The Seamstress Tag

Greetings Creative People,

Today, I want to jump on the "Seamstress Tag" bandwagon that's going around on YouTube, sewing blogs, and everywhere else on social media. I get a kick out of learning what other sewers interests are and where it all began for them, that I thought it would be fun to share some of my answers to the questions. I am currently subscribed to a YouTuber who started this tag, Hollie Sews, and she has the video sharing her story. You can view her video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXv9lPBaAFc

There are 12 questions that I highlighted in bold, feel free to copy and paste the questions if you are interested in doing this tag. Let's get started:

1) Who are you?

My name is Stephanie Durham and I am a sewing teacher, fashion designer, and a entrepreneur.

2) When & why did you start sewing?

I started sewing...(clearing my throat) when I was seven years old, just now realizing that was 40 years ago! UGH!

3) What is your favourite or proudest make?

I have a lot of proudest makes, but most recently was this prom dress I designed and crafted for my girlfriend's daughter. You can read on the post here It was my first time drafting a pattern the correct way and I hand stitched all the trimming around the dress and the final fitting was impeccable.

4) What is your most disastrous make?
In my early years of sewing, I tried to make my own pattern, (keep in mind, this was well before the day and age of 'YouTube' and 'Google') I drafted a pattern to make a basic shirt and it did not occur to me that I needed to have somewhere to put my arms until I stitched the whole shirt together. Needless to say, after I laughed at myself for hours, I pulled out my printed patterns and just made me a shirt from there.

5) Where is your favourite place to go fabric shopping?
Although I do enjoy shopping for fabric online, I prefer to feel my fabrics and my favorite place to go is of course, JoAnn's! I love JoAnn's because they have some awesome 'can't pass up' coupons and always a great selection of fabrics!

6) What is your most used pattern?

I don't have a most used pattern because I am forcing myself to sew as many patterns as I own. Since JoAnn's constantly put their patterns on sale, I constantly keep taking my butt to JoAnn's buying more patterns. So I have put myself on a 'no spend' on patterns and taking myself through a 'pattern sew through challenge' whereas I sew through all the patterns I own and make myself some new clothes in the process. I'm a little behind in my progress but you can read about that here

7) Your most dreaded sewing task is...

Buttonholes!!!! For some odd reason, buttonholes hate me! that's why I hate them so much! They never come out even, one side always comes out looking smaller than the other side, and I don't care what machine or buttonhole attachment I use...I can never seem to come out with a pretty button hole...so yes, I avoid anything with buttonholes which of course certainly limits me, but one of these days I plan to master the dreaded buttonhole!

8) And your favourite sewing task?

It seems the older I get, the more appreciation I have for 'hand-sewn' projects. I remember when I did not like to do hems on skirts or pants because of the hand sewing technique. Now I really enjoy it, I find it very relaxing...also, meditative. Recently, I worked on some hand-beading projects. You can read a little more on that here

9) What is your favourite 'sewing entertainment'?

I love listening to music while sewing, but most recently, I started listening to Podcast and I really enjoy that, too. I have a television in my sewing room but it really distracts me because I love watching court shows then I end up staring at the television rather than working on my sewing project.

10) Printed or PDF?
Printed! Printed! Printed! PDF's for me...are too expensive to print out, it kills my printer paper and ink...I'd rather pay $.99 per JoAnn's sale patterns than $50.00 on printer ink.

11) What sewing machine do you use?
For 34 years of my sewing life, I used a basic brand 'White' sewing machine which died in a flood in my home back in 2014 (Queue the funeral music, please). Since then, I have been using a Singer 2263; armed with the right needles and machine feet, this machine is a workhorse for me. I am in the market for a new Serger sewing machine since the one had was stolen from my house about a month ago :(

12) Do you have any other hobbies?
Yes. I starting knitting in 2006 and I really love doing that...although I have not ventured off into anything like fancy cable knit sweaters yet. I make a tone of scarfs and afghans...you know, the designs that don't require too much thinking. I love anything that involves the betterment of my family and home...I consider myself a 'domestic nerd'.

That's the end of the Seamstress Tag. I had a blast answering all the questions, I hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to jump in on this tag and send me a comment and I can visit you blog or video and learn a little more about you.
Until next time, happy sewing!