This was fun to read because it brought back memories. I have a cedar trunk with recital dresses I made for my daughter, a violin player. Her own daughter plays in recitals as well (oboe), but the granddaughter's shoulders are nice and wide, and styles have changed so the original recital dresses stay in the trunk while new and more complex dresses are purchased.
Back in school days, I bought material to make my mother an apron. She had decorated our living room with Japanese inspired wall paper, so the material I bought was also Japanese inspired red and black. Our teacher gave me an almost failing grade, not for the sewing, but for the choice of fabric. My mother loved the apron, and I already knew the teacher preferred boring fabric, so the grade mattered very little to me.
I learned to weave before I had children, and really loved it. Later, my son showed me a picture in the Where's Waldo books in which the weaver's shuttle flies out the window and hits someone in the head. I had failed to catch the shuttle on occasion myself, so we both had a good laugh over that drawing.
Thank you for churning up memories with your tale of sewing. I love your first red skirt photo. How about a photo of those jeans/sweat pants?
Can't find a photo of those jeans/sweat pants right now. I wish I could! They're in my daughter's closet right now, she absconded with them. ha. I love the memories you shared. Thank you.
This post brought back memories and rekindled a desire - not to sew but to find someone who would make me just one or two things that were fitted to me, as I am. My shoulders are broad and my arms are longer than most people for regular "medium" sizes but my chest is flat so in the old days, many things I owned were either too tight in the shoulders/short in the sleeves or too lose through the bust although not necessary the waist. I had a hell of a time finding coats for example. I also have a few pieces of clothing that I love that I would give anything to make copies of -- when I find a fit or style that works, I don't really want another. I wish I could make my own patterns. I had an aunt who, when she realized my sister and I were going to stay longer for a visit than expected, whipped up two A-Line shifts for us between nap time and dinner so we would have something besides our shorts to wear to church the next day. I marveled at her. I still do.
Beyond simple mending, I have never aspired to sew my own clothes. My few attempts in 7th and 8th grade Home Ec classes ruined that for me. I had to rip out the seams so many times to correct my mistakes the material was barely holding together by the time I "finished" the skirt. Then, in 8th grade, my mother (who was even worse at this stuff than I was) and I bought the pattern for the dress/shift we were assigned. We bought it three times too large. My last week of school saw me standing on a table while my teacher -- who decided not to put herself through any more torture by trying to teach me -- pinned up my hem and then finished off the dress. I wore it the next day, got my period for maybe the second time in my life and bled all over the back of it. I had to wear a coat around my waist for most of the day. There was no saving it. I was DONE!!!!
Yes, get a dress form. Get one thinner than you, then pad it to your measurements as best you can. (There are kits for padding a dress form, but I use old shoulder pads for hips, a padded bra, and cotton or wool or polyester stuffing.) I rely on Threads Magazine for their articles on almost everything, and on youtube tutorials for whatever I'm doing specifically. I'd love to take *real* tailoring classes in person, but that's probably never going to happen. I hope more readers will also chime in with resources!
Sandra,
This was fun to read because it brought back memories. I have a cedar trunk with recital dresses I made for my daughter, a violin player. Her own daughter plays in recitals as well (oboe), but the granddaughter's shoulders are nice and wide, and styles have changed so the original recital dresses stay in the trunk while new and more complex dresses are purchased.
Back in school days, I bought material to make my mother an apron. She had decorated our living room with Japanese inspired wall paper, so the material I bought was also Japanese inspired red and black. Our teacher gave me an almost failing grade, not for the sewing, but for the choice of fabric. My mother loved the apron, and I already knew the teacher preferred boring fabric, so the grade mattered very little to me.
I learned to weave before I had children, and really loved it. Later, my son showed me a picture in the Where's Waldo books in which the weaver's shuttle flies out the window and hits someone in the head. I had failed to catch the shuttle on occasion myself, so we both had a good laugh over that drawing.
Thank you for churning up memories with your tale of sewing. I love your first red skirt photo. How about a photo of those jeans/sweat pants?
Can't find a photo of those jeans/sweat pants right now. I wish I could! They're in my daughter's closet right now, she absconded with them. ha. I love the memories you shared. Thank you.
I'm struck by your teacher's reaction to the fabric. She had such power and used it so badly.
This post brought back memories and rekindled a desire - not to sew but to find someone who would make me just one or two things that were fitted to me, as I am. My shoulders are broad and my arms are longer than most people for regular "medium" sizes but my chest is flat so in the old days, many things I owned were either too tight in the shoulders/short in the sleeves or too lose through the bust although not necessary the waist. I had a hell of a time finding coats for example. I also have a few pieces of clothing that I love that I would give anything to make copies of -- when I find a fit or style that works, I don't really want another. I wish I could make my own patterns. I had an aunt who, when she realized my sister and I were going to stay longer for a visit than expected, whipped up two A-Line shifts for us between nap time and dinner so we would have something besides our shorts to wear to church the next day. I marveled at her. I still do.
Beyond simple mending, I have never aspired to sew my own clothes. My few attempts in 7th and 8th grade Home Ec classes ruined that for me. I had to rip out the seams so many times to correct my mistakes the material was barely holding together by the time I "finished" the skirt. Then, in 8th grade, my mother (who was even worse at this stuff than I was) and I bought the pattern for the dress/shift we were assigned. We bought it three times too large. My last week of school saw me standing on a table while my teacher -- who decided not to put herself through any more torture by trying to teach me -- pinned up my hem and then finished off the dress. I wore it the next day, got my period for maybe the second time in my life and bled all over the back of it. I had to wear a coat around my waist for most of the day. There was no saving it. I was DONE!!!!
Send me something that fits you that you want replicated, and I will do it.
You may regret you ever wrote this! Just seeing it now..
Why would I regret doing something I love for someone I admire and respect? lol
Yes, get a dress form. Get one thinner than you, then pad it to your measurements as best you can. (There are kits for padding a dress form, but I use old shoulder pads for hips, a padded bra, and cotton or wool or polyester stuffing.) I rely on Threads Magazine for their articles on almost everything, and on youtube tutorials for whatever I'm doing specifically. I'd love to take *real* tailoring classes in person, but that's probably never going to happen. I hope more readers will also chime in with resources!