Every other week, we’ll be profiling one of our customers to find out a little bit about their sewing life. This week the MD Sewist Spotlight is on Grayson Hackney.
How long have you been sewing?
I have been sewing since I was around 5 years old. My mother taught me how to sew on her Babylock Machine and also how to sew by hand. I’ve taken classes at Modern Domestic on and off for the past two, this must be the third summer and I also sew in my spare time.
Tell us about a favorite recent sewing project.
One of my favorite projects is a tiered skirt with an invisible zipper that I made for my sister after I made one for myself in an MD class. I basically made it using my measurements from my first skirt but making things smaller here and there. It was my first project where I really sewed something without using an instruction booklet or manual and I think that learning classes from Shelly Figureoa who really isn’t super strict about following pattern rules helped me realize that I could make things on my own and that I should experiment more and go off the pattern.
What is your favorite sewing tip/tool?
My favorite sewing tip would have to be to always, always take out your pins in your fabric before sewing over them. My mother always taught me to sew right over them which became an immediate problem with Michelle and Shelly at MD and then turned into a running joke between us. But seriously, don’t run over your pins!
Where do you sew?
I sew the most in the Modern Domestic classes that I take and in the MD studio but I also have a sewing room in my basement where I sew sometimes, most often when I have just finished a camp at MD and I want to finish up projects or make replicas of things I made in classes.
What sewing project(s) do you plan to tackle next?
Next I plan to do a lot more finishing up of projects that I have started in the past and that I need to finish. One of them being a baby quilt that I also started without instructions or a manual (Very, very, bad idea. Always use a manual when making quilts, even if it is just for some guidelines!) and that I never got around to finishing but that is really very darling.
6 Responses to “MD Sewist Spotlight: Grayson Hackney”
Shelly
Grayson is awesome!!!!!
liz
grayson. well done. don’t ever stop sewing.
by the way, i really need some potholders…..
Angela Crow
Grayson, this is fantastic! I didn’t realise what an accomplished sewer you were. I was always sad that my mom wasn’t patient enough to teach me to sew… she gave me her old Singer machine, but I didn’t even know how to thread the thing! Luckily, my first husband bought me a new machine and a class at PCC when I was about 25. I learned then, and I have always really valued this skill– it’s so practical and so creative at once. Good for you for finding your own way to do things… there’s a whole world out there for you to sew now. 🙂
Agnes White
What beautiful work Grayson! Now I’m inspired to get back to sewing myself and to starting teaching M.
Anika
You have a little sister named Sarajane, right?
Embroidery Digitizing
Very sweet finish!