This month marks our first-year anniversary of The Seam Ripper. We had articles that were posted earlier but we really didn’t start regularly posting our sewing blog until August, 2018. And what a year. We’ve learned a lot. Personally, I’ve learned about committing to a project and running with it. I am getting better at writing and editing with all this practice and I am trying to be more diligent about my sewing, not that I am becoming the expert, but regular practice makes better.
How about you: Which posts have you learned and/or enjoyed the most?
The One From Which I Hope You Got the Most Enjoyment – ALL OF THEM
I enjoy writing and talking about sewing and I hope you enjoy “listening”. Writing these posts during the course of this past year has expanded my thinking about sewing and it has given me just one more reason to sew, not that I really need one. It also made me look at the wide array of garments we sew. Some sewers do tailoring, some, dressmaking, others create lingerie and/or design their own garments. All of this creation takes a lot of imagination, hard work, and Patience! Its a creative process and that is one of the reasons I enjoy sewing so much. Since sewing is not a conversation I have with friends very often, I love “talking” here. Help me make this a 2-way conversation and put your comments in the space below.
My Favorite
Looking back on some of the articles and sewing tutorials over the past year, my favorite is of course the first one, The Best Tool for the Less Than Perfect, which was an explanation of why I use a seam ripper and why it’s my favorite sewing notion. I see so many pictures on the web of self-made clothes that look like they just came off the rack of some expensive boutique and I figured those of us who are just a little less than perfect needed some coverage and encouragement. You are not alone. So when you are getting discouraged and your sewing project is just not working out as imagined, have a look through some of the articles and sewing ideas. It just might make you feel better. I know I always like company and feel more encouraged when I see problems solved and get the oomph to keep on sewing and ripping .
How about you: Which posts have learned and/or enjoyed the most
The Article That was the Hardest to Write
I guess the hardest one was the “Buying Sewing Notions”. What made it difficult was the research and trying to get information so that the chart was apples to apples. That was perhaps not completely successful. There aren’t too many variables to be confusing, but enough to fit most sewers’ specifications.
Another tough one is the article I am about to post on converting woven patterns for knit fabric. I had some trouble with the photography, (but then that’s true of all of them; must get some photography lessons), but I think it is a popular subject, so I persevered. I am glad I sewed along with the post too because it made all of the directions sink in. The dress looks pretty good, I just have a couple of changes to make to the pattern and they have nothing to do with the conversion: (1 Adjust the shoulders by adding about ½” from the front shoulder to the back and (2 For my own personal preference, adding side pockets to the side seams. The dress slides to the back when I wear it, which is a little annoying but the shoulder seam adjustment should fix that. I also love to have pockets in my dresses for a cell phone, lipstick, spare change, whatever. Stay Tuned.
The Easiest One to Write
Definitely, Au Revoir Givenchy. His death was significant to me because I love his clothes, especially those created for Audrey Hepburn. It gave me the chance to indulge in one of my favorite topics and dig around on the Internet for my information and pictures. (You didn’t think I took those pictures?!) My favorite fashion period has always been the sixties. The A-line dress with princess seams, the shorter skirts and the lower heels with squared-off toes were my favorite styles that I love to imitate. Overall, I think this fashion time was the most flattering and the most comfortable, too. Who is your favorite designer and what fashion period do you like best?
McCall’s 3626, 1957 
Breakfast at Tiffany’s Paramount Pictures, 1961
The Post(s) From Which I Hope You Learned the Most
The $300 Shirt was a fun one to do for me because I learned a lot about sewing shirts. I have David Coffin’s books and I read them for my other shirt post (A Lesson or Two in Making Men’s Shirts). I also have my Craftsy / Bluprint classes that I watched. None of them looked at the project from a customer’s perspective though – and why should they? That’s one of the reasons I liked putting up this post; it opened my eyes to details about which I have given little to no thought, as a sewer. I hope you learned things too like the bits about the buttons, the single stitching and/or the size of the arm scythe.
Saks Fifth Avenue 
Blouse from Nordstroms 
Split Yoke
Acknowledging the Editor
After a year of writing, I especially want to thank my husband, Tom, who is an excellent writer and fortunately for me, has been my editor and chief spell checker. He’s also really good with a camera. This is one of the many skills I need to acquire and one I will work on over the next year.
If there is a particular article you liked, write and tell us which one and why. If you have any suggestions for future articles you would like to see, you can tell us about those too. I love to research and experiment and because of that, I can rip out some of those seams so you don’t have to.
Thank you for a wonderful 1st year. Keep calm and grab the seam ripper!
Cheers,
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