Sewing Celeb Sandra Betzina Dishes with Kenneth D. King | Episode 84

Summary

Threads Magazine Podcast: "Sewing With Threads"
Episode 84: Sewing Celeb Sandra Betzina Dishes with Kenneth D. King
Release Date: December 4, 2024

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Introduction and Overview

In Episode 84 of the Threads Magazine Podcast: "Sewing With Threads," host Kenneth D. King engages in a heartfelt and in-depth conversation with sewing luminary Sandra Betzina and guest Marcy Tilton. With a shared history spanning over three decades, Kenneth and Sandra delve into Marcy’s illustrious career as a sewing teacher, designer, and author, exploring her triumphs, challenges, and the transitions into her semi-retirement.

Early Life and Discovery of Sewing Passion (00:00 - 06:27)

Marcy Tilton begins by recounting her early years in Catonsville, Maryland, where she discovered her passion for sewing during high school. Unlike her peers who focused on cooking, Marcy gravitated towards sewing, inspired by a supportive teacher who allowed her the creative freedom to design her own projects.

Marcy Tilton ([04:42]):
"I love Sewing from the second I got there... I never set out to be famous, any of those things. I just wanted to sew and make my own clothes."

Her dedication led her to spend extra hours honing her skills, a commitment that would later define her successful career.

Early Career and Challenges (06:27 - 17:05)

Post-high school, Marcy pursued higher education, initially majoring in mathematics before shifting her focus to writing. Her early career involved sewing for others, but she soon realized the challenges of meeting clients’ expectations. This experience steered her away from sewing for a living, prompting her to explore other avenues like cutting hair.

In 1970, Marcy ventured into teaching sewing classes, establishing her own sewing school. Despite initial struggles, including costly advertisements and low enrollment, her perseverance paid off when her syndicated columns in the Baltimore Sun significantly boosted her business.

Marcy Tilton ([17:05]):
"That really helped my business tremendously because then people knew there were sewing classes and things."

Teaching and Business Ventures (17:05 - 26:26)

Marcy expanded her teaching efforts by appearing on television, specifically on People Are Talking, where she hosted a sewing segment for seven years. This exposure allowed her to reach a wider audience and solidify her reputation as a sewing expert.

Transitioning into entrepreneurship, Marcy also engaged in pattern design. She collaborated with major pattern companies to develop her own sizing system, Today’s Fit, which addressed common fitting issues in standard patterns. This innovation led to the creation of over 200 patterns, although she eventually stepped away from design to focus on teaching.

Writing and Publishing Books (26:26 - 43:14)

Marcy’s passion for writing culminated in the publication of several influential books, including:

• Fear of Sewing: A self-published pamphlet aimed at alleviating beginners' anxieties.
• Power Sewing: A compilation of her syndicated columns, which became a bestseller.
• Fabric Savvy: A comprehensive guide on working with various fabrics, praised for its practicality and user-friendly layout.

Sandra Betzina ([34:35]):
"One of the things I love about it is because you can tell it was written by someone who sews... it's brilliant."

Marcy also authored Fast Fit, a fitting guide that used cartoons and step-by-step solutions to address common sewing problems. Despite setbacks with publishers, including financial losses, Marcy continued to self-publish, maintaining creative control over her work.

Television and Pattern Design (43:14 - 47:20)

Marcy detailed her tenure with Home and Garden Television (HGTV), where she hosted a sewing show that aired 250 episodes over six years. Her ability to perform multiple shows a day earned her the nickname "One Take Wonder." However, disagreements over sponsorship and product placements led her to leave the network.

Transitioning from television, Marcy focused on philanthropic efforts, particularly in Ethiopia, where she helped establish sewing programs to empower local communities through education and skills training.

Philanthropy and Work in Ethiopia (47:20 - 50:22)

Marcy passionately shared her involvement with Project Mercy, a foundation dedicated to providing education and sewing training in Ethiopia. Her work there included setting up sewing studios in schools, enabling students to gain marketable skills. Despite facing challenges in sustaining the programs, Marcy’s efforts left a lasting impact on the communities she served.

Marcy Tilton ([49:30]):
"She was a secret agent for the MI5 in the UK... all of these different kind of parallel universes that we could weave through."

Later Career and Online Teaching (50:22 - 53:18)

Embracing the digital age, Marcy launched Power Song Web TV, an online sewing platform, in collaboration with Ron Collins. Despite the high costs involved, she deemed it a worthy investment to continue sharing her expertise. Additionally, Marcy adapted to changing times by offering Zoom classes, making her teachings more accessible to a global audience.

Marcy Tilton ([54:00]):
"I joined these seminars in San Francisco where people would come for a week and they would sew with me... It's done now because of back problems, but I miss the people."

Personal Life and Retirement (53:18 - 60:00)

Marcy candidly discussed her personal life, including her marriages, her role as a mother to four children, and her decision to remain in San Francisco despite lucrative job offers. Her supportive husband played a crucial role in balancing her career and family life. Now in her 80s, Marcy enjoys a fulfilling retirement, traveling to places like Florence and New Zealand, and cherishing time with her family.

Marcy Tilton ([51:20]):
"I'm fortunate enough to be married to a very happy man. We're both healthy. He's almost 85 and I'm 81. And we run all around. We go to movies, we go to plays."

Comments and Acknowledgements (60:00 - End)

Sandra Betzina expressed profound gratitude towards Marcy Tilton for her contributions to the sewing community, highlighting Marcy's role in inspiring and mentoring others.

Sandra Betzina ([52:02]):
"Sandra Betzina, the auntie mam of sewing, has graced me with her presence today, and I hope you all enjoyed our little talk."

Kenneth D. King concluded the episode by directing listeners to additional resources, including Kenneth’s profile of Sandra in the 2024 Winter Issue of Threads Magazine.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Marcy Tilton ([06:27]):
  "And I think one of the reasons I've been successful is I really love sewing and I really love fashion and just love both of them."

• Marcy Tilton ([17:05]):
  "That really helped my business tremendously because then people knew there were sewing classes and things."

• Sandra Betzina ([34:35]):
  "One of the things I love about it is because you can tell it was written by someone who sews... it's brilliant."

• Marcy Tilton ([43:14]):
  "I had to let go of some. And I did."

• Marcy Tilton ([51:20]):
  "I'm fortunate enough to be married to a very happy man. We're both healthy. He's almost 85 and I'm 81."

Conclusion

Episode 84 serves as a rich tapestry of Marcy Tilton’s journey through the world of sewing, teaching, and entrepreneurship, interwoven with the supportive insights of Sandra Betzina and Kenneth D. King. Listeners are treated to an inspiring narrative of passion, resilience, and the enduring impact one individual can have on a community.

For more insights and detailed stories, fans are encouraged to explore Kenneth's profile of Sandra Betzina in the 2024 Winter Issue of Threads Magazine, available at threadsmagazine.com.

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Transcript

[Kenneth D. King]

Join us on an exclusive trip to London in May 2025. Highlights of this tour are a glovemaking masterclass with luxury designer Rena O, an embroidery workshop at Hand and Lock, a visit to a renowned theatrical costume house, and a guided tour of Savile Row. We'll also visit specialty fabric shops and enjoy afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason. To find out more, go to threadsmagazine.com welcome to Sewing with Threads, the monthly podcast from Threads magazine. Today we have a very special extended episode. Threads contributing editor Kenneth D. King has caught up with one of the sewing world's favorite superstars, Sandra Betzina. Kenneth and Sandra have known each other for some 35 years. It was Sandra who introduced Kenneth to the Threads audience back in 2003. Now, Kenneth, who recently authored the book Dal Couture, is sharing his interview with Sandra. Sandra looks back at her successes as a sewing teacher, a designer, and an author, and the many challenges along the way as she settles into somewhat of a retirement. Let's listen in.

[Sandra Betzina]

Today I have the honor of interviewing Sandra Bettsina, who I regard as the ante mame of sewing. So she has. She's been a sewing celebrity for quite a long time. We'll get into all of the details and such. I met Sandra. I don't know if you remember this. We met at that beading class at the sewing workshop back.

[Marcy Tilton]

Oh, yeah, I remember. Yeah.

[Sandra Betzina]

And then the story. And I tell this a lot. Cause I laugh at it even today. We were at a dinner at Marcy Tilton's, and you were sitting right next to me. And in front of everyone, folks, she turned and looked at me and said, you know, you have the most sensuous lips. Well, I don't blush often, but I did. The only thing I could think of was like. And then she went on. And everyone, of course, is, like, listening to see what was going to happen next. And then she went on to say this thing like, you know, guys who have really good lips are usually terrific kissers. And I'm like, stop, please. And that's why we would be good friends. So, Sandra, so you're in San Francisco. You're in your loft south of Market, right? You know, let's just start with what you're doing now, and then we can kind of work back and go forward from there.

[Marcy Tilton]

Well, what I'm doing now is mainly unpacking. I just moved a couple weeks ago, and I would advise anyone start getting rid of stuff before you move. You just accumulate so much stuff. It's incredible. So I'm giving away a lot. The hardest thing is your clothes, because. Because I think we're sentimentally attached to them. And I'm doing it right and left, but I've got a big closet here, but it's not big enough. So I'm going to get. Yeah, I love to. So I'm retired now. What do I do? I read. I love to read. I love to sew. I will always sew. But I promised myself that I would not get near that machine until I finish this unpacking. So I don't have too much to go. Let's say I've got five more boxes.

[Sandra Betzina]

Oh, that's quite an accomplishment.

[Marcy Tilton]

I've been. It was really tiring, really. But, you know, I think he's going to be really happy here. I worried when I retired. Oh, what am I going to do? So, when. But, you know, it's funny, I finally get to see friends, which, you know, I rarely. You probably find that you work so much, you don't get to see your friends and cook. My husband and I both love to cook, so we have that. I love to read and probably do that four hours a day. I don't know. The time just goes by. I'm really happy. It's crazy.

[Sandra Betzina]

That's. I'm glad to hear that. Now, speaking of reading, did you read my book? Yes, I did, because, see, I brought Crazy Bella.

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. This. Oh, I loved it.

[Sandra Betzina]

I thought it was Lola. So they're here listening in and taking notes so that we can as accurately as possible.

[Marcy Tilton]

You must have fun making all those little, small costumes.

[Sandra Betzina]

Well, I'm experimenting. This is a new one. I'm.

[Marcy Tilton]

Oh, yeah. Nice.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yeah.

[Marcy Tilton]

You know, it's hard sewing little things like that. You think it's easy, but it's not as easy as real clothes. You know, it's the petty little armholes and everything.

[Sandra Betzina]

Well, so, yeah. So anyway. Okay, so let's start with, you know, because I have your. The thing that you sent me here, which has really been helpful. You were born in Washington, D.C. you spent your childhood in Catonsville, Maryland. Is that how you pronounce?

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah, it's right outside of Baltimore, about seven miles out of Baltimore.

[Sandra Betzina]

And so, you know, what I see here is that in high school, you discovered your passion for sewing. So now tell us more about that.

[Marcy Tilton]

Well, in Baltimore, you always had to take wood chopper car repair, and girls had to take cooking or sewing one hour a day. And I already knew how to cook, so I thought, I'll take sewing. I love Sewing from the second I got there, I think it was our classes were small, 10 people, we all had our own machine. The teacher was wonderful. She didn't say to make an apron or anything. She said, make anything you want and she would help you. And very encouraging, kind, wonderful, wonderful woman. So I was obviously there every day, but she knew I didn't have a sewing machine and I was probably more obsessed than her other students. So she said, if you want to come at 3:00 every day, I leave at 4:30. School was over at 3:30, so I could sew for an hour and a half if I could get all the machines unjammed. And I got pretty fast at that. And so she and I got to know each other. So I did that for years. Years I did that every afternoon and I just loved it. And so when I graduated, you know, she said to me, I, I don't know what you're going to do with your life, but I would bet you do something with this. She said, never, Never have I had a student that loved this is much as you did. And I think one of the reasons I've been successful is I really love sewing and I really love fashion and just love both of them. I never set out to be famous, any of those things. I just wanted to sew and make my own clothes.

[Sandra Betzina]

So I'm just curious, what was the first thing you made?

[Marcy Tilton]

I made a dress that had, believe it or not, 14 buttholes down the front, a little dress, a little blue knit dress. And my buttonholes were all different sizes. But she showed me how I could do two buttons and a big one. It really, it was great. I loved it. I just. And I underlined it in an old sheet. I still have it.

[Sandra Betzina]

Wow.

[Marcy Tilton]

So, I mean, so that's how it started. And then in college, I went to college on my scholarship, so I needed some extra money and I started sewing for some people. But I realized that most people, they want to look like the picture on the pattern and a lot of them didn't and they would blame me. And I thought, I love this so much, I'm not going to do this for a living. So instead I cut people's hair. You know, those long hair. I didn't know what I was doing. But I loved college. I had a great time. I really did. I had wonderful boyfriends. It was really fun. And then what was your major in college?

[Sandra Betzina]

What was your major in college?

[Marcy Tilton]

My major started out being mathematics and that sounds crazy. And then I took lots of writing classes. I Love to write. I read something that said writers have to write, and I think it is so true. When I was writing that little thing, just a little outline for you, I thought, I love writing and I have four children and I write them letters and I don't know, there's something nice about that, you know. And my last year of college, I got a job as a speech writer for or somebody that was ahead of the library service. And it was a terrible job because he had no sense of humor and I could not resist putting in little quips and he'd take every one of them out. But it enabled me to save money to go on a trip to Europe. So that's what I did.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yeah. So now where in Europe? What was the, what were the, what was the itinerary?

[Marcy Tilton]

Oh, Telesday started out in Berlin and then, oh, just went all over the place. Paris. I had never been anywhere, so just went. And I had a couple of girlfriends who I traveled with. Can you hear the trolley here? This is life in the city. I traveled with a couple girlfriends for a while and then they got tired, went home and I just, I just, I didn't go to Spain then. I would just. I meet different people, got on the train. I've never been kind of a scaredy cat. I don't mind being alone. So I just then coming home, I traded in my ticket and came back on Holland America line, which was 10 days. And I got a little love affair going on that trip. And it was. So then I came home and I thought, oh, I never in my life got a suntan. And I was laying out in the backyard and my father comes out. I had been home for just a few days. And he said, so what's your plan? And I said, finally, I'm going to get a suntan. He said, well, you know what they say about fish. After three days they begin to smell. Boy, I hopped up off that thing and I took. I had a car. I burned my father's car. I went to Washington D.C. and I saw the sign outside of Sabina. It said they were looking for employees. That's it. I wouldn't travel. I just want to. I don't want to stay home. So I took that job for four years and it was awesome. The thing was opposite about it is that it was run by a man called Baron D. Tarnowski and he always wanted to be talked about like that. And there were eight of us in the office and he would allow four to travel as long as there were four in the office. Now, in those days, in the airline. I know it's different now, but the international characters, they all had these reciprocal agreements so we could travel on any airline for $10, first class and $2 space available. But nobody was ever in first class. He usually took first class. And I went all over the world. It was amazing. And I did that for four years. And I got married during that time. And I married a lawyer who. His boss was a Supreme Court judge, and he thought my job was the living end. He could not believe this. And he was a widow, and he just went with us often. And because he didn't, he really didn't have family. And so the three of us would go someplace and he'd take us out to dinner, places we could never afford. It was. It was a wonderful time. Wonderful time.

[Sandra Betzina]

Is this Dan or is Dan Lenny?

[Marcy Tilton]

No, this is my first husband.

[Sandra Betzina]

I was reading that going, is Dan.

[Marcy Tilton]

No, no. I met this husband at a bus stop at a snowstorm. The bus didn't come for two hours, and we really got to know each other. I married him probably too quickly. No, not so much too quickly. I was too young. 24 is too young to get married. I don't think you know yourself well enough. And I stayed married to him for seven years. He was the nicest man, the smartest man. Why did I leave him? I wanted to have fun. I remember I talked to my dad and he asked me, he said, why would you divorce him? And I said, I just want to have fun. I think it was more. My father was very strict, and I just didn't want anybody telling me what to do anymore. And so I think it's probably the one regret I have because. Not that I'm not happy with my husband now, but he was such a nice man and he did not deserve to be hurt like that. And so I was married to him for seven years. That's what made us move to San Francisco. Okay. And we had a little girl. And so she was about a little less than one when I struck out on my own. And I just. I was very against the way divorces were set up, that the man always had to pay Alan and child support. And so I decided since I was the one leaving, I didn't want him to pay anything. So I borrowed $300 a month for a year and I lived. Let's see, you know this neighborhood? It's a mission and 17th.

[Sandra Betzina]

Now, is that what the neighborhood you referred to as the park and run?

[Marcy Tilton]

Yes. Only I didn't have a car. And so One day I came. Oh, it was a furnace department for $100 a month.

[Sandra Betzina]

Wow.

[Marcy Tilton]

And the only furniture I took was Kim's crib and my clothes and a couple of pillows, and that was it. But I had a good time down there. And. But one day I came home, and the whole front door. Some. Somebody had broken in, and the whole front door was laying inside, but I didn't have anything to steal. So that went on for a few years, and I wasn't working then. I just. That's why I borrowed the $300 a month. But then I started. Marjorie Arch decided she wanted to. She was a really neat woman, and she wanted to start sewing schools all over the country, and she would train people, and I was one of the people she trained. And it was wonderful. But I think her dream was too big because she'd get everybody trained and they'd get married or, you know, so I was one of the ones that kept going on with it. And another one was Patty Palmer. She was there, too.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

And so Patty's done all kinds of things over the years.

[Sandra Betzina]

Patty's daughter lives in New York. I've seen her on occasion.

[Marcy Tilton]

Oh, she does? Okay. Well, her mother was in the training with me. And is. Isn't she running her mother's company now?

[Sandra Betzina]

I don't know. I know that she's. I think she has a pattern line and she does some other things. Yeah.

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah. Okay. So then I decided rents were not like they were now. So I rented a place for about. I think it was $200 a month. And the landlord said, you don't have to sign a lease. Let's see if your idea works. Because he didn't know anybody wanted to do a sewing school. So I went and bought some office tables for about $30 a piece. And I've been. Business. But just setting up business is not so easy. You need students. And I could. The ads were so expensive. I put one ad in the Chronicle, and it was $600. I put this ad. And I was. I love to sew so much. I put this ad in there and said I could teach anybody to sell. I did not get one phone call, and it cost $600. So that's when I got.

[Sandra Betzina]

That was quite expensive.

[Marcy Tilton]

That was a lot. I mean, but I thought, otherwise, I'm just going to be sitting here in this room. I remember one man walked and asked me if I could fix a zipper in his pants. And I actually did it. He went in the bathroom. Oh, crazy. So anyway, then I got this idea If I could get some credibility. So there was the sewing column in the paper, but it wasn't very good. It was a man, he was always writing about Hemming. And I had a lot of things that I could write about. And so I got a hold of the woman at the Chronicle, and I had nine columns that I thought would work. And I remember I'm not really a liar, but I lied to get to see her. I could never get in on the phone. And so finally the operator said, and what is this regarding? And I said, I'm having lunch with Ruth Miller, and I need to change the time. And so she put me through. And so Ruth started talking to me. And then after a while, I told her my idea. And she said, out of curiosity, how did you get through today? And I said, well, I lied. I told you we were having lunch and I needed to change the time. And she said, what time are we having lunch? So I picked her up that day, and she was wonderful when she read everything that I said. And she said, you know, you have good ideas, but you don't know how to write for the newspaper. You know, most people are not going to read past the first paragraph. So she said, if you'll give this to me, we'll go back and forth and I'll teach you how to write for that. You know, how to shorten it up. So we went back and forth probably three times, and she took it, and she had me syndicated all over the United States within three weeks.

[Sandra Betzina]

So now, time frame. When was this all happening?

[Marcy Tilton]

Oh, let me think. I think 19, about 1970. And it happened to be syndicated in the Baltimore sun, where my sewing teacher lived. So when I went back for my high school reunion, my sewing teacher was there. And it was just really nice. I said it was all thanks to you, and. Which it was.

[Sandra Betzina]

Wow.

[Marcy Tilton]

And so that really helped my business tremendously because then people, you know, knew there was sewing classes and things. And then I got the idea, okay, maybe what I should do is try to get on television, which is crazy, because I didn't even at the time own a television. All the stations, they had, like, talk shows.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yeah.

[Marcy Tilton]

Morning shows. And so I got the idea that if I could do a little segment on television, that maybe some people would know about my sewing school. So I started doing that, and I went on. People Are Talking, met a lovely woman, Ann Fraser. She was wonderful. She was the host. And we did this for seven years. Until then, it would have gone on indefinitely, except they started doing syndicated shows and they didn't want to spend the money to do, you know, the individual shows. So I did that. And let's see. Meanwhile, I'm teaching. Everything is going fine. I went to a bigger space down on Taravel street. And by then my family was growing because I'd met Dan, and he and I had this one thing in common. We wanted a lot of children.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

And I wasn't sure I wanted to get married. I had this hang up that marriage was going to trap me. So he agreed that we'd buy a set of flats and have children. And if I didn't like being married, I could live in one and he'd live in the other and we'd let the kids run all around. So that's how it started. I got pregnant within about 10 days and had a little boy. And then. So then what made me rethink my career is when Sean was one, I got a call from one of the students that I had another teacher teaching and she didn't show up.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

And so I felt I had to leave. But it happened to be Sean's first birthday and all these people were there, but there's no way I could just sit and leave it. So I went and taught. And I. And I also happened to be pregnant with twins.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

So I decided then it is time to let this go. I love. I remember it's one of the saddest days of my life. I thought I've never loved doing anything as much as I love this. But I've. I've got to get really. How am I going to do all this? So I had. I had two people that took a lot of classes from me. One was Lynn Mannix and one was Marcy Tilton.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

And Lynn was the one that wanted to buy the school. I. And so I said, okay, I can get over it now. I sold it for $5,000. That included 10 sewing machines all the time. Well, she decided it within a year that she wanted to become a psychotherapist.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

So. So she closed the school. And Marcy was thinking about opening a school. And I said, just open your own name. Just do it. You know, don't use my name. Just. That's gone now. You do what you want to do. So she did this. She started the sewing workshop and she taught there. And I taught there, too. We both taught there a lot. But I.

[Sandra Betzina]

When did the sewing workshop start?

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah, let's see how long ago. Boy, Marcy would know this. Maybe 80. And let's take a slide on that.

[Sandra Betzina]

I just want to credit Everyone, I want to say that it was Sandra who was the one that arm twisted Marcy Tilton to get me to teach a class. And that's how. And that was in. No, seriously, that was in 1989, I think it was.

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah.

[Sandra Betzina]

And so I just. I just want to give credit where credit is due. I would not be where I am without Sandra Betzina.

[Marcy Tilton]

So back to you. Yes, you were so talented. Someone would have found you. I don't worry about that.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay, so back to the story. So Marcy started the school.

[Marcy Tilton]

So. And she. She ran a program. I don't think Marcy loved teaching. Marcy's a good businesswoman, and she sells fabric. She's doing really well. I don't think she was obsessed with teaching as much as I was. I remember you said that to me one time. You said to me, do you still love teaching? I said, yes, I would rather. I don't know. I really love doing that. And so then I stopped. Let's see, I stopped teaching for, I think, about a year because I was busy. And I was up. We have a little country house above. I don't know whether, you know Mendocino, it's Northern California. And we had a house up there a block from the water. And I decided, if I'm going to have children, I'll work, but I'm never going to work in the summer. So the day school ended before the day school back. I had three months for the kids. It was the best time of my life. I mean, we had no television there. It was crazy. I did all kinds of things. I baked BlackBerry pies every day. I had speech writing contests. We had 14 kids in town, and they were pretty much at my house all the time. And I got to know all the kids. It was the most wonderful, wonderful time. So then I guess when. I'm trying to remember when this was when they were. I think I gave you a date. When the kids were maybe about five or six, I got a call from Home and Garden Television.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

And they told me they were this big. They're a big network, and they're looking for a host to host a sewing show. And I remember thinking, if there's such a big network, why have I never heard of them? Because at that time, I was the first show they signed on.

[Sandra Betzina]

Really?

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah. So I went there, interviewed for the job and got the job. And in the beginning, I was on about three times a day for probably a couple of years because they didn't have any other shows. Then they got the car Repair guys. It ended up Common Garden was an incredible network. In the beginning. You learned how to do so many things. Now I feel it's changed, you know, all these house things. And not that I don't like the house things, but enough is enough. And so I did that. But at first I wasn't sure I could do it because I thought, gee, this is in Knoxville, Tennessee. How am I going to do this with the family? But they said, you know, we do it in blocks of time. So we would film in blocks of time, and it would be two weeks. And because I wasn't nervous, I probably should have been, but I could film four shows a day. They used to call me the one Take Wonder, because I. I don't know if even if I goofed up, I'd say, well, because that's what happens in sewing. You make mistakes and you fix them, you know. Yeah, so I did that. I did, I think 250 shows over six years. Then they. What happened there was that, I guess Hancock owned the name, so perfect. And they were. They were becoming pretty demanding and that they wanted their products mentioned every time, and they wanted guests that were selling things. And I said, well, that's not really me. I don't want to do that. I mean, so I stopped doing that. Yeah. So that was okay, you know, on to the next. Whatever the next is. So I stopped doing that. Let's see, what did I do then? Around that time, my brother was doing some fundraising for Ethiopia, for this school. And it was a school in Ethiopia. You could go to school to the fourth grade for free. But then it cost money for the uniforms. Most Ethiopians couldn't afford it. So my brother wanted me to meet the head of the school. He said, I think you could help her set up a program. And I said, doug, it's not like I'm doing nothing here. And. But. But I said, I'll meet her, but I don't want you with me because you talked me. My brother can talk me into anything. So I said. So I met her, and I'll just tell you this, it was the most delightful time because she said to me, when we sat down for dinner, she said, do you know where I could buy patent leather shoes? And I said, well, probably the department store. She said, well, I went there, but they're so expensive. And I said, well, I was just down at the secondhand store and there's a pair of patent leather shoes. I don't know what size they are. She said, it doesn't matter what size they Are the little girl has aids, and she's dying, and she just wants a pair of patent leather shoes. So we told the waiter, hold it, because we were eating really early. We ran down and bought these patent leather shoes for $10, and she took them to Ethiopia. At that moment, I fell in love with her. And she runs a foundation called Project Mercy. She died this year. And so her thing was.

[Sandra Betzina]

Well, first off, what is her name?

[Marcy Tilton]

Oh, Marta. M. A artist. She just goes by Marta, and it's Project Mercy. Okay. And wonderful couple. And my brother met them when she went to Oxford. That's where she met my brother. And so she was always talking to him about her dream for Ethiopia was people had to get educated. And so she had this school. And by this time, there were 2,000 kids in the school. She would only take one per family. And kids would stand outside the gates hoping somebody wouldn't show up, and then they would be invited in. And I'll tell you, I've never seen anything like it. They, you know, the size of a typical school desk. They would have three people sitting at that desk, 90 in a class, who could have heard a pin drop. They were so respectful. And this school didn't go to the fourth grade. It went to the 12th grade, but. And at grade 10, if you were not dean college material, you would take a class like mine. So I had set up a sewing studio. Then there was cooking. And for the guys, they did pipe fitting and electricity. It was an incredible concept. And I would stay a month. I did this for about five years. The problem was I could never talk anybody else into going with me and carrying it on past this. And then that was one problem. And the second problem is, after I taught people to sew, they could make money going into the town doing alterations. So, I mean, it was good from that point of view, but it's just. Her dream was just to have this run indefinitely. And unless I'd been willing to move there, which I love, Ethiopia, but I wasn't willing to move there. So that was another part of my life. So let's see. Where are we now? We're not doing home. Oh, okay. Now the Internet is heating up. Yes. And I'm thinking, you know, if everybody is going to have computers like they say they are, then maybe I could teach sewing online. It'd be free. And so by this time, I knew Ron Collins well, because we. We met up in Canada teaching up there. And so he and I teamed up and did a show called Power Song Web tv. Now, it was expensive to do it cost me about 100,000 a year.

[Sandra Betzina]

Wow.

[Marcy Tilton]

But I made money doing other things, teaching, whatever, you know, writing books. I. For me, all. I didn't feel I had to make money. I just wanted to make it. So it was kind of, I'd say maybe a vanity project, but people liked it. And now it's funny, my brother asked me, he said, what's your legacy? I said, legacy? I don't have a legacy. And then I realized maybe I do.

[Sandra Betzina]

Oh, I think so, yeah. Have your videos. You have hgtv, you know, they're, they're. You have a legacy. I would.

[Marcy Tilton]

Well, I just didn't even think. So I put all of my shows, 258. We do two a week on YouTube for free, so anybody can watch them anytime. In the meantime, I wrote a lot of books. I love to write. And so I think I've written about eight or eight or 10 books. And when I first retired, I remember the first week I thought, what in the heck am I going to do? So I thought the kids always wanted me to write a cookbook because we have a lot of things that just our family nights. So I did a cookbook and I got somebody to do cartoons and it was really fun. And then by then I was getting used to staying home and it's. Of course I didn't really exactly stay home. I mean, before, I guess the last 20 years I've traveled and taught all over at all the guilds and various fabric stores like you did. I don't think you do it so much anymore because you're teaching in New York.

[Sandra Betzina]

Well, New York is just a little tiny. It's just a little tiny. But I don't travel as much as I used to. And I think especially since COVID it has dropped off even more. And so one of the things that I do is I make zoom classes to teach online as well. Because it's.

[Marcy Tilton]

And people like that because they can see it. Yeah. I mean, and probably you don't miss the traveling. It's different now than it used to be. I used to have these 90 pound trunks on wheels with all my clothes. You can't travel like that anymore. And then, let's see. Oh, patterns. Okay, I forgot about that. After I was doing home and garden, Beau called me and asked me to come to New York. They were distressed that all these people were quilting and they wanted to know why. And I thought, I'll tell them why. Those darn patterns don't fit anybody. So I went to New York And I. I had a sheet of paper with all the things that were wrong with the patterns, that it was too broad in the front, not big enough in the back. And next were too. I mean, I got carried away. I probably had about 14 things. And after I said this, there was a silence in the room. And I'll never forget, the president said, you know, actually, we brought you here because we were hoping you'd put your name on a line of our patterns. I said, you've got to be kidding. I'm not putting my name on those patterns. And then I sat there and I said, I'll tell you what, I'll do it if I can develop my own sizing system, because I know I've taught fitting so long and so have you, and we know those patterns didn't fit. And I said, so what I did is I had 300 people in series over to my house, all different sizes, and I had pattern makers there and pattern graders. And I said, I want you to look at these people. They may be big, but they're not big everywhere, right? And I found that the shoulders didn't keep growing and all this. So I developed this sizing system called Today's Fit. And after I did that, took a while, then I started doing patterns for both. And I did. I did over 200, I think. I can't remember exactly. I stopped doing them last year. Why? I guess with the state of the world and the way people dress, it seems kind of ridiculous, you know, I felt I did them long enough. I still use a lot of my own patterns, but I just thought, who am I designing these for anyway? You know, I mean, you see people on the street, you know, even I went to the American Sewing Guild last week, you know, and a lot of people are not wearing clothes they made. And I think some were, but, you know. So I don't feel it's a bad decision. I don't miss it. I enjoyed it. But it took a lot of time because I used to make it five times in different fabrics to make sure it really worked. But I was thinking, what did I like? I'm not. You're a designer. I'm not. I am a sewing teacher. How did I end up designing these patterns? Just provoked it. But what did I like to do? I like writing the instructions and the designs I would come up with. I think I'm an observer of people, and I like to look at what looks good on people and try to think what for different sizes. Not everybody is getting many. What things would work and so that's how I designed. Trying to find things that would work on people. And then I loved writing the instructions. And it sounds. So I at first admit I'm not a designer. I didn't copy things, not per se, but I would copy things that I'd see. I think that's a good idea. I'll do that neckline, maybe this sleeve and that kind of thing. So we did that for a long time. And let's see. I guess that's my career, kind of.

[Sandra Betzina]

Well, let's circle back and talk about your books. How they started, you know, fabric savvy, which I tell my students. You know, there's a list of books that I say to my students, these you have to have in your library. And one of them is fabric Savvy. But it started, what with the power sewing.

[Marcy Tilton]

The very first one started, called Fear of Sewing. Okay. It was a little tiny book, like a little pamphlet. And I just had these students that were terrified to do anything. So I did. I self published that. And I didn't really have enough money to do it, but the printer said, o, I'll front it. You can pay it back after. That was the advantage of being young and flirtatious.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yes.

[Marcy Tilton]

So anyway, then power sewing came about. As I had written all these columns, and people would come in with books with columns pasted in it. I thought, you know what I'll do? I will do a bunch of. I'll do a book where I put the good columns in there and add to him. And so that's how power selling came about. And I published that by my father. My father died. I think about the inheritance people get now. My brother and I each got $42,000.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

And I self published. I just thought, I don't care if anybody buys this. I'm going to spend my money doing that. And I did that. I ended up being a very good thing. I ended up making about $150,000. And then, let's see, Fabric Savvy. Oh, when I was doing the television show on Home and Garden, I got tons of people would send garments to me, and they would say, what is wrong with this? You know, the stitches are not right. So I thought, you know, what people really need is they need a book to tell them how to. How to work with these fabrics. And so that's how it came about. And then I started writing it. Oh, boy. How would I would write it? I would get some fabric, and I'd sit the machine and try to make something with it. It took about Two years. And then you were the only other person I knew that sewed as much as I did.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yes.

[Marcy Tilton]

So I remember I sent it to all to you. I said, argue with me if you think this isn't any good or just get rid of it. And you were great. You were really good.

[Sandra Betzina]

It was a pleasure.

[Marcy Tilton]

And because I could trust you other than you. And I didn't know anybody that sewed like us. And so that book has certainly sold well.

[Sandra Betzina]

One of the things I love about it is because you can tell it was written by someone who sews. Because it's spiral bound, it opens flat. It's all in one page, the needle, everything you need. Yeah, it's just. Yeah, it's brilliant.

[Marcy Tilton]

You don't want to read on and on. Well, then that was in 1999. We did that. And then in 2005, I did it again. They wanted an update. I added some more fabrics to it. And then after that, you'd think I would stop. But no. Todd asked me at that time they wanted to get into the Home Deck market. And they asked me if I would do a Home Deck book. And I said, I'm not really into Home Deck. I mean, I make a couple pillows and stuff. And they said, but maybe you can team up with somebody who's in the business. And I thought, okay. So I found this woman, Debbie Valentine, and she had a. She was very, very good, very exacting. And we wrote a book together and it's called Sewing for the Home. But at that time, I don't know what was going on at Tottenham, but they never. They published it. I mean, they put spiral bound hardback, but they never promoted it. I never saw it anywhere. It was really sad because it's not so much that I worked hard on, but she worked really hard on it and I don't. She never got very much money, you know what I mean? Okay. But then.

[Sandra Betzina]

Fitting book.

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yes, yes.

[Marcy Tilton]

So then I was still teaching fitting and, you know, I don't know whether this is true or not, but I think a lot of the fitting problems are caused. Here's the trolley. By people not knowing what their fitting problems are. So they just, willy nilly do all these different things. They have a hard time thinking of themselves in the abstract. So what I did, I did a book called Fast Fit and I could do cartoons and I like that. And I tried to describe here's the problem and then go into the solution. So I did that. And then, let's see, was that the end of the books? It should have been the end. But no, I think there's power sewing.

[Sandra Betzina]

And then I remember More power sewing.

[Marcy Tilton]

More power sewing.

[Sandra Betzina]

Was there an omnibus edition?

[Marcy Tilton]

No. Then. Okay, so then a publisher, somebody my brother knew, wanted to take my self published books and really put them out there. And he did Power Song and More Power and he did a great job. He even had them in a bookstore on fifth Avenue.

[Sandra Betzina]

Nice.

[Marcy Tilton]

But the problem is he absconded with the money.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yeah.

[Marcy Tilton]

And left for Australia. So that was.

[Sandra Betzina]

Like first publishing experience.

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah, you had that too.

[Sandra Betzina]

Oh, first book. Yeah, it was, it was different. Details, not important. But you know what I've. What I've learned is you get the money up front, you get a big fat whopping advanced. So that's what I do now.

[Marcy Tilton]

Oh, Dusty, I never did that. And so then. Okay, so then I wasn't writing any more books. Then what I realized is that I really love teaching hands on. I had always lectured and, and I like doing that, but I really wanted to sit down with. So I started these seminars in San Francisco where people would come for a week and they would sew with me and all week. And then Saturday I'd take them fabric shopping. Saturday night they'd come my house for dinner. It was fun. And I did, I think, 10 of those a year for, for 14 years.

[Sandra Betzina]

Wow.

[Marcy Tilton]

And I loved it. And I'd probably still be doing it, but I had got. At 72, I got some big back problems, I think, for hauling all those trunks. I had a back operation and it's successful, but I can't work like I used to, so I stopped doing those. And so then I was still lecturing, but I wasn't doing the thing. See, what's hard on my back is standing for 10 hours a day. And I would just walk around and help people. So. But I loved doing. I did it with Elka Haynes. She was like, she's couture trained. She started when she was 14 and I learned a lot from her. I mean, it was wonderful. And I think what I miss the most are the people. The people were wonderful. So then I guess, oh, and then some people were saying, do you, you know how you do this? You walk around and you look at something and you make a comment and someone said, well, why don't you put a book together of all those little tips you do when you're teaching hands on? I said, okay, maybe I'll do maybe. 50 ended up being 550.

[Sandra Betzina]

Wow.

[Marcy Tilton]

And I ended up self publishing again because I wanted to do a book called the Toolbox one and two that were like paragraph tips. And I wanted it spiral bound. And I knew Totten didn't do spiral bound anymore. I wanted to be hardback and I wanted to put a DVD in the back. So I self published those, sold those, still sell those. I, I stopped selling things online. It's just too much right now. I just don't have a business like that anymore. I just don't want to be in business. I, I just, I just want to have fun now.

[Sandra Betzina]

You know, that's, that's a reasonable goal.

[Marcy Tilton]

And so I, I don't think I'll be writing any more books. I don't know you, I don't know.

[Sandra Betzina]

I, I think you're going to write something. I don't know what it would be, but I think.

[Marcy Tilton]

But I, you know, I was, I read as, you know, I wrote a little outline of things and I, I thought, no wonder. I was tired. The other day I was cleaning something out and I, I found a little notebook and it said, it said on the front, things have got to change. And I wrote all the jobs that I had and then I wrote down whether they paid a lot. A lot of them didn't pay very much. And I decided I had to let go of some. And I did. And that changed everything because I felt I had to write for magazines. I was still writing the columns and I had all these kids and I love children and didn't want them to feel cheated, but fortunately I had a lot of energy. And I used to get up at 7 o'clock and go full up and till 11 at night. And then I would wake up at 2:30 and I would write from 2:30 to 5.

[Sandra Betzina]

Wow.

[Marcy Tilton]

And go back to bed. But I could never do that now. And, yeah, so that's, that's kind of the story. Fortunately, I was. People always ask me, how did you do so much and have four children? You can't do it all at the same time. First of all, you have to have a husband that is flexible enough in his job and likes children enough. Our kids always say it was like being raised by two mothers because we, one of us was always there. And he was never resentful. He knew all the things I wanted to do. At one point, I was offered a job in New York as running Simplicity.

[Sandra Betzina]

Okay.

[Marcy Tilton]

And it was a lot of money, but I didn't want to leave San Francisco and my kids were young and I just didn't want to bring them up in New York. And I've never regretted that decision. I Don't have many regrets really. Except the one I told you about earlier. Well, I'm fortunate enough to be married to a very happy man. We're both healthy. He's almost 85 and I'm 81. And we run all around. We go to movies, we go to plays. How we started on these crazy trips is after I told you I missed the people. So I've always traveled. So I've been going to Morocco. And so people said, oh, I'd like to go to Morocco. So I did like seven trips to Morocco where I took like 10 to 12 people.

[Sandra Betzina]

Wow.

[Marcy Tilton]

And then. But last, last year was my last one. I thought, you know, 80 year olds should not be herbing people around in Morocco. But I loved it. So that's my last one. But. And I do every year I take a group to Florence in October and I could still do that because, you know, it's flat. You know, Morocco is a little bit. But it's so fabulous. So I won't do Morocco anymore. I'll do Florence. I. My daughter, I have a daughter that immigrated to New Zealand this year. So we'll be going to see her and maybe I'll take a group of people to New Zealand. I've read about this awesome train. Listen to this, Kenneth. It goes from the top of New Zealand to the bottom of New Zealand. And you get off every day at 4 o'clock, tootle around in a little town, have dinner, spend the night at a hotel and get back on the train the next day goes for 11 days. Doesn't that sound fun?

[Sandra Betzina]

Sounds interesting.

[Marcy Tilton]

So now you can ask me any question you want.

[Sandra Betzina]

Oh, gosh.

[Marcy Tilton]

Have you talked your ear off here?

[Sandra Betzina]

No, I just, you know, there's, there's so much. I just, I, I really admire what you've done. And again, you know, like I said earlier, you were the one who arm twisted Marcy Tilton. Because my understanding from back channels was that she wasn't necessarily sold. But I remember meeting you. You were, you were wearing a leopard print hat. You, she, Marcy was doing a, a tour and she brought you to Studio on 8th Street. That was like way, way in the, in the beginning. And I remember you introduced yourself, you said, I'm Sandra Betsina, I write a sewing column for the Chronicle. And you started asking some questions and kind of, that was that. And then my studio partner Marshall knew Norman Peterson, who's Marcy's.

[Marcy Tilton]

Marcy's husband.

[Sandra Betzina]

And he said to Marcy, you know, and I mean, that's how Marcy. I Think found my studio. But, you know, my understanding from Backchannels was that you really twisted her arm and said, you have to have him teach a class. And she did.

[Marcy Tilton]

Well, you were so good. You had so many cool techniques. Obviously you should be teaching a class. Yeah.

[Sandra Betzina]

But someone and you were the one saw that, you know, and did the arm twisting. So I'm forever grateful.

[Marcy Tilton]

Oh, listen, you would have done incredible things regardless. Tell us about what you're doing now.

[Sandra Betzina]

Well, I'm working on, you know, I. The Doll Couture came out and what I'm told is that it's in its third. It's going to be coming up on its third printing and it hasn't been out a year. So I'm rather pleased about that.

[Marcy Tilton]

Wow.

[Sandra Betzina]

So the. The possibility has been dangled in front of me, but you know how this is. It's not real until there's a contract. I was approached and they said, another book with red carpet looks. And I said, I said, well, you know, Crazy Bella, you know, because there has to be an event for these red carpet looks. I said, and there has to be a little bit of a story like Doll Couture.

[Marcy Tilton]

Of course.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yeah. So Crazy Bella will be the commentator on the red carpet at this Broadway opening. So that's the idea. And so, you know, see, I believe in the build it and they'll come sort of thing. So that's what this is. This is an exception experiment.

[Marcy Tilton]

Yeah.

[Sandra Betzina]

Because if this particular situation doesn't play out, I'll just pitch it to someone else.

[Marcy Tilton]

Well, I just think with those dolls you could make a lot of money and the things could be hand sewn. It be a way a mother and daughter could work together.

[Sandra Betzina]

That's the idea. Or, you know, grown up people making things. I've actually sent a copy to Barry Manilow to say, I just thought you might enjoy seeing what in my imagination eventually happened to Lola. So interesting. And so, you know, there's fit, there's traveling around, there's, you know, all of the usual stuff. You know, I got my husband, who's sweet. You talked earlier about the first husband. When I was living in Oklahoma, I dated a guy named Daryl. And Daryl was kind and he was decent. And I was what, 23? What did I know? I thought guys like that came along all the time. And what I learned was that once every 30 years. And I split up with my first husband back in 87. I kind of, in my mind, it was like, you know, if I find another one like Daryl, then I'll Settle down. And when I met Andrew, his. His opening line was, I was wearing a pair of jeans made out of fortuny cotton. His opening line was, are those. Is that real Fortuny? And it was like, hey, he knew about fashion. And so, you know, and he's. He's. He had costume design, the little sketches in Doll Couture. Those are his.

[Marcy Tilton]

Huh?

[Sandra Betzina]

You know, so he's talented.

[Marcy Tilton]

Well, you know, kindness. I find the older I get, the kindness in a mate in people, you know, people with each other. A lot of us know single people that don't have anybody to take care of them. We need to step up to the plate and try to help people. You know, it's a strange world we're in now.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yeah. You know, and so part of what I do is I make doll clothes. That is what got Pandemic is making doll clothes. If you go on my. Lola has her own Instagram, lolatheshowgirl24, as in 2024. And so if you go all the way back to the beginning, you get the backstory on Crazy Bella and the blackmail attempt, and they arrested at the guys, and there was a court trial, and there was all of this.

[Marcy Tilton]

And you are. You're a writer. You're a writer as well, aren't you?

[Sandra Betzina]

So it dovetailed into the stories in Doll Couture. So, you know, for anyone out there listening there, you know that there is backstory and, you know, so the next. The next book, really, I'd like to make Crazy Bella, you know, whether it's the. The red carpet looks or. My husband said Crazy Bella operates in this.

[Marcy Tilton]

I like the title.

[Sandra Betzina]

Well, she operates in this very unclear timeline because she. Let's see. She worked in the Red Cross during World War II. She was a showgirl at the Foley Briger. She sang at the Cafe de Paris. She's a secret agent for the MI5 in the UK. She even has a spy car, which hasn't been shown yet. She has all of these different kind of parallel universes that we could kind of weave through. So, you know, do you and your.

[Marcy Tilton]

Husband kind of talk about these stories? I bet you look.

[Sandra Betzina]

Yeah, he has the greatest ideas. Just some of the headlines were his. You know, he just. You know, he'd say, oh, you should. You should this. And it's like, yeah, that's great.

[Marcy Tilton]

You know, that's so much fun when you can share something like that together. I'm so glad you're doing well. You know, it just. And your face shows it. They say after 40, we have the face we deserve. And your face looks very happy.

[Sandra Betzina]

You're very kind. Very kind.

[Marcy Tilton]

This is really nice. I haven't seen you in a long time, so I feel like we've had a little visit. It's been very nice.

[Sandra Betzina]

For those out there listening again, Sandra Betzina, the auntie mam of sewing, has graced me with her presence today, and I hope you all enjoyed our little talk.

[Marcy Tilton]

Thank you.

[Kenneth D. King]

Thanks for listening. For more about Sandra's amazing accomplishments, check out Kenneth's profile of her in the 2024 winter issue of Threads magazine or at threadsmagazine. Com.