Obligatory Mission Statement Post

My mom was always an amazing seamstress. Not by trade, but just by experience. She sewed my sister's wedding dress. And we're not talking some little slip-dress with a few rhinestones sewed onto the neckline. And then, because she was a maniac (and had a little time while she recovered from surgery), she also made all of the bridesmaid's dresses:

By special requests, the DJ did play The Jetsons Theme for the Bridesmaids.

For me, it's not that I've NEVER sewn--but my sewing was mostly relegated to small tasks: curtains, mostly. Sewing a curtain isn't a difficult thing, it just takes a little time and patience. Straight lines are easy to sew -- it's the curves that get you.

In the last few years, depressed at how hard it was to find clothes that fit properly, I decided I wanted to learn to sew for myself. Sewing with my mom is also a great way for us to get along when we spend time together, because she's a teacher and she's comfortable in a teaching role.

I'm still pretty new to sewing as an investment, but I'm getting a lot better at it, more confident, and I still remember all of the things that I had to "learn," so I thought... why not start a blog about learning to sew. I can't be the only person out there who wants to learn to do this, and maybe not everyone has someone like my mom as a resource.

The point of this blog is going to be about learning to sew clothing, although I might do a few "household" projects like pillow covers and, yes, curtains. I don't expect I will be doing a lot of quilting or other crafts, but who knows. While I'm now getting comfortable with my technique, I am still learning and there may be advanced techniques that I am not yet ready to turn around and instruct on. I will post photos and videos as a tutorial, and show off my work. I won't take my readers for granted--every stitch and technique will be described (and linked). I'm not designing my clothes, I am not Project Runway material. I'll be using patterns by companies like Simplicity, Burda, McCalls, and Butterick, and Vogue. Every project will include some new technique or problem to solve that I will explain, and with lots of practice and experience, I hope to be able to hold my own. I doubt I'll ever be able to make a dress like my sister had for her wedding, but maybe I'll make some crazy Halloween costumes in the future. But if I can have good-looking, well-made clothes that fit right, I'll be happy enough.