Re-thinking Blog Content

Lately most of my creative time has been devoted to knitting and spinning. (I do tend to go through these shifts in focus a couple times a year... my friend Beth once astutely said, "you can do anything, but only one thing at a time.") In fact I am even considering adding a new retail aspect to my business, selling knitting patterns and dyed fiber on etsy.com.

I've been thinking about expanding the content of my blog, but I'm also concerned. The single focus on sewing makes for a nicely concentrated body of information. On the other hand, expanding allows me much more material to draw upon in terms of posting. I am, as Tim Gunn might say, flummoxed.

So, I ask your help. Please vote.... and, as always... thank you!

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Notes on Alterations, Phone Calls

Just some business things I've been meaning to explain:

The goal of alterations, in my business, is to, as much as reasonably possible, return the garment back to its original condition. This means several things:

• If you want things done "fast and dirty" to save money, please indicate that. I do have one or two clients who prefer this. This means, for example, folding shoulder straps together instead of going inside and cutting and re-sewing.
  
• Sometimes exactly duplicating the original construction is impossible given what I consider a "reasonable" amount of time and expense. This is usually because the original order or construction causes certain seams to get enclosed. Or, it can be due to specially tooled machines used in "the industry." Some of those stitches or processes just can not be duplicated on conventional home machines.
  
• I rarely improve upon a garment as part of the alteration process. For example, if a lining is not originally tacked down at the side seams, I do not tack it down after shortening the dress. If it is, then I do. This is because you are not paying me to make the garment better, you're paying me to shorten it. This practice also lets me keep standard alterations prices simple and lower. For example, it is $18 to shorten lined, hand-stitched pants. Some of them are tacked down at the side seams, some are tacked down on one side, and some aren't tacked at all. If I had to tack them all down, though, I'd have to charge more for all of them.
  
• "Standard" alterations actually vary greatly in time spent even thought the prices are common. This is due to the infinite variety of fabrics and cuts. I charge one price to keep things from getting ridiculously complicated, and to provide some kind of predictability. But in some cases a $16 unlined hem might take me much more time than a $18 lined hem. It's my hope that it all evens out in the end.
  
• Sometimes there is a significant improvement that I can easily make, for a small additional charge. In that case I will call and get permission to do the extra work.

Phone issues:

• I often don't answer the phone because I am working on a project. If I answer the phone several times during a process I'm likely to make a mistake. Also, it makes time accounting more difficult.
• Please leave a message and I'll get back to you at the end of my workday or the next morning.
  
• If you left a message a couple days ago, don't hesitate to call back....messages can get lost sometimes as I'm sharing a phone line with the family.
• I don't often answer business calls on the weekends unless I happen to be in here working. Please understand that, especially when one works at home, boundaries are important to maintain a work/personal balance in the same space.
• If your phone number does not show up on caller ID then I probably will not pick up because you are probably trying to sell me something.....or at least that is what I am going to assume, and I'm often right. Please leave a message.

Costuming Local Theater?

Cinderella

If people in your community know you sew, and if you're acquainted with anyone remotely connected to theater, then eventually they'll get you.

So when they do - when they ask you to costume a show - be it the 300 seat village theater or the high school, or a dance group competing in the city - what should you say? I recently taught a class on costuming for community theater and now that it's done, I thought I'd share some of that information with you here.

Considerations before agreeing to costume local theater:

• Is this a paid position or volunteer?
• If paid, how much, when, and how?
  
• Who will pay for fabric, patterns, and trim?
  
• What is the budget?
  
• How involved are the costumes? Romeo and Juliet will be much more difficult to costume than Grease, which can be largely improvised from modern day clothing.
  
• Must they be historically accurate and if so do you have, or can you find, the necessary technical information?
• Do you feel reasonably competent fitting a wide variety of bodies including men and children?
• If you’ll be sewing at the theater, are you comfortable using various sewing machines and sergers? Some theaters will also have commercial machines.
• Are you comfortable sewing on a wide variety of fabrics including stretch and synthetics?
• What is the expectation of quality…is it more important that the costumes last for years, or that they are completed quickly and last for 2 weekends?
• What, if any, cutting and sewing help will you have?
• Who will design the costumes?
• How much creative control will you have? Will you be free to make decisions, or have to approve every step with director?
• How many actors are there?
• How many costumes are there? Often, an actor will have more than one character.
• What are the important deadlines such as dress rehearsal?
• What will be your responsibilities during and after performances? For example, who will clean and prepare costumes for storage?
  
• What title will you be given in the program? If you are sewing professionally, this is important.
  

Tomorrow - Special considerations when sewing for live theater. (as opposed to dead theater...or film!)

Erosion

The word conjures images of water, wind, and sand, flowing for millennia, carving gorges through earth and rock.

But what about thread - flowing for years - over plastic?

I was having a lot of trouble with the tension on my Pfaff 7570, purchased just this past millennium, in 1999. Must be something really stuck in the tension disks, I thought. Finally had to break down and bring it to the dealer.

She has a thorough eye and what she found really surprised me. Over the years of sewing almost daily, often for hours at a time, the threads had gouged a path into the plastic. See where, above, the thread would come off the spool pin and curve around the back of the square piece, to the left and frontwards (following the large arrow?) The problem was right below the left corner of that arrow, underneath, where I may have never seen it (unless I was hanging upside down from the ceiling behind the machine...like a vampire...I've cut down on that.)

Here I'm holding up the old part in front of the repaired machine, so you can see where it fits in -

I had to wait two weeks for the part to arrive from Germany but then she promptly fixed it up for me. And saved the old part so I could marvel at it!

Here are a couple close ups of the damage, taken with my daughter's 8 mega-pixel camera. Mine, you know, only has 2 mega-pixels. She's 13.

Lower right corner-
Upper left corner - Pretty amazing, huh? Funny, I actually see this as a sort of badge of honor. A ribbon or plaque that might say, "Most Sewing in Tri-State Area." (Everyone, everywhere, lives in a "tri-state area.") I'm going to keep it, maybe hang it up over my sewing table. Hey, you have to take it where you can get it right?

Work, Work, Work

Well, I thought some of my blogging buddies might be interested in what I've been working on lately in my business life.

• letting out and repairing 10 pairs of men's trousers
• sewing patches on uniforms - corrections, military, scout
• taking in skirts
• completing 3 custom jumper dresses
• Elvis
• taking in formal bodice
• taking sleeves off dress jacket and moving the shoulder up
• putting darts where they should've been in the first place
• giving private sewing lessons to a wonderfully talented 10 year old
• contract sewing for a local costumer - pirate inspired dancing skirts and vests
• hems, hems, hems (some professionals hate hems but I love them...they are my bread and butter work after all)
  

I've had a busy few weeks, even working on Saturdays. Now, finally, I'm getting a breather. I was able to, for myself, roughly cut out the pieces for a planned Claire Shaeffer Vogue jacket. I sorted the tissue pieces (and there are about 20 of them) into two piles....those that I will need for the muslin and those that I won't (interfacing and lining pieces.) I hope to have a muslin done in the next week. Stay tuned for how I go about organizing my pattern alterations.

"Fun" Sewing

It occurs to me that for a lot, almost all actually, of my readers, fun sewing is the only kind. So I got to thinking what, for me, defines "fun sewing?"

WORK: Must make this meticulous inside
FUN: No one's going to see this part anyway

WORK: I'd better test this interfacing first
FUN: If it bubbles later I'll rip it out

WORK: I have to run all over town for the perfect purple thread
FUN: This is close enough

WORK: Why would someone want to wear this fabric?
FUN: This fabric makes my heart sing

WORK: I'll have to go agonizingly slow to get this right
FUN: I'm going to savor every step of this

WORK: Is this good enough?
FUN: It's good enough for me

WORK: I hope I don't mess this up!
FUN: It's only fabric, might as well have fun with it!

Business of Sewing

Talented sewers often ask me what it's like to run a sewing business. They've been asked to make things for others and hesitate to cross that line from hobbyist to professional.

There is reason to hesitate b/c there are some disadvantages to going pro. But I think (obviously) that the advantages outweigh them. So, if it's something you've been considering for awhile, why not go for it? It's not brain surgery. By that I don't mean that it's easy. I do mean that no women or children will die if you change your mind later. Also, you don't have to sell the farm to get started. You have the equipment and the skill. Just start gradually. After all, when you're the boss, you can take only as much work as you please.

But you will want some idea what to expect so here are some of the pluses and minuses of the sewing business:

Minuses

• You've heard it before b/c it's true...you may lose your hobby. I have to say that the vast majority of PACC members I talk to on a regular basis have retained, indeed grown, their passion for sewing. They love their work despite periodic difficulties, and they wouldn't do anything else. However to be truthful, I think a lot of us go through periods of "burn out" or disenchantment with our businesses. This is especially true when you are extremely busy, stressed, and tired. (***When this happens you must take a break, do some brainless fun sewing for yourself or indulge in an altogether different creative passion such as knitting or gardening for awhile. It also helps to attend professional meetings and conferences to get re-inspired. This is also a good time to raise your prices!***)

• You are the boss...and you are responsible. If you screw up (and eventually everybody does) you have to fess up and do your best to make amends to the client.

• It's difficult to make money sewing. Most people agree that alterations make better money than custom. I do both and enjoy both. Having a niche can make your business more profitable also. For example specializing in bridal, dance wear, skating costumes or equestrian clothing. There are a lot of hidden costs, even if you work at home (i.e., you will need liability insurance.) You will need to charge more than you think.

• The sewing business, unless you do seasonal work like bridal dresses, is notoriously unpredictable. You may be swamped for a month, then have nothing for two weeks. And you never know when either is going to happen.

• A sewing business can take a lot of room in your house. Also, clients may have to travel through your house to get to your studio. Are you comfortable with this?
  

• It can be difficult to separate business and personal time when your business is right in the next room. There are strategies to deal with this though.

• There is a lot of work that goes into a sewing business that has nothing to do with sewing. Accounting/bookkeeping takes a lot of time. There is a lot of record keeping and paperwork. Then there are phone calls and appointments. Sourcing and keeping supplies on hand and equipment in order. A lot of organization is needed.

Pluses!

• You are the boss.
• You are the boss.
• You are the boss.
• You have a lot of control over your schedule, the type of work you do and don't want to do, the identity and image of your business.
• You will learn about sewing constantly.
• You will be exposed to a lot of new areas and techniques in sewing, especially if you participate in a professional group like PACC.
  
• You will never be bored.
• You will gain confidence.
• You will be an independent business owner...your business is YOURS. It does not belong to an employer or a spouse or your family. You run it the way you need to at different times in your life.

If you decide to go for it:

• Charge enough. If you don't, you will end up resentful and hating your business. Do not feel guilty about charging a fair wage. Do you think your plumber does?
  

• Join PACC. This is an absolute necessity. The support is invaluable and not available anywhere else. You will have hundreds of the best sewers in the country by your side on a daily basis. You'll learn to be a better sewer and a professional business person. You will have a solid credential...b/c you care enough about the quality of your service to participate in a professional organization.

• Keep educated. PACC, Threads, and countless online sources (I learn from my fellow sewing bloggers every single day.) Stay abreast of the latest. That makes you worth more than the under-the-table chick down the street who charges half as much.

• Take on new and more challenging projects as you feel comfortable. You do not have to start off with couture bridal gowns or men's tailoring. Do what you're best at and add to your repertoire gradually. No one is an expert on everything.

• That said, learn to say no. You're in charge. Don't forget it. Trust me on this.

• Learn something about business. You needn't study mind-numbing texts on assets, liabilities, and profit margins. But you'll want to know what are the minimum records to keep, how to keep as much of the money you make as legally possible, and how to evaluate what, if anything, you are making.
  

***I recommend Tax Solutions for the Self-Employed by June Walker to start. It is written completely with our kind of business in mind...small, sole proprietor businesses, one person operations, where the owner is a craftsperson (fisherman, artist, writer, jeweler, etc...) first, and business person second. It's quick and fun to read (I kid you not), anecdotal, and immensely encouraging.

• Be respectful of your customers. Without them your business is meaningless. They're putting your trust in you and that is pretty special. Trust them too.

Identity Crisis and Word Games

Thanks to everyone who patiently held my hand during my recent business identity crisis. I spent about 2 weeks in front of online dictionary, thesaurus, and etymology sites pondering new, more sophisticated, more descriptive business names.

It started b/c I couldn't register my current dba, The Secret Pocket, which is taken by a business in Canada that specializes in decorating for children. That got me thinking that my name was too juvenile, too "cute." After all, my business is almost 10 years old and it's grown, changed, and matured. Perhaps this year, when I am working to re-evaluate and re-vitalize my business I should also switch to a more sophisticated, "upscale" name.

I considered everything from the poetic - "Dawn Couture" and variations on that, "Morningtide Design" to, in the interest of making it easy for people to find me, simply stating what I do - "Sewing by Dawn" or "Dressmaking by Dawn." I wrote and crossed out dozens of names. I researched synonyms for sewing, dressmaking, tailoring, couture, and fashion. (Incidentally, my favorite new word is "modiste," meaning one who creates or deals in women's fashions.)

Most of the names I thought up, while they sounded great, didn't feel like "me." Take "couture" for example. I realize that to the non-sewing public, it means "highest quality." I do consider what I do fine sewing. But I am not adverse to making, say, Bermuda shorts. And however well-made Bermuda shorts are, it's hard to call them couture. Besides, I don't closely follow famous designers or runway shows in Paris and NY. I am happy to live and work in jeans.

In the meantime, in the midst of all the scribbling and crossing-out of various names, two things happened that caused me to reconsider.

The first is that everyone I asked about the name change said (and I quote) "But I love your name." No one but me seemed to have a problem with it.

Second, I found, via A Dress A Day (one of my favorite sites), this interesting article about pockets and how they were worn in days of yore. I thought, maybe my name really does have the meaningful connotation that I'd associated with it 10 years ago.

So...a believer in both the KISS principle, and the wise adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" I decided to keep my current business name. Maybe not forever, but at least until just the right alternative presents itself.