Seeing as I've just posted asking for help, I thought I'd do a delurk post.
I come from a long line of needlewomen (for want of a better word) - my great-grandmother was a professional dressmaker - I have her old Singer treadle; my grandmother trained as a tailor and worked in the workroom, my Mum sewed a lot when she was in her teens and twenties although she was driven mad by the conflicting advice from her mother and grandmother.
You'd think with heritage I'd be an expert but as far as I can see I have no particular talent but I am capable of applying techniques and following pattern instructions :)
I did a little sewing as a teenager and a little more when my daughter was tiny and I couldn't afford to buy good quality readymade clothes for her or myself. Back then I lived in Bangor, North Wales so I was able to make regular trips to Aberkhan in Mostyn - an amazing place.
These days, I'm in Nottingham, I hadn't done any sewing for a while (finances were better and not enough time) when my partner and I decided a few weeks ago to get married in August - my Dad was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and I want him to give me away. Being a UK size 22 and having auburn hair, a trip round the local bridal shops confirmed that there wasn't really a dress suitable for me that would be ready on such short notice. So I decided to make my own AND the dress for the five bridesmaids.
The elder two are having this:
and for the younger three:
I have to say that Vogue 7904 is my favourite little girl's dress pattern, I think I made it in every size for my daughter - now 9.
Having made the decision to make all the dresses myself, my Mum has kindly volunteered to make the dresses for the smallest two. I also decided that my
8-9 yr old cheap Toyota machine wasn't up to the job and decided to buy a new one.Lurking on here and the other sewing groups helped my decision and I went off to the Husqvarna Studio in Nottingham. My budget was £300 - 500 ish. I was very lucky - they had a preowned Lily 545 for £500. Although I was actually there for about two hours, I had decided to buy the machine after just five minutes! They offer free 1 day courses even with preowned machines and I will be attending one in October - the earliest weekend one as I work fulltime.
So far, I can say that using a machine of this quality certainly makes sewing a lot less onerous. I can focus on the garment construction rather then spending hours just trying to get a seam done without any looping underneath etc. I love everything from the 'stop' function to the automatic buttonhole.
While I'm not into quilting and this machine is sold as a quilting model, the huge range of decorative stitches have already been appreciated by my daughter who is now the proud owner of a new skirt with embroidery on the pockets and a matching bag with her name all over it and other embroidery.
I did buy a serger about 5 years ago - a Janome model from a mail order catalogue - its been boxed up in the attic for a while so I'm not sure what the exact model is. I plan to get used to this new machine first before looking at the serger again. I also want to take some dressmaking classes but need to find evening/weekend classes.
Anyway, I've just realised this is a huge post so I'll stop now.
Regards
Emma
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