I had fond memories of my week work experience when I was as school and was thrilled to be able to offer the same opportunity to two local school children. Maddie and Leah joined us last week and were quick to adapt to our busy warehouse. They joined in with subscription box building, photography for our social media as well as some sewing - Leah has never used a sewing machine so followed part of our 'Learn to Sew; course whilst Maddie wanted to develop her sewing skills and begin dress making. As part of them I asked them if they were happy, to write a blog on their experiences;
Maddie's Blog;
I have always been a fan of creative and performing arts, and dressmaking is the craft that often links them together. Since I was around eleven, I have been familiar with a sewing machine, and as someone who has always loved sewing, I was elated when I was placed at Little Miss Sew N Sew for my work experience. Amongst all the subscription box packing, I was finally able to spend some time at a sewing machine with a seemingly endless supply of fabric to properly start my dressmaking journey beyond cutting up and fixing jeans back together like some sort of fashionable Dr Frankenstein.
My first project was the Tilly and the Buttons Jaimie pattern, which was the perfect beginner pattern for me, as I’m trying to build up to using my collection of vintage patterns. For these pyjama bottoms, as I wanted them to be soft, I used a flannel fabric. As I’m familiar with quilting, I knew the basic techniques, but I still needed to practise other skills, such as adding elastic to the waistband and ensuring that the hemline doesn’t fray. I found the pattern easy to pick up and the instructions easy to follow. Within a few hours, I had made my own pair of stylish pyjama bottoms.
After the success of my first project, I swiftly moved on to the Rio Ringer t-shirt, which taught me how to use binding fabrics like rib knit. The main fabric for this project was a striped rib jersey, which had the perfect amount of softness and stretch. To pick up the navy stripes, I used a navy ribbing and thread. By using a Seraflex thread, I was able to sew the pattern with whatever stitch I wanted, because the thread stretched with the fabric. Although sewing the binding was tricky, I quickly picked up the technique and became more confident (even if the sewing machine wasn’t). The t-shirt I have made will definitely be making an appearance in my regular rotation of shirts.
Leah;
Leah and I had a chat about her weeks experience and what she enjoyed most. Leah was excellent at helping build our subscription boxes and measured herself each day by how many she had built. What was most impressive was how well she picked up sewing! She confidently was able to use the sewing machine and followed the video and written instructions for the projects independently.
Leah made a 4 patch cushion cover, a tote bag and a pencil case with a zip. She told me that she really enjoyed making the pencil case, we were very impressed with how well she navigated the zip!
