apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've just started taking sewing lessons and i love it! It's really not that intimidating and there are so many things you can make with just basic skill. I'm looking forward to hunting down vintage fabrics and upcycling t-shirts into pillows, dishtowels, aprons...
The possibilities are endless.

I am learning to knit socks. I love the idea of choosing artisan made yarns and giving socks for presents. Who can't appreciate hand knit socks?

I grew up in a family that lived on canned, bagged, or frozen food, so for me, learning how to cook was pretty significant!

FYI - learning to mend, in addition to basic sewing skills, can also extend the life of a garment, which is also good for the planet. For five years I kept my one good pair of pants going strong by fixing snags, mending split seams, reinforcing worn areas, and re-sewing the hems when they started to come undone.

how are you planning on learning to sew? i have a machine, but zero knowledge and zero no friends who know how. i learned to thread the d*mn thing on youtube, but now i'm lost again.

I am constantly amazed (and frustrated professionally--I work in a costume shop) by how few people know how to sew! It used to be a part of daily life for people. A necessary skill. My grandmother was a dressmaker and my mother made most of her clothes herself and she was stylish. Her taste for more expensive clothes may have driven her to refine her skills so she could afford more expensive (well-made) clothes. They both lived through the Depression and WWII (and grandma through WWI), when people really had to be resourceful.

And for at least the last six months I have been re-making clothes instead of buying. For economic reasons and for the challenge of getting the most out of great fabric.

Please do learn to sew. It is not that difficult. To paraphrase Auntie Mame, you just need to "look the [machine] in the eye with a masterful gaze".

I really encourage you all to learn to sew!

re: aeh: i'm going to teach myself with books (what a novel idea, eh?) classes in my area are on the expensive side, and i figured i'd find all the info i needed at the library. last night i made a small tote, and it was a wonderful learning experience.

re: 1stnest: i completely agree. i'm baffled that i've made it this far without knowing, or having mastered, the skill. i was going to take pottery lessons--and then i decided sewing was a much more effective way to work a useful skill into my life more immediately. thanks for the encouragement! last night i got to know the sewing machine and i think we're going to get along. :)

1st nest-I learned how to sew as a child as my mom had a machine but the majority of people who took sewing in high school (in the 90's) did not have access to a machine outside of school. So, you have 1.5 generations of people that have had little to no access to machines. And with clothing being so cheap, I'll be honest, a lot of the time I couldn't possibly make a dress for how little I can buy it for.
I'm already a crafty girl-knit, sew, soap-making, glass-etching, card-making...so I'll be making a point of using materials I already have to make stuff. Everyone that's a crafter has a "stash" that we sometimes forget about.

truenic--

you are correct that it is cheaper to buy most things than to make them. The rise in cheap goods has played into the decline in home skills. And it has been increasingly difficult to find fabric for clothing since the 1980s. It's depressing. I don't want dresses made from Amy Butler fabric. Cute as it is, it ain't haute couture -- or even-ready-to wear fashionable.

It's even more expensive to knit something for yourself (clothing)! And it takes forever!

That said, when you make something for yourself, you are more likely to take good care of it and hang on to it for a while.

I think it's great that you are a crafty girl.

Amber77--Keep it up, girl! I'm very proud of you for teaching yourself this!