My mother didn't teach me to sew; she thought women should teach themselves out of necessity, the way she did. But she DID give me one of her sewing machines as a wedding gift -- the small, black, no zig-zag one -- and when DH was on a road trip, I'd sit in our apartment and stare at it, hoping it would tell me what to do.

One day another baseball wife saw me staring at my machine and said, "Oh. Do you sew?"

"Um. Not really. Do you?"

She did. She really did and was kind enough to share her knowledge with me. Before the season was over, I'd made DH blue jeans [w/ zipper, pockets, belt loops, and all].

That was a long time ago, and, until recently, the only sewing I did was mending or curtains. Then someone who heard my granddaughter was going to Disney World gave me a few yards of Cinderella material.

I bought a pattern and set to work. It turned out ok, but the Butterick pattern I bought was exensive and had really vague and otherwise faulty directions.

Is there something like a pattern -exchange website I could to to?

chery