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Sew Easy: Do-it-yourself Decorating Shows Give Home Sewing a Hip, New Image

With the help of shows like “Trading Spaces,” “While You Were Out,” and the rest of the TLC lineup, do-it-yourself decorating has become something of a national pastime. But the rooms in which Hildy, Doug and company work their magic aren’t the only things getting a makeover. As millions see what can be accomplished with a sewing machine and a few yards of fabric, folks who once snubbed sewing are beginning to see it as a fast and fashionable route to customized chic.

Inspired by the projects they see taking shape on their TV screens, women (and men) who never so much as sewed on a button are pulling out sewing machines and trying their hand at making pillows, window treatments and bedding. Take Cathy Denning of Highland Park, N.J. Home on maternity leave last winter, she found herself tuning into home makeover shows while she fed the baby.

“I was looking for decorating ideas for the playroom we were having built in the basement,” she explains. “Once the construction was paid for we didn’t have much of a budget left for accessories, so I had to get creative.” Shopping for new pieces turned out to be an exercise in frustration. “Things were either too expensive or of poor quality or they just weren’t what I wanted,” she says. “And trying to bargain or comparison shop with a toddler and infant in tow was next to impossible.” So with determination that would have made any cable TV host proud, Denning, who hadn’t touched a sewing machine since junior-high, decided to make what she wanted. Armed with designer fabrics and trims picked up from the clearance table at a local fabric store, she set up a machine on the dining room table and turned out a padded seat for the toy chest, oversized floor cushions, throw pillows for the sofa and a curtain that serves as a door for the playhouse that was installed under the stairs.

“I think the whole thing cost me about $100,” she says “But the really great part about it is that I got exactly what I wanted -- something I wouldn’t have been able to do if I had purchased everything ready-made.” Encouraged by that success she began tackling other rooms in the house, making a duvet and matching curtains for her bedroom, lined drapes for the dining and living area and numerous throw pillows. “It’s easier than it looks,” she explains. “Especially if you have a pattern to work from. Basically you just measure, cut and sew a straight line.”

Denning is not the only one who’s made the leap from sitting on the couch to recovering it. The McCall Pattern Company, which has always enjoyed great success with their “Home Dec In-A-Sec” sewing patterns, is launching a series of easy-to-do patterns inspired by the enormously popluar “Trading Spaces” TV show. According to Joy McKeon, the company’s craft and home decorating merchandise manager, the patterns help the home sewer create an updated, comfortable environment with ease.

With the ever growing do-it-yourself market, people are attempting tasks they never before thought do-able. Armed with knowledge from an on-slaught of DIY books, magazines and countless television programs, consumers with little or no experience have added confidence and high expectations of what they can create. “We’ve taken great care to make the projects easy to accomplish without sacrificing style for speed,” she explains. “Whether it’s their first project or their 50th, we want the outcome to be beautiful.”

As of May 2004, six “Trading Spaces” designs will be available from McCall's: window treatments, decorative pillows, chair covers, bedding, slipcovers and table linens, with four more designs planned for the end of the year. Each includes “homework” with tips for different embellishment options. The patterns are complemented by a collection of “Trading Spaces Wallies,” pre-pasted, removable wallpaper cutouts that can be used to adorn walls, furniture and other items. All deliver great ideas for revitalizing your living space -- and you won’t have to enlist your neighbors to help out.

“Trading Spaces” sewing patterns from McCall’s and Wallies wallpaper cutouts are available at fabric and craft stores nationwide. If you can't find them in your area you can shop for them on the McCall's Web site: www.mccallpattern.com .