# A Bit Old Fashioned



## Kat (Oct 20, 2010)

Rarely anyone my age sews it seems. You go to the fabric store and it is populated with old ladies. So I am a bit old fashioned but maybe just heading up the new generation. I was asked to teach sewing classes locally the other day. I'm planning it out now. 

Any other seamstresses out there?


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## Scarlett_156 (Oct 20, 2010)

I like to sew (but I fit the stereotype, because I'm old). Since getting kicked out of my last place, I haven't been able to find much time for it, but on the other hand the curtains in this house where I'm staying really need some help...


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## Richard Smith (Oct 20, 2010)

My wife sews, my grandmother taught me to crochet, but not how to follow a pattern, and only basic working.


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## Eluixa (Oct 23, 2010)

I can sew a bit, but it's too much bother most of the time to dust off and make room for the machine and the ensuing mess, not to mention it's cheaper nowadays just to buy clothes on sale. I love it that some people still sew though. I've bought my girls handmade customs from friends online.


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## Scarlett_156 (Oct 23, 2010)

Actually--I was thinking about mentioning this earlier, but thought it would be extraneous--I'm really keen on quilting! That's hand quilting, including the piecing and then the quilting part that's done on a quilting frame. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty fun! 

Quilting is a great way to have fun, do something useful, and keep your hand/eye skills honed. 

(Man, sayin that stuff makes me feel REALLY WEIRD.) 

The latest quilt pattern I worked on is called "crown of thorns", ex.--












*NOTE:  These are not photos of my stuff, but examples taken off the internet to show the quilting pattern "crown of thorns". *

Quilting is a stone cold groove, y'all!!


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## Naddia (Jun 14, 2011)

I've just started sewing within the past six months. I got my first sewing machine in April, and I've been working on a dress for my daughter. She's an ice skater, and the dresses she needs for her competitions are so expensive. Even used ones are more than I want to pay, so I told her that as she learns to skate I'll learn to sew. The dress she wore in her first competition in March was one I made for her, but I sewed the whole thing by hand. Now I'm working on another, the first with my sewing machine. It's easier in some ways, but more difficult in others. And it doesn't help that the fabric for these dresses is hell to work with. I'm still learning the basics, but getting it as I go. It's a fun skill to have.

That's really great that you're teaching sewing, Kat! Any suggestions for a beginner?

Nad


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## dolphinlee (Oct 26, 2012)

My mother taught me to hand sew when I was five and to use the machine (hand powered) when I was 7. 

I was making my own dresses when I was ten. I stopped after going to a friends house for a party and discovering the her mother's curtains were the same material as my new dress. 

I took it up again when I moved to the middle east. I had to there were no pure cotton dresses on the market them.

I make curtains but I insist that the shop cut the material for me. It's too easy to make a mistake trying to get the pattern to match.

Good luck with your classes.


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## Trilby (Jan 21, 2013)

I used to sew soft furnishing for my home and the odd item of clothing from paper patterns; I also used to knit and I did get a lot of satisfaction from it, but now it is far cheaper to by ready made goods, so I no longer bother. The time spent sewing and knitting can be just as rewarding spent writing, well that is how I feel about it now.

On saying that - if you want that one-off special item, then you can't beat being creative and doing it yourself. Good luck with your projects.

Naddia - if the fabric you are working with is silky of flimsy - try sewing it through the machine with toilet/tissue paper under the fabric, this helps to give it more body and the paper is easy to remove.


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## SunnyE (Feb 9, 2013)

I just received a sewing machine from a family member and will start sewing again soon (and I guess I'm not old, 39, but I feel like it sometimes). There are some things that are hard to find. For example, my niece wants me to make her a certain kind of burp cloth for her baby that is super absorbent and better quality than what you can find in the stores. It allows you to be creative in a different way. Plus, people always love hand made gifts. It may be cheaper to buy something at the store, but if you put time and effort into it, the person getting it will appreciate it so much more. I know this because I've crocheted for years and everyone who gets an afghan from me goes nuts for them. Even gotten a fair amount of happy tears.


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## LoreneO (Oct 2, 2013)

I don't understand why people think that sewing is lame and boring. It helps me calm down, I really love it!


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## The Tourist (Oct 2, 2013)

I used to sew as a younger man, I had to, my clothes got ripped a lot.

I look at "sewing to repair" as a skill set like changing tires, fixing a toaster or re-directing a mugger into another line of work.  All necessary survival skills.

I have never made anything from a pattern, and I say that with some jealousy and envy.  I knew a guy whose wife made his shirts.  Nice stuff.

Here's the irony, I polish dressmakers' scissors for a living...


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## Angelicpersona (Oct 15, 2013)

As you can see by one of my previous posts, I'm definitely firmly a seamstress of a young age at 26. When I met my best friend 5 years ago, she was interested in sewing, but didn't really have the skills, and I didn't really have any interest in it. But together we've taught ourselves about it, and we've slowly gotten better and better.
Mostly, for us, it's historical garments. Her brother is a director and we actually contributed to the costumes for a movie he did which was set in the 1700's. And I'm currently doing a renaissance style dress, tunic, and pants for a wedding (I should actually be working on it right now...) on commission. It's a time consuming hobby at times, but it's also very enjoyable and something that a lot of my coworkers, all in their 50's, are very impressed with.


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## The Tourist (Oct 15, 2013)

It's a lost art, I feel.  Be proud of what you do.  It sounds like you not only have a vocation but you've found a niche' in life that brings you happiness.

Edit:  BTW, how are you at mending clothes that appear to have been in a war and run over by road grading equipment?  I have some stuff my wife is about ready to truck to a landfill...


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## Luxo (Oct 15, 2013)

I have a friend who sews during our lectures and man is she talented. Makes me want to start


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## gr8writer (Jan 29, 2014)

I sew a little, I'm planning to sew my girls' halloween costumes this year.


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## Daivo (Feb 7, 2014)

i can sew, not very good but i can patch a small hole in things or sew buttons back on, but what i specialise in is what the spanish say "bridar" it is also with thread and a needle, just heat resistant food grade thread and a bigger needle (sometimes). 
if someone could help me out with the proper name for this is english it would be apreciated. more or less imagine a chicken that is tied up for roasting, or a stuffed quail to seal its skin so the stuffing dousnt fall out.


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## Era (Mar 8, 2014)

I love sewing, I just don't get much time for it! :-s


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## Kourtney (Mar 18, 2014)

I have sewed a bit here and there but have not done it for a while.  I remember my grandmother taught me how to sew buttons on.  I would love to go back and relive that night.


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