October: Before You Sew, Part II

September was Before You Sew month, and boy was it a busy one! Since we didn’t quite make it through all the topics I wanted to cover in just four measly weeks, I thought I’d extend the topic through October.

Here’s what we’ve covered so far:

• Sewing and Your Wardrobe: Why too much choice can be a bad thing, and how to focus yourself on making the clothes that make you happy.
• Books: What Shall I Wear?: We discussed a seminal book on dressing by American designer Claire McCardell, both the beauty and context of her “American style,” and how this way of dressing might apply to wardrobe planning today.
• The Prewash: Why it is so important to prewash most fabrics before sewing, with a breakdown of caring for several different common fabric types.
• Inspiration Tools on the Web: Using web-based tools to gather and organize visual inspiration for your sewing.
• Tracing Patterns with Freezer Paper: A useful trick using freezer paper to help cut your patterns.
• Sullivan’s Spray Stabilizer: My absolute favorite trick for dealing with unstable, slippery, or light fabrics!

This month we’ll talk a little more about planning, preparing, and cutting.