Today I get to talk about my experience when I was filmed for TV. Back in February, I was contacted by the PBS show, It’s Sew Easy. They asked if I would come on the set to share the tutorial for my Bandage Knit Skirt, as shown in the picture below.
(photo by justin hackworth)
I was literally scared out of my mind when they asked me, because I had never done anything like this, but I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up! My husband is the sweetest person in the world, and totally helped me find the courage to say yes.
He and our kids traveled with me, and even got to come tour the set. It was such a neat experience for the whole family! Troy was so cute and took about a million pictures of me. The kids literally cheered me on from behind the scenes. I was surprised at how professional the set was. I wasn’t expecting something this legit. The entire crew was so knowledgable and helpful. They helped put my fears to rest.
That’s not to say that I wasn’t nervous… Despite having practiced over and over, once I was in front of the camera, I still found a way to stumble on a few words and get ahead of myself a few times. The entire segment was filmed live on set, meaning I had one chance to demonstrate my tutorial. And I only had a 10 minute timeframe. I wore an earpiece so the crew could communicate with me through it, and was notified when I had 5 minutes remaining, 3 minutes, 1 minute, etc. That part was stressful! The earpiece kept falling out of my ear, which kept distracting me. I was disappointed that I ran out of time to demonstrate any of the steps on the sewing machine. But you know what they say… that’s show business!!
Overall, I’m satisfied with how my segment turned out, considering it was my first time being filmed for TV. It was really weird to see myself on camera, especially since I was 4 months pregnant! It was also interesting to hear myself… I watch it and can tell I was nervous just by listening to the sound of my voice! I would LOVE to have another chance at this someday… a little confidence and experience goes a long way.
A big thanks to Girl Charlee; they are my favorite online shop to find knit fabrics. All the fabrics you see in my TV segment came from Girl Charlee. They always have a great selection of stripes, which is what you need to create this skirt. They are my go-to online fabric shop for anything knit; so if you’re ever in the market for knits, be sure to check them out. They have great prices too! And they’re really involved with the online sewing community, which makes them extra fun!
And a great big thanks to Lynne of Coats and Clark (who sponsors the show), and Kathy, the producer at KS Productions. They put great faith and trust in someone who has never been on TV before. It truly was the opportunity of a lifetime. I am so happy that I was able to experience something like this. It was so eye opening and interesting! I’m grateful for the things I learned and for all the support I had along the way!
As far as the skirt tutorial, it makes sense to me, but if you watch the segment and need further instruction, you can reference the tutorial on my blog. The one thing I’d change, is to place the lining facing the wrong side of the skirt (instead of the outside), so all the seams and enclosed in the middle of the skirt.
This is the original skirt I made, and you can find the full tutorial on my blog here:
My segment is #704 of Season 7 on It’s Sew Easy. It will air on your local PBS station, and their website (scroll down to find it), from October 17-24, 2014. You can also watch it on my youtube clip directly below, any time.
Thanks so much for reading about my experience!
Stay tuned, because Kathy actually invited my kids and I back this summer, to film a clip for “Crafts for Kids,” which will air on PBS sometime in November. It was a blast, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
