STITCH SOCIAL :: MARIANNE - Stitch Sew Shop

Today we are getting to know Marianne, a local sewist who also shares delightful illustrations of her handmades on her instagram (@sewingdrawings) and blog (www.sewingdrawings.com). Read the Stitch Social interview and get inspired by her fun and eye-catching color combinations!

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SEWING AND WHAT GOT YOU STARTED?
My first time at a machine was Super Bowl Sunday of 2018 – the date of my primer class at Stitch. My three-year sew-iversary is coming up! My sewing journey started because what I wanted to wear – a simple boxy top in a fun/colorful print – didn’t seem to exist in stores. I found shopping for clothes stressful and discouraging because something about the fit or style always felt not quite right on me for reasons I didn’t totally understand. My sister suggested I learn to sew, and luckily the best sewing shop (Stitch!) happened to be only a few neighborhoods away. I took most of Stitch’s garment basics classes in the first few months, and from there just kept learning by trying out new patterns on my own.
TELL US ABOUT THE FIRST THING YOU EVER MADE.
The actual first garment I ever made was an attempt at bell-bottoms when they came back in style in 5th grade. I was too nervous to ask my parents for some, so I cut up my old rec-league basketball jerseys and hand-sewed them into striped pants. They of course were unwearable! I didn’t do much sewing again until my classes at Stitch. My first *real* garment was the Grainline Studio Lark Tee in a fun jersey covered in stars, sewn up in the Intro to Knits class with Kalle. It felt so empowering to choose my own fabric, neckline, sleeve length, top length! I wore it constantly and felt so cool.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT SEWING?
I work as a web designer, and otherwise spend a lot of my free time doing creative projects. I started a blog last summer as a way to channel the true-love feeling I had about sewing – it’s called Sewing Drawings, and basically I just draw pictures of what I sew! Otherwise: long walks around the DC mall, dance workouts, virtual game nights with my family.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF FABRIC TO WORK WITH?
Cotton lawn or shirting with a bright print. Cotton is by far my favorite thing to wear, and it is conveniently also the easiest to sew with.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROUDEST MAKE!
I recently finished a quilted fleece Tamarack jacket – definitely my most elaborate sew so far. In the fall I saw a beautiful art installation by Sol LeWitt, and I felt called to make a jacket inspired by all of his colorful squares. Usually I make simpler tops I can finish in a weekend, so this was a much longer labor of love that took about a month. I think it has something like 200 lines of stitching!
WHAT DO YOU DO TO GET YOURSELF OUT OF A SEWING RUT?
Browse fabric online! Or organize all of my sewing supplies. Or just put away my machine for a bit and trust that inspiration will return when the time is right.
TEAM TRACE OR TEAM CUT (FOR PAPER PATTERNS)?
Trace! I am a student of Stitch. ?

WHAT SEWING TOOL COULD YOU NEVER LIVE WITH OUT?
Rotary cutter and cutting mat. I think because I have a graphic design background, a cutting tool that feels more like drawing or using an x-acto knife feels most comfortable to me.
WHAT IS YOUR SEWING SET UP LIKE? DO YOU HAVE A DESIGNATED SPACE?
No designated sewing space, but I do have a closet and a dining table! Everything lives in the closet during the week, and most weekends I pull it all out to sew (and generally make an enormous mess). I’m pretty low-gear over here – I’ve been borrowing a friend’s machine, and not having a serger has helped me enjoy the slower processes of French and bias-bound seams. Space is quite limited in my apartment, so I do all my pressing on a mini table-top ironing board. Someday I’ll upgrade and probably wish I did it way sooner!

DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN TYPE OF GARMENT THAT YOU LIKE TO SEW, OR A PATTERN THAT YOU HAVE MADE MANY TIMES?

Boxy woven tops, the reason I learned to sew in the first place, are still my favorite. I love clean lines paired with a bold print. The top I drafted a pattern for at Stitch’s Knock-It-Off class is my most-made!
What’s your favorite pattern hack?
I lengthen and/or widen short sleeves on pretty much everything. I find a longer, wider sleeve to be most comfortable on me, and it’s so hard to find in stores!
TELL US ABOUT A FAVORITE STITCH MEMORY!
I have so many happy memories of time spent at Stitch: the first day I sat at a machine I felt an immediate kinship and lift in my spirits; the Fourth of July tea party where I marveled that there was a crowd of people who also wanted to be sewing and eating ginger snaps rather than day-drinking by the pool; the time I bought metallic-painted denim for a holiday dress of my dreams, then immediately ruined it in the wash, and you all reassured me on the phone you had just the right amount left on the bolt for a second try. So many Sundays in the workspace listening to 80s radio and co-sewing. Kalle FaceTime-touring me through quilting cottons during the first scary days of quarantine so I could send my health-care-worker/sewist sister a fabric care package. And in the past year, carrying out weekly Sunday sewing sessions virtually with my friend Kathy, whom I met at Stitch. The list goes on! I joke that I can’t ever move away from this area because a) my family and b) Stitch. I am so grateful for this wonderful shop and the new creative chapter it has opened up for me.

Stitch Social is a monthly interview series that features some of the members of our wonderful sewing community.