I can give you three very good reasons to sew for the women in your life.

1) A gift of Love

It is a gift that's bound to be cherished by any woman in your life. 
  A gift of romance for your girlfriend or wife.
    A gift of gratitude for your mother or sister (oh, alright, your mom, anyway).
      A gift of sharing with your daughter or granddaughter.
        A gift of caring for a friend or someone in need.

The next time you want to express your love, gratitude, or caring for a woman in your life, make her a stylish garment, in her colors, that fits her well. You will be her knight in shining armor.

2) A quest for Style

Women are more style conscious than guys; face it, it's generally true. One of the most important style choices for a women is matching her color palette. Thanks to a pioneering book called Color Me Beautiful* and other similar color-based style methods, women tend to think of themselves in terms of seasons. You will hear them say, "I'm a Winter; I wear black and white very well." or "I'm an Autumn; I prefer earth tones, especially brown, gold, and rust." It is a miserable shopping experience for an Autumn, when all of the stores are showing pastel pink, yellow, and green, for example.

Colors aren't the only factor, though. Women want to look stylish. That means that the garments they wear should flatter their most attractive physical attributes, while masking or drawing attention away from those attributes they would rather not feature. As you will learn, there are several basic body shapes. For each basic shape there are style lines that flatter and style lines that are unbecoming. For example, long vertical side lines with a V-neckline tend to visually lengthen a woman's form, which is great for a woman who feels she is too short.

The next time a woman in your life says something like, "I can't find anything in my color," or "Everything on the rack this year makes me look fat, " just reply, "I can make you garments in your color palette that will flatter your figure." You will make her day.

*Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson and Christine Turner, ISBN: 0345345886. Also look for other fine books on personal color evaluation for style. [Referencing publications, websites, and products, within the pages of sewmanly.com, constitutes neither an endorcement nor a recommendation, unless explicit statements are made to the contrary.]

3) A need for Fit

According to American Demographics* magazine, "Studies show that more than one in three items of clothing purchased from catalogs goes back where it came from because of a bad fit." The article goes on to explain that apparel companies still use the average proportions of American women in the 1940s, yet the average size for women has gone from size 8 to size 14 since 1985.

Clearly, women have a tough time finding off-the-rack clothing that fits well. So the next time a woman in your life says something like, "I went clothing shopping and couldn't find anything that fits," just say, "I can make garments that fit you." You will be her hero.

*American Demographics, July/August 2003, "The Shape of Things to Come" by Rebecca Gardyn. [Referencing publications, websites, and products, within the pages of sewmanly.com, constitutes neither an endorcement nor a recommendation, unless explicit statements are made to the contrary.]