Well! I’ve been absolutely fascinated by the newest social media turn of events, namely the rise and rise of sewing vloggers. I LOVE sewing vlogs. When I’m too tired to do anything other than loll in bed, I watch an episode from one of my ‘friends’ as I gently fall asleep, my laptop propped open.
For me, sewing vlogs trump podcasts. I need to feel halfway clever when listening to a podcast. They all – not just sewing – seem to be so earnest.
Book and TV industries are obsessed with Youtube. Some of its stars carry more clout than Hollywood actors, these days. I’m not saying that Leonardo DiCaprio should buy himself a sewing machine (though maybe he should) but I am intrigued that where the likes of Zoella lead, sewing follows. These vlogs aren’t about online tutorials per se; they’re more about an online conversation.
Our sewing vlogs would probably be described as niche – I can’t see anyone yet hitting Zoella’s 11 million subscribers – but I always think niche is good. Niche means passion. What’s next? I have no idea. Some readers have suggested I join in the vlogging fun, but I quite enjoy leaving this area to other people who are carving out their own community niche. Plus, we already have at least two dog-owning sewing vloggers!
Do you have any favourite sewing vlogs you can recommend to me? And what do you think to this latest phenomenon?
I’d love to hear about some of your favorite ones. I have only watched one and the host’s(?) voice was too annoying to listen to 🙁 Not always a good medium for some sewists.
At the moment I only really watch three: Sew Over It, Gabberdashery and Sewn. Totally unrelated, I also really enjoy watching Hannah Martin’s Bobbi Brown make-up tutorials!
I really like a mix of blogs, vlogs and podcasts. Podcasts are great if you are doing something else for me it’s usually cooking. Vlogs are a little me time where I sit and have a cuppa and watch in amazement at what people have created in a month going from fabric to outfit. Blogs that come to my inbox like yours just brighten a day when other emails are dull. Can recommend Gingerella, clueless Leigh and Hollie sews for vlogs. A great podcast which always makes me laugh and is also very informative is Truly Mrtyle a NZ lady with four kids, and lambs who knits, sews, does pottery and loves all crafty things and has very interesting guests.
Truly Mrtyle sounds awesome – thank you!
I’m going to sound really daft and uneducated in all things tech…..but how do you find or watch them? Are they on you tube?
Not daft at all. They’re on Youtube. For example, go on to Youtube and search for ‘Sew Over It’. You’ll find that blog and then Youtube will recommend other sewing blogs.
Might check some out if I can get the remote control off the kids!!
My favourites have already been mentioned but top of my list is Katie from ‘Inside number 23’, a knitting and sewing vlog with snippets of Roly the pug. Katies knitting is amazing .I highly recommend a sitdown with a cup of tea and enjoy her vlog.
Ooh!
I like Katie, but sometimes her videos are way too long and I cut to the chase (what’s on my needles is my favorite part).
I started vlogging 2 months ago (saturdaynightstitch channel) – about random sewing related things that I feel like talking about. I also enjoy Little Miss Lorraine, Pins and Needles is also quite good. And PidgeonWishes too.
I see more sewing vlogs in the future because its an easy way to share makes – especially if you dont do fancy editing. Plus I love seeing the garments in motion when looking at a pattern I am considering. Though I seriously doubt vlogs will replace blogs – they will just complement them. Hila. X
I’ll check out your vlog!
I watch sewing vlogs occasionally (the same three you mention!), but I have to be in the right mood! I don’t think I’ll ever start vlogging myself as I can’t bear listening to my own voice, but I do find it fascinating seeing this new area of sewing social media spring to life! x
When I forbade myself from buying any fabric, I got completely addicted to any fabric haul videos that were out there. Particularly ones from US/CA/Oz/NZ so I definitely couldn’t buy any of it. Humans are strange creatures.
Humans are indeed strange.
Sounds like another method of communicating information, a compliment to everything else. Although sometimes the personality of the speaker is not at its best – off putting voice, comfort with speaking in public, etc.
The trouble with vlogs is that they take up ‘real time’. With blogs you can click and get the gist in an instant and then decide if you want to read the whole thing carefully or not. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I can keep an eye on lots of my favourite blogs but don’t have to spend hours on doing so. With a vlog, you have to commit to really get the point – and they are often around 15 or more minutes long. I do watch the Sew Over It ones sometimes as I find Lisa easy to watch and enjoy her style and choices. I tried a few others but either the voices grated or they just were too rambling and dull… Even when I watch one I quite like, I do wonder what I am doing – that’s 15 minutes of my life gone and if I was going to watch ‘telly’ wouldn’t I rather see a real show…? So I’m very glad Karen is going to stick with writing. My heart sinks every time I find one of my favourite bloggers has decided to give vlogging a try…
Ah, I get what you mean. If a vlog doesn’t cut to the chase in the first two minutes, it’s lost. That’s a common problem with vlogs or video tutorials – too much introduction. With vlogs, I don’t mind the investment of time, because this is my time propped up in bed.
This is exactly how I feel too, Anne. I love a good podcast because I can sew or knit while I listen. And video tutorials can be really helpful, especially for knitting. But a standalone vlog? It would have to be a tour of the Chanel workshop to persuade me to sit still for 15 minutes.
Karen, please tell how vlogging works. Is this something you watch on your PC or laptop, or can it be streamed to your television? I like the idea of watching a garment being made from fabric to garment, but I would also hate to see a good blog go away. A good blog like yours, for example.
I watch on my laptop via Youtube. Depending on how high tech your TV is, you can also stream through that screen.
Thanks, Karen. I have a SMART TV so maybe I can stream the vlogs that way.
The vlogs are all on YouTube, Jeanette. Just sign in to YouTube, put the vlog name (like Sewn, or Sew Over It) and the programmes will come up….think of it like a TV channel. If you like any of them, you can click on a button that says ‘subscribe’ and you’ll get notified when they upload a new vlog. Hope that helps x
Thank you, yorkshirekaren, for your reply.
I have enjoyed watching jenniferlaurenhandmade
Thanks!
I like watching Sewn, Rosa is always so cheerful! And Marina Brumpton does great tutorials if you’re ever stuck.
Can’t say I’m a fan of sewing vlogs. I occasionally like to serially watch video tutorials for entertainment purposes, but otherwise I prefer the written word with pictures. The words just have more texture for me…
I haven’t got into vlogs. I only really use YouTube when I need to learn a new technique, and sometimes I stumble across a vlog that is also a tutorial. I too get really annoyed when introductions are too long and rambling. I think videos need to get to the point really quickly, or I will go hunting for another video. It also makes a huge difference when the video is well lit, uses good quality video and the vlogger has a pleasant voice.
It’s as if you know I’ve got a thesis to write! I’ll definitely be having a snoop around some of these later…I didn’t know such a thing existed!
Good luck with your thesis!
I don’t watch vlogs very much at all because I usually need my eyes elsewhere (i.e. on my sewing or knitting), and the short-ish length of them seems to demand more action on my part when I’d much rather hit play on a longer-form medium like a podcast and then go about my business. However I definitely see the appeal of blogs depending on how one likes to interact with their media, and for seeing fabric and garments ‘in action’. Karen, maybe you’d like the podcast I do with Helena of GrayAllDay.com — I guarantee no one has ever described me as ‘earnest’. lol. It’s ClothesMakingMavens.com
I’ve recently become a bit hooked on sewing channels on YouTube too! There aren’t many dressmakers in my ‘real life’ social circle, so videos are a great source of advice and more specialist (geeky?) sewing chat, like pattern and fabric reviews and explanations of tricky techniques. In addition to the ones already mentioned I’d also recommend the American channel Inside the Hem on YouTube.
Honestly though, I wonder whether I’m a bit hooked on sewing videos (and blogs…and magazines…) at the moment because I don’t really have time for actual sewing, as I’m finishing up a big work project between now and January. Finding a few spare hours to make a garment feels impossible, but 15-20 minutes for a video is a bit easier! And it helps me to feel that I haven’t totally given up my hobbies…!
I think it’s very common for people to use blogs and vlogs to keep them engaged with creativity they’re not currently able to indulge IRL! Good luck with your big project.
I checked a few out and found them really boring. while I have an endless desire to seek out sewing stuff the videos just don’t do it for me. too much meandering and not enough content.
Editing would improve most of the vlogs I’ve watched. So sorry I won’t be watching any more – yet.
Oh Karen thankyou so much for featuring my vlog – I am so honoured! I’m finding the comments really interesting too – I know it’s not for everyone and I’m sure my voice annoys some (it annoys me too!) but I think it’s a lovely growing community and I really enjoy being a part of it! My favourite vlogger is Stitch My Style – for me there always has to be humour and she has it in spades! Xox
You are very welcome! Diversity is key to any community and it’s all horses for courses. Some people like podcasts, some vlogs, some blogs… There ain’t no right or wrong.
I haven’t got into watching vlogs yet but feel the need now just to see what I’m missing now. Wouldn’t do myself as don’t like the sound of my recorded voice, I sound so Devonshire 😂😂😂
I love sewing blogs and vlogs. I have been interested in sewing for many years but only really became addicted in the last 12 months. I generally lack vision and can’t see past the pictures on the pattern packaging, these blogs etc help me in my search for suitable projects.
My faves are Sewn, Gabberdashery, sew over it. I’ve been totally hooked for about 2 months. Oh and Hollie Sews. Not sure how I stumbled on them all but I soooo look forward to their weekly broadcasts. I find all very inspirational
As I’m reading your blog while my partner is watching college football, I’m glad that you don’t do v-logs 🙂
I spend far too much time watching sewing vlogs but love them. ‘Stitch My Style’ is one of my favourites. Also ‘Clueless Seamstress’ and ‘Sewn’. My all time favourite is mostly a knitting vlog but she does some fun dressmaking as well (amongst other things) ‘Inside number 23’. The best thing about her vlog is she puts a timed list in her notes so you can pick and choose what you want to watch.
Hi, different subject but I wondered which overlocker you use as I am thinking of getting one. Thanks
Vlogs aren’t for me. I generally find them tedious, the narrator twittering and take far to long to get on with it. Done by very nice people I’m sure, with the written word iyou can skip over that. Or maybe I just haven’t found the right one. Lol
Will have a look at some of your vlog recommendations….I haven’t watched any. I mainly turn to YouTube for tutorials. These I find helpful. Podcasts I like because I can listen and do other things. My favourite sewing related podcast is “Thread Cult”. It hasn’t been updated in a while but the archive is really, really great! Lots of great guests and an on point host.
If the content is just the vlogger speaking, boring. I preffer reading a blog and observing the pics at my own pace. For listening, I prefer a good audiobook. Nowadays I am listening to David Copperfield as I sew, I love loooooong books when I listen to them. For watching, give me a good TV series to knit or handsew on, that is life at its peak for me!
I really love the sewing vlogs I’m getting a machine for Christmas picked up loads of tips and ideas from them all I’ve been watching loads of different people but my favourite is is Holly Dolly 🙂 x
I noticed the recent increase in sewing vlogs and decided to watch a few. I must not have found the right one for me. It appears that most vloggers don’t prepare scripts and I quickly lost interest as they ramble on extemporaneously about weather, national news, or every thought or decision considered on the current project. Pet interruptions are not cute, I realize they happen cause I have pets of my own, but they add more no value time. And I much prefer fondling my own fabric hauls/purchases than watching someone talk about their purchases and what they plan to make from them. I agree with the other commenter, with a blog I can scan the post and quickly determine if I want to spend the time read the details.
I’d never thought to watch sewing vlogs… Recently I discovered all the tutorials on YouTube, WOW. my project list is longer than my life will be.
I used to vlog and some was about sewing, but I’ve never been consistent with it. That’s one of my goals for this year to make at least semi-regular videos. They’re quite fun and I enjoy them, I just never think of it when I’m making things!
I’ve been doing a sewing vlog called Sewing Report since last year and it’s so much fun! I do have a background as a TV producer, so my videos tend to be more on the creative/highly edited side. Some are product reviews, fabric hauls, showing makes for my handmade wardrobe mission, and I did recently make a sewing machine tutorial. A few are sewing humor videos (with cameos from my husband), because I felt that was lacking in our space. Honestly, I do think “sewing entertainment” could be a new niche and hopefully attract different eyes into our little world. I enjoy other sewing vlogs showing off cool makes and chitchat about issues that affect us. Time permitting, I’d love to make more tutorials and tips for the beginner sewist.