Clothes Make the Man

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."

I read this quote by Mark Twain recently and I think it's hilarious... and true. One of my goals this fall is to vastly improve my sewing skills and be able to create some clothing, accessories, and home goods. To that end, I've purchased a few sewing books over the past year and have been reading up.

I've been quilting for a while and have made curtains, pillows, table runners...those sorts of things in the past, but until recently I had never followed a pattern. They scared me with their tissue-thin fragility and what seemed like very involved directions and lines. I wished I could change things about certain clothes I owned. I wished I could re-create and forever keep my favorite pair of jeans after they had worn holes. I wished I could see something in a store that was overpriced but perfect, and say to myself, "I could make that."

Well, friends, a new day has dawned. I just finished my first official a-line/pencil skirt (all of you real seamstresses out there are probably laughing to yourself at my simplicity), and I couldn't be happier! I followed a pattern by clothing designer Wendy Mullin from her book Sew U. After wrapping my head around her very simply put instructions and pondering in between sewing steps (and about 10 questioning calls to my mama), I have learned how to insert a zipper, add some darts, use interfacing, and more. Now that I've accomplished these techniques, it is really quite simple and something no girl (or boy) should be afraid of. And, what a lovely product I've ended up with... a skirt of my own that no one else has! Onward ho to the next project!