The Sweet Reason This Man Started to Sew

Story originally published by the Toronto Star. 

In 2014, Tyler Hamilton inherited a family sewing machine. The Merritt machine had been his grandmother's, and then his father's. Hamilton's father had used the machine to hem his clothing or make improvements around the house, and so when Hamilton inherited the machine from his father, he decided to keep it and teach his two daughters how to sew.

The three of them started simple, making pillows for the girls and their friends. Then Hamilton's wife Lyne dared him to make a dress from scratch. She jokingly promised to wear the dress to work, no matter what it looked like.

So, Hamilton sewed his wife a dress. He explored Craftsy.com and ended up with the Perfect for Work Dress pattern from So Sew Easy. A trip to the fabric store had female Fabricland workers in disbelief that he was going to sew something for his wife. He explained the dare and they helped him choose fabric – then he got to sewing!

He kept the process a secret, sewing a little bit of the dress here and there while his wife was out. His daughters stood watch, letting him know when Lyne was about to return. Three weeks later, he finished the dress. His wife still had no idea. Hamilton and his daughters wrapped the dress and left it under the tree on Christmas morning. Hamilton says: "It turned out better than I had hoped. A little rough around the edges, mind you, but when Lyne put it on she rocked it."

Hamilton is still waiting for his wife to hold up her end of the bargain – but we think he did a great job with the dress!