Over the next several weeks, we’d like to introduce you to the many friendly faces you see at Stitch Sew Shop. Each and every one of us shares a love of sewing, and we each have our own story and approach to what we do. We hope you enjoy these little peeks into the personality of each of us here at Stitch!
Cristian grew up in the DC area but was born in Santiago, Chile. He says: “My family is from there and happened to be visiting friends and relatives while my mom was pregnant. Because of me they ended up staying a little longer probably to instill the latin vibes.”
When you aren’t sewing, what do you enjoy doing?
Regular stuff like hanging out with friends or binge watching Dogs on Netflix and crying myself to sleep. I studied shoemaking in Italy and have been keeping up with patternmaking. I’m hoping to acquire two machines in the near future so I can sample some ideas. I’m big into music and regularly pop the headphones on and explore. I like working out and recently starting doing yoga again which has been great. I miss it. And oh yeah, tacos. I’m a simple man.
When did you start working at Stitch?
I started working at Sitch last April. I’m still a rookie : )
How long have you been sewing and how did you learn?
I’ve been sewing for about seven years now. I bought a book called Shirtmaking by David Coffin and just went for it.
Of what project are you most proud?
It’s still not finished, but I’ve been working on a bespoke jacket. I bought a set of books written by a tailor from Seattle who studied in London after his service in WWII ended. I drafted the pattern and the construction methods for making up the jacket are top notch. I think he mentions that there will be around 5,000 hand stitches by the time you’re done. You even mark where your hand falls along the side of the jacket so you can sew the sleeve at the corect angle. Guess what? I’m not crazy about the fabric now haha. The journey… the journey.
What are your favorite items to sew?
I really love sewing casual knits and including some embroidered finishing details. Knits are quick and I’m a simple dude. Shirts are fun too because of all the detailed stitching. It’s a nice contrast to sewing knits because the prep time for shirts is like 90% of the battle. The edgestitch foot is my friend.
Do you prefer working with knits or wovens?
I love all my children equally.
Prints or solids? If prints, what kinds?
I prefer soilds and love texture and different finishing details to keep things interesting. I like abstract prints too for short sleeve shirts.
Favorite sewing resource?
I haven’t checked it out in a while because it’s kind of dormant but www.cutterandtailor.com is a great source for reading up on tailoring techniques. There’s a section for women and men, but I want to say it’s more geared towards men’s tailoring.
Favorite sewing tool?
The glue stick! I take advantage of glue basting whenever I can. It’s amazing for doing plackets and works really well with knits. It’s cheap insurance to make sure there’s no shift in the work. I love using it on the ends of knit seams or matching notches in order to avoid offsetting.
Best sewing tip/trick?
You can get a better collar point by modifying your interfacing pattern so that the point is cut off deep enough that it isn’t caught in the seamline. Draw two intersecting lines from the collar point edges at exactly the width of your seam allowance. This will represent your actual sewing line. Cut the corner off 1/16″ back from the intersection toward the inside of the collar and voila. See you at the shop!
