The story of how I learned to sew is long and complicated, and is still unfolding.  Throughout my time as a seamstress, I’ve been very promiscuous with my sewing partners, teaching some and always learning.  This post is an ode to my very first sewing buddy, my baby brother Nicholas.

My brother is almost four years younger than me, and is the closest in age to me of all 6 of my siblings (I’m the oldest).  To keep us entertained when we were wee things, my grandmother would give Nicholas and I a needle, thread and small scraps of fabric.  I quickly learned how to tie a knot so I wouldn’t have to ask grandma every time, and Nicholas and I would sew to our heart’s content.  Granted, our initial methods were quite primitive.  Instead of weaving the needle in and out of the fabric, we would pierce through the center of the scraps and treat them like beads.  I distinctly remember Nicholas holding up a long snake of scraps and proclaiming “Look, mama!  I’m going to make you a dress!”  I bet if he had finished that beauty and shown it at Fashion Week, all of the critics would proclaim it “very avant-garde.”

Today is his special day, so happy birthday bro.  Thanks for encouraging my crazy sewing endeavors from the start, and letting me know that in sewing, anything goes. Even crazy fabric-snake dresses.

So has anyone else ever there wrangled their siblings into their crafty projects? Perhaps even from the very beginning?