So, are you still sewing?

This is a question I get ALL THE TIME! From family, friends, co-workers, neighbors. Family is the kicker!

I really don’t understand why I am not taken seriously. YES. I am still sewing. In fact, in 2019 I moved my sewing area out of my home and began renting space in an arts center in the middle of my town! in 2021, I was busier than ever with brides that postponed from 2020 as well as current year brides and bridal parties! It was my full time job, working more than 40 hours a week between my appointments and getting the work done! 2022 to date, I have already equaled my 2021 revenue and have had more brides to date as compared to 2021, and it's only August! 

I think sewing in and of itself carries a stigma. Honestly, who does that anymore? And if you do, and make money at it, you would be working for someone else, right? Well, I did work for a tailor, once, after my first child was born, over 30 years ago, and my mom offered to babysit for the day so I could get back to work. I worked for him about 6 months, until he wasn’t busy enough for me to work there anymore. I did learn some industry tips from him though and was grateful for the experience of working for this tailor.

From that point on, I had friends, family and neighbors who “knew I could sew”, ask me to do basic alterations, and I did place an ad in the local newspaper to generate some business. I charged next to nothing, mostly because I liked it and wanted to get referred, and was not in tune with what to charge.

In the years following, I had researched what other shops charge, and have adjusted my prices accordingly, to be competitive. It seemed that I was getting a lot of generous “tips”, so I figured maybe my prices were too low.  Conversely, sometimes when you charge too little, I think people assume your work isn’t that good. Now, I feel I have competitive rates, while still staying lower than most of my competitors.

 

Over 30 years I have been sewing for others – OVER 30 YEARS!

Why do people still ask me if I’m busy?

How busy am I? Well, enter the digital world.

 

I get recommended online ALL THE TIME. Melrose and surrounding towns have “community pages” on Facebook, where people ask “can anyone recommend a seamstress for bridal alterations” or similar questions. My name gets mentioned all the time, by several people on the same post. I keep my Facebook page up to date by posting photos of all the bridal gowns I work on, as well as some of the other alterations I do that I think may be of interest. And my recommendations on Yelp have steered customers my way as well.

 

click on the picture!

I was contacted in 2021 by someone who follows my Instagram account, asking me to make a christening gown and accessories, from her wedding gown. She SHIPPED her wedding gown to me from New Jersey and paid me my required deposit without blinking an eye. I stayed in contact with the progress, sending pictures and checking in on baby’s measurements. When it was complete, it was packaged carefully and shipped everything back. Baby’s mom was very pleased with all the pieces of the christening ensemble and sent me a video of her opening the box! I’m so happy I could do this for her special little girl.

Are you busy? (still asked of me ALL the time!)

 

Answer: Yes! If I wasn’t busy, I never would have had a need to rent space. I now have my own studio space outside of my home in a building that is an arts center in my town – so I’m exposed to creative people every day! I really love what I do, and it makes people happy. What could be better than that!

Spreading the love...

Now that the Christening gown is complete, Sarah had one last request...

She wanted to share a little of the gowns with other family members....the cousins

First she thought of making handkerchiefs out of the fabric that was left....handkerchiefs? some exclaimed, what will we do with those?....no, how about something else...

I suggested the idea of keepsake pillows, and showed her pictures of the ones I had made the previous year.  She liked that idea, but since she'd be handing them out at Christmas, she thought, how about "pillow ornaments" in the shape of a heart!

Sounds perfect to me!
So, I was asked to make 6 from the fabric of the grandmother's gown (champagne satin) and 2 from the fabric of her mother's gown (sheer white organdy and french lace). I also made Sarah a special pillow of her own, incorporating all three fabrics (including her jacket lace), as a surprise! And I wanted her pillow to be an absolute surprise, so I took a piece of fabric, serged the edges (neatly finished), wrapped the pillow in it and tied it with a bow - with the same ribbon that was used on the Christening gown.
I just wish I could be there when she opens that up!!!

12/10/17
Finally complete!....well...almost

As a final touch, knowing that these will be going on an airplane before distributing, I wondered "how can I package them individually?" I wanted to put each in its individual bag, but that wouldn't work as the bags would get crushed in packing...hmmm...it was the morning that they were being picked up and I thought - maybe I have enough fabric left to make a stocking!!!! Wow....I did. I took the bodice of the mother's gown, and made a stocking, using the cording from the grandmother's gown on the edges. Great idea! All the little pillow ornaments fit, they will now be easy to transport, and to distribute she can just pull one at a time out of the stocking!!!

         

          Pillow ornaments made from extra fabrics left from the christening gown created (below)

A Unique Christening gown

August 31, 2017
I received a message on my Facebook page regarding making a Christening gown!!!

Let me back up a little...
It's been a very busy bridal season for me, but was beginning to wind down. So I began to think of what I'd like to do when I am not so busy with bridal alterations....and the first thing that came to mind was "wow, I hope someone contacts me to make another christening gown!"
(I've made 5 so far, all from wedding gowns)

I don't even think it was a week, that I received that email on Facebook!

Here is the story behind this unique gown I was asked to make

I was asked if I could make a christening gown combining 3 generations of wedding gown/attire. WOW! Of course I said YES! So, the baby's mom said her mom, was shipping her Her wedding gown as well as her Grandmother's gown (are you following me?!) When she received them, we set up an appointment to meet, look at the fabrics I had to work with, and discuss the options.

September 7, 2017
The fabrics were brought over:

The (great) grandmother's gown from 1947, was a dark champagne, mid-weight satin, unlined, with an interesting wide corded hem. The wide cording was also on the top of the gown and the sleeves, as you can see in this photo. It hadn't been preserved, so the fabric had some areas of discoloration and deterioration in spots, but otherwise, a gorgeous piece of fabric to work with. Because the wide cording was so prominent on the gown, we decided to use that at the hemline, and allow it to be seen, beneath the lace.

The grandmother's gown from 1976, was a white Organdy fabric with tons of french lace on the top, sleeves and hem. There was beading on the top, but the beads had turned grey over time and were attached with glue (possibly what changed the color), so were not usable. The lining was a stiff fabric, comparable to sail cloth. She also brought the cathedral length veil to me, that had even more french lace, a little narrower than what was on the gown, on all the edges and the headpiece!

Baby's  mom had a lace jacket/topper she wore over her dress. It had lace sleeves and a wide band waist with a long sash.

Also specially requested included would be a bonnet and booties! And she wanted a BIG bow!!!!

After looking over all the materials I had to work with, and the condition of the fabrics, we decided to use the satin as the under-layer of the skirt and the sheer organdy on top, to give the top fabric an antique look. I was unsure about what to use on the bodice yet, so I just got started on the skirt and worked my way up!We were both super excited to get started on this!!!!

We had talked about incorporating all three (3) fabrics on the bodice. So I got to work. I used the satin underneath - just as with the skirt, Mommy's lace over that and I even used her sleeves, for the baby's sleeves, and some french lace appliques from the veil on top of that! The waistband and bow were made from Mommy's waistband, and the bow had french lace detail. I used a heavyweight interfacing to stiffen the bow - the only purchase I had to make. All other materials came directly from the gowns!













I received an email regarding Christening dates: Normally, I like to have 2 months to make an outfit like this, it's just so special and I like to put lots of details into it. I was given a few dates to choose from, so I chose the farthest one out! October 29, 2017 - not quite 2 months but I could work with it

The first week or so is just planning for me. A lot of thinking, laying out all the dresses in my work

space, looking at the details on each, and maybe even some sketching, before I begin cutting any fabric. Once it's cut, there's no going back, and I only have a limited amount of fabric to work with, so I have to be extra careful!

October 23, 2017
Gown is ready to go home!

Here is a link to my work in process photos and the end result :Heirloom Christening Gown
                                               I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Since the wide cording was so prominent in the satin gown, I imitated the hem here, and let it show beneath the lace

Grandmother's Gift

Contacted early in the summer by a grandmother, excited by the idea of using her own wedding dress to make a christening outfit for her upcoming great grandchild!
We met, and she brought her gown, which had been stored in a box with only tissue paper to protect it.
 

Satin with lace overlay on the top, lace sleeves and a (kind of funky!) light and airy tulle skirt with appliques, over a satin skirt. No train.

Photos brought were of a romper (for a boy) and ideas of making a detachable skirt. Maybe using buttons to attach to the romper.

Being busy still with prom gowns and the wedding dresses beginning to come in for alterations, this project was put aside for over a month. Late August I finally got started, and in mid-September Betty was able to come see my progress. She was pleasantly surprised and loved the romper. We decided it would be better to have a separate dress, for a girl, given I had (just) enough fabric left to do so. Little cap sleeves and a bonnet to top it off!










  Christening was in November for a baby boy....the first to wear the romper!


Update October 26, 2015:
I used just about every inch of fabric and lace, and lots of the buttons and loops for accents. I also incorporated the cording from the waistline of the gown, around the bonnet and at the collar of the romper. See more photos here!
                                       

Little Treasures

Here is the Christening outfit made from that beautiful gown! (see post on November 16, 2014).
Satin, lace and trim all from the wedding gown. The sole button from the gown was used to secure the neck in the back. Trim at waistline came from trim under the bust line. All I added were 2 hooks, a snap and the ribbon at the jacket neckline.

Satin trim on jacket is from the lacing on the back of the wedding gown.
Beaded trim on jacket front was originally around armholes on gown.

Lace Jacket

Inset at bust of gown was hand stitched to top of bonnet

Beaded trim at neckline

Don't keep your wedding gown in a box!

You love your wedding gown. Whether it took hours, months, or the better part of a year to pick it out, you LOVE it. So when the big day is over, what now? The more popular thing to do is to have it professionally cleaned and preserved. This means it is tightly wrapped and put in a box, and wrapped again for a nice tight seal. That's what I did, and indeed, many brides do today.

Today, I was brought such a gown, in a neatly, and air tight sealed box. And what a beautiful gown it is. Satin underneath with lace overlay over the entire gown.

The request is one that is gaining popularity - to make a Christening outfit out of the once worn gown. Yes it was sealed, yes the baby is a girl, so I asked, as I had done before, "are you sure? what if when she is all grown up, she may want to wear your gown?" to which I was answered "yes, I'm sure!" Her only request was to make it gender neutral, not too frilly, because she wants it to be a family heirloom to be enjoyed by all.

So, I am happy to say, I am welcoming this request to make a gown, bonnet and jacket for this sweet baby girl to wear in just 3 weeks! "Use my creativity" she said....undoubtedly I will..

Antique Christening Gown

Gown from 1908 - is being worn for the 7th time and needed some TLC and adjustments at the wrist. Click on the photo to see work in progress photos!

A mother's gift

     Here is the result of my previous post. An Heirloom Christening gown and bonnet made from the mother's wedding gown

I was able to incorporate almost every part of the bridal gown.  In addition to the beautiful satin, the gown is fully lined, using the lining fabric from the bridal gown; the trim around the neck and continuing all the way down center back, is from the waistline of the wedding gown; the hemline is from the bustline of the bridal gown; and I used 9 buttons, 2 hooks, and the zipper from the wedding gown. The sheer fabric used for the sleeves, the top overlay and the ribbon of the bonnet is from an underlayer of the wedding gown.

From Bride to Baby...

An heirloom christening gown was a request back in November 2011...here is a picture of the gown. The date has been set for June and she just brought me her gown. I was given a picture of what she would like for her daughter's gown. I will incorporate the gown fabric and all of the trim. The trim at the top of the bodice will be used at the hemline of the christening gown...pictures to follow!