Style Blues

Anita Morris is a DIY fashion blogger as well as the creator of Anita by Design. She uses her brand to both inspire and teach women of all ages how to sew their own clothing. She believes that when a woman discovers and embraces her own personal style, it boosts confidence and opens the door for amazing creativity with her wardrobe and all areas of life. Anita has a passion to equip women with the necessary tools to make their own garments while empowering them to create fashion that complements their own unique body types. On Anita’s blog, you will find plenty of DIY inspiration to get you motivated to start your own journey as a sewist, refresh your skills, or even to take your sewing passion to the next level. The Anita by Design YouTube channel hosts a beginner’s sewing course. In this class, Anita teaches the basics of sewing with helpful step-by-step instructions. You will also find sew-along videos that walk you through the steps of creating garments with commercial patterns. She is a woman of faith an

Brian Dixon is a Podcastor, conference speaker, and business coach. He believes that each of us were made for a purpose. You will discover that purpose by clarifying your calling, discovering your audience, and creating your products, which will help you navigate a clear path to impact and income. Brian is passionate about helping authors, speakers, and aspiring messengers create a sustainable business through growing their platform, and creating compelling online courses. He is the co-founder of hope*writers, a membership site of over 2,000 working writers. I first heard of Brian on another podcast, and right away I was fascinated by his story and the way he puts the customer first in business. This concept is not new, but it was to me the first time I heard it! I had spent YEARS trying to figure out who my customer was and what they would buy with my lifestyle blog, Cozy Traditional Home.com. The concept of “People First” was a revelation to me, and just what I needed to hear in my business. It doesn’t matt

Meet my friend, Emily Thompson from Life Sew Savory. In this episode I chat with Emily about her success as a sewing blogger, how she got started and her experience on the PBS television show It's Sew Easy. Emily Emily Thompson is the owner and creator of Life Sew Savory.com.  Since 2010, Life Sew Savory has been bringing you sewing inspiration, recipes and free pdf patterns to make sewing fun. In addition to running her website, Emily also loves hanging out with her three kids and husband, enjoying biking, hiking, swimming and traveling. She loves to exercise, read and have coffee with friends when she has time. Emily had been featured on the PBS Television show It's So Easy, and has her own weekly sewing Facebook Live show @Lifesewsavory every Wednesday at 3pm EST.

In the first episode of season 2, we talk about using your Cricut Maker for sewing a simple envelope style clutch with a zipper. Fun and easy project!

Do you have a place to host all your sewing projects, connect with other influencers and brand partners? Sewing Portfolios is exactly what you need to fill the void! In this episode we talk with Candice Ayala from Sewing Portfolios.com.

I decided it would be fun to try something completely different from my usual sewing projects. With the rainy season here, I decided on sewing a raincoat! Here are my tips on choosing fabric and construction for a water proof garment.

Here ye, here ye, Lords and Ladies of the Fair! Gather around for this fascinating tale of adventure! If you are interested in cosplay, steampunk or historical costumes, this episode is for you! We will talk about what sort of costumes you can sew for the fair, what kind of fabrics to choose, colors, and appropriate styles.

We all have unfinished sewing projects lurking in our closet. In this episode we talk about how to get through the tough sewing projects so you can move on to the next ones.

In today's episode we will talk about some basic sewing terms that you need to know to embark on your first sewing project. Basic Sewing Terminology Straight stitch, single needle 2.5 or 3.0 Zig zag stitch: Side to side stitch, different widths small for buttonholes, wide for overcast and uses (elastic, decorative, finishing edges) Interfacing, what is it for? Cuffs, collars, waistbands, pockets, button placket. Fusible or non fusible. There are uses and different weights, bumpy side is glue. Use warm dry iron to a shear to wrong side of fabric. Rotary cutters and plastic matt used in quilting for cutting narrow fabric strips and squaring quilt blocks. Back tacking, reverse stitching. 1-2 stitches at the beginning and end of seams will secure the seam. Basting, long straight stitch length 4.5-5.0. Used for securing zippers, gathering fabric, easing sleeve caps into place. Bobbin, winding on each machine should be marked. Be sure it’s smoothly filled to avoid problems. Tension on machi

Download this episode here! Recently I had an opportunity to chat with Mimi Goodwin of Mimi G Style. She is an inspiration to so many women, listen to her amazing success story! Intro: I met Mimi at a business Conference a few years ago. Love her unique sense of style! I’ve been following her ever since. Mimi is a huge influencer in the sewing, fashion and lifestyle niche. She is very accomplished with her tutorials, online courses, and her partnership with Simplicity patterns. I had asked her a bit about how she works with Simplicity and we will learn more about that in today's episode among other topics. Mimi has been through a lot in her life, she's been on her own since she was 15 years old. She’s got an amazing story to share, from being a victim of abuse, becoming homeless, and struggling as a single mom. Her great sense of style and business savvy has made her the successful entrepreneur she is today. I am incredibly excited to have her with me on the podcast! Mimi's bio: Award winning trending Expert

Download this episode here! In this episode of the Style Blues Podcast, I talk a bit about the history of sewing, the beginning of the big pattern companies and how we got to where we are today. It wasn't that long ago that everyone sewed. Over the last 30 years things have changed, here's what happened. Show Notes: The History of Sewing Let’s learn a bit about the history of sewing, how did we get where we are today? Abbreviated History of Sewing as per Wikipedia:   The Industrial Revolution shifted the production of textiles from the household to the mills. In the early decades of the Industrial Revolution, the machinery produced whole cloth. The world's first sewing machine was patented in 1790 by Thomas Saint. By the early 1840s, other early sewing machines began to appear. By the 1850s, Isaac Singer developed the first sewing machines that could operate quickly and accurately and surpass the productivity of a seamstress or tailor sewing by hand.While much clothing was still produced at home by female

Blogging history and story behind Designers Sweet Spot blog and the new adventure of Chambray Blues Blog.   10 Things you are doing wrong in your sewing Not pre-washing fabric first Not believing in yourself, it’s not rocket science Buying the wrong size pattern Not measuring correctly Not making pattern adjustments Not placing the grainline correctly Using the wrong type of fabric for the pattern. Using a machine that hasn’t been serviced Using the wrong needle Using the wrong thread

Download this episode here! The Style Blues Podcast is finally here! The first episode is now live! [caption id="attachment_157" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Episode 001[/caption] Show Notes: Interviews are Inspiring: One of the things I wanted to accomplish with this podcast is to inspire you with interviews of people who have been successful in their sewing related businesses. As creative people, sometimes we think too narrow when it comes to business and making money from what we love. Using a computer aided design tool is one great way to make your sewing business into something that will make you money. These computerized tools, such as the Silhouette machine are changing the industry in that you can now make quality custom appliques or other items from home with relatively little investment. When I first heard about the Silhouette a few years ago I had no idea what I could use something like that for. I had a blogger friend who told me about “Silhouette School” and I thought she was talking about an