Growing up, St. Joseph resident Emily Hartman used to watch her mother and grandmother sew.
They would create one-of-a-kind, custom-made clothes for her that fit perfectly.
Now, Hartman is doing the same for her own daughters Claire and Juliet.
Hartman said she learned to do some basic sewing in a home economics class in high school and at that point could cut out patterns and fabric for her mom to sew if she wanted a specific outfit. When Claire was three, Emily received her grandma’s sewing machine because she wasn’t sewing anymore.
“At that point, Pinterest was big and I found lots of resources to teach myself more,” Hartman said.
Hartman said she doesn’t sell the clothes she creates, but she does give them as gifts.
“Nothing beats a handmade gift that perfectly fits a hard-to-fit person — whether that’s their body shape or personality,” she said.
Now, the world is getting to see Hartman’s creations as she participates in Project Run and Play.
The project is the blogger’s version of Project Runway, but for kids.
Each week, the designers are challenged to create the best outfit based on a theme.
A panel of “celebrity” judges awards them a score in each category, and then a reader’s poll is opened. Readers are allowed to vote once each week for the design they like the most, and at the end of the week, the score is tallied. The winner is announced, and the person with the lowest votes is “sent home.”
This winter, Hartman spent a lot of time with her mother, who was hospitalized. She would often sit in her mother’s hospital room with a computer or phone just keeping her company. She saw that the competition was looking for new designers and applied, which entailed submitting one picture representative of her work.
A few days after my mom passed in January, she was asked to join the contest.
“I’d barely remembered applying,” Hartman said. “Everything had been so chaotic the previous weeks, and I had no expectation of being picked anyway.”
She knew her mother, who was her biggest supporter, would want her to participate. So she agreed to do so.
Each week of the contest has a theme that the designers use to create designs.
“Some ideas come to me very quickly,” Hartman said.
The first week, Hartman was inspired by the material she used.
In the second week, designs were selected because she wanted to try out a new technique. Sometimes, she gets ideas from the clothing she sees in the stores, and her children sometimes give her ideas on what they would like to wear.
Hartman said the most challenging part of the contest has been coming up with ideas for the themes and making sure she wasn’t accidentally copying another designer’s work that she had seen somewhere. Plus, making time to sew.
“I’ve got two daughters, and all of their activities to attend, along with all the other day-to-day things,” she said. “Thinking of new ideas and finding the motivation to work while spending time with my family and grieving the loss of my mom has been tough.”
Hartman finds the time to sew by doing so at night after her kids go to bed, for maybe an hour at a time. On the weekends, she may work for a couple of hours in a row. She has a projector mounted above her cutting table which projects patterns directly onto the fabric, so she can skip the pattern-cutting part altogether, and that is a huge timesaver, she said.
Plus, Hartman said with practice, she has gotten more efficient with her time.
“Things like embroidery I can take along with me and work on while I’m riding in the car or waiting on a kid to get out of practice,” she said.
She also gains experience and helps other designers by testing patterns before they go on sale to the public. Hartman said testers look at every size and make sure it is true to size, the tutorial isn’t confusing or missing steps and provides proofreading and feedback.
“Usually this involves a fitting step, where you make part of the garment, or use an inexpensive material to make sure that no adjustments are needed,” she said. “Then you make a final product and take pictures that are used in the pattern listing, the pattern itself and advertising. Some like really stylized photoshoots and others like things more basic. In return, I get free patterns, discounts on patterns and fabric, and occasionally sponsored projects or free fabric.”
Hartman said her favorite items to make are Halloween costumes. She also enjoys making matching outfits for her and her 7-year-old daughter. She also made her oldest daughter the first one-piece swimsuit that actually fit her correctly.
“That as an accomplishment,” she said. “And a few years ago I made a dress that ended up being on the cover of the pattern and I just loved that dress. My daughter looked absolutely beautiful in it.”
Hartman said she wanted people to know that handmade items are not cheaper than buying clothing in the store.
“The quality is much higher for the price though,” Hartman said. “Most people don’t fit straight into one size but don’t know it and can’t figure out why store-bought clothes don’t feel right. Nothing beats a custom fit.”
To vote for Hartman, visit Project Run+Play.
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