A couple of years ago I decided to challenge myself by sewing something outside of the norm for me. I went to Seattle Fabrics and got outdoor nylon fabric and a sewing pattern to make a rainbow windsock.
Rainbow Windsock
A dye and a patch job
I bought this wool sweater from J.Crew on a super sale one spring and wore it so much I ended up with a hole in the elbow. I never really cared for the color though, so when I decided to patch the hole up, I figured I may as well dye it at the same time.
A new dress from vintage fabric
When starting a project, I always try to use a vintage pattern, vintage fabric, or both. For this dress I used vintage fabric that I got for $1/yard (!!) at a fabric store in Moscow, Idaho way back in 2009.
Poncho party
In 2010 I tried my hand at patterning, sewing, and selling garments on Etsy to see if I could make it work financially to have that be my sole form of income. The answer to that was LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. I moved back from NYC to live at home with my mom rent-free, I was sewing/pattern making/photographing/blogging/posting to Etsy for 14-20 hours a day and I still was barely making any money. The thing I kept thinking at the time was, it really does take money to make money. Since I was the one making all the patterns, it would have been great to be able to pay someone else to make the garments. Or pay someone else to grade the patterns up and down in size so that I could sew them. My point is, there’s really no way it would have worked out without some sort of investment, but it sure was fun. I think I watched every Christmas movie known to man that winter. Here are some of the ponchos I made and sold during that time.
