[mcholley1]

You got me, Kelly. I had to see what you had to say! 🙂 I love the freedom of being able to make exactly what I have in mind and not drag my children around the mall and settle for what they offer me instead.

I think this is a great little community. Thanks to great patterns and directions it is so fun to see everyone’s skills improve…no matter where they started. And, it is a nice bonus that our kids get to look freakin’ adorable!

Nicole, wish I had your girls’ wardrobes!!! (and I’m a grown woman with a credit card that my husband doesn’t fuss with me about too much!!)

[with love Heidi]

Aspen, on handing them On/down, two years ago I made a Secret Agent Trench Coat for my nephew and then last year I made him a bigger one as he had grown out of the first. He was very excited to receive the second one. His mum suggested the first one be passes on to another friend in our group, he was happy for the first one to be passed on but was very engaged about exactly who it should go to. This was very encouraging as it showed me how much he appreciated the coat and how concerned he was that it would go to someone who would wear and appreciate it 🙂

[Aspen]

Oh that’s really wonderful Heidi…thank you for sharing that! Maybe it would help my mindset to allow my daughter to be part of the process of handing the clothes down. 🙂 after I go back and properly finish the seams of stuff I made pre-serger. Hah!

[Sarvi]

I know what you mean, Aspen. There’s a fear that people (especially those who don’t sew) won’t “get” handmade clothes. For sure, a lot of my early stuff was the sewing equivalent of the poetry I wrote as a kid. Oh, so very many butterflies that fluttered by. I do keep thinking we should develop some kind of Freecycle equivalent for the handcraft community. I have a ‘shortlist’ (and it is very, very short) of people in the magical group of:

have a daughter smaller than mine AND

have the same preferences in color, materials, style AND

are at or below my skill level OR

are above my skill level but too kind or too unpretentious to look down on my work AND/OR

want to swap for something (materials, crafts the other person doesn’t do, local goodies) AND

are patient with the million years it takes me to get to the post office

[Aspen]

What a fantastic idea…

You know, I don’t think it would be too difficult to pull that off actually. We could start a Facebook group for the mom sewists, and people could post when they have a small box of clothes for an 18 month old girl, for example, and if someone is interested they could message that person and privately arrange for shipping… It could be fun! If someone is looking to hand down stuff and is hurting too much financially to pay to ship stuff they could post that they have stuff to give, asking that the recipient pay for shipping. I imagine plenty of people would be willing to pay $8 for a box of wonderful clothes. We could even post photos of our little ones enjoying their hand-me-downs, which could be really awesome for the sewer who made the clothes originally…to see their work enjoy a new life. Would anyone be interested in something like this?

[Sarvi]

You know, it’s been suggested before but I don’t think anybody stepped up to organize it. I suspect it’s one of those things that seems simple but then little complicating factors pop up, like international postage, needing more tops than bottoms or vice versa, etc. Want to take a whack at sorting it?

[bren5kids]

Have you ever heard of makelaughlove.com? It is a large online crafting community. I mostly haunt the diaper sewing forums, and they do that exact kind of swapping with diapers (mosty hand-made). Sometimes a small price is set, sometimes they list things that they are looking for (sewing supplies, kid’s clothes are high on the list) and would be willing to trade for, or sometimes they just want to get rid of it for the price of shipping. I’m not positive, but I’m fairly certain they do the same with all other manner of hand-sewn items. There is also a fair amount of pattern testing and natural cosmetic testing that goes on. It’s open to anybody and anybody can list or swap items.

[mlinton]

This post topic made me laugh because I think that all the time! I’m so self conscious about anything I make and what i grew up thinking of as an “old lady” habit that you’d think my sewing room was a meth lab or something for how secretive I am about it all.

The latest story to illustrate: I made my son a vest and trousers for church, complete with welt pockets – I was proud. Then a neighbor asked me if it was homemade. My little guy picked the fabric, including bright orange fabric for the pockets, which makes him love to wear them, but screams “homemade!!!” Knowing the secret was out, I started meticulously examining the pants and discovered a tiny fray in one welt corner. I was sure everyone had noticed my homely botched pants, and felt so sad he didn’t wear those pants for two weeks. Then, a few days ago, I put him in some “name brand” pants and low and behold, lots of fraying at the welt pocket. I need to learn to not be so critical, or at least give the same discerning eye to RTW as my handmade items. With good patterns and instructions, handmade really is great, and lots of fun to make.

[bren5kids]

I can so identify!! I don’t want my stuff to look homemade, and yet I am so gratified when people notice and comment and praise. But then I think that they wouldn’t have commented if they didn’t think it looked homemade!

Classic example: I recently made my 10 yr old son a pair of jean Field Trip cargos that I was/am so proud of. I paid attention to the smallest details and put a zip fly in, metal jean zipper and all. The first time my son wore them to school he said his one of the teachers wondered if I made them (we have a small, small school and know everybody personally). Of course, I immediately figured they must look homemade for her to ask that. I was talking with her a few days later and she mentioned the pants and how great they were (she is also a fellow seamstress and has helped me a lot figuring out my new sewing machine) I laughed and told her that I figured they must look homemade for her to notice. She said that she noticed he had on a brand spankin’ new pair of pants and remembered that I had said recently that I had a pants pattern that I was dying to make for him! So there is a very plausible explanation, but something still niggles in the corner of my mind saying “yea but, they probably do look homemade”. 😀

[Robin]

I wonder when people ask if I made something. Just how “Becky Homecky” does my work look? I often question people about this. Some answer that they haven’t seen the garment in a store, the fabric is unusual, or my child is wearing something not made out of a knit with a character on it.

It’s an interesting predicament. Because I want the positive feedback on my work too. I got a lot of “you look great” when I wore the pencil skirt I made to an annual conference. I really wanted people to comment on the skirt, but they didn’t. It probably helps that most folks hadn’t seen me since I lost weight and they were noticing that rather than the wool skirt with the boning, and lining and horse hair canvas and flannel, etc… Interesting that I’d rather they comment on the skirt than the weight loss! Still have lots left to lose.

[Sarvi]

Post a photo, I’ll comment! I have a small piece of the horsehair stuff and don’t actually know how to use it.

[with love Heidi]

The skirt sounds amazing! I think you have done such a good job on the skirt that it did just what it’s supposed to, make YOU look and feel great. Rather than the skirt screaming “look at me!” And B, most of them probably wouldn’t know what boning or horse hair canvas even was! 🙂

I was thinking back to a dinner with friends a while ago where someone mentioned they had seen a skirt I made at the library. Eventually we worked out that I had’t made the skirt but had made a number very similar. It was helpful because it meant that they were subconsciously identifying what they considered my signature style, in this case a pettiskirt. So when people compliment you one what you’ve made maybe they are identifying your style rather than the sewing or garment itself. A little like we go “oh, so and so must have made that!” in the flicker pool. Especially if the kids are wearing clothes that look as if they come from very good boutiques, e.g. anything we make from Oliver and S, or something that looks great but unlike anything you could buy in Target! Maybe our friends have worked out our signature style before we have 🙂

[Nicole]

I must admit, I love it when people assume my sewing is purchased. That happened with my Liesl&Co Weekender dress. I accused Jed (my husband) of setting the compliment up.

[thejennigirl]

I bought handmade outfits for my daughter (remember the big indie kids clothing designs on ebay? Before etsy popped up?), so we’ve always had a fun euro vibe to most of her wardrobe. Eventually, I gave my hand to sewing the outfits instead of paying $80+ a pop for an outfit (all that money I spent! No wonder my husband lived in fear of paypal transactions!), and we’ve stayed the course since.

Often, when I post a picture of something I made for my daughter on Facebook, multiple friends immediately comment with “DIBS!” Sometimes I think to myself, “nuh-uh, not parting with that one!” and other times I wonder if they would really call dibs if they saw my seams. It’s almost motivation to make every piece something my child could wear inside out and not be ashamed. Almost 😉

We changed schools this year, and my daughter’s new teachers are almost comical with their compliments to her clothing. Her primary classroom teacher (she’s in a Montessori room) made sure she asked if I ever sell her hammidowns before she even opened my daughter’s file at our parent-teacher conference in the fall (!!)

I will say, as an American mother, with a daughter on the brink of puberty (SOB!), and finally leaving the little girls’ clothing departments in many stores, I am HORRIFIED at what is mass-marketed as acceptable clothing from a size 6x up. See thru tunics, crass wording spelled across the tush of shorts and pants, micro mini skirts, off the shoulder tops, and shirts that say things like “perfect’, ‘her majesty’, ‘my bother is a dork’, and worse, fill the racks and shelves. It breaks my heart that anyone would think dressing their child like a mini Kardashian would ever be okay. Cheap polyester fabrics aflash with glitter and sequins adorn everyday wear, much akin to what some of the prostitutes wore in Pretty Woman. I’m relieved that I have the abilities to sew so much of my little girl’s wardrobe. I feel as though I am protecting so much of her innocence and inner beauty just by sewing age appropriate clothing.

[bren5kids]

I SO hear you, jennigirl. My daughters are 6 and 8 years old, and every time I venture into the girls department to get the things I don’t normally sew (sweaters, outerwear and underwear) I am appalled at the junk on offer. Not only is everything in bad taste as you have described, but the fabrics are so thin and cheap-looking. And I’ve noticed lately that it’s getting hard to find good old full-coverage panties for little girls; you mean to tell me 6 and 8 year olds wear bikinis?!!! I’m talking about the big department stores; thankfully there are places like Gymboree that have quality, age appropriate girl clothes.

It always makes me so glad that I sew and don’t have to rely on what the stores have to offer. Now if I could just find the time to knit……..