My crafty name is Veronica Darling, and I started sewing over 6 years ago, after moving to Gippsland, regional Victoria, for my first real job. The job had early starts (and still does!), so I often found myself in some of the best op shops in the afternoons, and flicking through old 1960s patterns while teaching myself to sew on my mum’s old Janome.

The reason why I started sewing in the first place? It came about in different ways… I’m incredibly short and don’t often find clothes that fit… I’ve always been very thrifty, but also bought second hand things since I was about 12 … and I love old styles and old things. But I’ve never thought I was one of ‘those creative types’ who could make clothes or anything cool at all. I never made anything at school (only drawings & sculptures in art class) and it wasn’t until I’d finished uni that I tried the sewing machine for myself.

Mum tells the story that I decided I wanted to try to make a dress for a country race meet and I’d come home with a pattern and material, and demanded she thread the machine for me. Two hours later I was modelling a fabulous ‘Fashions on the Field’ 60s style dress, brilliant emerald green, I looked like I was from the Land of Oz. She immediately turned it over and looked at my seams and hems, and of course they were terrible. But on the surface, the dress was amazing. I still have it, and often wear it at Christmas dinners, with red tinsel!

Since then I’ve made pillowcases, skirts, tops, blouses, tunics, men’s shirts (easier than you think), belts and bags. I started my etsy shop after I moved to Sydney, as an old school friend Anna Laura told me all about it. I’d made so many clothes for myself and my friends that I decided I needed a clear reason to make clothes for someone I didn’t know. And so Veronica Darling at Etsy began very slowly but surely.

Fern Patterned Maxi Dress – Available on etsy

Only last month my husband and I moved into our new home in Newtown, in the Inner Western suburbs of Sydney. We’ve lived in Sydney now for 2 and a half years, and for a country girl, I’m doing extraordinarily well as it’s one hell of a busy city. My quality of sewing has improved and I get a lot of compliments on my clothes. Initially most people are shocked that one could make their own clothes, because I think much of Sydney is very superficial with their fashion, and the higher the price tag means the better image. But my new Sydney friends started to see how fabulous a ‘one of a kind’ garment was, and I started getting some customers!

I have never taken sewing lessons, only using old patterns to learn the basics (I can do darts and nice hemlines these days, even lining in jackets etc) and now using my friend ‘Diana’ (my dolly) to fit an outfit properly. Using online open source (Burda & Craftster for example) can be extremely helpful in understanding how things fit together.

I make dresses mostly, but my first etsy stock was a bunch of “obi” belts. I’d made heaps for girls at work, and then put the rest on etsy. Since then I’ve sold a few dresses as well. Unfortunately for my etsy shop, most of the dresses get snapped up by my work colleagues before I can list them online, so my goal (once the sewing room is fully set up) is to make one dress for etsy and one to take for “show and tell” at work.

Laura Obi Wan Sash – no longer available on Etsy.  The Misty Blue Versatile Obi Wan Sash, is available.

Up until we moved, I’d spend the afternoons with the crime channel on the cable tv, and listen to unsolved mysteries while cutting and sewing for sometimes 5-6 hours a day. I love collecting vintage materials on mass from op shops, and together with the old patterns, I tend to match things up and then give it a go. Some things don’t always work out, but I believe someone out there would like it, even if I wouldn’t wear it myself. In my new sewing room, I’m only just setting things up, but I’m very pleased that my materials are all on the bookshelf instead of the big storage boxes as now I can see what I’ve got instead of making a mess pulling things out all over the floor! I’m sure you all no what I mean no matter what craft you’ve got! We tend to make a lot of mess!

If you want to start sewing or making things yourself, I wouldn’t talk it over or research it, I would suggest starting right away. The best thing is showing your friends and hearing “I never knew you could make this!’ and always the shocked cry of “you MADE that!?” when you twirl your new dress! But seriously, your world is important, your community is important. I want to give back to the community by using the op shops (my closest store is the Cat Protection Society Op Shop), and I don’t want to buy clothes that are made overseas and ultimately end up as landfill. Of course this is a generalisation, but I try to reuse and recycle and be sustainable at all times with my craft.

A Vanuatu Moo Moo – Refashioned.

The material was a giant flag, made into a weird dress, so I made it more fashionable for my friend to wear out.

I find creating very peaceful and reflective. I sit with the machine and the garment, and I think of so many people in my life, so many experiences and different places. I get carried on a journey while I make things, and it’s kind of a meditation for me (I know a lot of people have said this too) and (wait for the sappy bit) it’s just lovely to make things… as in love (you’ve seen the tag lines ‘Made with Love’ but it’s true!). My day job is extremely busy and dynamic, I sometimes talk all day. ALL day, and I’m not kidding! I have to be fast, dazzling and polite under hilarious pressure & with extreme deadlines. And not to mention be bright and bubbly at 5am. So for my craft, I adore the quiet afternoons, with a bit of tv in the background, or a slow Doris Day record on the player, and my sewing machine.

Self Review by Veronica Darling, Newtown, Sydney
Veronica Darling’s Crafty Adventures

Veronica Darling at etsy