The Wildwood Wrap Dress by Sew House Seven turned out wonderful but I had some difficult moments. Sewing the collar to the back panel was supposed to be the difficult part, but I found it went rather smoothly. The difficult steps for me came when adding the hem facing and attaching the bodice and skirt together. But I’m happy I made it and that it was challenging for me because I feel like I learned some new skills with this make. I ended up attaching the left and right hem facings backwards. I was able to make it work with a little patchwork fix, as I was not willing to undo everything and switch the pieces around. The French seams turned out well, especially around the collar where the “sew to the notch and pivot” areas came out surprising smooth and quick. In the end, I did have to rip out a few (many) stitches here and there but I expect that every time I make something.
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I sewed a bucket bag after recently listening to a podcast episode of Acquired featuring Hermes. The stories of the Kelly and Birken bags are interesting but what was even more fascinating was the fact that the bags are all made by hand. You can watch, as I did, some process videos on You Tube showing the incredible craftsmanship and care that is needed to make one of these bags. Each stitch is made with precision, years of learning, practice and repetition. According to Acquired podcast it takes approximately 20 hours to make a Birken Bag, all by hand. It’s astonishing that Hermes continues to make their bags by hand, relying on their artisans to make one bag after another with the utmost attention to detail, precision and quality.
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