge commitment for us ‘cause we are, we’re very lucky that we’ve been able to kind of, like, be comfortable and buy things when we feel like we need them or want them. So it’s going to be a great year of, like, saving money and kind of rethinking our consumerist habits and just, like, checking in and being a little bit more careful with that kind of stuff.

Helen: It’s so easy nowadays to just buy things left, right, and center. ‘Cause there’s advertising everywhere and there’s so much neat stuff out there. And it is really cool to reprioritize and save money, especially now when everything is so expensive. I mean, even just the grocery bills are, like, maxing out.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. I know. And we’re kind of approaching the whole year in the spirit of saving money. So even, like, groceries and other sort of “essential things,” we’re trying to use what we have as much as possible. And with hobbies as well, like, just trying to use what we have and not buy more supplies when we already have a lot on hand. So, yeah. It’s gonna be a good year.

Helen: I can’t wait to hear more about this as time goes on.

Caroline: I feel like I’ve said that a lot of times. It’s gonna be a good year, okay?

Helen: We’re, like, manifesting over here. It’s, like, March also when people are hearing this, which is kind of hilarious. Sorry we’re talking so much about the new year.

Caroline: Well, it’s our first time catching up with our listeners, so.

Helen: Yeah. I know. It’s true. And I’m so glad to be back. And we have a fun episode today. We’re just going to have a fun chat about our sewing machines past, present, and future. And future, which is really cool.

Caroline: Oh yeah, I am so excited for this episode. Before we jump in, we just want to say that if you want to support Love to Sew, the best way to do that is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions. We talk all about our personal lives over there and what we’re sewing and you’ll get access to this bonus content every month. We have tons of fun catching up. And those episodes are more casual too, which is kind of fun. It’s so fun. Did I say that it’s fun?

Helen: It’s pretty fun. No, it means so much if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two, and you can listen to as much of the back catalog of bonus content as you want, and then you can peace out. We really appreciate the support, regardless of how often you’re able to, or even if you’re not able to, that’s cool too. We know you’re here listening and cheering us on and we love you.

Caroline: Yeah, we love you. Okay, let’s get into it. We want to talk about our sewing machines and Helen, I’m actually so excited to talk about our first sewing machines. We’re gonna take it back, take it back to the beginning. Please share with me, what was your first sewing machine? What was the brand? What was the model? Give it to me. Come on.

Helen: Okay, I learned how to sew on my mom’s sewing machine, which I’m sure many of our listeners can relate to. And it was her mom’s sewing machine. It was a Singer Featherweight, which is a vintage machine, for sure by today’s standards. Very vintage. It only does straight stitch. You can change the length of the straight stitch, but you can’t do a zigzag or anything fancy like that. But it does a killer straight stitch. That’s what those machines are known for. For sure. It’s like a perfectly straight straight stitch. And it was a great machine, honestly, like, it had its quirks, you know, it would make thread nests and, like, all that kind of stuff. But it was really good at just going slow and steady and a good introduction to a machine, because all of the parts are visible on those vintage machines, like, all of the tension discs, when you’re threading it, you can see where the thread is going and what’s happening. So that does kind of help you to get a better sense for the machine. Nowadays, a lot of that stuff is hidden. For good reason, but…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I have so many fond memories of sewing on that little black Featherweight machine. They call them Featherweights because they’re super lightweight compared to other machines, at the time, especially, like, they’re super, super light. They fold up. It has, like, a little bed that folds up and you can make it really small and compact and it, like, barely weighs anything. I mean, it still probably weighs, like, 15 or 20 pounds, but, like, by a sewing machine standard, it barely weighs anything. And yeah, it’s a great, solid machine and my mom still has it. She doesn’t sew on it anymore. She has a new machine now, but we definitely still have it in the family. So I am glad for that because I have a lot of fond memories, for sure.

Caroline: Oh, yeah. Next time you go to your parent’s place, you’ve got to visit that machine and give it a little kiss. A little pat and a little kiss. “Thank you.”

Helen: “Thank you.” How about you? What was your first sewing machine?

Caroline: I also learned on my mom’s sewing machine, and it was a Singer, and it was a machine that my mom received as a wedding gift from her mom. So it was purchased in 1980 and it was, like, an all-metal Singer. And one of the selling points was that it was portable. It was, like, one, I guess, I don’t know the history of portable sewing machines, but when my mom was telling me about this, she was like, “It was portable, which was a big deal. It had, like, a handle and everything.”

Helen: Uh huh.

Caroline: I’ve told this story before, but I basically forced my mom to show me how to use it. Like, I really wanted to learn how to sew. So I was like, “How do I use this thing?” And then I would make bags for my friends, upcycled from old jeans and pants. And I, like, charged for them. Y’all, if you’ve been listening to the show, you know the story. But, so I learned when I was young and then I kind of used it on and off throughout high school. And then I did a school project in high school where I made an outfit inspired by, like, abstract art. And I have this whole, like, laminated book that I found. You know when you go to your parents house in your 30s and they’re like, “Here are all of your childhood memories in a box. Like, take it or I’m throwing it in the garbage.” So I have this box of, like, old stuff and in it was this book that is, like, full of pictures from, like, a photo shoot that I did with my friends of this outfit and, like, the whole process. And there’s even pictures of me sewing on this machine, which is what I would think of as, like, my formative sewing machine.

Helen: I love it. We need a video of this, like, stat.

Caroline: Yes, maybe I will. Oh gosh, it’s so embarrassing. But maybe I will take a video and we can, like, post a reel or something.

Helen: It’s not embarrassing. I know the photos are like, you’re posing, but you were a teenager! It’s so cute.

Caroline: I was taking myself so seriously. There’s, like, pictures of my friend doing my makeup, too.

Helen: Oh my gosh. I love it, though. Like, how seriously you’re taking it is just a testament to how amazing it is. Like, you were committed. It’s so cool. You were taking it seriously and now you work in this industry. So it paid off.

Caroline: Yes. But that machine also stayed with my mom when I moved out. And I hear it has since stopped working, so we won’t talk about where that machine is now, but I don’t think it’s with her anymore. RIP. But I also think of one of my first machines a lot because when I moved to Vancouver I purchased, like, an entry-level Singer at Walmart and I feel like it was $100 or maybe $150. And I put a lot of miles in that machine. And it has since been passed on to two separate friends. It now lives with my friend Cam, who’s a Girl Guide leader and she uses it to, like, sew her patches. So I love that it, like, still lives on. It’s such a trusty little machine. So it just kind of proves that, like, you don’t need an expensive machine as your first machine. Like, that was a great machine and it was pretty inexpensive.

Helen: Yeah, that’s so true. Well, and those old vintage machines, too, like my machine that I got as a young adult and the machine that I started Helen’s Closet with, was a gift from my neighbour when she was moving back to Ontario. She was clearing out her whole house and I was like, I think, either still living at home or I had just moved out and I’d come back and went to this garage sale next door. And Teresa, the woman who gave it to me, was like, “Oh, you can just have it if you want it.” And I was like, “Sure.” And I hadn’t been sewing in a while. ‘Cause I had been distracted with graduating high school and going to college and figuring my life out. And so I had put down sewing for a minute and when she gave me this machine, I was like, “Oh, yeah. Sewing. I used to love doing that.” And so I started sewing again and now here we are. And I got that machine for free, which was very generous. And when I opened it, it was spotless. Like, I don’t know if it had ever even been used. It was a Sears Kenmore from the sixties or seventies. So an all-metal total workhorse of a machine. And it was just absolutely wonderful. I loved that machine. I almost regret, sometimes, upgrading because I’m like, “I could have gone the whole way with that machine!”

Caroline: Yeah, you could have. Do you still have it?

Helen: I do. I do. And I also love my new machine. We’re going to talk about our current machines in a minute here, but I have so many memories on that machine. I’m so grateful that moment happened, you know, and that moment where she’s like, “Yeah, just take it.” And now here we are.

Caroline: Did this machine inspire kind of, like, your blog and your journey into, like. getting back into sewing? Or whether, was there time in between, like, getting this machine and like…

Helen: It was pretty instantaneous because, at the time, I had been really interested in blogs and I had been reading a lot of blogs and I had a couple of blogs before I started Helen’s Closet. Our long-term listeners will know about that. I had a personal style blog and I had a craft blog. So I was definitely, like, working my way towards finding this niche. And when she gave me the sewing machine, I was like, “Oh, great. Now I can make some sewing projects and I’ll put them on my craft blog,” which I did. And then immediately just fell head over heels in love with sewing again. And was like, “Oh no, I only want to do this. I don’t want to do any of this other stuff anymore.” Yeah.

Caroline: Oh, wow, that’s so great. Oh my gosh. Thank you, Teresa.

Helen: Yes. Shout out to Teresa. Thank you so much.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay. So have you ever worked with, like, any specialized or unusual sewing machines over the years?

Helen: I have, actually. I used to work at a trade show exhibit company. Before I started Helen’s Closet I was, like, a graphic designer. And one of my jobs that I had for a few years was working at this trade show company, doing graphic design for the trade shows. So we would design the, like, graphics for the booths and then we’d print them out and laminate them and put them on the booths. And we’d also do banners and all sorts of, like, really large-format graphic design. So we decided to move our banner production in-house. And my boss, Mark, was like, “Does anyone know how to sew?” And I was like, “Yeah, I know how to sew.” And he was like, “Okay, I’m going to buy an industrial sewing machine for us so that we can make the banners in-house.” And I was like, “Okay.” So I was sewing banners for a little while in this industrial sewing machine. And it was so fast. And the banners we were making were like 40 feet long. So we had like six people holding the banner while I was running it through the machine. And it was just like, vroom! It was so much fun to sit there and just, like, literally hold the pedal down while everyone else just, like, fed it through. I’m like, “I’m doing it!”

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Industrial machines do feel so powerful. Like if you’ve never, you know, I don’t know. Like, I encourage anyone who has an opportunity to, like, sit down and put pedal to the metal on an industrial machine: do it. It is thrilling. Low-stakes. Like. definitely make it low-stakes because it’s easy for it to, like, get away from you. But try it out. It’s really fun.

Helen: It was really fun. And he also had me sew a cover for his boat.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh my god.

Helen: Which was really an interesting project. And in hindsight, I’m like, I should have asked for a raise.

Caroline: Yeah. A hundred percent. That is not in your job description.

Helen: No, it definitely wasn’t. Okay. What about you? ‘Cause I know you had an industrial machine for a hot second, right?

Caroline: Yeah. When I moved into my first apartment, my roommate and I had just graduated from fashion design school. So we were all about industrial machines. That’s what we used in school. So we bought one on Craigslist or something. And like, we had to go and pick it up. And it was quite harrowing to, like, get it up into our apartment. And then I actually remember, like, when I moved out of that place, my brother had to help me bring it down the stairs. And we had, like, a truly near-death experience. Like, he was pinned. It was a, like, Montreal triplex with the, like, winding staircase. And there was a point when he was, like, pinned against the wall with this incredibly heavy industrial machine basically, like, up against him and we were like “Pivot! Pivot!” Like, we couldn’t get it and it was like, I was like, “Oh my god, my brother’s gonna die. Like, this is so crazy.” We managed to get it out, but it was really touch and go. So yeah, don’t underestimate the weight of these machines. There’s a motor. There’s oil. There’s, like, an oil pan underneath. Like, they’re just, like, heavy-duty machines. You need many people to move them.

Helen: Some sewists really swear by them, though. I know there’s lots of folks in the community that prefer to sew on an industrial sewing machine because it does go so fast and it does a really great straight stitch, which is nice. And I’m sure there’s lots of other benefits, too. I don’t have that much experience making one…I’ve never made a garment on one. So I can’t speak to that.

Caroline: I should mention that we have one at Blackbird HQ now.

Helen: Oh, I didn’t know that! That’s cool.

Caroline: Yeah. We purchased a Juki industrial machine because our pattern maker and sample maker, Janna, she has a lot of an industry background making jeans and she’s really used to working on industrial machines. And she just felt like it would be, like, a great thing to have around because she can sew samples way faster. She was, like, getting really frustrated with how slow, like, domestic machines are going. So we got one for the office and it’s great. She purrs. She’s beautiful.

Helen: Oh, nice. That’s cool.

Caroline: I think, for me, like, the main downside of an industrial machine is it’s a little bit less versatile. It only does straight stitch. Like, there’s a different machine for each type of stitch or finish. So if you’re just getting a regular industrial, it’ll only do straight stitch. You are dealing with, like, oil, which I think is a little bit intimidating. Like, the whole kind of mechanism of the machine is different.

Helen: Yeah. It’s more like a lawnmower or something.

Caroline: Totally. and it’s harder for, like, the home sewist, I think, to troubleshoot issues if you end up having issues with that machine.

Helen: Well, and the speed could be a downside, too, for a newer sewist, for sure. Like, on a home sewing machine, you can control the speed. And you do want to go slow because you need to have control.

Caroline: Totally.

Helen: But I could see how, if you learned on an industrial or if you were in a workplace where an industrial sewing machine was used frequently, how it would be hard to go back, you know?

Caroline: Yeah, totally.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: But you know, that power, it’s intoxicating.

Helen: It’s true.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay, well I guess sergers or overlockers could be categorized as specialized machines.

Helen: Totally.

Caroline: And we’ve both worked with sergers for a while. So, tell me about your first experience with a serger.

Helen: My mom had one when we were growing up, but it was always unthreaded, always messing up, getting into tangles, unthreading itself. Like, I just remember her cursing at it. I remember getting out the serger was, like, a big deal. And then you have to set it up and it’s just like, “Oh, it’s so annoying and it doesn’t ever work the way you want it to.” And it’s like, what’s wrong with it? So I definitely didn’t have, like, positive feelings towards sergers. And then in high school, we had some, like, set up and ready to go that worked pretty well. So I got to use them more when I was in home ec. And I’ve told this story on the podcast before, but I was serging this beautiful dress that had been given to us by a local fashion designer. She gave us, like, a whole bunch of samples to our high school home ec class so that we could alter them and mess with them, make them our own. And she was just, like, “You know, these are just samples. So, like, go nuts.” And there’s this gorgeous dress and I was serging something in the inside and like, it got folded up underneath and I chopped this massive hole in the front of the dress using the serger blade. And so that was my first, like, really memorable serger experience where I was like, “Oh, these things can really mess up your project if you’re not careful.”

Caroline: Yes. I know, there’s so much, like, serger, almost, lore. And I feel like sergers get a bad rep. People just are scared of them. There’s, like, horror stories. There’s just, like, more room for things to go awry with a serger.

Helen: Right? It’s like, “Let’s take a regular sewing machine and add a knife.”

Caroline: Add a knife. Add a couple more threads. Everything is intersecting. Like, it’s just, you know, there’s a lot going on. And I understand why it can be intimidating but it also, sergers open up, like, a whole world of possibilities and make your projects look so much more finished.

Helen: Oh, for sure. Like, with all that said, I would not go back. I absolutely love my current serger. We have the same one and we talk about it all the time on this show because it’s such a great serger.

Caroline: I know. I feel like it needs a song. (singing) The Juki ME-6-5-4-DE. Right. Or MO?

Helen: It’s the M O, yeah. (singing) Juki, Juki M O 6 5 4 D E. Eee!

Caroline: Whee!

Helen: It’s like a cheer.

Caroline: Yeah, it totally is.

Helen: Yeah, it’s affordable. It’s pretty quiet. It runs like a charm. It’s, yeah, it’s the perfect serger, in my opinion. But it doesn’t self-thread, which some sergers out there do. And that’s pretty cool. You can just hit a button and it will, like, blow the thread for you.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s like, poof! And then it just throws it in and things happen, and then it’s threaded.

Helen: Yeah, I still get in fights with my serger every once in a while and I have to unthread it all the way and then rethread. You know, you know, when it’s bad, nothing’s going right. You’re just like, “I, we’re starting from scratch. I’m taking all the thread out. I’m cleaning it.” I’m like, “I want to wipe the slate clean and I’m going to start fresh with new thread because it might be the thread that’s a problem.”

Caroline: Yeah. Sometimes new needles help, too. If I’m really having issues, I’ll change out my needles and often it’ll be something, there’s a kink in the needle or something, you know?

Helen: Yeah. Totally.

Caroline: No, I, I love my Juki for sure. I actually, my first serger was a gift from my parents before I went to college. And it was a Sears Kenmore, which is funny because one of your machines was also a Sears Kenmore. But I loved that machine. I used it all the time. I remember when I was gifted it, it came with, like, a free lesson in this, like, lady’s house. So I, like, went to this lady’s house with my new serger and she, like, showed me how to use it. And it was really cool. And I used it throughout college. I moved to Vancouver with it and it was only in the last, like, few years, maybe five years, that I upgraded to the Juki and ended up shipping this serger back to my mom and now my mom has it. So it lives on.

Helen: They are great, though. Like, it just speeds up the process. And it makes the garments last a little bit longer, too, in some cases, depending on how you’re finishing your seams beforehand. Like, French seams are obviously super strong, but if you’re just doing, like, pinking shears or leaving the edges raw, sometimes that can result in things unraveling. Whereas a serger makes sure that your seams are really nice and secure. And if you’re just really interested in making a bunch of garments, playing with fashion, or just learning a lot about sewing, I think the speed and ease of a serger can really help that process along. So I would recommend.

Caroline: 100 percent I would recommend. Yeah. What do you think are, like, the most annoying things about serging? Not to pile on, add to the lore.

Helen: I mean, really, just the threading. I’m trying to think if there’s other things. The threading, and like, if you have tension issues and you’re looking at it and it’s like all loopy and messy. But honestly, even sometimes when the tension’s not that great, I’m like, “Eh, good enough.”

Caroline: Yeah. As long as I’m not using it as, like, a all-in-one, like, sewing and finishing, I’m not as worried. If I’m sewing knits only on a serger, I’m a little bit more concerned about tension and, lik,e making sure that the seam doesn’t, like, open and get that, like, laddering.

Helen: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Caroline: I think threading is the most annoying troubleshooting. Like, we touched on that. I think troubleshooting on a serger can be, like, intimidating, especially if it’s a newer machine for you. One thing that my Juki does is, like, my threads get tangled. Like, my thread at the top, like, even before it goes through, that, like, sometimes like they’ll sort of get tangled up and knotted up. And it’s probably my actual, like, thread cones are really old or something, but I’ve been using these like the same stash of thread cones since, like, college, because you never go through a whole thread cone unless you’re…

Helen: Only, like, some colours.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: But yeah, they last for so long.

Caroline: I’ve had them for so long that, like, the plastic inside is, like, disintegrating, you know? Like, it’s just, like, because I, they were in the sun for a while at one point, in one of my apartments, and so I, like, touch one and it just, like, goes, like, poof! Like, the plastic just…

Helen: It might be time for an upgrade, Caroline.

Caroline: No. It’s a no-buy year, Helen.

Helen: Oh, right. Non-essential.

Caroline: But no, I think, yeah, that’s causing me to have some, like, thread tangling issues. So I have to kind of keep my eye on the top area as I’m sewing to make sure that things don’t get nesty up there, but. Nesty and nasty.

Helen: Every serger is a little bit different. I’m sure some listeners out there are like, “What are they talking about? My serger is the worst. It’s so annoying.” And yeah, I feel you. Sometimes machines are just not your friend.

Caroline: Yeah. And sometimes they just, like, they have their issues that are hard to solve. Like, we’ve definitely had serger chats at the office where a team member’s like, “My serger will not work,” and then they, like, bring it in and we’re all trying to rethread it and, like, no one can get it to work. Like, sometimes it just needs to go in for servicing or needs to be retired, you know?

Helen: Yeah, well, you bring up a good point about servicing because it can be helpful to get your machine professionally serviced if you’re having recurring issues, like your thread being tangled at the top. Maybe that’s something to do with the machine or you’ll just take it in and they’ll be like, “How old is this thread cone?” But sometimes you just need to hear it. You know?

Caroline: Yeah, totally. Oh my gosh.

Helen: I’m not that good about getting my machine serviced. I’ll dust out my serger every six months or so. And my sewing machine, I try to be a little bit better with and get it serviced at least once a year. But it’s hard, it’s hard to, like, commit to actually taking it in to go and get it done. And it costs money, so that’s not nothing. And, yeah, you can do a lot yourself, at home. There’s lots of great tutorials online about how to service your own machine at home. So that is also possible. And just getting the dust out is really important if you’re not planning on taking it to get serviced very often.

Caroline: On a serger, for sure. I mean, on a sewing machine, too, I’d say also, like, if your sewing machine has, like, a thing that you need to oil, do that regularly. I think that will make a world of difference. Whenever I oil my sewing machine, it runs, like, so much quieter and I, like, forget how much of a difference it makes. You know, it’s just, like, smoother. It’s less clunky. Okay, wait, I feel like we need to talk about what sewing machines we’re currently sewing on. Can we move on from sergers? Talk about our current loves.

Helen: Yes. For sure. Okay. So we both have the same machine right now. I know you have, too, we both have the Pfaff Expression 710.

Caroline: She’s purple. Yeah.

Helen: Yeah. You may know her. She’s purple. Great little machine. Like, the price point, I think, is around, it’s more expensive, for sure. It’s around 2000, I believe?

Caroline: Canadian. Yeah.

Helen: Yeah. Canadian. So definitely a pricier sewing machine, a more top-tier. Not the most expensive; you can spend pretty much as much as you want on a sewing machine. It’s, it’s wild out there, but.

Caroline: Just ask yourself, do you need all those stitches?

Helen: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I think, for what it does, it’s really smooth. I’ve never had any issues with it. Love the buttonhole function. Love the built-in walking foot. Pfaffs have, like, they call it the IDT system, and it’s, like, this little extra foot that flips down from the backside of the machine and acts as a little walking foot. So you can just engage that whenever you want. I pretty much have it on all the time, because why not? And I think that is a really nice feature of the machine. One of my favourite things about switching from the old vintage Kenmore to this one is, on my old one, my threads would constantly get tangled and I would always have to hold on to the threads at the back of the machine when I started my project. And I got really good at always remembering to do that. It was just, like, muscle memory at a certain point. But on the Pfaff, I don’t have to worry about that. It just pretty much always starts out beautifully and I never have any issues with that. So that’s really nice.

Caroline: Yeah. I mean, that Pfaff has a lot of bells and whistles, and I’m gonna just say it: I like that machine. I don’t love it. I have some gripes. I have some complaints. We can get into them.

Helen: I’d love to hear them, because I feel like, sometimes, even though you get the same machine, they’re different, somehow.

Caroline: Yeah. Well, okay. What I love about this machine, it’s like a love/hate because I like that there are certain automations. Like, I like that there’s the automatic backstitch. You can set it to backstitch right away at the front and the, at the end of your seam. You can also set it to cut your threads when you’re finished sewing, which is fun. Takes some getting used to, but it’s very fun. I love the built-in walking foot. It makes for, like, a beautiful sewing experience. You’re not dealing with things like shifting as much. My biggest pet peeve thing that I don’t like about this machine is that there’s no manual foot lever. So you can’t raise and lower your foot with your hand or with, like, a knee pedal. It’s a button, and that…I’m not over it. I can’t, I can’t get over it. I thought I would get used to it and I can’t.

Helen: It did take me months to stop reaching behind the presser foot to lift the bar.

Caroline: And there are just, like, certain instances where I want that control of being able to do that with my hand versus a button. Like, there’s not as much…

Helen: To position the fabric and, like, pin it down,

Caroline: To position the fabric, exactly.

Helen: That’s fair.

Caroline: So that’s, like, my biggest complaint about that machine. I do still use it, and I think it sews beautifully. It also has, like, a, an alert when your bobbin thread is running out. Which, it means well, right? Like, it’s like, “I’m letting you know that you’re gonna run out of bobbin thread.” But like, I like living on the edge. Like, I like taking it to the end, you know? And…

Helen: Well, you still take it to the end. You just have to leave the alert on the screen.

Caroline: Yeah, it just, but it just taunts. Yeah, you can’t, I guess you can’t exit the alert, because if you exit the alert it just keeps taunting, like “It’s almost out! It’s almost out!” But sometimes I’m just like, I don’t want you to tell me, like, I want to learn for myself, I’m an independent woman. Don’t tell me what to do. Don’t tell me I need to change my bobbin.

Helen: Have you had the alert that it gives when you hit, like, a really hard surface and the needle breaks and the machine, like, goes, like, chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And it just, like, won’t work. It’s like, “I’m resting. Give me a break.” Okay.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yes. Okay. But so, my Pfaff: love/hate, right? But my Bernie, it’s love/love. It’s true love. My Bernina, it’s love forever. It’s, I can’t tell you enough how much I love my Bernina. She was acquired very dramatically because it was when I was working with Sewaholic Patterns. I was sewing a lot of samples for photoshoots and I had a very dramatic day when the Singer machine, my, like, entry-level Walmart Singer, was giving me major issues. It was, did not want to sew the knits that I was sewing. It was skipping stitches. I couldn’t figure it out. And I was on a tight deadline. So I took it as a sign and invested in this Bernina. I was like, I’m getting a new machine. Like, I can’t handle the stress of these skipped stitches. And I’m so glad that I invested in this Bernina. Yeah. She’s just my favourite. She’s my one and only, like, ride or die. Honestly.

Helen: Okay, hold on one second though, because you got the Pfaff after you got the Bernina. So if she’s your ride or die, then why’d you get the Pfaff?

Caroline: Wow, I feel attacked. So, a few years ago, during COVID, there was a really long wait for machine servicing, and I wanted to get my Bernina serviced, but I had to leave it with the person who was servicing it for like three months. There was a really long wait. So I just said to myself, “I feel like I need a backup machine. Just in case, like, something happens to my beloved or she needs to go in for servicing, like, I need to make sure that I’m taking care of her and servicing her.” Right? So I went with the Pfaff, which, like, no hard feelings…

Helen: Upon my recommendation, probably.

Caroline: No, you and our, our friend Tasia also recommended it cause she has a similar one. And I’m happy I have two machines because, like, if I’m sewing with a friend, like, my sister-in-law Adrianna is learning to sew, so we often sew together, or if I’m sewing jeans and I want to have like two machines going at once, one for top stitching, one for regular, like, it’s great having two machines. I like it, but my, my Bernina is, she’s perfect. Like, I have no complaints. So.

Helen: You know, I feel like one of the things you’re talking about with the Pfaff is annoyance about the foot. And because I don’t use any other machines anymore, I’m just, like, committed and I’m so used to it. And I know where all the buttons are and it’s like muscle memory, whereas you’re like switching back and forth. So maybe that’s contributing to the frustration a little bit.

Caroline: I think so. I think so. Helen, you did say you’ve never had problems with your Pfaff and I just want to point out, like, I just want you to tell the story. You know what story I’m talking about?

Helen: It’s not the Pfaff that was the problem. I know. Okay. So we were talking about servicing and how you should clear the dust out of your machine and like, you should always take good care of it and do a good job and all that. And I thought I was doing that because I’d open up the bobbin thing and clear it out, but I thought I was opening it all the way and getting everything that I could get at. And then it’s probably been a couple of years since I got the Pfaff or since I’d taken it to be serviced. So it’d been a minute, and it started acting weird. The feed dogs weren’t feeding the fabric anymore. And I couldn’t get the stitch length to be a consistent two and a half millimeters. It was always just, like, one millimeter, like it was barely moving through under the presser foot. So I took it in to be serviced. And I have to drive down to the next town over to get my machine serviced by a Pfaff specialist. And so we drove down there and we went out for lunch or whatever. And then I came back to go get it. And the lady was super nice. She was like, “Just so you know, there was so much lint under the presser foot it was jammed solid, like, it was like a solid rock of fiber, like, just, like, smooshed in around the feed dogs of the machine.” And she was like, “You really need to be cleaning that out.” And I was like, “I didn’t even know I was allowed to clean that out.” Like, I didn’t know I could get in there. So she, like, showed me how to, like, undo the screws and, like, open it up and get inside. And sure enough, you can see, you know, in between each feed dog, there’s like a little place where lint can gather. And now that I know that’s there, I can, like, get in and, like, pick it out with a pin and it’s very satisfying. So I do that more regularly now, but because I’d only had vintage machines where everything is really visible, I just didn’t realize that I was supposed to, like, unscrew stuff to get in there. I was like, “What you see is what you get. I’m just going to clean what I can see.” And then the people who service it will clean the rest of it. So this is a lesson in learning how to properly clean your machine and also getting it serviced more regularly. Cause I probably wouldn’t have run into this issue if I had done that. So.

Caroline: Okay, but, would you think this was in the manual? Like, how to clean it? Do you think it’s like a case of..

Helen: Yeah, the manual or, like, YouTube videos, like, you’ll often find people doing reviews of machines where they’ll show you how to take it apart and see all the different areas where you can clean and put oil and stuff like that. So, just wrapping your head around how to do it all.

Caroline: It’s kind of like when you buy a car, you need to figure out, like, what are the regular service appointments I need to make? Remember to change the oil. These things are all important with sewing machines, too.

Helen: I also didn’t get my tires rotated on the car that my parents gave me because I didn’t know that was a thing. And then when I finally learned it was a thing and we took it in, the tire lady was like, “Your tires are, like, really messed up.” We were like, “Oh no! Nobody told us.”

Caroline: People, yeah, there needs to be, like, an adult manual of how to do adult things.

Helen: Yes, there does. Thank you.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay, there is another story that I feel like you’re glossing over.

Helen: Oh no, that wasn’t the one you wanted to hear.

Caroline: It’s the one that’s about the, like, collapse of your, like, foot.

Helen: You know what? I still am not a hundred percent sure why that happened.

Caroline: Okay. Yeah. Okay. I don’t know. You tell the story. Sorry. Sorry.

Helen: I was sewing and then all of a sudden the needle and the, like, screw that holds in the needle and the shank on the presser foot, everything just, like, fell apart. And it was just, like, in pieces everywhere. And I was just sitting there, like, with my mouth open, like, “What just happened?” And it was all broken and I couldn’t figure out how to put it back together because there was a lot of little pieces and I did not know how it went back together. So I was all panicked and I took it to the same nice lady.

Caroline: That poor lady.

Helen: She was really nice about it. And she reassembled it for me. And I remember her telling me that it was because I was, like, unscrewing the, you know, when you put your new needles in, you have to unscrew the little screw and then you pull the needle out and pop the new needle in and then screw it in nice and tight. And I was, I guess, unscrewing that screw a little too liberally. And it was, like, holding more than just the needle together at the top of the shank. So, that’s my memory. Am I remembering it wrong?

Caroline: No, I, I just remember, the way that you told us the story, it was like, “I’ve been sewing so many samples, I’ve been using her so much that she just collapsed under the pressure.” Like, the final stitch on your final, like, Brooks Jeans sample or something. And it was just like, poof! She gave up.

Helen: I ruined her. I drove her into the ground!

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I think it had been a while at that point, too, since I’d had her serviced. So that’s when your machine breaks like that. And then you’re like, “Oh no, I did this. I did this by not taking care of you.”

Caroline: Oh my gosh.

Helen: I do love my machines, though. Do you have any, like, fun names for your sewing machines?

Caroline: No, I don’t name my sewing machines or my cars and I feel like I’m missing out, you know?

Helen: You are missing out. I name both my sewing machines and my cars.

Caroline: Okay, tell me.

Helen: Okay. My Pfaff is named Diana. It just feels right. She’s purple. I don’t know.

Caroline: She’s a princess.

Helen: It, like, yeah, she’s Diana. My serger’s name is Alex. I just give them, like, really generic names. But like, they have personalities, you know? She’s such an Alex.

Caroline: Yeah. Alex feels reliable. Your Juki? Yeah.

Helen: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. My Kenmore, her name was Rosemary.

Caroline: Yes. I remember.

Helen: Yeah. Kind of like a vintage name, but also she was like this teal-y, blue-y, green colour. It’s a little bit Rosemary-esque. And that’s it. I didn’t name my mom’s sewing machine because it’s not mine. So yeah.

Caroline: I call my Bernina Bernie, but I don’t, it’s like a nickname, you know? But yeah. Bernie.

Helen: That’s cute. She’s probably not the only Bernie out there.

Caroline: I know. It’s not very original. Do you have a dream machine on your, like, to-buy-someday list?

Helen: Not a specific model, but obviously since I’ve gotten into quilting, I am considering my future long-arm machine that I’ll inevitably end up getting.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, that is so exciting!

Helen: To fulfill my quilting destiny.

Caroline: You’ll need a second garage. For a long-arm.

Helen: I know. It would be so amazing to have one, and I’m saying this having never used one. I don’t know how to use it. I don’t know if I would like it. But I want one nonetheless. So there you go.

Caroline: Yeah. I mean, we’re talking dreams, right?

Helen: Yeah. We’re talking dreams. How about you? Do you have a dream machine?

Caroline: I still want a coverstitch. I’ve wanted a coverstitch for, like, the entire duration of this podcast. So we’re going on eight years.

Helen: And you can have one next year.

Caroline: I don’t know what the block is. Like, why I just have been hesitant to get one. Like, I want one, but maybe I don’t need one. You know, I have, I can do a twin needle finish on my knits. I have a serger. Like, what is it bringing to the table? You know. But it is something that I’ve always thought, like, rounding out my sewing machine arsenal. Yeah, collection. I feel like a cover stitch would do that, you know?

Helen: Yeah. When you guys do a knit pattern at BF Patterns, then you should get a cover stitch for your office. Justify it as a work purchase. Loophole.

Caroline: No, true. It’s also, like, another complicated machine to thread. You need more thread cones. And maybe I do need more thread cones anyway.

Helen: You’re allowed to have more than four from 1995.

Caroline: Whoa, whoa, whoa. I wasn’t in college in 1995, okay? More like 2008.

Helen: I have a coverstitch on loan from a friend. On indefinite loan. She gave it to me because she wasn’t using it very often and now it sits in my studio, not getting used very often, and it’s great. I do think it does what it does really well, and it’s so satisfying, especially when you’re making a whole bunch of knit projects at once.

Like, when I make a bunch of clothes for my nieces and nephew, it’s fun to bust it out to do all the hems, and it does do an amazing job at getting that twin needle finish with the stretchy backside. But yeah, it’s a little bit annoying to thread. It is definitely not a necessary thing unless you’re doing, like, knits all the time. But they’re pretty cool. And I do think that, Caroline, you’ve earned it. You should feel free. Maybe not this year, ‘cause I know you’re not buying anything, but there’s no, like, finish line that you need to pass in order to get a coverstitch machine.

Caroline: Maybe I need to talk to my therapist about why I haven’t invested in a coverstitch machine.

Helen: “I just don’t deserve it.”

Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay. This was a fun chat. Thank goodness for sewing machines, y’all. We would not be where we are if they didn’t exist.

Helen: Oh my gosh, I know. I mean, I don’t even want to imagine a world without a sewing machine. And I really want to hear about our listeners’ sewing machine memories. If you have pictures of you and your early sewing machines, we’d love to see them, recommendations for sewing machines you love, things that drive you nuts about your sewing machine. Please email us, leave us a voicemail or comment on social media this week. We’ll have some fun pictures up.

Caroline: Yeah. I would love to hear your stories of, like, bringing your machine to be serviced and what the technician told you you did wrong.

Helen: Yeah. Hopefully I’m not alone on that front.

Caroline: The weirdest thing a sewing machine technician found in your machine.

Helen: “This machine is full of beans!”

Caroline: Oh my gosh, yes. Please send us your stories and thank you all for listening.

Helen: Yeah. We’ll talk to you next week.

Caroline: Bye!

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 more content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of all of our 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.

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!

Helen: Bye bye.

Quick wins are projects that refresh you and revive your sewjo. If you’re feeling uninspired and unmotivated to sew, have a listen! We go over what makes a project “quick”  and what makes it a “win” so you can choose a project that will work for you. Plus, we share a bunch of specific ideas for quick win projects, including our personal faves!

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

Show Notes: 

From the Listener Questions Section:

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Caroline’s Kitchen Curtains (Using Curtain Rings with Clips!)

Resources:

Sewing 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.

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 want to talk about.

Caroline: This episode is about sewing quick wins – those projects that refresh you and revive your sewjo. If you’re feeling uninspired and unmotivated to sew, this episode is for you. We go over what makes a project quick and what makes it a win, so you can figure out what will work for YOU. Plus we share a bunch of specific ideas for quick win projects, including our personal faves.

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

Caroline: Hi Helen!

Helen: Hi Caroline!

Caroline: Ooh, it is the last episode of this season, can you believe it?

Helen: I know, honestly, I can’t. That went by really fast.

Caroline: It really did. It was such a great season. We did so many fun episodes. I loved all of our guests this season. I know we say that every season, but really, this was a good one.

Helen: It was a really good one. Yeah, we had a lot of fun with this season and we hope y’all enjoyed it too. But this does bring us to the end of our season. So if you want to stay in touch with us, keep up with what we’re doing over the break, you can join us over on Patreon and/or Apple Podcasts.

Caroline: Yeah, that really is the best way to support Love to Sew. You can join us over there and get access to bonus content every month. So even on the off-season, we’re releasing bonus episodes, and we have so much fun catching up in those episodes. They’re more casual. We laugh a lot. We talk about our personal lives. It’s a different vibe and it’s some of my favorite stuff to record.

Helen: Me too. We always have so much fun. And it 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 get it. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for being with us here on this season. And we will be back in the spring.

Caroline: Yes. Thank you all so much. Okay. We got to get to some questions in this episode and we’re going to kick it off with a couple of listener questions. And our first one comes from Deirdre.

Deirdre: Hi, Helen and Caroline. This is Deirdre. I’m calling from Fairfax, Virginia. I have a little bit of a question that I’m having a difficult time finding an answer to, and I’m hoping you can help. I love making dresses, and most of the ones that I make are typically a little bit on the flowy side, and usually a lighter weight material, which I love. With the breezes during the fall, I find that they don’t stay as down as I would like. I’m basically looking for some kind of hem weight and I’ve seen some tutorials from Itch to Stitch about using coins and other places that recommend using chains like you would in a jacket but I’d really like to have something that is not going to potentially oxidize and leave stains on the fabric as I wash things, because I, I am definitely a machine washer for all of my me-mades. Anything that you could recommend or anywhere you could point me to with a little more information and maybe some unusual suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. I love your podcast and I’m looking forward to the next episode.

Caroline: Hi, Deirdre. Thank you so much for calling us. I’m imagining Deirdre having Marilyn Monroe moments, like, at every street corner.

Helen: Yeah, me too.

Caroline: Just like, like, “Oops! Not again! My dress is flying up again.”

Helen: It’s so cute, though.

Caroline: I know.

Helen: No, if you live in a windy place, this is, this is a real thing.

Caroline: It is. It really is.

Helen: She mentioned some techniques that we’ll go over, in case y’all haven’t heard of them. So you can sew coins into the hem. You can take little squares of interfacing, sandwich the coin in the middle, and then fuse it all around to make, like, a little cover. And that gives some extra protection to your garment fabric and it makes it easier to kind of sew the coins in. And you can baste the cover to the inside of the hem at the center front, center back, and each side seam to kind of weigh everything down.

Caroline: This is a good option. And if you want something that isn’t metal, or also something that’s a little bit more lightweight, you could sew buttons into your hem. You already know that they’re meant to go through the washer, so you don’t need to worry about them messing up your fabric. And by the way, for this option and for the last option, you might need to adjust your hem depth to accommodate the size of the buttons or coins that you plan to use, because you’re kind of, like, sandwiching them into the hem.

Helen: Right? It makes me think of, like, other rounded things you could put in there, like pogs or tiddlywinks or…

Caroline: What?

Helen: Tiddlywinks!

Caroline: Sure. What is that?

Helen: It was, like, a game that, like, kids play where there’s like a bunch of little plastic round discs and I think there’s like, I think…maybe I’m thinking of jacks. What’s the game with the metal spiky thing? I think that’s jacks. Tiddlywinks, I think you just kind of like, flick them at each other?

Caroline: I don’t, I, I’m sorry.

Helen: Let us know.

Caroline: Oh my gosh.

Helen: You might be able to get creative with stuff you have around your house, I guess, is all I’m saying. I like the idea of using buttons. That’s really smart.

Caroline: Yeah, and some buttons are heavier than others. Like, you can find some that are made of a heftier material, perhaps.

Helen: Yeah. And classic Chanel jackets have the lengths of metal chain sewn into their hems, like Deirdre mentioned. Susan Khalje sells silver- and gold-toned options on her website. I’m not sure if those are meant to be washed in the machine, though, so maybe double check. But most boucle jackets are dry clean or hand wash only. So that’s why they put the chains in them. And if I were going to use a chain, I’d look for stainless steel jewelry chains and I’d use a smaller one than the ones that are used in suit jackets. I’ll also note, this kind of weight will change the drape of the skirt, since it spans the whole length of the hem and it will probably hang closer to your body rather than kinda floating outward. So this may or may not be a bad thing depending on what kind of look you’re going for.

Caroline: Mm hmm. Oh, I have one more idea. What if you made a hem facing out of a heavier fabric? I mean, if you do this, I feel like you don’t want to skip the understitching and, you know, because that’s going to make sure that the facing doesn’t peek out from under your hem. But it could be a nice detail and I think that would help.

Helen: Yeah, totally. I like that idea. You could also leave your dresses as-is and start wearing, like, biker shorts rather than regular undies or wearing leggings if it’s colder weather. That’s comfy and practical. Muna and Broad’s Dulcie Boxer Briefs are a good pattern if you want to make your own. I always feel more comfortable if I’m wearing bike shorts under my skirts and dresses.

Caroline: Yeah, not just for, like, if the dress blows up. I also just get chafing between my legs, so it’s essential to wear bike shorts under a dress for me. It does double duty. We’d love to get an update from you, so please let us know if you try any of these ideas, Deirdre. And if anyone has any suggestions, hit us up. We’ll follow up in a future episode.

Helen: Our next question here is from Megan, who writes, “Hi Helen and Caroline! I’m a big fan of the podcast! I have the worst luck with snaps. I’ve purchased snap buttons from a few sources, including Etsy. I always interface, use the proper setting tools, and install a test on scrap fabric. Sadly, I have a treasured Tamarack Jacket and the snaps will not close. I’ve just installed some snaps on the pockets of my most labour-intensive project ever – the Grasser 881 insulated coat – and those aren’t working either, which is incredibly frustrating. A Kelly Anorak hardware kit that I purchased from Closet Core a few years ago works perfectly fine. I’ve questioned whether it’s the quality of the snaps, if I’m hammering with the wrong intensity or if I should just invest in a snap press. Is this a common problem? And can snaps be removed if I want to try reinstalling them for a more functional jacket? Where do you recommend purchasing snap buttons from? Please help! I want my fasteners to work every time!”

Caroline: Ooh, okay. Hi, Megan! And thank you for writing to us. I am so sorry about your problems with snaps. It must be so frustrating to work so hard on a jacket and then not be able to close it. That’s not fun.

Helen: No, and it’s also definitely not uncommon. Like, I think a lot of people who have tried putting snaps on their me-mades have run into this issue, that even after you install them and they look right, they still don’t close all the way. They’re kind of not quite right. It feels weird.

Caroline: They, like, pop open easily. Mmhmm.

Helen: Yeah. They’re really frustrating. And I have had trouble finding good snaps.

Caroline: I even have my own Tamarack Jacket that has snaps that basically are non-functional. I just don’t use them

Helen: So this is a universal problem.

Caroline: Yeah. But first of all, we want to let you know that it is possible to remove snaps and redo them. Martha Porter of Buried Diamond has a post with lots of close-up photos about the process. You basically take a pair of diagonal pliers and wiggle the narrow side under one side of the snaps, and then you squeeze the pliers until the snap pops off. You just want to be as gentle as you can during this process because you don’t want to distort or tear your fabric. But we will link that article up for you in the show notes so that you can check it out.

Helen: Yeah. And one of the reasons that Martha had to redo her snaps in the first place was because she accidentally sorted the components wrong. And this is common because there’s a few pieces that look really similar. You’ve got, like, two kind of round-y pieces and two kind of post-y pieces. So you might want to double check if that’s why your snaps aren’t working. But it’s, honestly, probably not why your snaps aren’t working. But it is good to make sure that you you’re using it correctly.

Caroline: And as for what kind of snaps to buy, you could try spring snaps. Those are the kind that Closet Core sells. And the more common kind that you find in big box fabric stores are actually called ring snaps. So we’ll link up that article by Closet Core about the difference between spring snaps and ring snaps in the show notes. But this might be your issue. So if you liked the Closet Core ones, I would suggest trying out spring snaps next.

Helen: Snap pliers can definitely make installing snaps easier. The only thing is that they’re made for specific kinds of snaps. So just make sure you’re getting the right kind of pliers that match the snaps you want to use.

Caroline: Yeah. I really hope this helps. And may all of your future jackets snap beautifully.

Helen: And if anyone out there has a good resource for where to get good snaps, let us know.

Caroline: Please do.

Helen: Okay, Caroline, let’s get into this show. I’m really excited about this episode because we all need a sewing quick win every now and again.

Caroline: Yes, that is one of our favourite pieces of advice when you’re in a sewjo slump, is to just sew a quick win. If you’re feeling uninspired and you can’t stomach the idea of a challenging project, quick win projects can remind you of why you love to sew.

Helen: Yeah, so there are some signs that you might need a quick win project. For example, every sewing project you think of sounds like too much work.

Caroline: I feel like we need to read this in, like, the, like, commercial voice. Like, does every project you sew sound like too much work?

Helen: You simply don’t have any ideas for what to sew?

Caroline: You’re questioning your skill level after your last project?

Helen: You’re considering quitting sewing?

Caroline: Nooo!

Helen: Nooo!

Caroline: Think of quick wins as a palate cleanser!

Helen: In cooking, palate cleansers…okay, I’m gonna stop now.

Caroline: Okay, we gotta stop now. That was great, though.

Helen: So, if you’re not familiar with palate cleansers, in cooking, they’re served in between courses to remove food residue from your tongue. And then you can taste the next course better. And quick win projects work the same way. If you’re feeling dragged down, you need a sure success. A low-effort, high-value project that makes you feel good. And afterward, you might find yourself getting excited for your next big project. And all of a sudden, your sewjo is back.

Caroline: Yeah, sometimes you just need to remove that sewing residue from your tongue.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: You know? So we’re gonna talk about some qualities that make a project “quick” and “a win,” and share some of our favourite, favourite palate cleansers, and recommend some patterns and tutorials that would make great quick win projects. So you can even save this episode for later and come back to it when you’re considering quitting sewing.

Helen: Okay. Let’s start with talking about what makes a project quick. I would choose something that does not require a muslin, even though we’re usually very pro-muslin. I definitely think having to make one disqualifies it from being a quick win. You want something you can just dive right into. So here are a few choices for projects that will work out even if you don’t make a muslin.

Caroline: Obviously, easy fit garments. You want to look for projects that fit loosely, cinch with drawstrings or elastics, or are made from knit fabrics.

Helen: You can choose a tried-and-true pattern. This means something that you’ve made before and loved, so you’ve already made the adjustments you need to. You’re familiar with the techniques you need to do. You just need to get the fabric and get sewin’.

Caroline: And you can also choose projects that aren’t clothes, like accessories or home decor, where you don’t even have to think about fitting.

Helen: Oh, that’s especially good if you’re coming off a project where you had to do a lot of fitting and you’re so over it.

Caroline: Yeah. Absolutely.

Helen: Just take your body out of the equation. Another thing to look for are projects that are below your sewing level. This doesn’t mean they don’t look good. Some of the best-looking projects are really simple. It just means it doesn’t have any steps that you haven’t done before. And it probably doesn’t have anything fiddly or time-consuming, like a long button placket or welt pockets or an invisible zipper. But that all depends on your sewing level, because if you can insert an invisible zipper with one hand behind your back, then that’s certainly not a disqualifier. But generally, it’s a good idea to look for projects that don’t have traditional closures or a lot of details or, like, even a lot of pieces or interfacing.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. I’m sorry. I’m just thinking about, like, some kind of sewing challenge where you have to insert an invisible zipper with one hand behind your back. I would love to do that. That sounds really fun, actually.

Helen: Someone’s definitely getting a needle through the finger.

Caroline: What about, like, can you cheat and use one of your feet to hold something?

Helen: Some people are really dexterous with their toes. Yeah, that could really work.

Caroline: I see loopholes. I see loopholes. But by the way, if there’s a voice in your head saying, “Why are you making pajama pants? You just made a formal gown. You are better than this,” just ignore it. There is no shame in making projects that are considered beginner level, no matter what sewing level you’re at.

Helen: So true. The next quality that can make a project quick is using a fabric that’s easy to handle. My two favourite easy-to-sew fibers are cotton and linen. Lightweight woven cottons like cotton lawn, poplin are great. I love sewing the block prints from Blackbird. That’s one of my favourites. They just, mm. Everything about it is gorgeous. They press beautifully and they don’t shift around. And quilting cottons work well for accessories and home decor, so that’s always fun. Medium-weight linen is really great for garments, home decor and accessories. And honestly, I’ve used the same linen fabrics for curtains and dresses and bags. It’s a little shiftier than cotton, but it’s not as shifty as rayon and it presses super well, so it’s still a go-to for me.

Caroline: Yeah, me too. This next idea depends on the person, but hear me out: mending. You can mend two or three pieces in a quick session and it makes you feel like you brought your clothes back from the dead. That’s a sewjo booster for me. Just make sure to cheer yourself on instead of looking at all the other mending projects that are waiting for you.

Helen: One of the benefits of this one is that it also takes a weight off your shoulders when you do things that you’ve been putting off, like mending or fixing things, refashioning things. That can really feel freeing as a sewing practice.

If you’re waiting to have some extra funds for a specific pattern or fabric, you can still sew in the meantime. This time, “quick” means “quicker than waiting till your sewing budget refills next month.” So in the meantime, you can try sewing a free pattern using fabric from your stash. A lot of us have quite a bit of fabric that we were excited about when we bought it. So go to your stash and see what you’ve got. Combine that with some of the great free sewing patterns out there and you can get sewing today. We have an episode all about free sewing and Punk Frockers has one, too, on their podcast. So we’ll link them both up for you in the show notes.

Caroline: And now let’s talk about what makes a sewing project a win. I think sewing wins are high-impact, low-effort. So think about what high-impact means to you. And we have some qualities that can make a project feel really good that we’re going to list off. So if you have a good sense of your personal style, it really helps. Think about your very favourite thing to look at and wear and see if you can translate that into a quick and easy project.

Helen: Yeah, sometimes I’ll just dupe something. Like, “I wear this flannel shirt three days a week. Maybe I should make a second flannel shirt, and then I’ll have two.” Guaranteed success. Along those lines, I love the idea of snack sewing, like Cris Wood talked about when we interviewed her this season. That’s a project that isn’t super practical, but you want to sew it anyway. So her example was sewing a sheer cover-up during winter. I mean, hey, it’s going to be months before you could wear it in the sunshine, but why not sew it now? It’s a little sweet treat that’s just there to make you happy.

Caroline: And while you’re at it, get yourself an actual sweet treat. Everyone deserves a sweet treat.

Helen: That’s true. Don’t even bother with the sewing. Just get, just get an actual snack.

Caroline: Get your little sweet treat. If you have a fabric you’ve been saving for the perfect project, think about using it for a quick win. Loving the fabric is a good predictor of loving the final garment.

Helen: And overall, I think the “win” part of a quick win is just about liking the project that you’re making. So try not to think about obligations or needs too much. Just make sure it’s something that will make you feel good and that you’re really excited about.

Caroline: Yeah, and with all of that said, what makes a project “quick” and “a win” really depends on the sewist. A project doesn’t have to meet every criteria we just listed. Most likely it will be some combination that makes sense to you, personally, and what you need in that moment.

Helen: Yeah. Caroline, I want to know what’s your go-to quick win palate cleanser project.

Caroline: It’s always, like, knits, because I feel like I can sew them up really quickly, often just on my serger. And I wear knits all the time, especially around the house. So anything with knits, like lounge pants, leggings, a quick t-shirt, a sweater. Love that as a palate cleanser. Home decor, too, like an apron or napkins or, like, a pillowcase is so fast. It’s literally just two rectangles. Or a throw pillow cover, as well. Also, like, simple boxy things. So like, a boxy top, a boxy tank top, a skirt, anything that doesn’t have like a crotch or a sleeve or a collar. Simple, simple, simple, like, pared down, stripped down. It’s fast and I know I’m going to wear it.

Helen: No, those are all great. I totally agree on all of those. Napkins is one I’ve literally, I’ve never sewed a napkin in my life.

Caroline: It’s so fun!

Helen: But it’s on my list. And I would love to, I have all these, like, linen scraps and I intend to make napkins, but I never think of it. That’s such a good one. ‘Cause it’s, like, totally mindless.

Caroline: And you use it all the time. It’s so fun to pull out handmade napkins when you have company. And also, you’re saving paper towels or napkin, like, paper napkins. And it’s just such a great, really functional item that you can make that’ll feel like a win. What about you, though? What are your go-to quick win projects?

Helen: Well, also knits, specifically t-shirts. I love to whip up either a Jackson Tee or Dawson Tee out of a knit from my stash and just, like, add that to the collection. It always feels like a real boost to have a new t-shirt to wear around. And I also love making elastic waist woven pants because I can never have enough. I love our June pants, specifically with the wider leg. A little more complicated with the pocket and stuff like that, but, like, they are just elastic waist pants. So they come together pretty quickly.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: I love sewing for my nieces and my nephew, quick stuff, usually t-shirts as well. Just comes together so fast. And I can use scraps for that. And it’s just satisfying to make something for them. And along the same line, I find, like, making stuff for Sam is a nice thing, break from my sewing. I think it’s like, taking myself out of the equation, you know, makes it feel like I’m a little bit more free. There’s less pressure, somehow. And even if I’m making, like, a button-up shirt or something for him, it still feels like a palate cleanser to me.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: And then the other thing I have is, like, an ongoing quilt project, which doesn’t super count because it’s not quick, but it’s nice to have something that I can just, like, I get out the bin and I make a block for a quilt. And then I’m like, “Ah, that was nice.” And then I just, like, put the bin away, you know. Like, eventually, all the blocks will be done, but I’m not, like, under any pressure to finish it. It’s just like, it’s literally there so that I have something that I can sew that’s already happening. I don’t have to think about it. And I can just sit down and I can sew something if I want to without having to make any plans.

Caroline: I really love the idea of having, like, an ongoing, joyful palate cleanser that you just keep on standby. It’s, like, always there. You know, you can always come back to it and know you’re there enjoying making it. This is a great concept. I’m into it. Maybe not like a quick win, but it’s quick and it will be a win.

Helen: Right? Each individual block is a quick win. So it counts.

Caroline: That’s true. So, it’s all about how you look at it. Right.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: A quick win with a big reward at the end.

Caroline: Yes! All right. Let’s share some patterns and tutorials for projects that would make great palate cleansers. We’re going to start with garment projects, since that’s obviously our main focus on the podcast. It’s not called “Love to Quilt” yet.

Helen: Yet.

Caroline: So, skirts are a classic choice for a first sewing project for a reason: they’re simple to fit. There are lots of options to get around zippers and buttons. And they’re very wearable. And all of those reasons are why they make great quick wins.

Helen: Yeah, the Wrap Skirt by Peppermint Magazine is an A-line midi skirt that closes with wraparound ties. The bow is very on-trend for this one, so that’s a bonus. And it has pay-what-you-can pricing. Wraps are great because obviously they fit no matter what. There’s a lot of wiggle room there.

Caroline: Yes. I have three of these skirts in my wardrobe and I love them. And they are very quick and really easy to fit because of the fact that it ties, right? So there’s a little bit of wiggle room with the fitting there, which is great.

Helen: That’s awesome.

Caroline: The Ivie by Chalk and Notch is actually a three-in-one. You can make a skirt, a top, and a dress from this one pattern. The long skirt has an elastic waist and a gathered tier. Elastic waists are great for quick win projects because then you don’t have to worry about zippers or buttons. Plus, the fit is easy. To be honest, the peasant style top for this pattern looks like a possible quick win, too. No darts, an easy fit, and comfy elastic bands at the sleeves and waist.

Helen: And there are lots of quick win dress patterns out there, too. For example, the Skyline Dress by Sydney Graham is sleeveless and has a loose fit. And you can choose between two or three gathered tiers. The straps feed through a channel at the back and tie in a bow. Simple and very wearable.

Caroline: Ooh, I wanted to mention the Orchard Dress, too. That should have been on my list, because I have a few of those and they’re super quick to whip up, super easy to fit, and another free pattern, am I correct?

Helen: That’s true. It is free!

Caroline: Love it! The Hexham Dress by Muna and Broad is a knit dress that falls just below the knee. And you can choose between a cocoon skirt or a flared skirt. If you’re already comfortable sewing with knits, this has the potential to be totally high-impact. And knits are a lot less intense when it comes to fitting because of the stretch. Plus, this pattern has about the same number of pieces as a t-shirt. So it’s a really quick sew.

Helen: It’s true. A t-shirt is really satisfying, but a t-shirt dress…because then you have, like, a whole outfit that you made in, you know, an hour or two.

Caroline: I want a t-shirt dress now.

Helen: Speaking of tees, they’re a great choice for a quick win. As we mentioned, they’re versatile, comfortable, and you can always use another one in your wardrobe. The Core T-shirt by Closet Core is somewhere in between boxy and fitted, and that one’s also free.

Caroline: And on the woven side, the Ashton Top by Helen’s Closet is a great basic to have in your closet and it’s a quick sew. It really lets the fabric shine. This is one of my go-tos for a quick win. The Ashton Top. Love it.

Helen: Me too. I mean, no sleeves, right?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: As soon as you take off the sleeves, it makes the fitting a little bit easier.

Caroline: And there’s just enough details to make it really satisfying. Like, I love the look of a binding on, like, linen. So if I’m going with, like, TNT fabric, linen, TNT pattern, TNT technique, like, it’s a total win. The whole package.

Helen: It’s true. The whole thing is a TNT. And it doesn’t require a lot of fabric, which is also a big win. Pants can be a little trickier because of the fitting. So I probably wouldn’t count on a pair of pants being a quick win, you know, unless I made a muslin first. But if you have a pattern that you already know fits you well, then it can totally be a quick win. And elastic waist pants are going to be the quickest make since they won’t have that zipper fly. So the Florence Pant by Elizabeth Suzann has a high waist and a wide leg. Simple, but elegant, like all of her patterns.

Caroline: And PJ pants are something you can make without needing to make a muslin, since they’re just for around the house. They can be super luxurious in linen or cozy in a cute flannel print. And you can download the Walk the Plank PJ Bottoms by Patterns for Pirates for free.

Helen: Oh, so good. A PJ pant is a really nice quick win. ‘Cause it also feels like self-care ‘cause you’re going to lounge in it, you know?

Caroline: Yeah. I really love the, like, thematic name of this pattern. Patterns for Pirates, Walk the Plank? Come on, this is so good.

Helen: It’s true. Okay, most jackets and coats are not gonna be super quick between the fittings, things like linings, finishing touches, tricky fabrics. Just more of a meaty project. But there are some simpler top layers that could definitely be quick wins. For example, the Sylvia Robe by Sew Over It is a lightweight layering piece that’s meant to be worn open over a dress or a top and pants, and it would look best in a drapey fabric like a viscose. So it’s not the easiest fabric to work with, but the pattern is so simple, I think it still qualifies as a quick win.

Caroline: And the Toaster Sweaters by Sew House Seven are an elevated version of a sweatshirt. They have funnel necks, raglan sleeves, and wide cuffs. One is more fitted and the other one is more loose and they don’t require ribbing. French terry and sweatshirt fleece are good options for fabrics. Just make sure whatever you choose matches the recommended stretch percentage of the pattern.

Helen: Oh my gosh, the Toaster Sweater. Iconic. I was just with my family for Thanksgiving and my sister was wearing a Toaster Sweater I gave her eight years ago. And I was like, “You still have this sweater?” She’s like, “Yeah, it’s still my favourite sweater.”

Caroline: Yeah, honestly, some of these patterns are really timeless. Like, I’m loving this list because some of these have been out for a really long time and people are still making them and loving them and it just goes to show you don’t always have to buy, like, a new shiny exciting pattern. You can go with one of your TNTs or something that you’ve made before and also if you’ve made something before it just makes that whole process feel, like, less involved. You’re like, “I’ve read through these instructions. I know these techniques. Nothing is new.” And that, in itself, is like a quick win.

Helen: And you don’t have to print and cut out the pattern. I mean, that’s huge, right?

Caroline: Oh my gosh. How have we not mentioned that?

Helen: Like there’s, it’s so fun to get out your fabric and lay it out and then just, like, whip out your pattern and lay it out. And it’s all, like, ready to go. So satisfying.

Caroline: I love it.

Helen: Okay. I will admit, there have been times in my sewing life where I just need to take a break from sewing garments and it can be nice to do a project where I don’t have to think about my body and how to fit it and all of that. So there’s some accessory patterns and tutorials that would make great quick wins.

Caroline: I love making bags, but bag making isn’t at the top of my quick win list because I associate them with, like, heavy duty interfacing and hardware, which can be fiddly, or sometimes expensive. But there are definitely cute, simple bag patterns out there. If you make the hardware-free view of the Bestie Bag, so with, like, the self fabric strap, that one is a pretty quick sew. You can even do the unlined version to make it even quicker. And if you use, like, a bit of a heftier fabric, I think that would work really, really well. And that one is from my pattern company, BF Patterns.

Helen: The Bestie Bag from BF Patterns, have you heard of it? Tote bags are another classic beginner project because they’re so simple but really handy to have around. Closet Core has a free tote pattern that would look amazing in a fun bottom weight twill print like the Blackbird exclusive ones or maybe a Rifle Paper Co. canvas. Something really special.

Caroline: A simple clutch would be a quick win, too. See Kate Sew has a free pattern for an envelope clutch that’s really adorable. It doesn’t just have a triangular top flap, it also has seams coming up from the bottom corners, so it really looks like an envelope.

Helen: Ooh, that is so cute. I want to make that. Bye, gotta go! Okay, if you’re a scrunchie wearer, like me, those are such a fun quick win. I had a scrunchie making fest with my friends and we made like 50 scrunchies in a couple of hours. We were just assembly line sewing all of these scrunchies and we had so much fun doing it. DIY Daisy has a scrunchie headband tutorial if that’s more your style. We used the Seamwork scrunchie tutorial for ours and it worked great.

Caroline: Talk about a great scrap buster. Like, invite all your friends over to have a scrunchie party and just dump all your fabric scraps. And then it’s like, win win win win win! You get rid of scraps.

Helen: I know! It’s so true. And then you have all these scrunchies to give away, which is also really fun.

Caroline: Yeah. I’ve also seen lots of great me-made hair bandanas and head scarves in the past year You could just cut out a triangle, hem it, and then hand stitch it to a headband. Or you could make a long strip of binding that encloses one side and becomes ties. For cold weather, Spaghetti Western Sewing has the Pearl Headscarf. It’s so cute. It’s quilted with batting, so it’s super warm and cozy. It’s, like, a little bit Strega Nona and a little bit New York cool girl, and that’s kind of, like, what I aspire to be, so.

Helen: It’s giving babushka. I love it. It’s so cute. Oh my gosh. I’ve not seen this before. So cute. If you love to cook, or you just hate getting your shirt all wet when you do things like wash the dishes, a good apron will change your life. Honestly, even if you just like to eat, an apron can help you out. I remember DIY Daisy saying she wears them to the table because she’s a messy eater. And Sam does the same thing, like, because he cooks dinner most nights, and he’ll just leave the apron on for the eating part, because why not, if you’re gonna spill on yourself?

Caroline: That’s really smart, honestly.

Helen: Yeah. If you eat at the couch, like a lot of folks do, it’s nice to have a little buffer.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Well, of course, Sam is wearing the Sam Apron from us over at Helen’s Closet. That’s a free pattern, and it’s kind of a utilitarian style that can work across the gender spectrum and has nice details like contrasting top stitching, tons of pockets, and it is just, like, a really fun sew.

Caroline: Yes, it really is. It’s so satisfying, and there’s so few pieces. Like, you think that there would be a lot of pieces in such a utilitarian pattern, but it’s just a few pieces and it comes together so quickly.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: I just love the Sam Apron. I’ve made it a few times and it’s been stellar.

Helen: So good for a present.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Hey June Handmade has the free Allspice Apron as well, which is a curvier cross back style, if you’re into that style. Both of these patterns are sized. So I would definitely recommend avoiding a “one size fits all” pattern for most people. It’s just going to look a lot better if it’s designed to fit you. That’s, like, one of the greatest joys of making a me-made apron, is that you can size it to your own body.

Helen: Right? It doesn’t have to end up too short or too skinny or, like, not covering enough of your chest. Like, yeah, you can make it actually work. We’ve touched a little on home decor sewing, and that can really give you a lift if your sewjo is drained, especially if it’s something really punchy, like statement curtains or pretty pillow covers. I think that, in order for it to feel like a win, it should be something that’s a little, like, fancy or special, you know, not totally utilitarian, although napkins was a great example of that, but it could be something that makes the room feel prettier or homier, or cooler, maybe something that you see every day.

Caroline: Yeah, curtains are one example. They don’t have to be complicated. You could buy curtain rings with clips attached to them so that all you have to do is hem a couple of rectangles. You can even leave, like, the selvage edge either just turned under once and top stitched, or just, like, leave it if it’s a nice selvage. This is more of a relaxed look than some curtains, but I think it goes really well with a lot of people’s decor styles. Alexandra Gater, who has a home makeover channel on YouTube, uses them all the time. They look great. I used these curtain rings and clips in my kitchen. I made a set of little curtains for my kitchen window and it was, like, the fastest project ever. And I see it every single day and I love those curtains. They just really add to the vibes.

Helen: Right? So fun. A great way to use a fabric in a place where you get to admire it a lot.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Pillow covers make a big impact, too, and they’re a great place to add a pop of colour or pattern. The easiest style to make is the envelope style, which has the overlapping panels at the back, and then you don’t have to bother with zipper or buttons, and it works

Caroline: Seasonal or holiday decor is great. I feel like you can go more over-the-top than you would with decor that’s for everyday, but maybe that’s just me. There are so many great patterns and tutorials out there that are specifically for holiday decor. Or you could make something that’s not specifically holiday-themed and make it with themed fabrics.

Helen: Ooh, so true. I love this time of year, like, December, leading up to Christmas. I love making Christmas things for my house, and I’ve been adding things over the years, and this year I think I want to do a set of Christmas Playful Placemats so I have, like, a holiday placemat set. Yeah.

Caroline: Ooh, fun! Oh my gosh. I love that. That sounds so cute.

Helen: Yeah. And that’s a good palate cleanser, too. ‘Cause, again, you’re taking the garment sewing out of it.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. Speaking of which, there aren’t that many patchwork projects that I would call quick wins, but I do want to throw one idea out there, and that is: mini quilts. A simple, small quilt looks amazing hung on the wall. And Wax and Wane Studio has a bunch of mini quilt patterns that are cool and graphic. You could also do the Playful Placemats. You’re getting function and style there.

Helen: True.

Caroline: And they are just, like, cute mini little quilts. So this is a great option.

Helen: Have you heard the term “snack mat,” Caroline?

Caroline: No, but I, sounds like I need one.

Helen: I feel like it’s, maybe it’s only a quilting world thing, but, like, making, basically, a coaster that’s, like, a little bit bigger. So it’s, like, maybe six inches square or eight inches square, like a small rectangle. And it’s just for your desk, to put, like, your coffee and a snack on it. Snack mat.

Caroline: That’s really cute. Sounds like a mini placemat.

Helen: Yeah. Smaller than a placemat. Yeah, bigger than a coaster, but it’s like, just gives you another size thing to make, which is really fun.

Caroline: Mm. Very cute.

Helen: You could also make a throw size quilt using a whole cloth quilt method. So that’s where you just use a single fabric for the top, a single fabric for the bottom. You’re not doing any piecing. And then you’re quilting them together. And you could go with a fun print. A larger-scale print would work really well for this. It might take a little while to get through the quilting and binding and stuff like that, but it could be a nice exploration of quilting without having to get into the patchwork.

Caroline: Yeah. And you can do just, like, a little baby blanket. Like, it doesn’t have to be, or like, a little lap quilt or something.

Helen: Yeah, totally. A snack mat?

Caroline: I think that’s a different thing, Helen.

Helen: A whole cloth snack mat.

Caroline: A whole cloth snack mat, okay. Perfect. So, before we go, we want to note that a quick win is just one way to get your sewjo back. It’s not the only strategy. If your quick win is feeling too much like homework, then it’s probably not going to help you. Sometimes we need something else. And that can include a break and that is okay. One of my favourite ways to take a break from sewing is to do another creative hobby. For some reason it really re-energizes me for sewing. I do pottery with Shea. I also do some creative cooking. Helen does…

Helen: All cooking is creative, right?

Caroline: Yeah, I guess so. Well, I don’t know if I would, would agree with that.

Helen: I guess it’s like, you do exploratory cooking, where you’re making new and exciting dishes and trying new things.

Caroline: I feel like Sam is, is similar, but definitely some people just, like, cook to eat. Just to, just to, like, get something on the table, you know.

Helen: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Caroline: But no, I mean, and you have things, too, right, Helen? You do beading. You were doing a beading project when we were in Portland, which was so fun and compact and I’m sure that felt like a win.

Helen: I know. Travel beading. Who knew it was a thing?

Caroline: Yes. And other DIY craft projects. I feel like you’re always trying a new little hobby. You do knitting. There’s just so many options. And it can be really nice to stretch some other muscles and give your sewing muscles a rest, some recovery time, you know?

Helen: Mmhmm. Yeah, some creative space. Who knows what might inspire you to make your next garment?

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: And if you’re frustrated with machine sewing techniques, you could try doing some hand sewing crafts like embroidery, hand quilting, visible mending, especially if you put on a juicy reality show in the background. This can be a really great way to kind of get cozy, relax, give yourself a bit of a break from the sewing room and still feel like you’re doing your favourite hobby.

Caroline: Mmhmm, yeah, you probably don’t want to be watching, like, a documentary during your, like, quick win project, you know?

Helen: I don’t know. Some, like, true crime documentaries, you know, the ones where they just tell you the same facts like over and over and over again? That’s fine.

Caroline: Oh yeah. I was thinking, like, educational.

Helen: That’s not where my mind went.

Caroline: Yeah, you’re like, “True crime? Yeah!” Which, like, a hundred percent, I will watch true crime while I’m sewing or working on any project, cooking, all of it. Anyway. Okay. But yes, I think everyone has times where they just don’t have the energy or time to sew. Just remember, sewing is supposed to be fun. So if you’re not feeling it right now, it will be there when your sewjo comes back. It’ll be waiting for you. And it’s totally okay to take a break.

Helen: And if you’re sick of garment sewing, just try quilting. Okay, bye! Well, I hope everyone has everything they need to cleanse their palates and move on to the next course. I love a quick win.

Caroline: Get all that sewing residue out of your mouth.

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. And 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. We’ll be over there for the next few months, if you miss us. You even get access to the back catalogue of bonus episodes if you subscribe, so 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. This sounds like a great way to spend the off-season.

Helen: You can also head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find all the links to things that we mentioned in 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]. Now is a great time to get in touch with us, because we’re planning our next season.

Caroline: Yes!

Helen: So if you have ideas, if you have thoughts, if you have questions, do it now so that we can include it in the next season.

Caroline: Please do. And we want to say a big thank you to our incredible podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor, and we just would not have a show without them, so thank you guys.

Helen: Oh my gosh. So true. They’re the best. They make it happen.

Caroline: And thank you for listening! We will talk to you next season!

Helen: Bye bye.

Caroline: Bye!

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