Mimi teaches you how to make clothes molds.

Let’s start at the beginning. When did you realize that you loved making clothes?

I was twelve years old. I spent my summers in Puerto Rico with my dad, and that’s when I realized how much I loved sewing. My aunt was a seamstress, and during my summers I would spend most of my days sitting in her studio. I started by hand sewing my Barbie clothes, and when my dad realized I had a real interest, he bought me my first Kenmore sewing machine.

My aunt never really had time to teach me, but I am a visual learner, so I just sat and watched her create these fabulous formal gowns. I started tracing off clothes I had and sometimes even cutting them up and tracing off the pieces, which is how I taught myself construction; it helped me understand how the pieces went together, much like a puzzle. I have dabbled in a ton of crafts—I even did a tiny bit of quilting—but I love sewing clothing I can wear and show off, so that is where my focus has been.

When did you know that you wanted to make sewing more than just a personal craft?

It took many years and honestly it was just something that happened. In 2012 I started a DIY blog as a hobby. I wanted to share what I was sewing and wearing. I didn’t know how many people would care, but it was an outlet for me. I had been working in film and production for 16 years and had found myself struggling to pay bills, was feeling a bit empty as if something was missing, and although my job allowed me to travel and meet celebrities, and sometimes even attend a fancy event, I found myself dreading going into work every day.

Starting the blog was my way of getting back to what I remembered made me happy—sewing. After the first year of blogging, I was amazed at how quickly my following was growing and that I could foreseeably make some extra cash from this blog I had started.

After making the regal maxi shirt and having so many people ask me to make it for them, I thought, what if I teach them to make it instead? Since I don’t enjoy sewing for hire, this was the next best thing. When I created my first sewing tutorial and put it up as a paid download—which by the way was no easy task in 2012—I was blown away by how many people were purchasing the download. I realized shortly after that I was onto something, that was the beginning of Mimi G Style and video tutorials.