Fashion

[songbird]

I remember my mother taking over the dining room.  No body ate there. We all got shoved over to the kitchen for eating.  She used the dining room table for her patterns and fabrics.  I still remember her sewing machine, threads, pins. She taught me in there.  My sisters and my brother.  All of us learned how to sew.  I had it harder at the sewing machine becasue I was left handed.

[Sooner]

NO.  I don't.  It is expensive, very messy, and somehow most things just turn out looking home made anyway.  Some might enjoy it as a hobby but as far as making clothing, today it just seems counter productive to me. 

[patbz]

Back in the day I sewed A lot (alterations, clothes, home decor).  When I lived overseas I discovered dressmakers (Okinawa, Korea) and had the wardrobe of my dreams.  With my sewing knowledge, I designed lots of clothing for me and my friends-- still miss that.  Haven't used my machine in over 10 years.

[CelticCrafter]

I used to sew a lot but haven't made a garment in years.

Now I use the machine to piece my quilt tops and make alterations.

Hobby Lobby is a little further than I normally go when I'm out and about and Jo-Ann's is too far away.

I used to buy a lot of fabric at Walmart, not so much anymore because you can never find anyone to cut it.

[tsavorite]

I used to long long ago...sure seems like it has been ages since I used a sewing machine. I used to TRY and make garments to wear back in school where I learned.  Nothing ever came out very good.  I still enjoyed it so I bought my 1st machine from Sears for $200 I had earned and saved.  My Mom was so upset and tried to talk me out of it LOL....she HATED sewing and hated homemade clothes of any kind or anything homemade for that matter.  My Grandma was very good at it and back then she made all my Mom's clothes...so I believe that's where the HATE for my Mom came from toward it.  She wanted the modern out the store clothes.  

Well fast forward I made Halloween costumes for my sons....blankets and so on.  That's about it.  When we moved I had already stopped sewing anything....crafting too....lost ALL desire and interest in it totally.  It seems to easy to find nice things at the store....and it looks much better then anything I can do.

[carlycat]

I used to sew all my clothes in my 20s. Can’t believe some of the things I made; silk tucked blouses, blazers, suits. Never mastered pants (fitting). Then clothes got so cheap.

Lately I’ve been making home stuff, because the things in stores are such poor quality or expensive. I reupholstered my sofa. I make pillows. I make all my curtains. And I’ve made tablecloths. So I’ve been sewing more again, but no clothes. I love the home decor fabrics available. 

[sandy53]

Like many of you, I used to sew all of my clothes.  Not anymore.  But I did get back into sewing last fall when I made American Girl doll clothes for my granddaughter for Christmas.  It was so great to be sewing again.  I even made matching dresses for the doll and the granddaughter.  

[shoesnbags]

Same story here.  I used to sew a lot - like most of my clothes.  Sewed for the kids (boys) when they were little.  Then it seemed as if I had less and less time for it.  But I never really stopped using my sewing machine, because at 5'2", I've always needed to alter a lot of my store bought clothing.  And I never stopped making little things for the house, like throw pillows, kitchen curtains, Christmas tree skirt. But I just don't have the patience any more for the type of things I used to sew, like button down blouses with all of those buttonholes and fitted pants with zippers. 

Last summer I took a two hour class at JoAnn's to refresh my skills at using a pattern to sew actual clothing again.  It was a "comfy pants" pattern and I ended up making about six pairs of pajama pants over the summer.  I've decided that I'm going to make some knit tops this summer and have already bought fabric and a few patterns.  Now I'm hoping that dealing with those knits doesn't drive me crazy!  Years ago, I used to make t-shirts for my pre-school boys, but the knits were all cotton and very easy to work with.  All of the newer knits seem to be very drapey or slinky and I'm not sure if my old Kenmore can deal with them.

I do think there are a number of younger women who have taken up sewing.  They are all over Pinterest and Etsy.  Now I'm going to check out that fabric website someone posted earlier!

[Snicks1]

I'm another who sewed many, many items for myself and for my daughters when they were small and I was home with them. Once I again started working outside the home, time constraints put an end to sewing, and lol, I've found that over the years my sewing skills just aren't what they used to be. My sewing machine only gets pulled out very rarely now. I last used it to hem some store bought drapes that were a bit too long.

[WaltzingMinerva]

I still sew. I take at least one couture sewing class each year. I like minimal sleek lines and great fabric and that is hard to find at retail these days. If you want good fabric, try Mood. They are the fabric store for project runway. Stores in NY and LA with an online option. Swatches available. I hope you enjoy sewing as much as I do.