1 June 2011

Guest Post by Karen: Do You Remember the First Time?


Guys, Tilly’s away. Someone crank the stereo up and – hey! – she must have some vodka in this joint. Let’s partttyyyyyy!

Alright, alright, let’s all calm down. I'm Karen from Did You Make That? This is the first time I’ve ever been invited to contribute a guest post to someone else’s sewing blog. Thinking of firsts, I glanced down at the top I was wearing. It’s the very first thing I made, back in August 2009, when I decided to try my hand at this sewing lark. (Ooh, it’s nearly my second birthday!)

The fabric was bought off Chesterfield market with my mother in tow. Chesterfield market is the place I bought fabric as a university student and as a child when I dabbled in sewing all those years ago. It feels appropriate that my foray back into this craft took me to the same cobbled square.

I still think this is such pretty cotton. The pattern is V8495 – perfect for beginners. Though there’s not a flattering photo in the world that could be taken of me wearing this top. It’s definitely a top for slouching around at home on the weekend. But we all need those, right? It’s the type of pattern that you often see discussed on sewing pattern forums along the line of: Do I look like I’m wearing a maternity top?

V8495

The top was made on a Toshiba sewing machine I procured through Freecycle. I really recommend this way of exploring your newly-born interest in sewing. After all, sewing machines cost hundreds of pounds. I didn’t want to spend all that money to find that I hated this new pursuit. But a year into my sewing career I’d been sewing virtually every day and treated myself to a brand new Bernina. But I still have that Toshiba – it’s come in useful for friends and I would be reluctant to cast it aside now. Call me sentimental.

When I inspect the work on my very first top, I’m really impressed. Nice neat lines of sewing, carefully pinked seams. It just goes to show what anyone can do if they follow instructions. I even indulged in some top stitching and I inserted sleeves! This top is my sewing talisman, there to remind me that creativity is only a snip away and available to everyone. All you have to do is buy some fabric and a pattern.

Can you remember your first make? Do you still have it and are you still proud of the work? Thanks, Tilly, for letting me stop by. The red wine stain on the carpet? That was the others.