Introducing...Rosie Wednesday

Sunday, January 12, 2014
I love a good vintage outfit, especially when it's been made from scratch using a vintage pattern. So today, I'd like to introduce you to a lady who does all that and more, Lauren from Rosie Wednesday.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your blog
I'm Lauren and I blog at Rosie Wednesday: Adventures in Vintage-Style Sewing.  Rosie and Wednesday are the names of my sewing machines, for perfectly silly reasons. I blog finished looks, vintage inspiration, and am venturing more and more into tutorials. I am particularly passionate about fit. I think it's a really challenging topic to understand, especially if you are a self-taught sewer like I am, and can make such a difference in your garment sewing if you do.


Why did you start sewing?
When I was about 11 years old, I participated in a creative competition where you made up a skit, among other things. I started sewing to make costumes for our team. My first costume was for a character called "Lacy Lettuce" that I played. I just traced an outline of a dress, cut out 2 pieces from that outline, and stitched it together. Then I hand stitched a bunch of "leaves" cut out of fabric. The skit also featured a pink sewing machine that came to life to help my character!  After making costumes, I was determined to make a pair of pyjama pants and follow a pattern. I was hooked after that!

So to begin, it was really about creative expression. Over the years though, it's become my way to relax and unravel my mind and a way for me to create the wardrobe of my imagination!



Do you get up to any other crafty adventures?
I love to embroider and do cross stitch. I've dabbled a bit in knitting, am just getting started on knitting my first sweater. After a lot of starts and stops, I am officially addicted! It's all I did over the holidays, other than eating.



What has been your greatest sewing achievement so far?
I took a pattern making class in 2013, and starting drafting my own patterns. It was tremendously exciting, and I learned a ton! I've also found those skills to be very helpful in better understanding fit and altering a pattern for you. I love the 2 dresses I made from that class, and can't wait to do more.



And have there been any crafty-related disappointments?
Oh gollies, don't we all have them? I remember in college, I sewed a dress to wear to an event, and the fit was atrocious. It was way too big and kept falling down at the bust. It was a party out on a boat, and I kept a life vest on the entire evening because it was so embarrassing!

Invisible zip, lapped zip or centre zip?
Lapped zip. I struggled a lot with nice-looking lapped zippers on the machine, but I just learned a new technique that fixed all my troubles. I'll have a video tutorial on it soon as part of the Shift Dress Sew Along I'm currently hosting.



What’s currently on your sewing table?
A wintery plaid Hawthorn from Colette patterns.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Thankfully, I found my professional passions early in my career! I work in user experience for a living which basically means it's my job to make sure our website is easy to use. It's a mix of a lot of wonderful disciplines - library science, publishing, and psychology to name a few. I am fortunate enough to really love my job, although I doubt anyone would be surprised to learn I'd rather spend all my days sewing!



What is one piece of advice you would give to someone thinking about learning to sew?
Have fun!! You'll hate sewing if you hold yourself to some impossible standard, and besides, that's what seam rippers are for! Plus, there is a wonderful sewing community online that is so generous with their time and talents. You can rely on them (including me!) to help you get started.

Head on over to Lauren's blog and check out some of her amazing sewing tutorials. I think I need to give her neckline darts a go, aren't they such a gorgeous and unique detail?

xx
Jen

Are you a sewing/knitting/crocheting/baking/vintage/ cat-loving/creative/crafty/awesome owner of a blog? Do you want to be featured in an interview and introduced to some of your other bloggy pals? Well then, flick me an email to jenniferlauren.is@gmail.com with a link to your blog and any other tidbits you feel like sharing and we'll arrange an imaginary internet tea and cake date and get to know each other a little better!

11 comments on "Introducing...Rosie Wednesday"
  1. What a fun interview!

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  2. I have seen some of her dresses around the web, it was nice to learn more about her. What a delight!
    Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Yay! Thanks, Jen! It was such fun to do this, and I am loving getting to see all these bloggers.

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  4. I love Lauren's blog, and this was such a fun interview!

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  5. Lauren blog is new to me but I love her makes! Adding her to my blog roll now!

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  6. So great to learn more about you, Lauren! (And your profession is in the same world as mine, I help make the web sites you make user-friendly have content. lol)

    Thanks for sharing, Lauren and Jen!

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  7. So great to learn more about you, Lauren! (And I work in a similar profession, I make the web sites you make user-friendly have content. lol)

    Thanks for sharing, Lauren and Jen!

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  8. Great interview! I love her blog!

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  9. Fab interview, I shall go and investigate Lauren's blog now. Thank you for sharing Jen.

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  10. How fun! She seems like a lovely lady and her dresses are gorgeous!

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  11. It looks amazing Lauren, I am crazy about this blog and it works. Really its so good and i am very thankful to you. In very informative and useful for me. Thanks for share.
    Click Here

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