It all started with a pair of bloomers. New mother Eliza­beth Caven saw just what she wanted for her newborn girl in a magazine, but given the short wearability, was more than a little put off by the price. So she decided to make a similar pair.

But there was a problem. She didn’t know how to sew. She had taken home economics in high school, but beyond that had never developed the skill or interest.

Nor did she have a pattern. She searched the traditional fabric shop options and found a pattern with a similar look, but the instructions were not beginner friendly, and she was lost.

So she did what any young Millennial mother would do — she went online.

“It turns out there’s a whole sewing world out there,” says Caven, now a skilled sewist with the help of a private teacher and online resources....