Sewing Secrets

I've already mentioned how I began quilting. My first sewing experiences on my mother's Singer treadle machine included making doll clothes. The handy-dandy thing about a treadle is that you can stitch very slowly. I got the hang of it pretty quickly and ran the needle through my thumb only once. LOL. I had no patterns, simply cut pieces of fabric to what I thought should be the right size for my dolly. I even added bits of lace trim.
My first garment was a shirt-waist dress with a full skirt. I used a pattern and a piece of red-gingham check that my mother had on hand. Unfortunately it was a bit less than needed. I was able to cut all the pieces except that the skirt pieces were a tad short. No problem, or so I thought. I bought a short piece of similar red gingham and added a three-inch ruffled edge to the bottom of the skirt in order to add the necessary length The idea wasn't all that bad except that the new fabric was a shade darker than the dress itself. This was my very first lesson in dye-lots.
Later in Home Ec class I made a full skirt and a button-down blouse. Teacher insisted we learn to make flat-felled seams. These were a wonderful exercise in skillful sewing and I hate them to this day. LOL. I made nearly all my own clothes in high school and beyond....through the age of polyester double-knit (whoever invented that stuff, anyway??)...and into the age of the hippie era (all-natural cotton).
I dislike poly-cotton fabrics to this day. LOL