---

Transcript:

This transcript was made from the Love to Sew Favourite version of this episode, released on February 8, 2022. You can listen to this version on the player below:

Caroline: Hello, Love to Sew listener. We’re currently in our podcast off-season, so we’re taking a little break from recording right now.

Helen: This winter we’re so excited to revisit some of our favourite episodes from years past. We hope you will love these reruns as much as we do. Remember, you can still access the show notes by going to LoveToSewPodcast.com and searching for the episode.

If you want more Love to Sew, head over to our Patreon. We have a lot of fun over there, and we appreciate our Patreon fam so, so much.

Caroline: Yes, we do. For $5 USD per month, you’ll get access to our monthly bonus episode. Our Patreon episodes really feel like a catch up with friends. This is where we share what we’ve been up to in our personal lives, our businesses, what we’re sewing, and things we’re loving like recipes, podcasts, TV shows, board games, and more. Throughout the month, we also share behind the scenes photos, including sneaky peeks of some upcoming releases from our businesses.

Helen: Yes, it is top secret stuff just for our Patreon supporters. And if you join at the $10 USD per month, you get a 15% discount code for both Blackbird Fabrics and Helen’s Closet. The code can be reused again and again, so it’s a great deal, especially if you shop with us frequently. Plus, you’ll get a bonus mini-sode where we answer a patron question or cover a specific sewing topic. You can learn more about all the things we have to offer and sign up to support us at patreon.com/LoveToSew.

Caroline: And don’t worry folks, we’ll be back in March 2022 with a fabulous new season of Love to Sew. Now let’s get to this Love to Sew favourite.

Caroline: Hello, and welcome. I’m Caroline.

Helen: And I’m Helen.

Caroline: And we love to sew. This is a podcast for makers where we talk about sewing a handmade wardrobe and bringing interviews with inspiring creatives and small business owners in our community.

Helen: We asked our listeners to tell us their sewing stories from around the world. What is the sewing scene like where they live, where to shop for fabrics and notions, and what kinds of differences have people noticed when working with patterns from other countries. All that and much, much more in this global sewing bonanza.

Caroline: Bonanza.

Helen: Bonanza. It’s an under utilised word. Yeah. How are you?

Caroline: Good. How are you?

Helen: I’m good, thanks. Busy, busy, busy, as always.

Caroline: We put out a call on Instagram and on the show for people to send us their stories, their feedback about sewing around the world, and you guys definitely delivered. We got so many replies. We got a ton of emails and, I think, 200 comments.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: 250 comments on Instagram. Just people telling us about your struggles, your favourite shops, the history of sewing in your country, uh, pattern, suggestions, pattern companies. We just got so much great feedback, and we had a lot of fun reading through everything, and we’re really excited to share what we found with you.

Helen: And we also want to just let you know that because we got so many responses. We’re not going to read everything in this one episode. If we don’t read your comment, we did read it when we received it.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: And we really appreciate it, and we might be saving it for a future episode. And we want to acknowledge that every person can only speak from their own experience, and, you know, the thoughts shared today from people may not represent your feelings, if you’re also living in that country or that city or that area of the world. So we want to rec-, just acknowledge that. You know, we just acknowledge that not everyone feels the same way about things.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Not everyone has the same experience.

Caroline: Absolutely.

Helen: Okay. So let’s kick things off with some thoughts from Beck @isewthereforeiam.

Caroline: Alright.

Helen: “I want to take a moment to share my own experience as an ‘international sewist.’ I’m Australian, but I’ve lived in the Netherlands for almost 10 years. I only learned to sew after I moved to the Netherlands, and, to top it all off, my husband is French. In other words, I feel pretty ‘international’ in all aspects of my identity, and sewing is no exception.

Obviously, where you come from can have distinct impacts on tangible aspects of your sewing process: how you learned to sew, the types of fabric you have access to, your preferred sources of patterns, your expectations for sewing instructions, etc.

I feel, however, that the most profound ways in which being ‘international’ impact my sewing life are actually intangible. I feel like my sewing life is a giant patchwork quilt, all the individual pieces of which are drawn from all corners of the globe. And I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this way!

Even though I’m a long way from Australia and out of sync with the seasons there, I still find myself drawn to Australian sewists, fabric companies, and pattern companies. There’s something about the style and laid back underlying attitude which still speaks to me at an almost primordial level. My primary sewing influence is the British sewing world – British blogs and indie patterns are where I learned to sew and still remain hugely influential to me. Due to my husband’s influence and the fact that I speak French, the French sewing world also majorly colours what I like to sew and my sewing style choices. My husband jokes that when he met me I wore loud colours and prints ALL THE TIME and that, over time, I’ve developed a style and colour palette which copies his!!!! Don’t tell him, but I think he’s right…!. Living in a somewhat dreary northern country, I have also became increasingly drawn to the interesting lines and classic simplicity of Scandinavian style (hello, Named!).

Then, even if my main influences are European, my sewing life definitely isn’t limited. If I could only choose one country in the world to get all my fabrics and patterns for the rest of my life it would probably be Japan – seriously, a trip to Japan a few years ago completely transformed my sewing style.

And, of course, North America is a huuuge part of my sewing life. I mean, let’s just look at Canada alone! Between you guys and Closet Case Patterns, Canada definitely punches above its weight in terms of influencing the sewing world, and there is something about the practical-yet-stylish vibe that resonates with my Australian self. I also feel like the North American sewing world is one of the most diverse which offers a really important perspective to my sewing experience.

Ummm, so what’s the point of all this? Just to say that the best thing about being a sewist these days is that we can all be ‘international sewists of the world,’ as there are so many inspiring sewing influences from all corners of the world available at our fingertips!

Just thought I’d share my two cents worth on this fascinating topic. Hope you guys do end up finding a way to do an episode on this because I’d love to listen!! And keep up the brilliant work!!”

Caroline: Thank you. Thank you. Back.

Helen: I love this perspective.

Caroline: I really, really love this. I love the idea of thinking of your sewing life as a giant patchwork.

Helen: Mhm, yeah, all the different influences. And I think we can all relate to our styles changing when we discover different pattern companies from different parts of the world, different fabrics, and I think, just as a whole, as a community, our style, kind of, changes together a little bit which is always really interesting to see.

Caroline: Mhm, just look at sewing bibs right now.

Helen: Yeah, maybe five years ago, how many of us would have wanted to wear, like, a bib-based garment?

Caroline: Yeah, overalls or pinafores or anything like that?

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah, I love it. Okay, so we definitely found there to be some themes when we were going through all of this feedback. Um, so we grouped it in themes, and we’re going to go through them now. Um, and yeah, it’s a lot of reading, so get ready, guys.

Helen: We have to get ready. They have the easy job. You guys get to listen.

Caroline: So our first topic is language and this feedback is from Christina, “Whenever I finish sewing a garment, like most sewists, I’m so excited to put it on, strut a little and wear it out into the world for the first time! In Spanish, the word for ‘premiering an outfit or ‘showing it off for the first time’ is ‘estrenar.’ I don’t think that word exists in the English language, but my mom and I use it all the time whenever she asks whether I wore my latest make to work or on date night: ‘Mija, ya estrnaste tu blusa nueva?’ she asks (Have you worn your new blouse for the first time?). Considering you have an audience of sewists from around the world, I wanted to put this question out there: Is there a word like ‘estrenar’ in other languages?”

Helen: There should be.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I can’t really think of one in English, but I want one.

Caroline: Debut? To debut. Yeah, but it’s not like…

Helen: Isn’t that a French word?

Caroline: …clothing related, you know, like, I like that this is, is really, like, premiering an outfit or wearing something for the first time.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah. I think that’s a great word. And I would love to know if there are any words like that in other languages.

Helen: Yeah. Let us know. Alright, the next common thread, if you will, that we noticed is the weather. So this comes from @wlovefromguyana, “I live in Georgetown, Guyana. It is a city in South America whose history (and accents) more closely aligns with the Caribbean. Since it is hot ALL year my sewing consists of playsuits and sundresses (think vacation and resort wear) instead of winter coats, etc.”

And another comment from @indigorain_bow, “I live in Singapore, so I find the summer patterns and Instagram posts far more interesting than those for colder weather.”

I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this. If you don’t get cold weather where you live, posting about coats and, I dunno, anything warm, really, it’s probably going to be a bit of a snooze fest for you.

Caroline: Yeah, sometimes we get emails at Blackbird from people who live in warmer countries asking like, I really want to make this coat pattern, but what fabric do you have that would work for this coat pattern, but that’s not too hot. And I usually recommend, like, a mid or heavyweight linen because I think linen lends itself well to coat patterns, but it’s really breathable and it’s, kind of, gives it a different look when you’re in a warmer climate, so…

Helen: Yeah, for sure.

Caroline: It is true though. It must be, kind of, boring for people…

Helen: Boring or maybe they wish they could make those things, but they have no opportunity to wear them.

Caroline: Yeah. I mean, not boring, but boring to watch everybody else make coats or sit through those pattern releases.

Helen: Yeah, yeah, be totally out of sync with the seasonal pattern releases. Stops you from buying more patterns, I guess.

Caroline: Alright, the next theme will be machines, and we have one comment from @thats_sew_shannon, “I live in Japan, and the one thing I can’t get over is that the sewing machines here have a start/stop button instead of a foot pedal. So glad I brought my American machine!”

I actually think the start stop button is really cool.

Helen: Yeah, it sounds pretty neat.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: So you wouldn’t have to use your foot at all. You would just have your, I guess maybe your right hand on the start and stop.

Caroline: Yeah. Is it a button or is it, like, a lever?

Helen: Switch?

Caroline: A lever or switch? Tell me more Japan,

Helen: Japan, let us know. Is this true for only Japan? Is it other countries?

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah, I wonder, but it is interesting. That’s one thing that we’ve never really discussed or thought about is, are there differences in sewing machines in other countries?

Helen: Mhm, you know, I’m sure, I’m sure there are.

Caroline: Okay. Fabric.

Helen: We got a lot of comments about fabric, unsurprisingly. Yes, and one thing that we thought of is that Sewrendipity has a fabric shopping roundup on her blog, and it’s very cool. There’s a map, and you can see all of the places where people have contributed blog posts or other kind of content about shopping in that place. So if you’re planning a trip somewhere, you can go and see if it’s listed in this archive that she has, and just read the different blog posts from different people about shopping in different countries which is pretty amazing. And you can also contribute to it which is awesome.

Caroline: Yes. Yeah. It’s a really great, uh, it’s a really great list. We’ll link it in the show notes for anyone who’s maybe travelling soon and wants to know if there’s any fabric stores listed.

Helen: Mhm.

Caroline: Okay, so, feedback about fabric from @sallycarrick on Instagram, “Hi I am from New Zealand! Sewing here is great. We produce beautiful merino fabrics which are fabulous in the winter. Sewing is having a resurgence here which I love! I live near a small city where there are three good fabric shops (as well as other smaller quilting type shops usually in sewing machine supply shops) and others around the country have an online presence!”

Helen: It’s amazing how much feedback we got from people saying that sewing is really having a resurgence where they live. I think we’re all experiencing that. And, and it’s amazing that there’re new fabric stores opening and all of these new resources and this community forming, uh, I just it’s awesome.

Caroline: Yeah, I think so too.

Helen: And she mentioned the Merino which we love working with as well. And that’s a specific type of sheep from a specific type of wool?

Caroline: Yes. Merino wool is a specific type of wool.

Helen: Okay.

Caroline: Um, from a specific type of sheep, that was correct.

Helen: Ok, good. I just needed to say it with a bit more confidence.

Caroline: I think so. I mean, now I want to look it up so that I don’t look like a total idiot. Yeah, it’s the Merino sheep.

Helen: Okay.

Caroline: Renowned for exceptional properties. Janet says, “I’m an American who currently lives in Seoul, South Korea. I only recently began sewing about a year ago and have been teaching myself to sew. I am not really tuned in to the sewing community in Seoul, expat or local, but in the last few months I have discovered Dongdaemun fabric market which is an enormous wholesale and commercial fabric/craft market, consisting of three buildings with 6 floors. There is a huge range of fabrics and price points, and because of the language barrier, it’s hard to determine the exact content, stretch, etc. of the fabric, but I love going there to get inspired and to purchase inexpensive fabric to make muslins. I’ve gotten turned around several times when visiting, but I love wandering around and finding new things each time I visit. Gwangjang Market is a smaller market that has a great selection of fabrics (and amazing food vendors).

I highly recommend a visit to this market for anyone who visits Seoul and loves to sew or knit (or just loves crafts in general). It’s very exciting and inspiring to see the variety of fabrics and products available, and it just feels very alive, in a way that shopping at a store like JoAnn’s (or somewhere similar) doesn’t (at least to me). Don’t get me wrong, I also love shopping at JoAnn’s, but there’s something really exciting about exploring each floor and not really knowing what you are going to discover around the next corner. On the flip side, it can also be confusing due to language and cultural differences and just the sheer scale of the market. Thanks for taking the time to read about my experience”

I actually loved getting this email because I’ve been to Dongdaemun market. My sister used to teach ESL in Korea. She lived there for two years, and I had the opportunity to visit her with my mum. Um, I was, like, 20 at the time. So this is 10 years ago, but I remember that market, and I remember how bustling it was and how overwhelming it was, but how much fun it was to go and see so many different fabrics, and there were a lot of floors, like she said, six floors, and it was exactly how she, as she described, you just don’t know what you’re going to run into next, because it’s, sort of, all over the place. And we found some really cool fabrics there, and I remember just feeling super, super inspired by the selection. So it took me back to, uh, that time when I got to go to Korea.

Helen: It sounds like a dream market.

Caroline: It was really cool. I was thinking when I was reading this over today, I was like, how can I get back to Seoul and do some fabric shopping?

Helen: I mean, I think you already have a business that’s set up for you to do that.

Caroline: I know. Maybe we’ll start sourcing some fabrics directly.

Helen: Yeah, exactly.

Caroline: Yeah, from South Korea. Um, but yeah. Thank you so much for emailing in Janet.

Helen: Our next comment is from Chinenye, “I live in Lagos, Nigeria. Here, bespoke tailoring is mostly the norm and up to 90% of ready-to-wear clothing is imported from other countries, although these days, ready-to-wear designers who actually produce their clothing in our country are slowly coming up here and there, which is a good thing, right?

We have our own ethnic styles sewn up in African wax print, laces, starched cottons, brocades, which are not produced in other countries, so people usually contract their dressmaking out to tailors/ fashion designers.
Among my circle of friends I was just about the only one who made my own clothes, making me like a rainbow unicorn because I can actually get on a sewing machine and make something good enough to wear. Perhaps because the tailors and fashion designers do go through some kind of formal or semi-formal training to actually begin to sew for people.
Fabrics are sourced from open air local markets (such as Lagos Island Market and Yaba Market), and there are hardly any online fabrics stores. That means we get to look at the fabric, feel it, run our fingers through it before we purchase. I do browse foreign fabric shops online, but the devalued currency and non-existent postal system makes it impossible. Plus, I think that buying by feeling only has only served to make me nervous when I can’t touch fabric before buying.
Fabric prices are usually very low compared to what I find obtains in the UK, US, and Germany, etc. When I watch fabric hauls on YouTube and browse the online fabric stores, I’m amazed that the usual crepes, chiffons, knits, printed cottons, and velvets cost as much as $15 a metre. These fabrics cost in the region of $1-$4 on any given day. However, there’s a downside: 1. We hardly find specialty fabrics like bra fabric or gym clothes fabric.
2. We hardly know the fabric types and compositions. Case in point, I buy all kinds of jersey knits, but to this day I have no idea which is a ponte-de-roma, and also I know jersey and rayon and spandex, but what fabric (pray tell!) is a jersey-rayon-spandex??!! What does it look like? I may have actually bought it from the open market, but I don’t know that I bought it because I don’t know what it is! I’ve been known during vacations to walk into JoAnn’s or Hobby Lobby and spend hours there just feeling the fabrics and learning the names and types to help me in my purchase when I get back home.
One of my big hopes in 2019 is to have a larger local sewing community, so we can sew-cialise through sewing weekends, sew together for charity, and do other fun things.
Thank you for letting me share.”
Caroline: I really liked reading through this message, and it made me think about how useful it would be to have some kind of a fabric sample book that people could buy online that has swatches of, like, every fabric you could possibly imagine.

I mean, it sounds like a huge project, but maybe it exists. I feel like Mood might’ve had something like this once upon a time. Email us if you know, listeners.

Helen: You can make your own too. If, if like Chinenye, you go and travel and you, and you go to stores where things are more labelled, then you can grab small swatches. Maybe they’ll cut you swatches and you can make your own book so you have a reference when you’re back at home.

Caroline: Mhm, mhm, but I think it’s really kind of fun that she gets to pick out fabrics just by feel and not be swayed by, like, content and price points and that kind of thing and just go by feel.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: It’s, like, a whole different way to fabric shop.

This next comment is from @themodernsewer, “I don’t live in Israel but Tel Aviv has incredible and overwhelming amount of gorgeous fabric stores and all the notions you could ever imagine! The notion stores will blow your mind, and I’ve never even found some of them online.”

Helen: And then we’ve got a related comment from @ofermesew who says, “I do live in Israel. We do have a lot of fabric shops (but many are closing), and the prices are low, but good quality and modern prints are hard to find. Most sewists never heard about indie patterns, and they use mostly Burda magazines. Lastly, thanks to Instagram, I found the best local sewing friends, and we finally have our own little community #israelihighsewciety.”

With S-E-W.

“And we all use mostly indie patterns and therefore ‘learn to sew in English,’ so translating the terms, notions, and fabric type to Hebrew and trying to find them in a store can be challenging sometimes.”

Caroline: This is interesting. I like the idea of, kind of, banding together with friends locally, especially if you’re wanting to use indie patterns and, kind of, helping each other translate and figure it out as you go along, I feel like it would be really helpful to have sewing people around you when you’re working with patterns in a foreign language.

Helen: Mhm, and making your own hashtags so you can all share with each other. You can also use the hashtag system that we came up with, where you do #CitySews and #CountrySews. So in this case, it would be #TelAvivSews, #IsraelSews, and you can find other local sewing people that way as well. But this makes me want to go to Tel Aviv for the notions stores.

Caroline: Yeah, and if you’re in Israel, go check out the Israeli high sewciety…

Helen: I love that.

Caroline: …hashtag, and see if you can discover some sewists in that area.

So @swahili.summer says, “I lived and sewed in Pakistan for 3 years. Amazing garment industry, the cotton growing industry is the backbone of the country, and the street tailors work magic. I did my SK Craftsy classes in the middle of summer when it was too hot to leave the aircon!”

Helen: Genius.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. So one other thing that we learned through this world sewing series is that the shipping struggle is real.

Helen: Yes. So many of you shared with us that shipping is a huge roadblock when it comes to you and your sewing practice and wanting to participate in the sewing community and get the same fabrics and patterns that everyone else is using.

And we feel for you. I know. It sucks. And waiting a really long time for things sucks, and paying the exorbitant fees sucks, and it all sucks.

Caroline: Yeah, shipping is a challenge for businesses, too. That’s something that we struggle with at Blackbird a lot is trying to figure out the best way to ship things, the quickest way to ship things, and we’re always improving and trying to figure out ways to do it better. And I think that’s one of those areas where we can share as a community, our resources, and if there’s anybody out there that wants any advice about shipping or anything like that, they can always email me. I think it’s a great area where we can all, kind of, pool our resources.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: Because, at the end of the day, we just want to get the product as far as it can go and reach as many people, so, yeah, it’s definitely a struggle and hopefully, um, you know, we can all come up with new and better solutions as our industry grows.

Helen: Yeah, and finding friends in your area that then you can share shipping with…

Caroline: Oh, yeah.

Helen: …if you’re going to order from a specific place, you can ask your local friends if they’re interested in going in with you and then, you know, maybe the custom fees will be a little bit lower.

Caroline: Oh, yeah.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Okay. So @rebecca_james_design commented, “I’m in New Zealand. The sewing scene here is really good, and I have pretty easy access to good quality fabric. The online stores are trustworthy, have a pretty good range, and I haven’t had any surprises when ordering. There’s not much that’s immediately local to me, but Wellington is only a two hour drive away so it’s not so bad. The biggest things are the cost and the imperial system. Everything is so expensive!! International shipping kills me. The imperial system is fine, and I’ve got good at inches, but it’s such a pain when companies have no metric charts. However I hate hate hate 1/2 inch seam allowances as there is no seam guide on my machine, so a lot of guesstimating takes place. Overall though it’s a great place to sew!”

So I have a tip: put a piece of tape on your sewing machine.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah, use some, like, washi tape or masking tape and just tape over that plate and mark your own sewing gauge, and that will solve a lot of problems, Rebecca.

Helen: You can do it per project, too.

Caroline: Yeah, based on the seam allowance for that project so that you’re not getting mixed up. That’s a really good point because it’s removable.

Helen: Yeah. You can change it for each one. And I do think that it’s interesting when I first got into pattern design and I was running tests with my pattern testers and I hadn’t really considered the seam allowance differences, like on my machine, it is Imperial, even though in Canada, we, kind of, go both ways.

We’re about to talk about metric versus Imperial as well which is another large topic. But that was pointed out to me, and so choosing a seam allowance that is going to be easy for both 3/8 of an inch is, like, 1.03 centimetres or something like that or maybe it’s 0.97. It’s very close to a centimetre. So you can do 3/8, which is a centimetre, and that, kind of, works really well for both camps. So I think if you’re doing knits pattern, 3/8 is really nice. Um, just keeping that in mind, when you’re designing seam allowances for your pattern, maybe you want something that’s going to go both ways.

Caroline: Something to keep in mind. So should we talk about metric versus Imperial? Should we just crawl into a hole and hide from this topic? Because it’s such a hot topic.

Helen: Hot button topic. Um, I mean, yeah, we got a lot of comments about this. I do think that a lot of indie pattern designers are including both these days, and it’s wonderful. And, and definitely if you’re an indie pattern designer listening, consider it because it’s so much easier for people who are working in specific measurements.

@nicolecnoops says,”I am Dutch living in the Netherlands and the big difference with US and UK is the metric system, and sizes. I join several sewing communities on Facebook and that helps me understand how you all work. I love to learn from each other, and I write on my blog about it.”

Caroline: @thewitch_andthe_wardrobe says, “It’s not only the difference between US and UK but rather US and… every country that doesn’t have the imperial system. A pattern without a metric table for me is personally a no-go.”

So let’s talk about this a little bit. What is metric versus Imperial?

Helen: Well, a metric measuring system is metres and grams and adds prefixes kilo- and milli- and centi- to count orders of magnitude. So, for example, distance is kilometres and fabric is measured in metres. It’s a nice system because everything’s divisible by tens and hundreds, so it’s really easy when you’re measuring things and cutting things out, I find, to use the metric system.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. It is. It’s easy to know that 50 centimetres is half a metre.

Helen: Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Caroline: So in the old Imperial system, things are measured in feet, inches, and pounds, and distance is measured in miles, and fabric is cut in yards. So a yard is just under a metre. It’s 91.4 centimetres.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: Confusing.

Helen: Yes, it is. It is a little confusing for sure. Especially when it comes to buying fabric.

Caroline: Yeah, but one thing that you can just think about is a yard is just a little bit less than a metre. So, a yard is 36 inches. One metre is 39 inches. So if you’re shopping in Canada or basically anywhere that isn’t the US, if you’re based in the US, then just think about a metre as just being a little bit more than a yard.

Helen: Exactly. Okay. How many countries use metric versus Imperial?

Caroline: Well, did you know, there are only three countries in the world that officially use the Imperial system?

Helen: Only three?

Caroline: Only three. Obviously, the biggest one being the United States. Also, Liberia and Myanmar.

Helen: So there’s only three countries officially using the Imperial system, but a lot of countries use the Imperial system casually.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Canada included. We, kind of, go both ways. People talk about stuff in inches and feet all the time. It’s very commonplace. And I think in my sewing, I, kind of, have adopted both as well. Sometimes I use inches. Sometimes I use centimetres. It’s, you know, all over the place.

Caroline: Feet. I don’t use feet.

Helen: You don’t use feet?

Caroline: Feet confuse the heck out of me, but there’s three feet in a yard, so you can figure it out. I don’t know. It’s still confusing.

Helen: Feet is probably the least used, as well, for me.

Caroline: But we do, we go both ways here in Canada, which…

Helen: Yeah, and I think other places do as well, um, because the Imperial system used to be a lot more commonly used. It’s also called the British Imperial system because it came from the British Empire, um, that did roll many parts of the world from 16th to the 19th century.

So after the US gained independence from Britain, the new American government decided to keep the Imperial system, even though, at that time, the metric system was, kind of, gaining popularity in other places.

And the movement to the metric system is called metrification, and it began in France in 1790.

Caroline: Yes, um, and we do have some tips for pattern designers out there that want to appeal to both camps and include everybody, um, and that is to make an Excel spreadsheet that can do the conversions for you.

Helen: Yes. You only have to set this up once. You can put your size chart information in there. Every time you make a new pattern, you can put your pattern measurements in there, your pattern requirements, um, your finished garment measurements, and it will just convert it into Imperial for you or into metric for you, depending on which way you’re going.

Caroline: Mhm, and try to provide both charts, if you can, in your pattern instructions, um, finished garment measurements, fabric requirements, instructions. Go all the way. I especially like it in the instructions when it’s reiterated throughout. So any time you mention half inch also give the metric conversion. Don’t ask me what it is right now cause I don’t remember.

Helen: Yeah, so when you’re saying, sew this side seam using a 3/8 of an inch seam allowance, in brackets, put one centimetre, for people who are reading through, because having to, like, go to Google every time to make that conversion is just annoying.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: You don’t want people to be annoyed when they’re using your pattern.

Caroline: No, you really don’t.

Helen: You want them to be like, oh, how nice the conversion is here.

Caroline: Yeah, what a nice touch. Thank you, Love to Sew. Oh, okay. So there’s our little, uh, metric versus Imperial rant, but it is interesting.

Helen: It is very interesting. Um, I wonder if the US will ever switch, probably not at this point.

Caroline: No, I don’t think so. I’m not counting on it. Put all their eggs in that basket.

Alright, let’s talk a little bit about patterns because we got a lot of cool messages about the pattern companies from different countries. One thing that we learned is that so many people are using Burda magazine which is interesting to me because you and I almost never use Burda.

Helen: Yeah, I love flipping through it though. It’s so fun. They have so many pattern designs every month. So it’s really inspiring to look through. and I think they’re doing a great job.

Caroline: But the thing that freaks me out the most about Burda magazine is the, like, roadmap at the end where you have to find your pattern in all, like all the patterns are layered on top of each other.

Helen: It’s very intense.

Caroline: It’s just a big jumble of lines.

Helen: Yeah, you gotta be on Team Trace for that one.

Caroline: Yeah, I feel like as you use it more, I’m sure you’ll get used to it. But for me also, if you buy online, that’s not like that, obviously. So if you buy through the Burda website, then you’ll just get the pattern that you’re buying. You won’t get like a whole roadmap where you have to decipher which one is yours.

Helen: I guess so.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. I know that for a fact because I have bought Burda patterns online.

Helen: Okay.

Caroline: But then the other thing about Burda is that you have to add your seam allowance.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: So you gotta be on Team Trace no matter what.

Helen: Yeah. I think in a lot of other, um, in a lot of countries, people also commented that adding a seam allowance is pretty common. So if you’re already used to having to do that, then it’s maybe less of a big deal for you.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Um, but we also got comments from people saying how much they like the indie sewing patterns from the US and Canada and the UK where the seam allowance is included. So it’s, kind of, a nice shift, and they’re getting used to it.

Caroline: Alright, so we want to play a voicemail from somebody in Belgium.

Caller: Hi, Helen. I’m Caroline. I’m [NAME], uh, calling from Belgium. I was just listening to your episode about sewing men’s wear, and you did a shout out that you were collecting data from, um, sewists all over the world. It’s very busy here, so I hope I’m not too late to tell you about the sewing scene in Belgium because we have a very big active live sewing scene.

There are a lot of indie pattern designers here in Belgium. We have two sewing magazines. La Maison Victor who’s now available in English and taking over the world and Fibre Mood who just started up and who’s also available in English.

Actually, I wanted to call in because you talked about so many great pattern designers for men’s wear, and we have one in Belgium that’s really, really good. She has her patterns all translated in, I think, German and English, I think, also French, and, of course, in Dutch. It’s called Zonen09. It’s very hard to pronounce in, in an English way, but it’s a very lovely, uh, girl who developed sewing patterns, especially for men, uh, and children. And for boys, amazing patterns, and it’s really worth checking out. She writes very thorough descriptions, and you can follow along easily. She makes so many comments, if you’re, for example, broad back, do this adjustment, or if your calves are too thick, take, do this adjustment. It’s lovely to follow.

The other pattern designer who’s really worth mentioning is Straight Grain. That’s easier to pronounce in English since it’s English. And she develops mostly children’s patterns, uh, very lovely little girls patterns. That’s also really worth checking out and available in English. So yeah, I wanted to say hi and tell you about how it is in Belgium. Goodbye. Thanks.

Helen: Thank you so much. Hello. We’d love hearing from you in Belgium, and thanks for those pattern company recommendations. We will link those in the show notes for anyone who’s interested in checking those out.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Our next comment is from @sewadventures. She says, “I only use pdf patterns so THANK YOU…”

All caps.

“…to all the amazing designers who make it possible that I have access to their designs although living so far from them!”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: This is sweet.

Caroline: It really is.

Helen: I do love that it’s, it’s pretty easy to get access, um, to digital patterns. I know that for some people, PayPal isn’t an option in some countries, so it’s difficult for some people to purchase if you only have PayPal as your purchasing option. So that’s something to consider as well if you sell through various channels then you give people more options for purchasing.

Caroline: Is that true even for PayPal, if you pay with a credit card through PayPal, like, if you don’t have a PayPal account?

Helen: Yeah. I think it’s just, at least, I’ve heard from a few customers that it’s not an option for them in their country.

Caroline: Oh, wow.

Helen: Yeah. Okay.

Caroline: Alright, our next comment is from @sewing_in_spain, “People don´t use patterns here. Either they are taught to cut their own patterns, they use a modista to cut out, or they use magazines, like Burda or the Spanish version Patrones. So our idea of making a pattern and muslins is alien.

Lara Sanner from Madrid is a pattern designer and is making patterns more accessible to Spanish sewers. She also runs an online class and pattern group.

The other main difference is the attitude to sewing. When people find out I can sew, they ask but why you? They think people only sew if they don’t have money for shop clothes. Usually, when they see what I can make, they change their mind, but it is definitely a bit looked down upon….mind you, they are always surprised I can cook or know about gardening, too.”

Um, we actually got this feedback from a few different people about how sewing is a little bit looked down upon in their country or in their culture. And I hope as a sewing community, we can work to change that because really most of us aren’t sewing because we have to, or because, you know, it’s not necessarily a money saver for us, but I think that, uh, you know, it’s nice to spread the word and share that you sew, so that people can understand that it’s becoming more and more mainstream.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. And that it’s just a really exciting skill to have in your wheelhouse.

Caroline: Yeah, absolutely.

Helen: Our next comment is from a listener in Germany, “I have the feeling that knit patterns are much more common here than in Canada and the US. Also, patterns usually come without seam allowance which is a real pain! A lot of indie pattern makers don’t include copyshop versions for their pattern to PDF downloads, though that is changing fast. There are a growing number of meet-ups, and we have a huge community on social media.”

And this listener also recommends several pattern companies and fabric companies that we can follow. So we’re going to link those in the show notes, have a little Germany section. Sam, you can hook us up with that, right?

Caroline: Yes, please.

Helen: Anyway, she’s saying that sewing is really en vogue these days in Germany which I love hearing. In vogue.

Caroline: In vogue.

Helen: En vogue.

Caroline: In vogue.

Helen: In vogue. En vogue. I like hearing that indie pattern designers are starting to include those copy shop versions as well. I do think that’s, kind of, expected these days.

Caroline: Yeah. Who wants to tape together PDF patterns?

Helen: Aright, our final theme is about meeting fellow sewists and making sewing community where you live. So our first comment is from a listener in Mexico, “I live and sew in Mexico! In Guadalajara to be exact. I first started sewing 5 years ago, self taught from YouTube videos and Facebook groups, both in English. To complement what I was able to learn on my own, my mother and godmother both taught me what they know! I feel sewing is something that used to happen so much more than it does now, it used to be a life skill that mothers would pass on to their daughters so that whenever a girl wanted something pretty to wear, she could make it herself. Like a wedding dress, for example! Yes, my mother and HER godmother made her wedding dress together! And I know that memory is something my mom holds dear to this day!

Nowadays, with Mexico having evolved so much, cheap clothes can now be purchased anywhere, from your local supermarket or Walmart, to the ‘tianguis’ that sets up nearest your home once a week. Sewing clothing (which is what I do!) has become a dying art.

Fabric shops are still full of material to make curtains, tablecloths, blankets, but not so much for clothing. It has taken me a while, but I have been able to find a few shops that carry fabric ideal for clothes. It’s definitely worth it to pick it up when you see it, as next time you are around it will likely be gone! And I think it makes me love sewing so much more, this added excitement of ‘what will I be able to find next!’ and finally finding the perfect fabric for the project I have been thinking about for years. The most recent one being matching Christmas pyjamas for my family! I was finally able to make them this year after coming across the perfect fabric!

I also teach my eldest daughter to sew on our machine, and my son is learning to sew by hand. We will be keeping this skill in our family, I will see to it myself!”

Caroline: I love this thought of making sure you’re keeping sewing in the family and passing it on generation to generation. I know that was the case for my family. My grandmother worked for a tailor, and she sewed and she made all of my mom’s clothes. And then my mom made a lot of our clothes when we were really young, especially. Um, and then my mom taught me to sew and I hope to teach my niece and nephew to sew and maybe one day my kids to sew, if I have kids, so I think it’s important to think about that when you’re having a family to try to pass it on generation to generation because we want to keep that sewing magic alive.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. I also love her positive attitude about not being able to find the right fabric and turning it into, like, a treasure hunt when you get really excited, even if it’s 10 years down the line.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah.

Helen: It’s amazing.

Caroline: That’s great. All right. So our next messages from Julia, “I love the idea of a series about sewing around the world, so I thought I’ll tell you a little bit about sewing in Poland and our community, specifically about our worldwide project.

Unfortunately, some people over here still have post-commuinst mentality, and they feel bad for you if you tell them that you sew, knit or make something in general. Makers of any kind are often unappreciated. So we decided to change it.

A few months ago we had the first sewing bloggers and influencers meeting, during which we decided it’s time for a change. We came up with the “Worth of Sewing” project (“Wartość Szycia” in Polish) to show others that sewing is not only using a sewing machine, it also has different stages. On December 9th, we’ve asked our followers, along with fellow sewists from different parts of the world, how long they think it took us to create the make from the photo. We revealed our answers the next day. It really showed that some people have no idea how time consuming sewing is and how much work, heart, and soul we’re putting into each make.

We’ve recorded a short video about our project and also came up with the idea for another edition, this time focusing on mental worth of sewing. There’s a lot of other things going on in Polish sewing community, but I think this is the one worth mentioning, since lack of understanding for creative hobbies/jobs is an international case.”

So, again, this is coming up again where people are maybe not realising that sewing is a hobby that a lot of people are taking on right now. And that it’s not necessarily because you need to, it’s because you want to, I really love this message from Julia. And I’m actually going to follow up with her and try to get my hands on a link for this video and these posts that she’s talking about so that we can share it in the show notes. Um, because I would love to see that video about people guessing how long it takes you to make something.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: And you get to school them.

Helen: Or they guess, like, 40 hours, and you’re like, actually it was only 10.

Caroline: I feel like most people would not guess that though. Don’t you think?

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Even in my day-to-day life, when I run into people that don’t sew and maybe they ask you to sew something for them, or they’re like, how long did that take you? Usually, they’re shocked that it took as long as it did.

Helen: Yeah, and that you would ever want to spend your time doing that. Yeah, they just don’t understand how fun it is.

Caroline: Exactly. We also have a related comment from @sewing_mize. Do you want to read it?

Helen: Sure.

“I am Slovak living and sewing in Czech city Pilsen. Sewing has a long tradition in both countries and is becoming popular again. During the first Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938), there were many fashion houses and designers. People used to have tailor-made wardrobes and present themselves with beautiful dresses. During the following socialism, sewing became a need – if you wanted to have something different from others, change the size or fix clothes. Today, 30 years after the end of communism, I heard opinions, that sewing has skipped a generation – because suddenly everything was available – people started buying more fashion clothes, home sewing was not so needed anymore. Nowadays, it is becoming popular again – I started 2 years ago without any previous experience. I would say that there are enough places where to buy fabric, but my inspiration still comes from abroad – indie pattern makers, tutorials, podcasts, magazines… despite the fact that there are already some rising stars.”

Caroline: This is interesting – the idea of sewing, skipping a generation.

Helen: I think it’s something that we can see throughout the world. You know, people and cultures coming out of war and being in those situations where everything was really tight and they didn’t have a lot of resources and suddenly things becoming available again and not wanting to go back to, you know, making things yourself, or doing things unnecessarily that you don’t have to do anymore because you’re not in that situation anymore, wanting to move on, and sometimes things can skip a generation.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Our next comment is from bervens_makes, “Hi! I live in Norway, and even though the Norwegian online sewing community is great, all the makers in my real life are knitters (I am, too). People tend to be shocked, amazed, awestruck even, when I tell them I sew my own clothes. I sometimes feel like an impostor getting so much credit for sewing even a simple t-shirt! I love how social media, podcasts and YouTube channels bring the international makers-community closer. This has also made me recognize the diversity of this community, which I sadly don’t experience quite so much in real life.”

Helen: I love that perspective and way of looking at it.

Caroline: Yeah, I love it, too. And it’s funny that she mention, mentions t-shirt because we had this whole discussion at the office last week about sewing a t-shirt, and we were talking about maybe sewing a t-shirt workshop. And I was like, well, t-shirts are so simple to sew. And then Laura was talking about how her mom wants to learn how to sew a t-shirt. And it’s just this, like, if you can sew a t-shirt, you can sew anything because it’s just this, like, wardrobe staple.

Helen: True.

Caroline: I think for maybe some people it’s like, how could you possibly sew a t-shirt that looks like a ready to wear a t-shirt, you know? But you can, but yeah, I, I love this message.

Helen: Our next one is from @mkgstitch, “I’ve just moved to China (from NJ) and getting my things together to start sewing was initially stressful (buying a machine, learning the Chinese word for “interfacing”…!) And I thought it would just be my retreat from the world. But! in the 5 months that I’ve lived here it’s been a wonderful way to make friends – I’ve now got more local sewing friends than I had in the US, and hunting out fabrics, shopping together, and sharing web resources has been a great way to get to know the area and other expats and locals in the community. #SewistsOfChina”

That’s so cool. You move to a different place, and you think, well, you know, I might be a bit lonely, but I’ll have my sewing machine. And so, you know, I’ll at least be able to sew, and then it turns into more than that. It becomes a place of connection and a way for you to make friends.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: So cool.

Caroline: We have a voicemail from, uh, Linda in Germany that, kind of, reiterates that, and we really loved this voicemail. So we want to end on this note.

Linda: Hello, Helen and Caroline. My name is Linda, and I’m calling from Germany. Uh, first I want to say, I love your podcast. It is so nice to be in your company when I’m alone in my sewing room. Um, you brought me so much inspiration and your encouragement to open up to the sewing community was a game changer for me.

So I wanted to get that out first and then I wanted to tell you a little bit about sewing in Germany. So here, I think the sewing trend hit a couple of years ago with a focus mainly on sewing knits because I think there are many moms starting to sew for their babies and then later maybe started so for themselves as well.

But my style is a little bit different because I started when I was a teenager and still in school. And I don’t really remember what made me start, but I definitely caught the bug right away. And also didn’t think to start small because after a couple of easy projects, I, um, got myself a Burda pattern for a blazer. And I made that, uh, it was not really wearable. It was a corduroy blazer, brown with, it was crazy, but it didn’t stop me from wearing it. Anyway, and from there, I continued to teach myself as there weren’t the resources that there are today. And also my early experiences in fabric stores was strange and not as pleasant as there wasn’t a very nice selection and it was hard to be taken seriously as a novice seamstress.

All of this changes now. Um, I’m really happy about that. Um, what’s the biggest change for me, I think, is the international sewing community. Um, yeah, Instagram and the market has opened up because I love so many indie sewing brands, and the Instagram hashtags are just so valuable source of inspiration and resource. And yeah, now I can interact with people from all around the world.

And suddenly, sewing doesn’t feel like weird and lonesome hobby anymore. Although I have to say I did love it, even if it felt like that in the beginning. And for many years, I am now almost entirely self-sufficient in my wardrobe and don’t buy clothes much. I’m able to identify with my clothes and the process of making for myself and my family brings so much joy and creativity into my life. Well, yeah, fun fact though, because I sew mainly indie patterns, I don’t really know German sewing vocabulary as well as the English terms, but yeah, I guess that’s because I’m now more at home in the international sewing world, you might say.

Yes, that’s all from me. Thank you for listening and all your hard work. I really love you guys. Thank you.

Helen: Thank you, Linda, for your wonderful voicemail. we can really relate to everything you were saying about feeling like you’re a part of a global community. I mean, in this episode, we’re highlighting differences, the places that we come from and what sewing is like where we live, but we also have so much in common because we sew, and it’s really amazing that we get to be part of an international community like this.

Caroline: We hope you all enjoyed this episode. Please do send in your thoughts, your feedback, um, we really love hearing from you, and we really loved hearing from everyone who had thoughts on world sewing. So keep it coming. We’re always here for you. We’re always listening and reading.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: And, um, we’ll talk to you soon.

Helen: Talk to you next week.

Caroline: That’s it for this Love to Sew Favourite. We’ll be back in March with our new season. You can find me Caroline at BlackbirdFabrics.com and Helen at HelensClosetPatterns.com.

Helen: We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, and you can get in touch with us and get links for everything we talked about in this episode at LoveToSewPodcast.com. Just search for the episode title.

Caroline: And, of course, if you want to join our Patreon fam, now is a great time to start. For just $5 USD per month, you’ll get access to our monthly bonus episode. For $10 USD per month, you’ll get a 15% discount code for Blackbird Fabrics and Helen’s Closet plus a bonus mini-sode. Go to patreon.com/LoveToSew, for more info.

Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team, and thank you all so much for listening. We will talk to you soon.

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Buh-bye.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed