Day 1 and 2 at the Sewing Expo

After spending two days at the Sewing Expo, I have to say that there were many more vendors this year than last and there were more sewing classes being offered. This is a good thing. Some of the regular vendors have cut back on what they brought with them. Some vendors that I used to see every year were not present. There were many new vendors from other states that came to Virginia. A few of them travelled hundreds and even thousands of miles by car and trailer. There was a variety of vendors representing quilting, sewing, various sewing machine dealers (Viking, Pfaff, & Brother), etc. One thing I did notice was a lot of fabrics were displayed in bolts, rolls, and pieces and ranged from quilting cottons to fancy fabrics to high end wools.

I stopped in at Vogue Fabrics and found a beautiful black and gray knit fabric destined to be a twinset. That was the only fabric purchase I made, so far. I was on a mission in search of unusual buttons for future jackets and hand knit garments. I did spend time at a wonderful "dry goods" booth that had lots of buttons, trims, ribbons, beads, etc. Here's what I purchased over two days, most of them were on sale for 50% off.





Day 1 @Sewing Expo Class: Lose 10 pounds in a Day-Make Pants That Fit with Judy Kessinger

This 3 hour class was held in a meeting room at a hotel next door to the Dulles Expo center. The minute I arrived into the room, Judy was armed with a measuring tape and my goodie bag and proceeded to take my measurements. I had a feeling that this was going to be a fun class.


Here's what came in my bag:

Yard stick, Dritz tape measure, 6 inch clear ruler, 1 yard of elastic, Master Pants Pattern, and Pattern Ease tracing paper


Judy gave us instructions and steps to follow in tracing our own pattern from the master pants pattern (based on our measurements) each of us received. As you can imagine, everyone's measurements were different and so were our shapes. It was interesting to listen to other sewists and their pants sewing experiences. I felt so comfortable in this class.

Here's the results from the class, my first drafted pants pattern:

My personalized pants pattern, drawn my moi


My pants pattern is long for a very good reason. I will be tweaking them over the next few days


My Goodie Bag from class

I plan on re-taking my measurements and retracing and cutting out another pants pattern. This will reinforce what I learned in class. Plus, you don't get "real" measurements when you are wearing street clothes, if you know what I mean. I can't wait to get started.


Day 2 @Sewing Expo Class: Lining Alternatives by Barb Callahan

I enjoyed this hour long class. I learned about Hong Kong seams and single seam finishes and how beautiful the inside of a garment can look with these techniques. I learned about Silk Dupioni and pre-washing and the many beautiful colors available. I learned that the inside of a garment can be just as pretty as the finished garment is on the outside. I can't wait to sew a jacket and apply these techniques.

Guess what? My sewing mojo came back! I am motivated. I am energized. I can't wait to sew!