My History with Sewing
My interest in sewing begins with my family full of talented sewists and knitters who would make beautiful clothes. I can remember looking at old family photos — photos of my younger parents without kids, photos of my aunts and uncles in each other's weddings — and along with stories captured directly in those photos came stories about the clothes being worn. “And she was sewing that dress up until she arrived at the church” my mom would recall when thinking of the maid of honour in her sister’s wedding.
I remember as a young girl wearing clothes that my family made for me. When I was a toddler, my Aunt would knit my mom and I matching sweaters. Another Aunt of mine got married when I was six and my grandmother sewed a silk, plaid dress for me to wear at the wedding. I can’t remember when I held my first pattern envelopes, but the feeling of them puffy and bursting at the seams from being refolded is such a familiar one. The first time I heard about pattern grading was when I was 12 or 13 and my aunts were making bridesmaids dresses for the wedding party for my uncle’s wedding. The dresses were purple and an empire waist; funnily enough I would wind up wearing a purple empire dress for my friend’s wedding 15 years later.
Plaid silk dress made by my grandmother in 1993.
Some of the best sewing I have seen was the homemade costumes my mom would make. I remember her whipping me up a grey skirt with an apron when I was in grade 3. My class who had just studied pioneers was going on a field trip to a pioneer village and it was so fun to be able to dress up. When I was 13 she made me an elaborate silver princess dress, complete with long puffy sleeves and twirling skirt. Not for me, but for my youngest brother, she adapted a dragon costume into the most epic Charmander costume I’ve seen. Charmander’s head became the hood and the costume had a long tail with a fiery end. To this day, I am impressed by her ingenuity.
My first big sewing project was a t-shirt quilt I completed in 2016, though I had intended to start it for years before. After I graduated university, I had amassed a collection of t-shirts from participating in clubs, teams, and events. The shirts were a cotton jersey and mostly blank save for a logo in the centre front. Add to that the graphic t-shirts I had grown out of and worn out, I had a pile of t-shirts that was too big to justify keeping but too sentimental to throw away. After making my own t-shirt quilt, I made two other quilts for my brothers as well as a couple of other traditional quilts. (Check those out on my Sewing Projects page.)
Since I’ve started sewing more regularly as a hobby, it’s been rewarding to try other sewing projects. I started small, with things like pillowcases and bags. I even made a Baby Yoda costume for Smokey. I moved on to making things for me, like scrunchies, shorts, and dresses to wear at home. I’d like to try making clothes with more structure that include invisible zippers.
I enjoy learning how to work with woven and knit fabrics. I am interested in learning how to draft and grade patterns for different sizes and fabrics. These are the skills I’m hoping to keep practicing.Since I’ve started sewing more regularly as a hobby, it’s been rewarding to try other sewing projects like bags and clothes. I enjoy learning how to work with new fabrics, elastics, and zippers, and how to draft patterns. These are the skills I want to practice.
