Like Riding a Bike

I grew up with a mother who was a master seamstress. She made just about everything my two sisters and I wore....dresses, play clothes, coats, party dresses, formals and wedding dresses. My sisters and I also had very well dressed dolls since she made a multitude of dolls clothes over the years. Each new doll at Christmas time came with a hand made wardrobe made by my mother.

Mother often would take me shopping to look at what was new in the stores and to find out what I liked. The shopping trip would end up at the fabric store where she bought fabric, etc. to duplicate my favorite, must have, item. Often, the item was duplicated without the benefit of a store bought pattern. She just made it up from a pattern of her own making.

I learned the basics of sewing from Mom and took some sewing classes as part of my unfinished college major of Clothing and Textiles. When my kids were little, I did some sewing for them. But not to the extent that my own mother did for me. Over the years, my sewing efforts became basically shortening pants and making a few simple items. Finally, the sewing machine saw such little use that I let my daughter take it.

A little while ago, my daughter showed me a pattern she bought for a Halloween costume for her little girl. Since I had neglected to teach her how to sew when she was younger, I knew that the project was a little more than she could handle. I told her I'd help her with it and hopefully, teach her a little bit about sewing in the process. Then I wondered whether my very rusty sewing skills could be resurrected to tackle the project.

Well, I found out it's like riding a bike.


All the Little Red Riding Hood costume needs is the cape and pantaloons that my daughter is working on.