The idea for this collection has been on my mind for years. I love to sew, and have been doing it even longer than I have knit or crochet. I began with crude hand sewing as a teenager, cobbling together thrift store finds, sewing on patches, and making Frankensteined looking garments. When I got older, I was gifted my first sewing machine which was a game changer. I began refining techniques, following commercial sewing patterns, drafting some of my own, and learning anything and everything I could about sewing.

This sewing journey was much like my it was when I began crocheting, and then knitting a decade later. I love to do all of these things equally. Because I spend so much time at the yarn game, it feels like a vacation to revisit sewing. It’s amazing how the tidbits we learn in one area can be applied to other crafts when they are revisited.

We’re all here because we love making. It is a way of life, it’s what we are driven to do. To be able to create a thing out of raw materials is empowering! We can choose color, stitch pattern, length, hem treatment and any other detail - it’s our choice. In the years (decades, even!) I’ve been sewing, my body has changed from teenager to young adult to middle aged person. The garments that flattered me as a younger person are no longer an option. And that’s the beauty of making - we can take this knowledge and use it to make whatever the heck we want.

These knit and sewn outfits are meant to be merely an inspirational jumping off point. Are you a beginning sewer without much confidence? Most of the sewing patterns shown here are extremely simple - give them a try! Most commercial patterns will list on the front of the pattern envelope the difficulty level. There are many “easy” and “very easy” garment patterns out there. Have fun with it!

Just do you.

eBook published in January 2019 by Universal Yarn

universalyarn.com