Wardrobe upgrade

In my twenties (and throughout my early thirties) the majority of the clothing I wore was my own creation, from the idea, to the drawing, pattern making, fabric cutting, and sewing all the pieces together… I did it all.

I made clothes throughout my teenage years, but I didn’t really soar until I was out of college and on my own. I enjoyed the process and sewing gave me an outlet to express my creativity. Designing was something I turned to after a day at work. It was my chance to unwind and get lost into a creative world. I received a lot of compliments on my designs and many thought they were store bought — even though they couldn’t find my clothing in their local department store.  Seriously?  My outfits are much, much better. For one thing, I like the inside of my garments to look as beautiful as the outside! I didn’t get offended though, I took the comment as it was intended… a compliment.

My designs  got noticed and soon I was participating in a few local shows rubbing shoulders with local clothing designers, and learning a lot about something I always found intriguing. After some gentle nudging from a few of my friends, I had some of my pieces displayed at various boutiques. I even tried my hand at alterations  and although I can do that well…I hate it with a passion! These days, I’ll only make alterations for a few people.

As I hit my mid thirties a lot of my sewing came to a halt. And although, I’d create something once or twice a monthly it was nowhere near the intensity that I was used too. My priorities had changed. By this time my daughter was born and finding time to do everything I enjoyed wasn’t possible.  Some things had to be put on hold.  I must say that I miss doing that type of sewing. It was a chance to play with fiber, create new designs and make unique clothing. Sometimes they were a success, but when I first started I had my share of missteps.

The past several months I’ve been working on sketches and I’m slowly getting to the point where I’ll start sewing some of my designs. My daughter is looking forward to this since I’m creating a few outfits for her… and to add to the excitement I told her she could help sew some of her own clothing. My daughter is nine years old and is well on her way to becoming an accomplished seamstress.

I thinks it’s important to teach my daughter ‘domestic skills’ such as cooking, sewing, proper garment care, proper housecleaning, etc., armed with these tools she won’t have to dependent on anyone since if she wants… she’ll know how to do it herself.