A Stitch In Time

One of the best things about knowing how to sew is when you have nothing to wear and you can't find a single thing that you like and/or can afford you can simply make it yourself in the color and fabric of your choice and you have complete control over all the finishes and details.

When I was a child I was fascinated by the ability of others to cut out a pattern and fabric and put it all together and turn it into a sensational garment... and like many other things I was led to believe it was difficult and you needed to have some special magical talent to do it... but when I was a theatre major you had to have a technical focus and I choose costuming (it was a toss up between that and lighting)... I learned costume design and construction for the theatre from a master... but one of the most important things I can tell you is sewing something to wear to a party and something to wear for a party scene in a play are as different as night and day... I suppose the best way I can illustrate this is you have to consider that theatre lighting can have a  tremendous effect on the way something will look from the audience but probably most importantly things have to be made different for the stage especially if any rigorous activity (like dancing) is going to happen while wearing it. This is the primary reason most costumes have to be made for stage work rather than store bought. I remember hearing a story from someone once when 'West Side Story' was on broadway in order to cut down on expenses they replaced the jeans (when they wore out) with store bought... well they looked terrible because the originals were handmade and dyed for theatre lighting, but more importantly they were designed and constructed so the cast could dance in them... the store bought replacements had no give and were difficult to dance and move in.... look at this clip closely and see if you can spot the differences. (one hint is there are no working pockets in the pants)... and the fabric had some stretch to it and all the seams were sewn with elastic.

A few of the other important differences with theatrical and film costumes is that sometimes the hems are weighted with chain so that a costume will move just so and sometimes they are treated with something to make them shimmer in the lights and special care is taken that shirts and blouses stay tucked in... very often there are no buttons or zippers in case a character has to make a fast change... and in one instance when I had a part in a production it was reversible so I could get off on stage right and turn it inside out and return on stage left  a minute later as a different character in a large ensemble cast. Costumes for film often have greater attention to details because they are filmed and viewed more closely than from a theater audiences perspective.

But back to real life... I had a couple of life changing experiences that started in Bergdorf Goodman one afternoon.... I asked myself "When did everything become so ugly and expensive and made out of such dreadful material?"... so second part of this life changing revelation came when I was presented with a bill of $50.00 for some pretty minor alterations from a tailor.

Within a week or two I went out and bought a sewing machine and a book to help me get started. (I come from a mindset that you can teach yourself anything from reading the right book with the exception of flying a 747 and performing brain surgery.... well sewing proved to be the exception despite the wonderful tutorials on YouTube). I fiddled around at home and subsequently signed up to take sewing class at Mood (You may know of them if you watched Project Runway) They have locations in LA and NYC and I can't recommend them highly enough besides learning the basics in the beginning class I learned technique  in the intermediate and advanced class... but one the most important things I learned is like   playing any musical instrument or sport... the more you do it the better you get. The most important thing was that I had the confidence in myself to become better... but if truth be told I met three wonderful people who I plan on being friends with for the rest of my life... our teacher Ben... my separated at birth soul mate sister Debra and Stefano who recently finished a program at FIT in design.

So... if you want to sew... go out and get yourself a sewing machine and buy a book and some fabric and get your feet wet practicing... but I can't recommend classes highly enough. I took the intermediate class twice and the advanced class twice. I also took a workshop in tailoring and alterations... and advanced shirt construction class ( I have a made to fit shirt better than anything else in my closet)  and I took a class on how to use a serger. It's really important that you have good supplies (don't get me wrong the initial investment on all this is fairly steep but once you have it all you only need to buy patterns. buttons, zippers, finishes, fabric and thread and the occasional needle replacements)... keep in mind I found a brand new tailors ham in a thrift store for a fraction of the original price.

One of the best pieces of advice I was given when I was taking classes was to turn clothing inside out and examine how it's made and put together... whenever I'm stuck and I'm having a hard time figuring out the instructions that come with a pattern (some are more difficult to understand than others) I look at the inside of something and I'm usually able to figure it out.

In addition the the satisfaction you get from all of this is you get to have things that don't exist in exactly the same way anyplace else in the world... also I spent a couple of years looking for a pair of white summer pants.... I finally made them... I wanted to do a little dance when someone admired them and asked where I bought them.

One final thing... I have a book with a photo of a pair of Calvin Klein trousers from the 90's and I've just been over the moon about them since I actually owned a pair... I've wanted to try to remake them but  they have a pretty tricky  waist and what I thought might be a difficult pleat detail... two weeks ago I found a Calvin Klein Vogue pattern of the pants at Housing Works.... I can't wait to have them again.

So until next week... enjoy your life... the beautiful weather and don't take anyone or anything for granted especially yourself.