I’m spending this coming Saturday at #sewbrum, organised by supersewist Charlotte from English Girl at Home.
I’m looking forward to it, but as someone who’s never found it easy to walk into a room full of strangers, here’s what I’m worrying about right now…
What to wear
You think your clothes get scrutinised at work/on the school run/down the pub? Well, now I’m meeting a group of closet perfectionists who’ll potentially be trying to guess which pattern I used and where I bought the fabric. What if their sharp eyes spot a scruffy hem or an ill-fitting sleeve?
I think I’ve deduced that dresses are de rigeur, and turning up in RTW is frowned on. I suspect extra points are awarded for quirky sewing-themed accessories like scarves, brooches and earrings. I own none of these.
Whatever I do, I musn’t admit to…
Having no interest in bra-making
Being content without a dedicated, Insta-perfect sewing studio
Preferring dogs to cats.
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Are you going? I’ll see you there – please come and say hi!
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Update – 26 September, two days after the event
So I went, and everyone I met was very friendly. Yes, it was a bit intimidating walking into a whole room full of virtual strangers but there were lots of other people who’d come on their own too.
It was great to meet some of the people whose creations, blogs and skills I’ve been admiring online, and it never hurts to check out some new fabric shops either!
DIY Wardrobe 
Oh…you describe exactly how I’d feel if I were going! Hope you have fun…look forward to hearing all about it.
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Thanks – I’ll try not to spill cupcake icing down my clothes or buy too much polyester!
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I’ve never been to one. If I did, I would be very tempted to go in head to toe RTW!
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That would be different! Question is, would you try to pass it off as handmade..?
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I was pretty nervous before my first sewing meet up, especially as I too have never been comfortable walking into a room of strangers. But everyone was so friendly and welcoming it went much better than I thought. It was great to be able to chat in detail with people about things like different seam finishes and your favourite patterns. I’ve certainly never felt that another sewer was judging what I was wearing, I think most people wear their own makes to such a meet up because its a rare chance to show them off to people who will really appreciate them. Hope you enjoy it!
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That’s a really positive way of looking at it, thank you. I hope it’ll be fun 🙂
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That is so funny!! I think admitting to preferring dogs is ok if it’s a pug, or another cat sized variety!
Was lovely to meet you 😃
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It was good to meet you too. My dog is a very-definitely-dog-sized Labrador, so I carefully didn’t mention her all day – just in case 😉
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My best friend was a Doberman when I was growing up so I get the big dog thing more than the hand bag variety! I did used to dress her up tho!
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I was really nervous the first time I went to a meetup and it was much less scary than I thought! I hope you enjoyed sewbrum?
Louise
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Yes, thank you. My face is tired from smiling so much 🙂 Were you not able to come – I don’t think I spotted you in the crowd?
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No I couldn’t make it this time – I just moved and it would have been a really long day – next year though!
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[…] the purple satin polyester bias binding that I found at Birmingham’s rag market during the Sewbrum meet-up in September. I love this colour combination, and the cotton lawn was perfectly behaved […]
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