I have been sewing since I was a little girl. My mother would not buy me doll clothes (she said the quality was bad and that they were too expensive,) so if I didn't want naked dolls, I had to learn to sew. The photo is of a doll dress I made sometime in 1967. I am still amazed at the quality, even though I knew nothing at the time of finishing seams. I guess I was always a bit of a perfectionist when it came to sewing. I have it on my bulletin board, just to remind me that if I do a good job, it will last through the years. And I still think it is the coolest dress my Francie doll ever had!
I made my first dress for myself when I was 8 years old. I can still remember it like it was yesterday: it was a wrap-a-round dress with 3 armholes, made with yellow kettle cloth (Is this fabric even still around?) and orange bias tape that went on all the raw edges. Oh, how I wish I still had that dress!
I sewed all through high school and college, sometimes for others but mostly just for me. With very few exceptions, I sewed only clothing, even having a clothing business in the early 80's. When I returned to the States in 1990 from living and working in Europe for 3 years, I turned to sewing for the home. I had a successful custom home furnishings business in Chicago for 10 years before moving to California in early 2001. I reestablished my business in Coronado and have been happily doing custom work here ever since.
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