I have tremendous trouble saying “no”! I have slowed down some because of grandchildren- I babysit regularly ♥️ . I used to sew/ do alterations 7 days a week- 8-10 hrs a day. However, I love to sew, and like you said, the hardship cases and friends requests are hard to turn down. I am new to your channel. Looking forward to following!
It’s sooo hard. 😬 I used to run myself ragged too. No time off. Congratulations on your grandkids. They are such a joy! I’m glad you found me! God bless and Happy Sewing! -Christa
That's ok Christa. I've decided to "wing it". 😉 It's looking ok so far. Hopefully it will turn out ok and my granddaughter is happy with it. Looking forward to your next video. 👍x
Always good to see your videos! Can’t wait to see what you’re planning to show us. I don’t do bride dresses, only wedding party dresses (scared to tackle a bride dress). I was busy with prom gowns when my daughter, who was going through a difficult divorce asked to move in with us for a year do she could get back on her feet financially. Well, I had to give up my wonderful sewing room so one of the children would have a bedroom. Moved my sewing machine to my bedroom and have all of 8” sewing space. It is impossible to sew on a gown so I had to turn away several clients. I will be 80 next year and had decided that it will be my last year for alterations since it’s so hard to get up and down off the floor to mark hems, so losing my sewing room is making it a little easier to start preparing for ending alterations. I want more “me” time to sew what I want to do. ☺️
Thank you so much Andrea! ♥️ I’m so so sorry about your daughter’s hard times. Saying a prayer for her right now. And praying for those grandkids. ♥️ I really get the need to enjoy sewing again and do some projects for yourself. I have a pile I would love to do but never have time to do creative projects for me. I wish you that time to enjoy sewing again! God bless! -Christa
Knowing how long you have waited for carpets, I think we can wait to learn how you turn loops! Your videos are of such great content they are more than worth waiting for. I will admit saying no is hard, but I find it easier now that I have worked with a couple of wonderful ladies who are good at sewing but not wanting to be a seamstress full time. They are younger ladies who I have helped on a few projects and I know where their skills are at so I can feel confident sending a client to them for this or that. They usually aren't booked because it's more of a hobby/side hustle for them so they are kind of unknown treasures. I actually have hopes the one will go full time, but nonetheless, it's easier to say no I can't do a job when I can tell the client of someone else who most likely could.
Thank you so much Susan!!! ♥️ It is so nice to have other seamstresses you can refer people to. Mine keep moving away, retiring or deciding to stop doing alterations because of a season of life. We started a Facebook group for seamstresses in our area. Hoping to build a network. Thanks for sharing! That is an amazing solution. Surround yourself with other seamstresses that you can refer people to.
I just altered a 1974 Gunnesax full length dress with angel wing lace sleeves. The bodice got side gussets. What a surprise when I discovered the angel wings were extra wide and were also inserted into the bodice side seams. This was a FIRST! but it came out great all things considered. Such a beautiful dress... offwhite muslin. Also hemmed it up and shortened the sleeves, so 4 hours later I made $60. Here in NC thats what I charge anyway. Lets talk about that too... regional pricing.
That’s awesome!! It’s so fun to come across those oldie but goodies 😃 It’s fun to look inside and see how different things were made back then. Thank you so much for sharing this! God bless! And Happy Sewing! -Christa
I have a set amount of dresses I take a month, so it's easy to say "I'm sorry, I'm fully booked this month. I'm only 1 person so I can only take X amount right now" During the Spring, my family plays baseball so I'm very careful about not over-booking myself.
Yes! This!! I’ve been moving in this direction. It’s working so much better. If I could just say no to the sad stories and friends of friends. lol Thank you for sharing! This is the perfect solution. Have a great week!
I love your videos! I am new to bridal alterations! I have taught textiles for 10 years however I still feel I am a little scared handling a wedding dress ❤
Thank you soooooo much Zoe!! 🤗 I was nervous to handle the wedding gowns when I first entered the bridal world. But now I know all the ways things can be fixed if something happens. So I now feel more confident. It reminds me of my mom who for a long time worked with newborn babies. It would always shock me how they handled them when I would visit. It was because they knew what to be careful of and what to not worry about. Knowledge is key. 😃 You will grow more and more confident as time goes by. Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I appreciate you so much! And boy would I love to sit in one of your textile classes. How fun! I bet you have incredible knowledge. ♥️♥️♥️ Happy Sewing! Have an amazing day! -Christa
Id love to hear the business side of sewing please! I dread my hand written invoices but its all Ive got. Hey at least Ive got my logo stamp that I stamp at the top of each invoice. Lavoie Boho
Thank you so much for watching! I will definitely get more and more into doing videos for the business side of things. You can go to a local printer and have custom invoices printed up. And also choose how many carbon copies you want on each invoice. 😊 Thanks again! -Christa
I agreed to make a 18 foot pergola cover. What was I thinking during wedding season. Did all floors last fall including lower sewing area I hear y darling. Prayers definitely
Hi Crista. I love your videos. They are so informative. I followed the video on adding lacing to the back of a dress for my granddaughters prom dress. Now she would like a modesty panel. Help!!! Where can I find a video on constructing one please? Maz xx
Hello 👋 Thank you so much for hanging out with me and watching the videos. I haven’t made an official video of that, however, I touch on it in one of my most recent videos. I think it was on the one about transferring your measurements from the gown to paper. It has a picture of my hand drawing our a diagram. Let me see if I can find the title.
Here is the title - “Sewing & Alteration Tip - Transferring and Diagraming the Measurements #sewinghacks” It’s my last video posted. Thanks so much! -Christa
Thanks Christa. I was really looking for a modesty panel for the back of the dress , underneath the lacing. I'll see if I can figure it out for myself. 😊But I will continue to watch your videos. Thanks so much. ❤@@christasdressshoppe
I am new to your channel as well. My first video I saw of yours was bustling a long lace train. Do you or others have any suggestions for bustling copious amounts and multiple layers of tulle? Due to cascading applique, the bride wants this to be an under bustle. On the train, the manufacturer has tacked all layers every 11" except for 95" of extra train side tulle yet to be gathered that's not attached to lining. Any suggestions? So far im using organza ribbon to make loops every 11". Strings inside to grab 3loops per string. Would snaps on the lining work better when bustling?
Hello Julie 👋 I’m so glad you are here. Oh boy, you have got a big one on your hands. These are so hard to get all those layers to behave. For me, it’s just time and patience to try every which way, until I can finally get the right combo of pick ups. Obviously the manufacturer knew how unruly the train was, so that’s why they tacked it down so much. It sounds like you are doing good using organza ribbons. You could also use clear buttons in areas that you have appliqués. A French bustle (under bustle) is probably the hardest on tulle dresses. But just stick with it. Saying a prayer for you today. Have an amazing day! I would love to hear an update on how it went. -Christa
I have tremendous trouble saying “no”! I have slowed down some because of grandchildren- I babysit regularly ♥️ . I used to sew/ do alterations 7 days a week- 8-10 hrs a day. However, I love to sew, and like you said, the hardship cases and friends requests are hard to turn down.
I am new to your channel. Looking forward to following!
It’s sooo hard. 😬
I used to run myself ragged too. No time off.
Congratulations on your grandkids. They are such a joy!
I’m glad you found me!
God bless and Happy Sewing!
-Christa
That's ok Christa. I've decided to "wing it". 😉 It's looking ok so far. Hopefully it will turn out ok and my granddaughter is happy with it.
Looking forward to your next video. 👍x
🤗
Always good to see your videos! Can’t wait to see what you’re planning to show us. I don’t do bride dresses, only wedding party dresses (scared to tackle a bride dress). I was busy with prom gowns when my daughter, who was going through a difficult divorce asked to move in with us for a year do she could get back on her feet financially. Well, I had to give up my wonderful sewing room so one of the children would have a bedroom. Moved my sewing machine to my bedroom and have all of 8” sewing space. It is impossible to sew on a gown so I had to turn away several clients. I will be 80 next year and had decided that it will be my last year for alterations since it’s so hard to get up and down off the floor to mark hems, so losing my sewing room is making it a little easier to start preparing for ending alterations. I want more “me” time to sew what I want to do. ☺️
Thank you so much Andrea! ♥️
I’m so so sorry about your daughter’s hard times. Saying a prayer for her right now.
And praying for those grandkids. ♥️
I really get the need to enjoy sewing again and do some projects for yourself. I have a pile I would love to do but never have time to do creative projects for me.
I wish you that time to enjoy sewing again!
God bless!
-Christa
Knowing how long you have waited for carpets, I think we can wait to learn how you turn loops! Your videos are of such great content they are more than worth waiting for.
I will admit saying no is hard, but I find it easier now that I have worked with a couple of wonderful ladies who are good at sewing but not wanting to be a seamstress full time.
They are younger ladies who I have helped on a few projects and I know where their skills are at so I can feel confident sending a client to them for this or that. They usually aren't booked because it's more of a hobby/side hustle for them so they are kind of unknown treasures.
I actually have hopes the one will go full time, but nonetheless, it's easier to say no I can't do a job when I can tell the client of someone else who most likely could.
Thank you so much Susan!!! ♥️
It is so nice to have other seamstresses you can refer people to. Mine keep moving away, retiring or deciding to stop doing alterations because of a season of life.
We started a Facebook group for seamstresses in our area. Hoping to build a network.
Thanks for sharing! That is an amazing solution. Surround yourself with other seamstresses that you can refer people to.
I just altered a 1974 Gunnesax full length dress with angel wing lace sleeves. The bodice got side gussets. What a surprise when I discovered the angel wings were extra wide and were also inserted into the bodice side seams. This was a FIRST! but it came out great all things considered. Such a beautiful dress... offwhite muslin. Also hemmed it up and shortened the sleeves, so 4 hours later I made $60. Here in NC thats what I charge anyway. Lets talk about that too... regional pricing.
That’s awesome!! It’s so fun to come across those oldie but goodies 😃
It’s fun to look inside and see how different things were made back then.
Thank you so much for sharing this!
God bless! And Happy Sewing!
-Christa
I have a set amount of dresses I take a month, so it's easy to say "I'm sorry, I'm fully booked this month. I'm only 1 person so I can only take X amount right now" During the Spring, my family plays baseball so I'm very careful about not over-booking myself.
Yes! This!!
I’ve been moving in this direction. It’s working so much better. If I could just say no to the sad stories and friends of friends. lol
Thank you for sharing! This is the perfect solution.
Have a great week!
I love your videos! I am new to bridal alterations! I have taught textiles for 10 years however I still feel I am a little scared handling a wedding dress ❤
Thank you soooooo much Zoe!! 🤗
I was nervous to handle the wedding gowns when I first entered the bridal world. But now I know all the ways things can be fixed if something happens. So I now feel more confident. It reminds me of my mom who for a long time worked with newborn babies. It would always shock me how they handled them when I would visit. It was because they knew what to be careful of and what to not worry about. Knowledge is key. 😃
You will grow more and more confident as time goes by.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I appreciate you so much!
And boy would I love to sit in one of your textile classes. How fun! I bet you have incredible knowledge. ♥️♥️♥️
Happy Sewing! Have an amazing day!
-Christa
Id love to hear the business side of sewing please! I dread my hand written invoices but its all Ive got. Hey at least Ive got my logo stamp that I stamp at the top of each invoice. Lavoie Boho
Thank you so much for watching! I will definitely get more and more into doing videos for the business side of things.
You can go to a local printer and have custom invoices printed up. And also choose how many carbon copies you want on each invoice. 😊
Thanks again!
-Christa
I agreed to make a 18 foot pergola cover. What was I thinking during wedding season. Did all floors last fall including lower sewing area I hear y darling. Prayers definitely
😮 wow! That was a big undertaking I’m sure!! We do crazy things sometimes. lol 😂
Thank you so much for watching! And especially for the prayers!! 🤗
Hi Crista. I love your videos. They are so informative. I followed the video on adding lacing to the back of a dress for my granddaughters prom dress. Now she would like a modesty panel. Help!!! Where can I find a video on constructing one please? Maz xx
Hello 👋
Thank you so much for hanging out with me and watching the videos.
I haven’t made an official video of that, however, I touch on it in one of my most recent videos.
I think it was on the one about transferring your measurements from the gown to paper. It has a picture of my hand drawing our a diagram. Let me see if I can find the title.
Here is the title -
“Sewing & Alteration Tip - Transferring and Diagraming the Measurements #sewinghacks”
It’s my last video posted.
Thanks so much!
-Christa
Thanks Christa. I was really looking for a modesty panel for the back of the dress , underneath the lacing. I'll see if I can figure it out for myself. 😊But I will continue to watch your videos. Thanks so much. ❤@@christasdressshoppe
@@maralyntoddjones3840 oh I see! So sorry.
Yes I need to do one for the laces and the modesty panel.
I am new to your channel as well. My first video I saw of yours was bustling a long lace train. Do you or others have any suggestions for bustling copious amounts and multiple layers of tulle?
Due to cascading applique, the bride wants this to be an under bustle. On the train, the manufacturer has tacked all layers every 11" except for 95" of extra train side tulle yet to be gathered that's not attached to lining. Any suggestions?
So far im using organza ribbon to make loops every 11". Strings inside to grab 3loops per string.
Would snaps on the lining work better when bustling?
Hello Julie 👋
I’m so glad you are here.
Oh boy, you have got a big one on your hands. These are so hard to get all those layers to behave. For me, it’s just time and patience to try every which way, until I can finally get the right combo of pick ups.
Obviously the manufacturer knew how unruly the train was, so that’s why they tacked it down so much.
It sounds like you are doing good using organza ribbons. You could also use clear buttons in areas that you have appliqués.
A French bustle (under bustle) is probably the hardest on tulle dresses. But just stick with it.
Saying a prayer for you today.
Have an amazing day! I would love to hear an update on how it went.
-Christa