Five Sewcialist Inspirations from Piper Springs

Hullo, Stitchers!  My name is Piper Springs. I live the push-pull life of a working mother, sewist, writer and amateur fashion historian in Southern Arizona, in the US.

I’d like to introduce, or reintroduce, you to five inspirational sewists and bloggers.  These women are great sewists, but more than that they are real women whose personalities shine through in their blogs.  I look forward to their blog posts the way I look forward to emails from a best friend, and admire their ability to express themselves with sincerity, humor, and grace.

Photo Credit: Anne from Pretty Greivances

Pretty Grievances: Remember that best friend who could send you into undignified snorts of laughter? Enter prttynpink, the vivacious redhead who authors Pretty Grievances.  She is masterful at website design, and provides us with excellent images of runway fashion overlain with her own brand of sarcastic commentary on her Wearable Wednesday posts.  She is equally hilarious when journaling her own real-world makes and pulls us into her world during Jungle January, when her readers are invited to share their animal print makes. And she has really cute dogs.

Photo Credit: Rochelle New from Lucky Lucille and Home Row Fiber Co.

Lucky Lucille: Speaking of really cute dogs, meet Lucille, spirit animal of blogger Rochelle New.  Rochelle blogs about her creative journey as she sews, knits, block prints and designs fabrics.  Her posts on sewing knit tees are the most helpful and practical I’ve come across.  Rochelle also posts about her personal journey in coming to love herself in all her perfect imperfection. She describes herself as a fabric wizard, and it’s true; she’s kind of magical.

Photo Credit: Le Papillon

Le Papillon; Mes Petites Creations: Beautiful inside and out describes the dresses Le Papillon creates, as well the blogger herself. Readers can follow the journey of this mother living in the South of France as she learns to pattern draft. I have picked up several excellent techniques for finishing the insides of my makes from this blog.  She writes in English with a French accent.  Read her charming blog and you will see what I mean.

Photo Credit: Casey Maura

Casey Maura: Casey is the blogger I would love to be when I grow up, as well as the blogger whose wardrobe I would most like to steal.  She knits, sews, collects vintage clothes, and is a self-described “Jill-of-All-Trades.” I am always impressed with the energy and creativity it must take to keep a blog fresh, fun and interesting for as long as she has, and she never disappoints.  And like Papillon, she has some seriously cute children.

Photo Credit: Erin from Seamstress Erin, wearing her newest pattern release, the Ultraviolet Tee!

Seamstress Erin: Erin of Seamstress Erin is a scientist by training, but she has turned her skills to designing an indie pattern line. Her patterns are designed for the busy, everyday life of ordinary women, and each pattern she releases seems to be exactly what I’m wanting to sew. What Erin’s blog is really about, however, is empowering women in the best possible of ways.  Her readers have followed her through her pregnancy and the somewhat miraculous birth of her daughter Evie, and she has written candidly about the struggles with body image, postpartum depression, and loss of identity that women as mothers face. She also ran an amazing fundraiser for various sewing-related charities, making it easy for us sewists to give back to society in a tangible way.  The other side of Erin is that she is fun and joyful (her first pattern is for a monster hat and mittens.) Also, if you’ve been thinking about adding applique to any of your makes, don’t miss her killer applique packs.

In Tribute

For each of my favorite bloggers, I would make the cape blazer from Iconic Patterns, because every sewing super hero needs a cape!