In the last couple of weeks I have finally signed up for Instagram on my smart phone. I had heard of it but a never ending list of things to do always seemed to stop me taking the time to download it and get it up and running. Well last week I took that time and now I'm so delighted that I did so. The ease and the power it brings in communicating a story from the work I do is so immediate and so powerful.

I started out with some photos of exterior patio seat covers, simple and yet so visually powerful, their yellow color shows up so vivid and almost screams that Spring can't be too far away. The simplicity of sharing my photos of a complex stitch, a beautiful fabric, a work in progress, or a finished item seems so appropriate to my custom sewing business, that it seems like Instagram might have been developed especially for us to share custom sewing photos. Now that's a cool idea! 

Each piece of custom sewing is so individual, whether its a window dressing, a cushion cover, a slipcover or a piece for your patio set. Instagram gives us all so much power to share this unique project with our network. I wish I had found and used something like this many years ago. Seems like I'm a new enthusiast of Instagram and  indeed I am so. I should tell you that my user name on Instagram is Designerslipcovers and I would truly love you to follow me.

So I'm excited as I plan to post lots of photos of my work in the weeks and months ahead. I look forward to sharing these with you and to following your photos on Instagram too. 

Have a great week 

Elaine.

www.Elainescutomsewing.com

Well the special holiday week has arrived and the festive season is in full swing here in Central Florida, with shops full of such fine decorations and homes that shine like beacons in these clear cold nights. Surrounded by such visual stimulus it's hard not to see custom sewing opportunities everywhere I go around Sanford and Lake Mary. I wonder how many of you have taken on a sewing project? Maybe you have decided to make custom Christmas socks, to hang over the mantels of your own home or to give away to close friends.
These simple Christmas socks present such opportunities to create any color combinations and to have a gift that will last for years and be meaningful to your friends or grandkid or even a neighbor that you like. Custom sewing brings such job to folks who just don't have the skills to do the work themselves.
A quick look around the internet will provide you with so many ideas. Take this link below for example - what a great selection of custom sewing Christmas socks to choose from.  http://www.topdreamer.com/29-creative-diy-christmas-stockings/

And you don't need to just concentrate on Christmas Stockings - there are so many great seasonal sewing opportunities to start working on - many are small items that will make ideal gifts. Check out this link for some creative ideas.
http://www.allfreesewing.com/Christmas-Sewing/page/1

The beauty of custom sewing is that it can be customized to the season we're in and Christmas presents one of the best opportunities to be creative and colorful. Custom sewing chair covers, pillows, cushions and even smaller items to garnish walls and halls around your house can all be designed to have a festive theme. These small items can be folded flat and posted to your friends anywhere across the US and even worldwide. That's a service I offer and you would be surprised how many people ask me to post small custom sewing items to their extended family in far away places.

It's also a great time to make your wishes known for a new upscale sewing machine too? Maybe if you believe hard enough it will arrive on Christmas morning :>>
No matter what's on your list or what your custom sewing project is, I wish you luck with it and I wish you all well for the holidays and for the year ahead too.

Elaine

www.elainescustomsewing.com

Hi All, I just wanted to update you that I’m working on several interesting sewing projects leading into this Christmas holiday season. I’m so excited to help out with home decorating projects this season with new slipcovers and window treatments for my clients. This year there is notable increase in the demand for window treatments and perhaps that's an indication of an improving economy?

Sewing projects are always exciting, and even more so when there is a seasonal atmosphere in the air, with the excitement of friends and relative popping in to see the results of your effort.  Demand for recliner slipcovers seem to peak in these months of winter - maybe its the long evenings and warm fires.

And when it comes to writing your Christmas gift list, why not consider some sewing related gifts, like maybe a new sewing machine. And maybe treat someone special to some really nice fabrics. Sewing gifts come in so many price ranges and will always be appreciated by your friends who like to sew.

No matter what you are working on, stay focused and you will get it finished in time for the holidays. And if you run into any problems on your sewing project then give me a call. I might be able to help you out, even over the phone.

Have a great sewing week.

Elaine
www.elainescustomsewing.com

Hi

I wanted to update on my progress that's happening in my custom sewing services. The Millennium Luxury Coach Pillows that I talked about last week are now complete and look Beautiful.  This was a really wonderful sewing project and I will post some pictures ASAP. Who can tell, these pillows I made may well be touring the East Coast of the US in a matter of weeks from now.

I’m now starting a slipcover project today on another French Provencal chair with a cushion.  I will be making a pattern for this chair so that I will be able to make multiple slipcovers for this type of chair and that should save a lot of time on  future projects. Slipcovers for chairs make such a huge change to existing furniture. This should be a great project and I will post pictures soon as possible.

Thank You.

Elaine Massingale

Elaine’s Custom Sewing

321-377-1201

What  motivates some folks to learn custom sewing skills? Is it driven by artistic creativity or by the drive to master the mechanics? Maybe its the soothing sound of the sewing machine, as it makes its train-track journey through the fabric.

In the end maybe the drivers are as different as the people, each one telling of a different story, woven from the fabric of their own life story.  In any event I might be able to do  some research on the subject ,as I plan to start up my new custom sewing training course.

My idea is to offer individual training in all aspects of custom sewing. The class size will be small, from one person to a maximum of three persons, focusing on improving the participants skill base. The participants will need to already have some basic sewing skills and will need to bring their own sewing machine, as well as the fabrics that they wish to use for their chosen project. By the end of the classes they can walk away with something of value as well as the skills that they have learned during the course.

Their chosen projects can be anything they want in the areas of slipcovers, pillow, cushions or any home décor item.  The venue for the course will be my workroom, here in Sanford Port.  see my contact page for directions to my workroom. The courses will be schedule to suit the calendar of the folks who express interest and I expect the training session to run over two or three days, depending on what skills the participant(s) want to add. 

Please use the contact link to my website or you call me direct on (321) 377 1201, if the course is of interest. I am really excited by the idea of my custom sewing course and helping folks improve their ability to produce their own custom sewing projects.  It should be exciting to spend time with fellow sewing enthusiasts too. And I will be able to do some of my own research too, of how folks got involved in custom sewing in the first place.  

Have a great week 

Elaine.

www.elainescustomsewing.com

What a great month October was here in Central Florida. The weather finally cooled down and our local fall festivals started to happen. I visited our local "Oktoberfest" here in Sanford, which gave vendors a chance to show off some great hand-made crafts and clothing items. At the festival I met one nice lady who makes kids custom clothes from men's shirts. That's the great thing about custom sewing, you can start out with one item and end up producing a totally new purposed item. It was so great to see this example of repurposing clothing in action. It's like the custom pillows I produce from tee-shirts, a new use for an existing item that most likely has sentimental value (maybe a special holiday tee-shirt or a concert tee-shirt). I know these repurposed tee-shirts bring so much joy to the customers, and they are growing in popularity as word of them gets out there. I must watch out for more examples of this reuse & repurpose concept, and once I start to look I'm sure I will see examples everywhere.

The idea of repurposing fabric is something our parents and grandparents would have been well familiar with. Custom clothing and custom sewing were concepts that went well beyond making a custom made new suit or new dress. Custom sewing also meant resizing and repurposing. Large families, tight budgets and a shortage of supply called for local sewing skills, as clothes were passed on to siblings or to extended family members. I believe that repurposing still has a big role to play in order to get the most use out of expensive, exotic or sentimental items of fabric,  and I get a great delight when I'm asked to take an existing piece of fabric and turn it into something new, one that will bring years of extended joy to the owner. So before you discard a lovely item of fabric, be it silk, linen, cotton or whatever, take a minute to consider how it might be repurposed. Taking the time to turn a nice piece of fabric into a custom made pillow case and maybe posting it to your friend in Ohio, or your daughter in Miami will make for a very unique and memorable gift, one they will value for years to come. How did I get on to all this anyway? Yes, the lady selling repurposed shirts at our local Oktoberfest. I took away a small but valuable lesson from her on the value of reusing what we hold dear - that's the real message of my blog.

I hope you are enjoying this sudden cold spell and here's looking forward to more cool weather and more local festivals in this part of Central Florida.

Have a great week.

Elaine.

Now that I have my first web site up and running. I feel I have a much bigger community of friends and associates who want and appreciate quality workmanship. My Facebook page has been live for several years now but having a web site I’m entering a bigger stage sharing who I am and what I have done and can help others create. Working on my web site has made me think back on some of the custom projects that I have delivered in the past.

From custom Slipcovers (my Specialty) to elaborate custom window treatments and beautifully designed custom pillows which made me so proud when delivered to see the reaction of those whose vision has become a reality. To see and experience folks reactions to my work make me so happy and proud.

Have a great week

Elaine

www.elainescustomsewing.com