Clothes Making Mavens Podcast

Exciting News! And Your Most Embarrassing Make

You know what’s so amazing about sewing podcasts? That you get to listen to people discuss your favourite pastime while you’re doing your favourite pastime! It’s like having a sewing party at your place but you didn’t have to vacuum or bake banana bread ahead of time!

If you’re a fan of sewing podcasts like I am, then I hope you’ll be happy to hear this news…

Clothes Making Mavens - a sewing podcast about handmade fashion

Helena from Gray All Day and I are producing a podcast! We’re looking forward to sharing our first episode with you very soon!

[Lori jumps around room with excitement, shouting yahoo yaHOOOO YAHOOOOOOOOOOOO…a box of pins goes flying; the microphone gets knocked on the floor. Helena, on the other side of the continent, is still extracting pins from the rug after her last excited outburst.]

We want to include your stories in our podcast, too. So we’ll be asking you a specific question for each episode in hopes that you’ll share some interesting stories with us and with other sewists who will be listening (we hope).

Our first question is: What is the most embarrassing thing you ever sewed that you actually wore out in public? Why did you wear it, and where? How did you feel? Was it embarrassing at the time or only now that you think back on it? Perhaps it was a fashion crime? Or a bad fit? Or likely it was just something that was fashionable in the 80s that you’re horrified by now. (Many of us are horrified by what we wore in the 80s, aren’t we?) I know you’ve got some good stories, so dish, my friends! All the gory details, please! 😀

There are several ways you can share your story with us:

  1. Call us at 401-64MAVEN and leave your story on our voicemail. (Long distance charges may apply.)
  2. Visit speakpipe.com/ClothesMakingMavens and record your message using your computer’s built-in or external microphone.
  3. Leave your story in the comments below.
  4. Send your story telepathically directly to my or Helena’s brain. (Results not guaranteed.)

We’d love for you to record your message using one of the first two methods so we can play it back on our podcast. But we’ll also be happy to read some of your written stories aloud, too.

Hope to hear from you very soon! And I’ll keep you posted about when you can listen to our first episode.

Woohoo!

 

 

 

14 thoughts on “Exciting News! And Your Most Embarrassing Make”

  2. 1966. Eleven years old and sooo excited to use velvet for the first time. It was a deep forest green for a square neck a-line dress with bell sleeves. The neckline and sleeve were trimmed in cream lace. Well I was so excited, I set out to cut it out after school while my mom was at work. She came home midway through and said OH NO!! Despite having been sewing for five years already, I’d never learned what “with nap” meant. I completed it as cut and went to the school Christmas concert wearing two different “colors” front and back. I was just devastated. Looking back, probably no one noticed, but I have since always cut in the same direction, even if fabric doesn’t appear to have a nap.

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    1. Thanks for your story, Linda. I can really picture the dress…and I bet it was beautiful! But it’s funny what we’re so self conscious about in our own projects, isn’t it?

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  3. I was 17 when I made a red suede vest and skirt. It was my first attempt at sewing leather and I was pleased with how it turned out. When I was invited to a dance by cute fellow I wore my new outfit. Unfortunately, during some slow dances the color rubbed off on my date’s white shirt. His Mother was not pleased and it was my first and last date with him.

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    1. Ok, Joyce, what was your most embarrassing make that you wore out in public?? I know you’ve got a good one, despite your incredible talent as a sewist…I mean, you can’t have always been this good, right??

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  6. ok, I’ve worked on my re-call…and I have one……thought its slightly “outside the box”, here it comes. I didn’t make it for me……… I made it for my daughters girlfriend…..
    I have written this story a few times……I’m looking for a copy, surely I can find it…and I should have a photograph…somewhere…anyhow. … I’ll have to start from fresh if need be ……..I’ll be back.
    Joyce

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  7. Bingo found it. Do have a photograph of the dress . ..let me know if you want it.

    ok…I’m just going to retype this, it was an email story to my friend.
    email below
    “Missy’s Dress”
    “Mrs. Latham” she says “could you make my bridesmaid dress?”
    Mrs. Latham looks rather frightened, “Who me?” she replies.
    “Well, why not”, (implying by her tone that Mrs. Latham is some kind of wimp and should be taking more risks , to build her self confidence and put some excitement in her life. “You made Nancy’s (my daughters) graduation dress!” (the post I did for you Lori)
    In a slight daze Mrs. Latham decides to take on the challenge, instructed Missy to bring the the “simple pattern”, not jacket or anything” soon.
    Days later Missy appears in the doorway package in hand, hurrying to “get to the bar, Friday night…party time!”” Mrs. Latham is doing her best to appear confident. “I can do it ” she repeats to herself over and over. She doesn’t even fall off the chair when the pattern is a Vogue, off the shoulder, foundation, lined, boned bodice, bodice overlay, in burgundy crepe-satin. No , she smiles like this is all just fine.
    What size Mrs. Latham wants to know?
    “Size???? What do you mean…Oh a 10 I guess. Yea, yea a 10”
    ok…………..
    Missy is leaving town for a wee. (More achieving— one week counselling at some cancer cap for Kids) Mrs. Latham starts to sweat. “What?? Your leaving town, when does this dress have to be done?”
    “About three weeks”
    ok…………………
    So Mrs. Latham starts to sew, and cut and sew and cut. She’s having sleepless nights. What if the dress is too small” What if its too short? What if she wearing those 5 inch platforms?” Oh no……………………!
    First Fitting: Mrs. Latham decided to play it safe and have her try it on at Stage and Street so her boss could check the fitting.
    Relief. It’s fine, snug, but its suppose to be snug because the boning is holding the whole dress up, her boss tells her.
    Ok……….ekkkkkkkkkkkk
    More sewing and sweating fro Mrs. Latham.
    Next fitting: Everything fine. Looking good.
    “So how much do you want for making the dress Mrs. Latham? You know, my sister is having a really tight budget wedding. You know, they’re so young and they have their school debts and they’re living in Toronto, but how much do you want Mrs. Latham? The dress is really nice and you did a great job. Your wonderful”. she says with a sweet S MILE
    Mrs. Latham has thought about this during her sleepless nights. She’s spent 25 hours on the god damn dress and its time to get what coming to her………..What ever you want to pay me” she says……..like a FOOL!
    Missy (women of the world) laughs. “Really?” she says… “What fun”, she’s thinking.. or… Wait ! is this a trick?!” Nervously she leaves.
    More sleepless nights for Mrs. Latham. More worrying and wondering. Mrs. Latham is getting carried away waiting for Missy to come and try the dress on the last time, hemmed. Now she is making a wardrobe bad and shoe bag, embroidering Missy’s initials on the bad, “Get this dress out of here ” she screams at the top of her voice to anyone listening. “What am I doing?” Enough already”
    Days later.
    Mrs. Latham has just arrived home from her hike with Joan and about to have a cup of tea. Herr daughter Kate says, “Mom come and look at your present”…”What present? Its not my birthday or anything”
    Missy has come to pick up her dress when Mrs. Latham wasn’t home. (Bad news because Mrs. Latham hasn’t seen the dress on , hemmed!”
    The present was a apple basket with fruit and candles and a picture frame, bottle of wine, apple butter and a card and MONEY — 100$
    “Missy is a great kid” , Mrs. Latham is thinking…. But the story doesn’t end there.
    The next day Missy is back at the door of Mrs. Latham’s house, bubbly and peppy and “off to the bar…Friday night ya know” “Thanks foe the basket , thanks for the wardrobe bag……Your great, Im great bla bla bla bla…..THE MATERIAL IS INSIDE OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    What? What? What??? What????
    THE MATERIAL IS INSIDE OUT!
    Mrs. Latham is fainting. Mrs. Latham’s heart had hit the bottom of her stomach..Mrs. Latham is in denial…..”What?” she says
    “I told you the wrong side! Its was suppose to be the shinny side in. I forgot :- (
    But you know what?! It’s ok…………..its just going to be the Big JOKE at the wedding”
    Mrs. Latham is in shock. Mrs. Latham is dyeing

    Mrs. Latham takes a deep breath and thinks and thinks. What can be done? Can I turn it around? So, the seams would show. Could I take it apart and turn it around? Yes, but then the interfacing is stuck to the top.
    “Missy,” Mrs. Latham says very quietly, “If I can find enough material” she whispers this part…..”I COULD make you a new top for the dress and take the bottom apart and turn it around and sew it all back together again”
    “O would you Mrs. Latham. I’ll see what I can find. I’ve got to g. Friday night you know! See ya”
    More sleepless nights for Mrs. Latham.
    Next meeting. By now Mrs. Latham is getting really nervous. What is some thing goes wrong. Miss is the Maid of Honor. The bride doesn’t care. She could get away with it. “Missy ” Mrs. Latham is chickening our ” Lets not do it”
    “Ok”………………. But……..the story doesn’t end there.
    One hour and a half later Missy mother phones Mrs. Latham. “Did you touch Missy’s dress? (You FOOL she s surlely thinking)
    “No” squeaks Mrs. Latham
    “Guess What? I just goat a call from one of the other brides mad, She did the Same thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    And that’s the end of that story.
    Joyce Latham

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