Sewing Inspiration

Gone With the Wind (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)Sewing inspiration can come from any source at any time, but for most of us it tends to come from the same place over and over again. For me, it's movies and television.

As a child of the eighties, I've spent a great deal of time dreaming in front of the television. My first interest in the costumes worn in my favorite shows was when I saw "Anne of Green Gables". I adored the show and immediately read all of the books. I dyed my hair red and wore long, straight skirts like Anne did over a pair of boots I found that looked identical to the period the story takes place in.

But it didn't stop there for me. Around the same time my sister brought over a worn VHS copy of "Gone With the Wind". I immediately caught a severe case of Scarlett Fever. Although I didn't wear hoops skirts to school that year, I was immediately entranced by the beautiful costumes worn in the film and researched as much as I could about the work done by Walter Plunkett.

When I finally did pick up needle and thread, the first thing I wanted to do was recreate the costumes from Selznick's legendary motion picture. My poor baby cousin had to endure several Halloweens as mine and my aunt's dress up doll, even wearing Scarlett's green floral picnic dress one year.

All of this was years before I became acquainted with the internet and learned that "cos-play" was something other people did as a hobby.

Of course, since then I've certainly expanded my abilities beyond simply recreating costumes into several different areas of sewing, but I still see costumes in movies and TV shows that make me want to head to my sewing machine and start turning out something -- anything. Especially when I watch "Gone With the Wind". It still inspires me to this day.

What inspires you to sew?