Home Sewing Trends (Video)
Anokhi TV
I used to be the Beauty Editor at Anokhi magazine, which is the largest South Asian magazine in North America. It was a great time in my career because I got to do something I was skilled at and enjoyed (beauty editing) for a completely new-to-me market.
(Fun Denise fact: I was working as the Beauty Editor for Anokhi when I opened the New York City location of The Sewing Studio, six years into The Sewing Studio’s success in Toronto. Whenever I’m talking to people about starting or growing their own business, I always recommend going slow and keeping your day job as long as possible, transitioning it into a part-time gig or multiple freelance jobs as you go, which is exactly what I did when I took on the role at Anokhi.)
I keep in touch with the team at Anokhi as their business has evolved (they’ve added Anokhi Spotlight TV, and have since removed the print version of the magazine that I used to work on), so when they asked me to talk about trends in home decor for their online TV program, I eagerly jumped on board.
Watch it here… (And be sure to watch to the end when I give host Daphne Siddique a lesson on how to sew a slipstitch.)
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Home Sewing Trends (Anokhi TV)
Show’s Host, Daphne Siddique:
On this week’s “Home & Away” episode of “The Anokhi Daily Spotlight TV,” we’re talking about sewing. Yes, that classic pastime that our grandmothers used to love is now becoming quite popular amongst all generations. So, today we’re excited to be meeting with sewing expert Denise Wild who will be sharing some tips, tricks, and the latest trends of sewing this season.
So, Denise, tell us a little bit about “LoveSewing.”
Denise:
Sure. Well, lovesewing.com is a website where we publish daily articles about fashion, about style, sewing how-tos and tips. We also teach classes at The Sewing Studio.
-Sewing Tips For Beginners
Daphne:
So when it comes to sewing, Denise, what are some tips that you can give us beginners out there?
Denise:
So if you’re starting to sew for the first time or if you haven’t done it in a while, the best thing to do is start with a good machine.
Tip #1: Start With a Good Machine
If you have a brand new machine or you have one that has been passed onto you or you have in your basement.
Tip #2: Thread Machine & Load Bobbin Properly
You want to make sure that it’s threaded properly and that you’ve loaded your bobbin and threaded that properly; that’s one of the biggest challenges.
Tip #3: Start With Basic Stitches
Once you have your machine and you’re ready to go, you want to start off with very basic stitches, basic seam finishes and, definitely, basic projects.
-Colours & Modern Trends
Daphne:
So are there any different things that are happening then with sewing? Are there modern trends with sewing as well?
Denise:
Absolutely. You know, much like everything else, it’s taken from the runways and then translated into sewing, into home décor. So what we’ve seen right now are a bunch of colors for spring.
Trend #1: Spring Water Colours & Prints
There’s a great play on watercolor-type prints on fabrics.
Trend #2: Contrasting Greys, Whites, & Blacks
You see a lot of contrasting greys and whites, blacks and whites.
Trend #3: Embroidery
And also a lot of embroidery; Valentino had some embroidery too.
So you can translate that to sewing. Whether you’re doing fashion sewing and doing garments or whether you’re doing home décor.
-D.I.Y. Home Projects
Daphne:
What are some easy to do projects that we can do at home? To keep the costs low.
Denise:
Sure. Whenever you’re redoing your home or whether you’re freshening up for a different season, by bringing in fabrics and textiles and working with soft furnishings, it’s a great way to update your home at a very low cost.
Tip #1: Change Up the Drapery
So, you could change out the drapes, which is a bit of a bigger project.
Daphne:
Tip #2: Create Toss Cushions & Throws
Denise:
Or you can easily work with toss cushions. You know – throws, toss cushions, that kind of thing. They’re easy to make covers for and then you can swap them in with the trends.
Tip #3: Bring In Bold Colours
You can bring in bold colours as well, which is something that people are often hesitant to do, but with a cushion, you can play with it and just change out the room instantly.
Daphne:
That’s great, because we as South Asians love our bold colours.
Denise:
Yeah, and it’s so easy to do with toss cushions. You can either look for bold print or you can do multiple solids on different cushions.
-How to Do a Slip Stitch
Daphne:
So, Denise, I’m actually excited about this, because we’re going to get down and dirty.
Denise:
We are.
Daphne:
You’re going to teach me to sew today.
Denise:
Yep. I’m going to show you how to do a great basic hand stitch. It’s called the slip stitch. It’s probably one of my favorite stitches to do. It’s so versatile. It’s very easy to do.
Step #1: Start With a Double Threaded Needle
You’re going to start with a double-threaded needle.
Step #2: Pull Needle & Thread Up From Fold
So what you’ll do first is come from underneath the folds and bring the needle up through the fold. That way we’re going to hide the knot.
Step #3: Go Down Into the Fabric
What you’re going to do is go down into the fabric. Just pick up a couple threads of fabric.
Step #4: Pull the Tip of the Needle Through
And then you’re going to pull that as well.
Step #5: Enter the Fold From Where You Came Up
Then we’re to enter the fold right where we came up.
Daphne:
Denise:
Step #6: Travel Through With Your Needle & Thread
And you do what’s called, travelling through the fold. So we’re going to slide the needle along about an inch or so—
Daphne:
Um hum.
Denise:
–through the fold.
Step #7: Repeat All Steps
And you’ll just repeat this over and over again. When you choose a thread that matches, you won’t be able to see it on the other side.
Show’s Narrator:
For more on Denise Wild and Love Sewing, you can visit lovesewing.com.
And, of course, for our show, you can visit us at anokhimedia.com and our YouTube channel. And don’t forget to interact with us on Facebook and Twitter.
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