Sandra Betzina - The Power Behind Power Sewing

Connect with Sandra at www.powersewing.com

Join me as I recap highlights of my recent conversation with Sandra Betzina, the power behind POWER SEWING and a true sewing industry icon! 

Below, you'll find the replay from this Let's Go Sew Sew . . . Tell me live show broadcast on January 30th, 2023. It was a joy to bring Sandra on and share her with my sewing friends. We chatted about "sew" many things and as always, Sandra's enthusiasm for sewing along with her vast knowledge, keep the conversation lively and interesting. She answered lots of questions from the chat and gave out a notepad full of golden tips to all of us. I've listed some of her top tips at the end of this post.

​Below, you'll find a link to watch the replay. Watch the entire show and learn about sewing, fitting, patterns, & fine fabrics, & more with Sandra Betzina! 

Along with the video link, I've added many resources that were shared during the show. I hope you enjoy this post! 

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Books!!!

Sandra is the author of many books, including the following:
​•FAST FIT
•MORE FABRIC SAVVY
•FEAR OF SEWING
•POWER SEWING STEP BY STEP
•SANDRA BETZINA SEWS FOR THE HOME
•Her most recent books are titled POWER SEWING TOOLBOX 1 and 2 

Fast Fit, Fabric Savvy, and Power Sewing Step by Step are three of my favorites. These titles are reference material I refer to time and time again. A few years ago I deleted quite a few books from my personal library,  but these are cherished classics that I will hold onto for as long as I sew.

These books are not only informative, they are so beautifully illustrated, I enjoy browsing the pages for relaxation and a little sewing meditation!

Check out her books here on her website:
powersewing.com/shop/books/

You'll find even more on Amazon, including a kindle version of the ever popular More Fabric Savvy HERE.

Patterns!

Sandra's unique pattern designs have graced the pages of the Vogue Pattern book for many years. Sized for real women with a totally different set of measurements, if you follow the measurement guidelines, they can be trusted to fit far better than any other commercial pattern you have ever used. 

So many of the patterns we talked about have been discontinued but I was able to find quite a few for sale on both ETSY and Ebay. I've accumulated got quite a collection of my own over the years and while some are still uncut, they are on my "sewing wish list" and one day I believe I'll have them all made up and in my closet. When I mention the patterns here you can assume they are discontinued unless otherwise stated.

During the show, I was wearing the embroidered and crystal embellished  top you see in the above photo. I wore this once on It's Sew Easy TV so it may look familiar. This is the Sandra Betzina Today's Fit Vogue 7281. Sandra knew the pattern number instantly as she said it was one of the all time most requested patterns she ever designed.

I also showed my version of the Sandra Betzina Today's Fit topper pattern, Vogue 1243. I've loved wrap style garments long before my Wrapped in Embroidery book was published. The one you see here is made from dress weight faux suede and embroidered using special bobbin work designs. It was published in Volume 78 of the Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine.

​Another favorite is my "go to" T-shirt pattern, the Sandra Betzina Today's Fit Vogue 1383, shown below with the topper. On the show, Sandra told a fun story of the history of how that pattern came to be.

Sandra shared the pattern number for the gorgeous tunic she had on. It was the Sandra Betzina Today's Fit Vogue 1456. Seeing her pull things from her closet and shout out the numbers to us, made us feel like we were in the same room, instead of miles away from each other. When a question was asked about dressing to flatter a changing figure, Sandra showed samples of her current Vogue 1756 coat/dress. I hope these numbers help you in the hunt for some of these collectable patterns. You'll find the ones that are current as of today HERE, in the Designers tab on the Vogue pattern site. 

Speaking of discontinued patterns, many of us thought it was a good idea to write to Vogue and put in a request to bring back some of Sandra's most popular patterns. If you'd like to give that a try, here is the contact link for their corporate name Something Delightful: Email Vogue
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Or, connect with them on Facebook HERE.

Fabrics!

Several resources came up, along with Sandra's personal favorites. Here is a list for you to explore:

• Britex https://www.britexfabrics.com
• Silk and silk blends: Thai Silks https://www.thaisilks.com
  
• International Silk and Woolens https://intlsilk.com

Craftsy Classes

Check out her Craftsy Classes HERE. ​ 
Enter Sandra Betzina in the search engine and you’ll find four great classes.

Web TV Episodes

Savvy sewing advice from Sandra!

Truly, the one hour and eighteen minute show was jam packed with valuable information for sewing enthusiasts. Last, but not least, here are a few of Sandra's golden tips:

• Don’t empty the garbage can when sewing because you may find yourself digging for what you lost before your project is finished.
• Create “fit insurance” in the side seams with a 1” seam allowance to allow for letting out later.
• Sandra gave great advice for cleaning out your fabric stash and getting your sewing mojo fired up. She started by taking everything out and making three piles.

1. Never want to see this again
2. Maybe
3. Keeper

Sandra says she got rid of all of the never and maybe pieces donating them to a local place called SCRAP in SanFrancisco. Check for similar outlets in your local community. Other options include thrift stores, senior centers, church groups, 4H clubs, and local Buy Nothing groups.

Last but not least, she sorted all the fabrics by color and found pieces that would be great together. After sorting, she put her top five in a basket and was inspired to sew them up without hesitation! Such a great idea!

Please share any resources you yourself have found to give your "once loved, but no longer wanted fabrics" a new home.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave your comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts!​