We interview Geri Berman, AKA Geri in Stitches! Geri’s social media accounts are the happiest place in the sewing world – she shows off her jaw-dropping projects, shares lots of tips, and demonstrates interesting techniques, all with her signature high energy and positivity. We talk to her about hand dyeing, sashiko, and more!
The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.
Show Notes:
Find Geri Online:
- Website: Geri In Stitches
- Instagram: @geri_in_stitches
- YouTube: Geri In Stitches
- TikTok: @geri_in_stitches
- Kofi: @geri_in_stitches
- Geri’s Classes on Now You Know:
- Sew Your Own Dresses 101 (shirred dress class)
- The Complete Sewing Course
- Creative Sewing for Beginners
Geri’s Sashiko Projects (She learned from Atsushi Futatsuya – @sashikostory and @upcyclestitches on Instagram):
Geri’s Hand Dyed Projects:
View this post on Instagram
Tools and Notions:
Patterns:
Transcript:
Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.
Hello and welcome to Love to Sew. I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.
Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.
Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew and it’s basically all we want to talk about.
Helen: Today we are interviewing Geri Berman from Geri in Stitches. Geri’s social media accounts are the happiest place in the sewing world. She shows off her jaw-dropping projects, shares lots of tips, and walks us through interesting techniques, all with her signature high energy and positivity. We talk to her about hand dyeing, sashiko, and more.
Caroline: If you love to sew, this is your show.
Helen: Hello, Geri. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.
Geri: Thanks for having me. I’m so happy to be here with you guys.
Helen: Oh, we’re so happy to get the chance to talk with you. Can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?
Geri: Well, I’m Geri, and I have the Instagram handle @geri_in_stitches, and I love to sew!
Helen: You certainly do. You are such a prolific sewist and it’s amazing following along with everything that you do over at Geri in Stitches. So if y’all aren’t following Geri yet, go give her a follow. Totally worth it. Geri, where are you from?
Geri: Originally, I was born and raised in Singapore, and then I moved to the States and lived in the Northeast for a while for my studies. And then I fell in love with my husband, and now I live in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Helen: Wow, oh my gosh. Okay. And tell us a little bit about your sewing journey. How and when did you learn to sew?
Geri: Like almost all little girls in Singapore, the sewing journey begins at age about eight in a home economics class. But at that time, you know, honestly speaking, we were not enraptured with sewing to say the least. I mean, we all kind of coveted ready-to-wear clothes, right? It was just something that I wasn’t really into when I was a kid. But we did learn the basics of sewing. And then when I was doing work study at school in the States, I worked in the costume department and it was basically just hemming miles of skirts. But I was actually secretly in love with all the costume design that was coming out of that room, right? So even though it was tedious work, just getting my work study money, I think in some ways I, sort of, started to love costumes. But I didn’t really pursue it. I was into acting at that time. And then I made my journey into sewing mainly because of a huge failure. I was working with my husband in theater and we created a show and it failed miserably. And I guess my confidence as a creative person just kind of went down the drain. And I lost a lot of confidence in myself and sewing became like a healing journey back to myself. It was something that I could make goals for myself and start small again. So that’s why I sew now. It was a healing journey back to myself.
Caroline: Wow, that is incredibly powerful and kind of poetic that, out of failure, you created this incredible sewing journey. And now look at where you are, with the amount of followers that you have and the influence that you have and the, the presence that you have in the sewing community is filled with light and happiness and your style is, as well. We’re so inspired by your personal style. So maybe give our listeners a little bit of a taste of what your personal style is.
Geri: I think it’s filled with colour. And I think you described it quite well. It’s about light and happiness, right? So, because it came out of failure, I really needed light and happiness. I felt it was a rope that I could hold onto. And I was in a very negative place and sewing helped me, stitch by stitch, build something back for myself. And it wasn’t just making clothes for me. It was the process of sewing clothes and then wearing the clothes. And filling myself with colour and light and happiness was the main goal. So in some ways, I tried to convey that in my content and the, this content creation was by accident, really. I, I didn’t start an Instagram account thinking I wanted to have this whole following and make a whole career out of content creation. That wasn’t the plan at all. I just needed to share this part of myself that was helping me get through a difficult time, you know? And It happened during COVID as well, when we were just sort of cut off from each other, right? And I needed that, I don’t know, connection somehow. And I needed to connect back to myself and I needed to connect to some kind of wider community. So in some ways the content creation happened by accident. And it just started to have this momentum that I never really planned for. I guess people just like light and happiness.
Helen: I do think that’s what draws people to your content, as well as the awesome tips and tutorial stuff that you post, as well. And it’s interesting to hear that you have a background in theatre and acting because I think that comes across. You’re so expressive in your content and so it’s so fun to watch you make things and to watch you react to the things that you’ve made and wear them out and about with this huge smile on your face.
Helen: I think that that confidence that you’re getting through that experience translates to the people who are watching it. I feel confident watching you feel confident, if that makes sense.
Geri: I’m so happy to hear that, because I think it’s important to share what you love so that other people can connect with what they love. I mean, I’m happy to influence people who sew but I’m also happy to influence other people to do the thing that they love to do, you know? I think that’s so important.
Caroline: Yeah, absolutely.
Helen: Yeah. And you mentioned not intending to make a career out of being a quote-unquote influencer, but has this become your career? Are you a full time content creator now?
Geri: I guess I would consider myself a full-time mum. And the content creation is something that I do on the side. And I can’t really say right now that it’s a career. It’s just something that I do. And it makes me happy. It’s now part of my creative process as well. I can’t really disengage the content creation from sewing.
Geri: It just developed that way, you know, and I’m only afraid that, you know, sometimes whatever you create, it starts to eat you up like Frankenstein. So I do watch it also, to make sure that it doesn’t become the monster that controls me, right? And that’s with everything. I think every creator or maker needs to find that kind of balance. So yeah, I’m, doing my best to also be creative as a mum as well as a sewist and content creator, you know, trying to balance all those things.
Helen: You’re crushing it. Let’s be real.
Geri: And I also want to be a pattern maker. This is something that has been stewing for a while and I’m giving it the time to marinate. And I have some things that are cooking.
Helen: So exciting. Wow. I could totally see you with a pattern line. I love your style, especially like, just, the aesthetic of a lot of the things you wear. I think people would be so into having patterns for the kind of stuff that you enjoy making.
Geri: Oh, thanks so much. And Helen, I must say that you’ve been an inspiration in terms of the pattern making department as well. Because I, I also love your patterns.
Helen: Oh, that’s so sweet. I know I’ve seen you make our patterns over the years and it’s always a thrill every time you do. I’m like, “Oh, Geri made something!”
Geri: I mean, I love your journey as well. Your, your journey into pattern making. I think that it’s really special, and that also inspired me to make the move into doing it, I think.
Helen: Oh my gosh. I can’t wait to hear more about this. Are you working on this in the next, like, year or so? Can we expect to see something from you soon?
Geri: I hope so. I mean, I’m trying to juggle all these things. And it’s something that has been in the works for a while, but I’m a, completely a one-man show kind of thing. And I’m also giving myself the time to get it done, you know?
Helen: Yeah. Not put too much pressure on, for sure.
Geri: Again, it’s, it’s sort of like finding that balance, right? You have to find that sweet spot that it brings excitement and not something that will bring you down because of the pressure of it.
Helen: 100 %. Yeah, the deadlines can really eat you up. So it’s good to give yourself lots of time. And I think you would be really great at pattern making, especially the instruction part, because you always share so many amazing tutorials and sewing tips. And we were wondering if you could maybe share one or two of your favourite sewing tips with us.
Geri: I guess the biggest sewing tip I have is to slow down. I’m really loving it right now. So, for example, I’m trying to avoid fusible interfacing.
Helen: Oh, okay.
Geri: I’m, I’m trying to sew it on. Because even though it takes a longer time, I think the end result is much better. Because with, for example, fusible interfacing, I never know when it will bubble up, because I have limited resources in terms of how hot my iron can be, right? And so it’s kind of inconsistent. And after many inconsistent tries, I’ve decided, like, look, if I can sew it on, then it will be better. And, and so, this is one of the things that I am into right now, which is to try and slow things down, because for a long time, I was just so excited to produce more and more and more. And now I’m looking more at the quality of things than the quantity of things that I do. So I guess that’s a tip. Once you slow down, in some ways the quality sort of gets a boost.
Helen: Yeah, so true.
Caroline: It is so true and it’s, it’s so interesting that you say you want to slow down, because looking at a lot of the projects that you do, they look to be extremely time consuming. These beautiful big projects that you pour your heart into. And we want to ask you a little bit more about some of the techniques that you’ve done over the past couple years. You have some really jaw-dropping sashiko projects. And for our listeners who have never seen sashiko, can you explain what it is?
Geri: It’s basically a Japanese embroidery technique. And a lot of the patterns are based on geometric designs. So, I have to say, I’m not an expert in sashiko. I learned it from Atsushi, who runs the @sashikostory handle on Instagram, and I think he also has a website called Upcycle Stitches. And he is a master, I think, and I took a course with him, and I think it’s such an amazing art form, because stitch by stitch, these geometric designs come into shape, and part of the magic of the art form is that it is time consuming, right? And it is, in some ways, labour intensive, but the process of making will put you in a meditative state. When I’m doing sashiko, I’m always reminded that the end product is not the goal. It’s all about process. And this technique came out of a need to mend clothes. And I just love how, through the mending of things, they’ve also developed a way to make things beautiful at the same time, right? So this aesthetic is very appealing to me. So in order to strengthen a jacket that is worn out, they use another piece of cloth. And they stitch these geometric designs, and it doesn’t just strengthen the cloth, it also beautifies it, so I, I think it’s so amazing, it’s so poetic, right, the practice itself, and that’s why I’m so drawn to it.
Helen: It is so beautiful and poetic. I’ve dabbled a little bit myself as well. And it’s meditative. Like you said, it really gets you in that zone of enjoying the process. And you can kind of sit back and reflect while you’re doing it, which is really fun. Could you walk us through a little bit, I know we’re not going to get into depths, but the process of sashiko and things like what do you use to mark your fabric and what kind of thread do you use?
Geri: If you’re going to be marking on darker fabric, then you would need to use some kind of chalk pencil so that it can contrast on the darker fabric. If you’re using a lighter fabric, then I recommend using these Pilot Frixion pens that come in many colours, just because the lines that are made are finer, because they come in so many fun colours, and it’s easy to erase them, right? You just apply some heat. The grid is one of the first things that you have to mark on the fabric, and in some ways, this is the prep that is the most important thing to do before you even stitch, because everything happens on this grid. And I just love how, again, all these intricate patterns are formed on a very, how do you say, basic grid, you know? And then from this grid the, the, the possibilities are endless, right? I also like how this art form was actually developed in the rural areas in Japan, this is what I’ve come to understand. And I, I love how it shows that the people that were practicing this art form were taking patterns from nature and putting it on this grid. Because a lot of the patterns have names coming from nature, right? So there’s like a whole series that are, like, a wave series, you know? Inspired by waves. And a whole series inspired by the hemp leaf, for example. And I just love how you can see from that point of view that there is order, right? It’s a way, for them, of making order by putting everything on a grid, and the way that they view nature almost like that, there’s a higher order that’s beyond themselves. That’s another thing that I’m really drawn to. And the, the preparation is as important as the actual doing as well. Because everything happens on this grid.
Helen: Yeah, I feel like this all ties back in with your advice to slow down in your making because you get to take the time with this process. And I’m wondering if you have an environment that you like to do this in. Like, do you like to have a drink nearby? Do you watch anything while you’re doing sashiko? Or are you really just engaging with the stitches?
Geri: You know, I’m engaging with the stitches, but then it is really a meditative process. I start to watch my thoughts. It brings me to a place of stillness. And then I have to watch my breathing. And then I have to make sure that after long hours of repetitive movement, that I didn’t lock my body in a place that becomes detrimental to the small joints of the body. It kind of increases my awareness of things around me. And sometimes I’m, I’m not in this place all the time. I have to admit, sometimes I have Netflix on, as well.
Helen: I’m only human, okay?
Geri: Sometimes a podcast going or, or whatever. But these are the moments that I feel where the, where the gold is. Right? But you know, sometimes the Netflix is also okay.
Helen: Look, it’s a long project.
Geri: Yeah, exactly. When you’re doing like a hundred hours… but it’s interesting. You watch where your mind goes, you know, or, or where your mind wants to go. And you become accepting of whatever state your mind is in, basically. That’s the beauty of it. You start to accept acceptance. Of course I get frustrated. I’m looking at the stitches and I’m like, “Oh my God, I have like 85 more hours to go.” And, you know, I, you know, I do feel that way too, right? And I’m saying all these zenned out things. “It’s not about the end product.” But of course, sometimes I’m thinking, like, “When will I get to the end?!”
Caroline: Oh my gosh.
Geri: But, you know, you kind of accept that this is all part of the process, right, while getting to the end.
Caroline: Oh, it’s so interesting to hear you talk about this. I’m trying to, like, form a thought here, but…sewing can, I think, sometimes feel really superficial. Like, we’re just making clothes to wear, right? But it does go so much deeper than that with projects like this, where you’re really taking your time. And hearing you talk about connecting with your body, connecting with your emotions and your mind, like, I love that these long projects can really give us that space to reflect and connect with ourselves a little bit more. And it’s just really inspiring to hear you talk about these. And it doesn’t have to be obviously, you know, Netflix comes up and, and that’s fine. But, being able to just sort of, like, connect with the stitches and take your time and slow down and, and feel those feelings, I think, is such a beautiful part of making and sewing.
Geri: I completely agree. I think that’s why, for people who sew, you immediately connect with this feeling. Right? And for people who don’t sew, sometimes they don’t know what we’re talking about.
Caroline: Yeah.
Geri: But basically, we’re creating clothes that become our second skin, right? And these clothes that we wear, we are sort of presenting ourselves to the outside world.
Caroline: Yeah.
Geri: And I think it’s very empowering, this skill of sewing, because as we are creating this outer shell, and we’re crafting this outer shell, and how it fits and aligns with our bodies. You eventually go to the thought that, hey, if I can craft an outer shell, then, of course, I can also craft an inner being, right? I can also craft the person that I, I want to be. I can unveil the person that is me, you know? And I can accept who I am, I can accept this outer shell that sort of is going to be on the outline of my body. And then you start to think, “Hey, I should accept this outline of my body, right?” It kind of makes you feel that it’s okay, wherever your body is, whatever outline it makes in space.
Helen: That’s so interesting, because I think a lot of people struggle with taking up space in the world. And one of the ways that we take up space is by wearing clothing and being noticed and representing ourselves through our clothes. So it’s really interesting to hear you talk about it with that perspective.
Geri: Yeah.
Helen: Oh, we’re going deep today.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Helen: Okay, we also want to talk to you about hand dyeing, or just dyeing in general, because you seem so comfortable with the process. You do a ton of dyeing on your Instagram channel, and I love seeing things transform from one colour to another, the things that you do with tie dye and shibori and everything. So first of all, have you always dyed things? What was the first thing you dyed?
Geri: Wow. I can’t, I can’t really remember the first thing that I dyed, but I, you know, I’ve always been very attracted to colour. I think I was trying to get rid of the me when I was living in New York and everything that I wore was just black and grey. After I had children, I just, I just started to love colour, right? And I was not content with the colour palette that was limiting me at the fabric store. And I wanted to make my own colours in some ways, right? And then I just started to dabble in dyeing. I really can’t remember the first thing that I dyed, but it’s my love for colour, really, that has fueled this excitement for, for dyeing. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but whenever I dye, I’m also, in some ways, going back to stitching when I dye. You know, a lot of the things that I dye currently involves what we call stitched shibori. So the stitching becomes the resist that creates the pattern for the dyeing project. And again, this stitching happens on the grid. But what I love about it is that even though it’s on the grid and there’s so much that you have to prepare for, and it’s organized in a certain way, but once you put it in the dye vat, it kind of all goes to chance as well, you know? You sort of have to pray to the, the dye gods. And, and then you open up the stitches. And then a lot of the times it’s, sort of, not what you expected, even more, right? Because you, you can’t really plan the dye resist to a point, you know, you sort of have to release it right? And then it takes on its own form. And I really love that about dyeing, that there’s an element of surprise, you know, for the good and the bad. And this element of surprise, it’s just so intriguing to me. This is the best moment of a dyeing project, when you release the stitches, or when you release the folds or whatever resist pattern, you know, the rubber bands or the string or whatever. And it reveals something that, in some ways, you didn’t plan, you know, and I think that’s so, I think that’s so great.
Caroline: Over your time dyeing, since you’ve done so many projects, I wonder if you could share some tips with our listeners for getting good results: types of fabrics that you would recommend, that kind of thing.
Geri: I love working with linen. Especially if you’re making folds of some kind as a resist because as we all know linen wrinkles really well, right? But it also means that it can make sharp lines for a resist dye. And I love the way linen feels on my skin. That’s my favourite fabric. So I use that a lot for dying as well. Some tips with dyeing. In some ways know what you can control, but also understand that you have to release at some point. You have to follow the instructions of the dye product, whatever it is. And it surprises me, because a lot of people don’t follow these instructions, you know, and every dye product has, like, a different, I don’t know, instruction manual, and you should do your best to follow that. And a lot of commercial dyes have a colour fixer, and this colour fixer happens after the dyeing process, and some people confuse it with natural dyes, where some of the fixing happens before the dyeing happens, right? So, you sort of have to pay attention to different dyeing techniques and how to fix the colour properly.
Helen: Yeah, you don’t want it bleeding on your clothes.
Geri: Exactly. And, and there’s a way to, there’s a way to do it. You just need to pay attention and follow instructions. And I think, also, with dyeing, that you have to experiment as much as possible. Because you would see that you only get better with more experiments. And to have fun with it. I think that’s a big tip. And if there’s some kind of binding that is required, do your best to bind for sharper lines and for a better resist result. For example, when I do stitched shibori, it is actually literally quite painful, because you have to bind these strings and you have to tie them and it will dig into your hands. The strings will dig into your hands and you need to figure out a way to protect your hands you know? And I use these gloves that sort of have a thick layer but at the same time, there are these gloves that keep the fingertips open so that I can maneuver the, the knots or the string easier. So, yeah, if there’s any kind of binding that is required, figure out the best way to bind.
Helen: Right, it’s like making that grid with sashiko. You have to lay the foundation before you go ahead and do the actual dyeing part, which is probably the easier part by the sounds of it, because it sounds like making these resists can be quite complex. And you’ve done some amazing shibori projects, like your three-piece shibori outfit with the pleated trousers and the camisole and the blazer. And you’ve made butterflies. I mean, it’s just absolutely incredible following along with your process. So definitely go follow Geri if you want to see more of that. I’m personally not a big dyer. I mean, I’ve done a little bit of dyeing. Caroline and I have had some dyeing dates. And I can definitely relate to the excitement when you unfold the final project and you see it for the first time. It’s so, so cool. But I think I’m very intimidated and nervous to dye things because of that lack of control of the process and the not knowing what you’re going to get. And especially dyeing finished projects, because they’re all done and they’re fine just the way they are. But even if I’m not wearing it, I’m like, still resistant to dye it. So I guess I’m wondering if you have any words of encouragement for people like me, who are nervous to throw something into a dye pot.
Geri: I would say, start with something that you are not so invested in. For example, like a T-shirt you know? And build your skills on a T-shirt or a piece of fabric instead of, like, a finished garment. And I, I have to warn sometimes, when you are dyeing a finished garment, because for some dye projects, you have to raise the temperature, right? Higher than the regular laundry temperature of your clothes. You run the risk of actually shrinking the finished garment as well. This is something that people should know. And so a lot of the time when I am dyeing a finished garment, I make sure that it’s at least half a size larger, just in case it, it will shrink down a little bit, right? And this happens especially with linen, because the higher the temperature, the more the colour will stick. And so sometimes it is like, at least 100 degrees Celsius when I’m dyeing the, the garment. And it will shrink some if it didn’t reach that high temperature before. And the other way to do it is to dye your fabric pieces first, before making it into a finished garment. And I do that a lot as well. Just because I know this feeling of fear that you described. That, you know, the garment is finished and then you have to dye it. And you’re not sure how it will come out on the other end, right? So sometimes I counter that fear by first dyeing the fabric.
Helen: That makes a lot of sense. I should try it that way, because I think that would put my mind at ease. for sure.
Geri: Yeah, And start small, and then slowly make bigger pieces. And that will help build your confidence with dyeing, and it will build your experience as well.
Helen: Totally. I’m also wondering about thread, because I know that polyester thread doesn’t take on colour as well as cotton thread. So if you’re dyeing something that’s already been sewn, is that something that you think about, or do you just kind of go for it and let the thread be whatever colour it’s going to be?
Geri: Well, now if I, if I know that the garment is going to be dyed after I’ve finished sewing it, then I use cotton thread instead of polyester if I, I want the thread to be the same colour as the garment. But sometimes when you use polyester thread, then it becomes a contrast colour, right? And, sometimes that’s not bad as well. So, I would say if you do know that you’re going to dye something and you’ve finished sewing it, it’s going to be a finished garment before you dye it, then you might want to consider sewing with cotton thread instead of polyester if you want it to be the same colour.
Helen: Yeah, that makes sense.
Caroline: Is there a type of dye that you recommend?
Geri: I think all dyes are great. I, I use RIT dyes a lot just because I live in a small apartment and I don’t have outside space for, like, a soda ash vat, or, like, a indigo vat. You know? I kind of have to work with a space issue. I would love to work more with, um, natural dyes. And that’s something that I plan on doing. But in the meantime, RIT dyes work for me. But I’ve also used, like, the Dharma Trading Company dyes. And I think it’s called Jacquard dyes. And those work well as well. But the dyeing process is different, again, for all these different products and you just have to make sure that you really understand the dyeing process for these products before dyeing. You’re doing the correct prep work and the, the post-dyeing work is important as well.
Caroline: Yeah.
Geri: Yeah.
Helen: Yeah, you want to set yourself up for success, which also makes me wonder about those moments when you unveil the project and it’s not what you were expecting. Can you talk to us a bit about how you feel when your dyeing doesn’t work out?
Geri: You just have to make the best out of it, I guess. There was a piece of fabric that I dyed and I didn’t bind it as well as I could in the, in the middle part of this piece of fabric, and it was such a bummer, but I managed to work around it. I mean, that’s the best advice. You just sort of have to work around it, right? And maybe you have to be flexible and abandon your initial plans and make something else out of it.
Caroline: Yeah.
Geri: That’s my best advice. Or there’s also: dye it black.
Caroline: I love that.
Helen: Yes, just dye it again.
Caroline: It kind of goes back to what you said earlier, like, do all of the prep work that you can do and then understand that there are some things that you can’t control. And I feel like that parallels sewing in a lot of ways. Like, we can do all of the prep we could do in sewing, but if the finished garment doesn’t fit or something’s wrong with it, like, we have to sort of let go, right? And understand that that will happen and that’s all part of the process. And it’s kind of the beauty of the process when you have to problem solve at the end and figure out what to do, how to move forward.
Helen: Or what to do next time, right? The lessons we learn along the way are so important.
Caroline: Yeah.
Geri: I mean, that’s how we learned how to sew, right? It’s through a series of failures and mistakes. I mean, it’s, it doesn’t go, I mean, what you see on Instagram, what I post, I’m mainly posting my successes. You didn’t see 60% of the time where I failed. I didn’t post that.
Helen: Yeah. There’s a whole new series for you.
Geri: And maybe I should, but you know, most of the time when, when you come up with a failure and you start sweating, a cold or hot sweat, and you get so…I get so frustrated with myself. I, I, and you know, I turn off the camera because I’m not in a good mood. I need some time to get over myself. Right? Yeah.
Helen: Yeah, that’s really fair. Well, coming back to your involvement in the sewing community, you do post a lot of different things on your channels, and one of the things you do is pattern reviews on your blog. And it’s so helpful for sewists who wanna get more information about a pattern before they buy it. Wanna learn about your experience. And we are wondering, in your opinion, what’s important to include in a pattern review to be useful for people?
Geri: I think people have to be honest in a pattern review. I mean, I want to say nice things about every pattern and there will always be nice things to say about every pattern. But I think, also, I will always offer my way of doing things. Sometimes the instructions may be lacking or I feel like maybe that’s not the best way of doing a certain technique. And then I offer what I would do instead. And I, I guess that’s the honest part. I think most of the time I’m, I’m quite nice, but I think maybe readers also want to know an alternative way of doing things. And maybe readers of sewing blogs want to know if it’s worth their time and money, spending on this pattern, right? So in some ways I’m, I’m sort of giving them that, I’m giving them that honest opinion, whether it was worth my time and money to work on this pattern. I think I’ve been very nice most of the time. I, I, I like to see the good in everything, right? But also, there are my approach to the pattern. And I think people love to read about hacks, you know, and see other possibilities. I think that’s something that’s very important, to give a different perspective of, like, the base pattern could also be this, this, this, this, this, you know, and you start to ignite the imagination of your readers so that they can also come up with something that, you know, inspired by this little change that you made. You know, and, and I, I love to read about this in other people’s sewing blogs, right? I like to see what they, their take on it.
Helen: Yeah, 100%. I think I can hear your hesitation and wanting to say that you shouldn’t be nice when you’re doing a pattern review, but I don’t think that sharing alternative methods for construction or ways that you think that for you personally would have improved it or done it differently is necessarily a negative critique of the pattern. It’s just a different approach. And as we know, there are so many ways to do things in sewing, and what works for somebody might not work for somebody else. So it’s always great to have lots of different options and perspectives out there.
Geri: Right.
Helen: Do you have any tried-and-true patterns or pattern companies that you like to go back to?
Geri: The pattern that I keep going back to is the Wide Strap Maxi Dress by Peppermint Magazine. Yes, I, I’ve made quite a few of those, and of course I’ve made the Ashton Top quite a few times with many variations.
Caroline: Infinitely hackable, the Ashton Top.
Helen: Yes.
Geri: I have to admit, these days I’m, I’m more into making versions of my own patterns. Like, trying to make my own patterns better. So I’m not really looking at too many other pattern companies, but I must say, with Fibre Mood, the sizing works very well for me. So I like working on some of their patterns. And they tend to have a very unusual structural, sometimes, take on basic patterns. I like the lines of some of their patterns. So I’m, I’m always looking out for the magazine to come out to see their newest patterns.
Caroline: Fibre Mood does have really unique designs, so I could totally see where you’re coming from. It also made me think of how exciting it is as a sewist to find a company that their sizing really works for you and I’ve had that with a few companies and I feel like it’s, it’s just so great when you know that pattern is going to come out and you’re, it’s going to probably fit you because you match their size chart so well. So there’s something to be said for sort of getting to know a pattern company and, and their designs and their, and their sizing and really sticking with that.
Geri: Yeah, it just makes it much easier, right? You don’t need to think about so much. You just kind of dive right in. I don’t usually make a muslin or toile when I’m working with a Fibre Mood pattern, so I can skip that step, so.
Caroline: That’s so wonderful.
Helen: Well, we’ve been singing the praises of your social media presence the entire episode, but one of the things that we wanted to point out to our listeners is that not only are you sharing these gorgeous projects, but within your voiceovers and your captions, you’re so thoughtful. And sometimes I click on a post expecting to learn a sewing technique and I get a whole life lesson or a pep talk that really sticks with me, or a beautiful poem, like, there’s just so much variety. And we were wondering where your empathy and that positivity comes from and that desire to share that with the sewing community.
Geri: I usually pay attention to the thoughts that come up while I’m working on that sewing project. And when I make these voiceovers, they’re, they’re basically the essence of what I got from working on the project. And I’m just kind of sharing it on social media because that’s what came up. You know, and I guess I said in the beginning of the podcast, that the sewing and the content creation sort of go hand-in-hand right now, in some ways, that’s what I mean. For me, right now, the sewing project is not complete until the reel comes out. You know? It’s like, it completes the circle for me right now because I feel like I’m channeling some thoughts. Right? While I’m reaching into my creative source, something is coming through me. And then feel, like, a responsibility to share it with the world. Because that’s what happened. Right? I was privileged enough to have the time and the space and the resources to create and whatever comes out from that providence needs to be shared with more people besides myself. That’s kind of my perspective on it. It’s not mine, really, these thoughts. They kind of just came through me, so, it took me by surprise also. I, I didn’t think I’d be writing poems. I’m, I’m not a poet. I sew. That’s what I do.
Caroline: It is beautiful and inspiring. Your content is so great. I have, I have a few questions, but one that comes to mind is like, has your content evolved? Like, have you always been sharing in this way or have you, sort of, like, found your voice over the years throughout your sewing journey on social media?
Geri: I’m so glad you asked that because I was thinking about this. These days that it’s sort of coming out of me again without me planning it. And I think my voice is still evolving. When I first started, it was very instruction based, like, “Oh, this is how you sew an inseam pocket. Do this.” You know, it was like a sewing instruction manual. And sometimes I still do that. But now I feel like it’s moved into this, like, the thoughts that come up while I’m working on the project, and in some ways that it’s more interesting to me now to be sharing that than, like, an instruction manual. I have to say I’m more inclined to listening to that voice. And it is still evolving. I feel like if you look at my earlier videos, you can hear it in my voice. I was just listening to an old video and the voiceover was unsure. Even though I was giving out instructions, it had a vibration of fear and doubt, and right now I feel like I’ve settled into something that is calmer, that is more still, and I guess it reflects more of the silent places that I go to when I’m sewing. Because that is the loudest thing that is happening to me right now. And it’s also the most appealing thing to me. These silent spaces where I’m just allowing for things to be as they are. And it’s really helping me deal with these little annoying things that you have to deal with that come because we’re experiencing life, you know?
Caroline: Yeah.
Geri: And, and sometimes I think like, in some ways, the world has come to a very divisive place, and there’s a lot of noise, also, on social media. There’s a lot of outrage. And this sewing is a space that I’ve created to come back to stillness, to come back to some kind of grounding. And I feel it’s important for people to understand where their silence and where that grounding is happening for them. And if I can connect to this place, hopefully it will infect other people to connect to theirs. So yeah, that’s what sewing is helping me with.
Caroline: It really does come through in your content because not only is your content really happy, like we talked about, and positive, but it also has a really calming quality to it. Listening to your voice and your voiceovers on a lot of your videos, it just feels really meditative and, and soft. And I really enjoy that. And it’s been, it’s interesting to hear about your sort of journey to get there. And that journey, I’m sure, will continue and we’re excited to see where that goes. One other question I had that I’ve been thinking about since you mentioned sewing failures and how a lot of your projects that you don’t share are failures, things that, you know, didn’t work out. I wonder how you handle that as a content creator. And you mentioned that, when you’re sewing, a lot of it’s sort of interconnected with content creation. It kind of goes hand-in-hand with you. But when you have these failures, how do you handle that as a maker? How do you push through that? And maybe I’m also asking as a personal question, because, you know, we all have failures as sewists. And I wonder, yeah, how do you work through that and, and get past it?
Geri: As I said, sometimes I wonder if I should be posting more of my failures, but in some ways, I feel like maybe I’m missing a moment, and maybe it’s something I should reconsider, but I turn off the camera because I’m trying to…I didn’t get the sewing right. So, it’s like, I’m trying to figure out the mistake, and maybe that is an interesting process for other people to look at, and I’m dismissing it. Right? And this conversation, bringing up that question: am I dismissing my failures? But in some ways, it’s like, I find it difficult to multitask at the same time. You know what I mean? Like, there’s the sewing and the content creation. And sometimes when the, something in the sewing goes wrong, I feel like, “Oh, I have to fix that.” And then I sort of abandon the content creation. You know what I mean? It’s like, in the moment, and I wish there was some kind of CCTV in, that I set up in my room, right?
Helen: One day we’ll have a reality show that’s just fully filmed and edited of your sewing station. And we can see everything.
Geri: Like, I wish there was, like, some kind of CCTV that would film the actual authentic moment, right? And I think maybe that would be interesting. But really, I have, I just have my iPhone, and it’s like a logistical thing right now. And most of the time, I must say, I’m not so, emotionally speaking, I’m not so attached to my failures. It’s like, oh, okay, you know, maybe some swearing, maybe some sweating, and then, and then I, I very quickly get over it because I face so many of these failures. It’s not so big anymore. You get a thick skin and you grow a thick skin for these failures, right? And and they don’t matter as much anymore.
Helen: Which is a good practice, in general for, for, life, right?
Geri: Yeah.
Helen: Build that thick skin up.
Geri: Failing is really a fantastic practice, and I’ve learned how to not let it bog me down and then, you know, just move on, right? And maybe even just, and maybe even invite it sometimes or be thankful for it or be grateful. Right? “Oh, I made that mistake.” You know, it informs the future you, right? Always.
Helen: I really love this concept, but I’m just trying to imagine myself at my sewing machine, you know, and I just sewed an entire hem on a circle skirt without any thread in my bobbin. And then when I finish and realize, I’m just like, “Oh, thank you. Thank you…”
Caroline: “Thank you to this failure. Thank you to me.”
Helen: “I’m so grateful that this happened to me.”
Geri: Right. But it’s also something very funny about it, isn’t it?
Helen: It is. Yeah, it’s true. I have learned to laugh at those moments, in particular, where there’s no thread in the machine. I mean, what’s funnier than that, right?
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: Yeah, okay, one question I have, Geri, because I’ve been following you for years, and you make so many amazing things. So I have to imagine that your closet is full to the brim. So tell us a little bit about what the situation is. How do you manage your wardrobe? Do you get rid of things when you’re not wearing them? What do you do there?
Geri: I roll them up.
Helen: Okay.
Geri: You know, the way you pack when you’re going on vacation, everything into a small luggage, and you have, you have to roll them up. I roll up my clothes to make it fit better in the drawers. I don’t have an ideal storing situation right now for any of my clothes. And that’s also, partly, the reason why I’m going more for quality than quantity these days.
Helen: Mmhmm.
Geri: Just because it’s a storage issue, right? And really, I really don’t need that many clothes. I’m sewing because I, I want to get the practice, right? It’s not because I want that piece or garment…it’s, I’m trying to practice a technique or figure out something, right?
Caroline: Yeah.
Geri: Making samples, something like that. It’s not really, I have the need for more clothes. I also don’t like sewing for anybody else, right? I’m a very selfish kind of sewist. I don’t like sewing for other people and, so, you know, I’m stuck, I’m stuck with a bad closet situation and I really shouldn’t be sewing so many more garments and it is a problem. It’s not, I don’t have the solution. Just so you know.
Helen: I was hoping you did, because I need one.
Caroline: I think rolling is a pretty great solution. Honestly, I’m gonna try that.
Helen: Yeah, I’ll try the rolling thing. Well, especially in your case, because I feel like so many of the things that you make are truly works of art. And I’m not exaggerating there. Like, absolutely incredible works of art. So even if they’re not getting worn on a regular basis, it’s not something you’re gonna just give to the local thrift store without thinking about it. You know, you might want to gift it or or just keep it for prosterity. So, I think, or posterity, that makes sense that you would have a very full wardrobe.
Geri: Yeah, and that’s why sometimes I choose projects that take 50 hours to complete, you know. That’s part of the reason because, you know, in 50 hours I could either make 10 dresses or just one thing, But, you know, it’s going to be beautiful, or something like this. Right? So that my hands stay busy, right, for, for a longer period of time, and they don’t itch.
Helen: Geri, I’m curious, because you mentioned, you know, you love the grid process, the geometric shapes, the things that take forever. Have you ever tried quilting?
Geri: I made a quilted vest before, and, you know, I’m, partly afraid to get into it, because I, I have a feeling it’s, it’s gonna draw me in, into another dimension.
Helen: I think it will. Come to the dark side, Geri. Come with me.
Geri: That’s the only reason that I’m staying away from knitting needles as well, you know?
Helen: Oh, true.
Caroline: Oh my gosh.
Geri: I can tell you that I am very, very seduced, okay? Very tempted.
Helen: You’ll get there eventually, I’m sure.
Caroline: Well, speaking of which, do you have a dream project or technique on your list that you’ve never tried that you really want to try?
Geri: Wow, I have been dreaming about a huge wall installation of stitched shibori. It’s not a, it’s not a garment, but a huge wall, like maybe, I don’t know. I’m afraid to say it because maybe, you know, if I, if you say it, it has to happen. Like maybe…
Helen: We’re talking dreams. We’re talking dreams. It’s okay. Dream big.
Geri: Like, five meters by three meters wide of stitched shibori. Something crazy like this, right?
Caroline: That sounds incredible.
Geri: This sometimes comes to me in my dreams and I don’t know what to do about it. Because number one, it’s not a garment.
Helen: Yeah. But there’s nothing to say that you couldn’t take it down off the wall when the installation is complete and make it into a garment.
Geri: Exactly. Exactly.
Helen: Well, that sounds really cool. I look forward to seeing that very soon. And…
Geri: Oh.
Helen: Well, do you have something you’re working on right now that you want to tease for our listeners? Something on your sewing table at the moment?
Geri: It’s not really, well, it’s sort of on my sewing table. But I just released an online sewing course. And it’s designed for beginners. And it’s how to make a shirred bodice dress. Something fun and easy to do. I, I did it with a company called Now You Know. They provide online courses and I just did a sewing course with them. On my sewing table is another shirred bodice dress. Right now I’m working on it. Yeah.
Caroline: Shirring is so beautiful and I feel like it’s one of those techniques that sort of intimidates sewists. So I hope people will go check out this tutorial. It sounds really great.
Geri: Yeah. Because there, there’s some unknown factors with shirring. No matter how many shirring samples you make, you’re only making an intelligent guess, right, about the final product, just because a shirring sample is just, I don’t know, like a 10 inch by 10 inch sample. And it’s not really the actual thing that you’re going to shir and it changes. But yeah, I have some tips and tricks to make it as intelligent as you can, you know, as close to the final thing as possible.
Caroline: Yes.
Helen: That’s so cool. And congrats on the e-course. Absolutely amazing. We’ll link that up in the show notes so people can find that.
Geri: Oh, thank you.
Helen: Yeah, of course. I apologize for not asking about it. I didn’t know about it. This is great information.
Geri: And then I have a second course coming up with them soon. And it’s a little bit more challenging. I think it’s not for the beginner beginner; it’s more for, like, the confident beginner. It’s basically taking a T-shirt that you already own and using the lines of the T-shirt, making a tank block. And then from the tank block you can make tank variations. So that’s another course that will be coming up soon.
Helen: Cool! So kind of like a refashioning course direction.
Geri: Yeah, it’s, it, it involves making, like, a tank block or, or sloper from a T-shirt that you already own in your wardrobe.
Helen: Very cool. Ooh, that sounds really exciting. So whereabouts can our listeners find these e-courses if they’re interested?
Geri: The second course hasn’t been released yet, but the first course with the shirred bodice dress, the link is live. You can go to now, you know, you can go to my Instagram account, it’s linked in my bio.
Caroline: Awesome. And this episode is coming out at the end of September. So possibly your second course will be out by then.
Geri: Yeah, yeah, it will be out and it will, you can find all the information from my Instagram account.
Caroline: Awesome. And we’ll link all of this up in the show notes for folks, but can you tell our listeners where they can find you on social media and your website and all that good stuff?
Geri: Yeah, my website is geriinstitches.com and on Instagram I am @geri_in_stitches. I also have a YouTube channel, Geri in Stitches. I have these online courses coming out, and hopefully my patterns will be out next year.
Helen: Ooh! That is so exciting. I cannot wait to see what you come up with.
Geri: Me too! I can’t wait, as well.
Helen: Yeah, fair. Well, Geri, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. It was truly a pleasure speaking with you. And we just really appreciate how open you were about your whole process and your time spent in the sewing community. It’s been a blast.
Geri: Yeah, it’s been a blast. Thanks so much for inviting me. And I wish you all the success in your podcast and in every endeavour that you are going to pursue, both of you.
Caroline: Thank you!
Helen: Aw, thank you, that’s so sweet. You, as well!
Geri: Wishing you abundance, happiness, light.
Caroline: Aww, thank you.
Helen: Thank you. Thank you. Take care, Geri. Talk to you later.
Geri: Okay, bye!
Caroline: Bye! That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Caroline, at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns, and Helen at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
Helen: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalogue of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. So go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.
Caroline: You can head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at hello@lovetosewpodcast.com.
Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.
Caroline: Buh Bye!
Helen: Bye!
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