Somewhere along the line, I became a button collector. Or maybe “hoarder” is a more appropriate term. I am partial to glass, and I particularly like to scoop up the types that go with almost anything I make: clear glass, glass pearls, black glass, or rhinestones. But I also love early plastics like Bakelite.

But I have a lot of lonely buttons that don’t belong to a set and I never know what to do with them! Well, here are some suggestions courtesy of the always-delightful Millie Motts.

This seems to be an ad for La Mode buttons. Some of these ideas are cute, and some are… wacky. Like covering a bolero in gold buttons? Not for me, but I’m sure someone can pull off that level of bling.

What do you do with extra buttons? Any ideas?

We have already discussed using small pieces to add internal contrasts like pocket bags and facings, and if you know any little’uns, making children’s clothes. But what if your piece is too pretty to be hidden on the inside or made into something that isn’t for you?!  There are heaps of patterns out there that call for contrasting fabrics, particularly if vintage/retro stylings are your bent. Check out the two dress styles below:

The Macaron dress is an awesome example of a pattern which calls for a smaller piece of contrast fabric. Just check out the gallery to see some of the inventive fabric combinations some seamstresses have used.

Of course, you can still apply contrasting fabrics to sewing patterns that don’t specifically specify the need for an alternate fabric. Any dress pattern that has a seam at the waist or under the bust can be made in two different fabrics which, incidentally, is actually a look that is very popular in high street stores right now. It creates the illusion of two separate garments but with the ease of wear and sleeker silhouette that you get when wearing a dress. I applied this idea to the Coffee Date dress pattern available at Burdastyle, pictured below:

Do you have a dress pattern with a waist seam that could be made in two fabrics instead of one? Vintage patterns, in particular, often call for so much fabric that splitting the total amount of fabric required into two smaller lengths might mean you are finally able to use some of those special stashed away treasures! These dresses below could look stunning made with two contrasting fabrics. Imagine the variety of looks you could create from the same dress design!

I’ve just finished reading Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas, and if you are at all interested in the world of fashion and the drastic changes it’s undergone, you should definitely pick it up!

Luxury used to mean the best money could buy. Luxury products were expensive and totally out of reach for most people, but they carried with them a tradition of exquisite craftsmanship, perfect presentation, and an unrivaled experience of service. Some of the large luxury companies still stand by these principles (she shows how Chanel and Hermes, for example, still go above and beyond in the pursuit of quality).

{images above: women in Dior in the 1940s/50s via sacheverelle}

But most luxury brands have changed dramatically. The businessmen at the helm have realized that they can make a killing by focusing on marketing “entry level” products to the middle market. That means handbags, sunglasses, perfume, cosmetics… the things a middle income person could afford to splurge on to get a taste of that fancy brand. Meanwhile, the quality has plummeted and most products are secretly produced in Chinese factories (while being stamped “made in Italy”). Some of these factories are sweat shops. Some employ child labor. The companies make a lot of profit.

{image above: Louis Vuitton ad}

Luxury brands used to be owned and run by designers. For the most part, they are now part of giant conglomerates and totally focused on the bottom line. Designers are almost expendable, and the clothes are in some part just a vehicle to sell the brand and thereby sell more handbags. Couture clothing has only gotten less attainable, because it’s not meant to be sold to many people. Instead, we get “fast fashion” versions of the designs. I was fascinated to learn this tidbit:

“More than two hundred thousand women worldwide wore couture in the 1950s. It was an expected part of a bourgeois woman’s everyday life. Today, in comparison, a mere two hundred women worldwide buy haute couture.”

So this left me with a question: What is luxury now, to you and I? Are there still real luxuries available to normal people? Is sewing one of those luxuries?

Personally, I would like to think that I appreciate craftsmanship, detail, and quality. I like things that last a good long time and look beautiful. Sewing is one of the few ways I have to attain that. Of course, there are other reasons I sew, but I do like being able to create a perfectly tailored silk dress in my own home.

But I don’t think it’s the only answer. One of the interesting points she makes is that there are small businesses who are able to stay small and, because of their scale, maintain that attention to quality. Louboutin is a wonderful example of a very small company run by the designer who has managed to stay small, make amazing products, refrain from even advertising, and not sell out. I liked almost everything he has to say:

“Luxury is the possibility to stay close to your customers, and do things that you know they will love. It’s about subtlety and details. It’s about service [...] Luxury is not consumerism. It is educating the eyes to see that special quality.” -Louboutin

This could be a mantra for my own business, in a way. But I think there are other, even smaller artist-run companies like Louboutin, carrying the flag for quality and originality, not merely reaching for money and growth. I can think of some in my own community, in fact.

What do you think? Is luxury a farce? A marketing gimmick? Do you think it’s different than it was 60 years ago? Does it mean something to you?

I thought some of you might like to check out some of the gorgeous sewing-related items I picked up this weekend at the Portland Antique Expo. It was kind of amazing.

I posted all about them on my personal blog, Sweet Sassafras, so check it out if you’re interested in more photos and sewing goodness.

Yesterday I went to a massive flea market here in Barcelona called Encants (where I previously picked up the amazing vintage hand-painted buttons), with a sewing friend of mine who was on a mission to score some supplies from the haberdashery stalls. I was only going to keep her company but ended up getting in a frenzy at one stall that specialised underwear elastic, lace and buttons. The stall was lorded over by an incredibly ancient lady who was in possession of a wonderfully crumpled face and sharp wit. After my initial button-induced buzz subsided I noticed that the lady was chatting to a heavily pregnant woman who was browsing. The old lady asked the pregnant woman when she was due, to which the woman replied ‘Tuesday’ (well, ‘Martes’ actually, but you get the idea). The old lady then proceeded to raise the question of whether the woman had been sewing babies’ clothes in preparation, and the woman replied that no, she hadn’t had the time. The old lady then exclaimed ‘You do know they come out naked, don’t you?!’. Fantastic! I laughed for about ten minutes.  

Later on back at my flat, after retelling the exchange to my boyfriend, I was reminded of the section in my Make Do and Mend book about preparing for a new baby. I’m not speaking from personal experience, but the arrival of a new baby seems overwhelming enough, without the added difficulties that living within a time of rationing would throw your way in the UK during the Second World War. I imagine a lot of community spirited ‘chipping in’ went on to help provide the necessities for a new baby. However, if a growing family still found itself unprepared, the Government had some advice regarding what could apparently be omitted from traditional preparations and the most efficient methods to produce what couldn’t.

The advice includes simultaneously making babies’ clothes from ‘as little material as possible’ as well as in styles that are able to be worn for ‘longer than he would have worn his first clothes in peace-time’. Such extra considerations would certainly force an expectant mother to be more thoughtful and creative than most seamstresses would need to be today. The Government leaflet offers suggestions for styles which could have an extended lifespan, for example by adding deep hems and tucks that could be unpicked and the garment let out as the baby got bigger. What these leaflets show me, more than anything, is how the rationing and restrictions forced the effected populations to experience privations in almost every single aspect of day to day life, in ways that today we would difficultly to perceive. Life was undeniably tough, and it is humbling to realise how good we have it these days.

Speaking of these days, making clothing and toys for babies and children is of course another great way to use up some of the smaller pieces of fabric in your stash. This super cute skirt (image found here) is a great combination of a little fabric and a healthy dose of imagination.

{image above: sweet dolly pins}

Ok guys, I feel that my links have become embarrassingly outdated. A long while back, I just threw up some of my favorite links and haven’t had a chance to revise them or seek out new ones.

I think it’s important that we get to know our community of fellow sewers, so I’m putting a call out! I’d love it if you could comment and tell me a little about your sewing or crating related blog. Please write in your comments:

1. Your name (first name is fine, or if you prefer some other nickname or handle, that’s a-ok)
2. The name of your blog
3. The link to your blog
4. A short (140 characters or less) description of your blog

Your blog should have something to do with sewing or making, even if that’s not the primary focus. Please no links to non-blogs (etsy stores, etc).

I’m going to go through all the links you give me and add them to my blogroll, and I’m also planning to add a rotating “featured reader blog” spot that will have a link and the description of your blog.

To keep this manageable, I will keep this open for one week, so you have until Wednesday, March 10, then I will close comments. Thank you all, I can’t wait to check out your links!

{image above: courtesy of bhermans}

I was so fascinated by all the responses to the questions about learning to sew that came in last week! Natalie B asked me if I might summarize some of the discussion, so I’m going to take a stab at condensing some of your experiences into some helpful tips for the aspiring seamstress (or… seamster? Is there a gender neutral term for this?)

1. Beginnings can be frustrating! Some of the beginners mentioned that they really feel at a loss, and that their ideas and dreams really outpace their abilities. I think we all know how frustrating this is when you’re starting out. Katie made a wonderful observation related to this:
   

   “Also, with knitting you are forced to go slow at first… I found that when I started sewing on a machine I wanted to drive it like a car at 100 miles per hour . Not pacing yourself can lead to a lot of mistakes and frustration.”

   That is so true, isn’t it? We all want to get from point A to point B as fast as possible, especially when point A seems a bit of a dull wasteland of wrap skirts and potholders. But I worry that moving too quickly is what burns a lot of aspiring sewers out before their time. I think a good way for a beginner to approach this might be to look for simple projects that you can make with your own twist, like gorgeous trims or a fun printed fabric.

2. You need a solid foundation. Many of you agreed that the foundations of great sewing are careful planning, the right fabric, and taking the time to get a good fit. Unfortunately, these are the most tempting areas for a beginner to cut corners. I think the lesson here is again, to slow down and let yourself enjoy the most creative part of sewing: the planning!
3. A sewing community is a huge help. So many of you said that you learned to sew from mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. Others said they found that the most helpful thing was having an expert around to help when they got stuck. Still others pointed to blogs and sewing forums as the biggest help. But what they have in common is sharing knowledge with each other and finding help when you need it. Kate said:
   

   “I spend a lot of time reading blogs and reviewing online tutorials and books. Ideally, I would love to be a part of a sewing club or sewing circle in my city with women of all experience levels, so we can teach and mentor each other.”

   I agree, that would be an ideal way to learn and improve, no matter what level you’re at!

4. Sewing is about continuous learning. I think one of the reasons many of us are drawn to sewing is the fact that you can do so much with it. The possibilities are vast. The other side of that is the fact that there is a lot to learn. In many cases, it’s hard to even determine what you don’t know so that you can learn. I loved this comment from Nicole because I really feel that this is a common experience, even for those that have been sewing a while:
   

   “I still don’t really know how to sew “properly,” but I pick up techniques from reading people’s blogs, surfing the internet, trial and error, etc. Somebody talks about underlining something, and then I spend an hour surfing around to find out about underlining and think about all the places I should have used it in the past.”

   I think the key is to set your expectations accordingly. You’ll never be “perfect,” and you’ll always be learning, so embrace it and dive in with your curiosity.

Do you guys have anything to add? Any more lessons learned for the new sewer?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how and why people learn to sew.

I was discussing this with someone recently. She said that knitting really took off a few years ago, but it seems like sewing is still just on that verge of popularity. I think the reason for this is largely that knitting has a really low barrier to entry. You can literally learn just two stitches in an afternoon and make some pretty cool stuff without knowing much else.

Now, there is a lot you can learn about knitting: increasing/decreasing, lace knitting, color work, etc. But I feel like those skills are all really well defined with knitting. You can say to yourself, “I want to learn to do fair isle knitting,” pick out a pattern, look up some of the abundant resources online, and get started. By the end of the project, you know how to do fair isle.

But with sewing, it seems like it’s more difficult to even KNOW what skills you need. There are so many little tricks and ways of doing things that just come from experience. So it seems like a lot of people just learn to sew in a rather piecemeal way, by slowly figuring things out over time. It takes work and a real desire to figure things out.

So I was wondering, for you guys, how did you learn to sew? Did you have someone to help you? Did you just keep working on things on your own? Did you learn from a beginners book? A reference book?

What did you like about learning in the way you did? And what do you think is the best way to learn? Personally, I like to learn by doing projects.

I’m also curious about why you learned to sew. Was it to make cool stuff you couldn’t find in the stores? To address fitting issues with your body? To save money?

I’m very curious about your experience with this and hearing a little more about you guys and your sewing background! Do tell.

I’m a wee bit obsessed with the scallop detail with this Du Barry dress on ebay. Even though it looks to have been shortened considerably, I’d still buy it in an instant if I could fit into its 24 inch waist (ha!).

But I can still be inspired by it. Check out the rows and rows of scallops on this beauty! I’d love to see what the inside of this dress looks like.

Normally, I can break down those wonderful vintage details into something fairly simple, but I do believe taking on something like this would be firmly in the advanced category, if only for the amount of time it would take.

Taking a look at some garments I had previously made I remembered two ways you could use smaller pieces of fabric to create a fun contrast. Skirt and trouser facings, or inner waistbands depending on the style, look much more interesting when made from a sweet check or ditsy print. This works best when you’re sure it won’t peak out and become visible from the outside. Similarly, pocket bags can be made from an alternative fabric. It’s often better to use a lighter weight fabric rather than the main outer fabric for pocket bags anyway, so why not use something cute? As long as you create a facing for the pocket mouth in the main outer fabric, the rest of the pocket can be as crazy as you fancy!

As I’m sure you are aware, these kinds of contrasts can often be found in manufactured garments, but usually only in more expensive lines, as cheaper clothing producers cut costs as much as possible by avoiding costly unnecessary internal details like this. With all the love, time and effort that goes into sewing clothes by hand, why not take an extra step to make your creation even more different and special?  What I love the most about contrast internal details, like nicely finished seams, is the buzz I get when put the garment on and I see them. They are a pretty secret added just for my enjoyment, with no practical purpose other than to make me smile! Have you used contrast fabric as a ’secret’ detail before? I would love to hear how.