s104
sew everything
That dress may be old but it's new to me. That's always been a delight, finding an old treasure and bringing it back to wearable-life. The countless alterations like Cinderella with her gang of critters sewing her formal dress out of found, homemade junk. My sister masquerading as my designer, making giant, hand stitches to hold things in place. These hash tag type stitches were just the beginning of a life of sewing everything I can get my hands on.
If we needed an alteration far too complex for our rudimentary fixes we would go to my mom and beg her to take out her machine, before she knew it there would be a pile of vintage clothes, ripped pjs and long time favorite cloth vestibules as holy as they come. My mom can sew and did some professional looking work for us back then and salvaged many ancient garments. She also threw out many of those sacred pieces when we were't looking. I can still feel the outrage at her lack of attachment to things, everything is not disposable lady.
Studying old sewing books that's how I taught myself to sew. They cover the basics, it's the practice that makes your work perfect. Considering everything was handmade at one time these books were really giving homemakers a guide to good housekeeping. Make your sofa covers girls and press those curtains, proper length of course. I have a book that is a sewing "how to" but also includes the cutest little sides like,"always set aside time to have dinner ready when planning a sewing project" or suggestions about general housekeeping,"be sure your chores are properly done before starting to sew". Ladies refer to your sewing tomes daily, thanks 1950's you can keep your picture perfect image.
We were reverse engineering vintage, handmade garments from the thrift shop. Purchases of pointy shoes, leather capes, gloves and hand muffs were our staples. We would peruse the stores like hunters on the track of a rare species. They were mostly home made garments that we coveted with the polyesters and silks, the ric-a-rac and the carefully turned under raw edges tediously mended by hand, the only way to finish a garment well. As old as some of the stuff was it was new to us, authentic and cheap.
The treasure hunt is my favorite part. It's a lot like fishing you never really know what you'll end up with at the end of the day but you know it'll be a fun hunt. I still believe in a balance of quality clothing bought new, handed down, homemade or found and revived, it's all in my closet. My newfound relationship with buttons has consumed many a Saturday morning at the swap meet. An old, brown, leather belt with small flowers stamped into the shiny surface stole my attention at Koby's one of these mornings. The flowers are painted turquoise, it's just a little bit of paint but it makes me happy thinking of the person nimbly dotting paint onto this old relic. I wear it with Levi's a lot and appreciate the already worn, smooth metal buckle.
Styles and trends go round and round. Many of us have loved anything old or hand made whether en vogue or not. I love the interesting darts and necklines of older styles. All of those vintage patterns available, there must be a lot of Holly Golightlys out there. The fits are flattering and feminine, conservative and stiff. Mix and match a little pencil skirt with a funky blazer or motorcycle jacket of faux animal and dig deeper in that closet for the creepers, yes the creepers because "monkey boots" just won't do.
Today it's still old to new for me. My repurposed jeans bags get the most masculine response. For some reason even in this disposable-fashion world guys and gals appreciate the look of something homemade. T-shirt quilts, memory pillows and jewelry bags with a sentimental touch keep me busy during the holidays. I love trying to personalize handmade gifts, a tiny, stitched initial can make the recipient feel very special. So sew everything, make everything that you can and share it as often as possible.
That dress may be old but it's new to me. That's always been a delight, finding an old treasure and bringing it back to wearable-life. The countless alterations like Cinderella with her gang of critters sewing her formal dress out of found, homemade junk. My sister masquerading as my designer, making giant, hand stitches to hold things in place. These hash tag type stitches were just the beginning of a life of sewing everything I can get my hands on.
If we needed an alteration far too complex for our rudimentary fixes we would go to my mom and beg her to take out her machine, before she knew it there would be a pile of vintage clothes, ripped pjs and long time favorite cloth vestibules as holy as they come. My mom can sew and did some professional looking work for us back then and salvaged many ancient garments. She also threw out many of those sacred pieces when we were't looking. I can still feel the outrage at her lack of attachment to things, everything is not disposable lady.
Studying old sewing books that's how I taught myself to sew. They cover the basics, it's the practice that makes your work perfect. Considering everything was handmade at one time these books were really giving homemakers a guide to good housekeeping. Make your sofa covers girls and press those curtains, proper length of course. I have a book that is a sewing "how to" but also includes the cutest little sides like,"always set aside time to have dinner ready when planning a sewing project" or suggestions about general housekeeping,"be sure your chores are properly done before starting to sew". Ladies refer to your sewing tomes daily, thanks 1950's you can keep your picture perfect image.
We were reverse engineering vintage, handmade garments from the thrift shop. Purchases of pointy shoes, leather capes, gloves and hand muffs were our staples. We would peruse the stores like hunters on the track of a rare species. They were mostly home made garments that we coveted with the polyesters and silks, the ric-a-rac and the carefully turned under raw edges tediously mended by hand, the only way to finish a garment well. As old as some of the stuff was it was new to us, authentic and cheap.
The treasure hunt is my favorite part. It's a lot like fishing you never really know what you'll end up with at the end of the day but you know it'll be a fun hunt. I still believe in a balance of quality clothing bought new, handed down, homemade or found and revived, it's all in my closet. My newfound relationship with buttons has consumed many a Saturday morning at the swap meet. An old, brown, leather belt with small flowers stamped into the shiny surface stole my attention at Koby's one of these mornings. The flowers are painted turquoise, it's just a little bit of paint but it makes me happy thinking of the person nimbly dotting paint onto this old relic. I wear it with Levi's a lot and appreciate the already worn, smooth metal buckle.
Styles and trends go round and round. Many of us have loved anything old or hand made whether en vogue or not. I love the interesting darts and necklines of older styles. All of those vintage patterns available, there must be a lot of Holly Golightlys out there. The fits are flattering and feminine, conservative and stiff. Mix and match a little pencil skirt with a funky blazer or motorcycle jacket of faux animal and dig deeper in that closet for the creepers, yes the creepers because "monkey boots" just won't do.
Today it's still old to new for me. My repurposed jeans bags get the most masculine response. For some reason even in this disposable-fashion world guys and gals appreciate the look of something homemade. T-shirt quilts, memory pillows and jewelry bags with a sentimental touch keep me busy during the holidays. I love trying to personalize handmade gifts, a tiny, stitched initial can make the recipient feel very special. So sew everything, make everything that you can and share it as often as possible.
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