With that said, I came across an entry that was widely shared among the sewing community that I am in. It was written by Melissa Lin based in San Francisco, titled "How Sewing Made me a Better Person".
I read that entry and instantly felt better that it kicked start my sewing mojo! Indeed, picking up sewing on and off had taught me a lot of valuable lessons that I probably won't get elsewhere.
Quoted "To me, sewing is more than just the construction of garments. Sewing is a skill that takes dedication, practice and persistence to master it". I smiled reading that. This sewing skill is definitely not obtained overnight. No one can sew straight on without any guide lines marked the first time, if you do, well good on you.
I can go on and on quoting her, here's another one, "There's quite a bit of thought and planning that goes into a sewing project" Oh yes oh yes oh yes!! So many thinking parts! It is not always that easy... We all wish it is.. Sometimes you have this perfect fabric but cant find the complimenting patterns to sew it into. In that paragraph, she mentions about proper planning, as in to actually plan from start to finish the sequence. It does cut down time.
Reading patterns is not as easy as reading a novel. There's a lot of understanding and breaking it into smaller parts to understand better, and sometimes, a lot of trials with paper or cheap fabric to test first. A lot of effort goes into it.
On a personal note.. Sewing has taught me plenty of lessons as I had mentioned earlier, and here's my list.
Patience
Seriously, and very honestly, it takes a whole lot of patience. Sewing is not an overnight thing. A lot of practice is required to achieve that simplest stitch. It also teaches to take things step by step. When sewing, there is never a short cut to nice end product without going through and not missing a single step.Meticulous
Every stitch counts, when sewing I tend to put on my meticulous hat a lot more than usual. I keep checking if all my fabrics lines edge to edge, I haven't got into the habit of ensuring the patterns matches at seams, but I do get some kind of a happy orgasm when I see all my stitches line so straight and consistent. And I will grin ear to ear if the patterns matches perfectly.Appreciative
One will never know the work required to make a simple thing like mending the length until one learns to sew herself. I mean seriously, I used to be one of those who thinks it is simply a straight line stitched. Right until I decide to do it myself. Oh boy oh boy oh boy.. My legs did not coordinate with my eyes and brain. My hands are all over. And my simple straight stitched ended by being an ultimate zig zag. So today, when I see any apparel, I begin to imagine the kind of work required and I appreciate all the efforts.I also figured that sewing from scratch is easier than altering a finished apparel.. oh the horror of unpicking and re-sewing..
OCD
Yup, it awakens the OCD in me in some of the things I do while sewing. I needed some things to be placed in such a way, and fabric laid a certain way and having everything I need within reach before I can settle to work on it. If something is amiss, the mood can just jolly well be gone. And sewing without that mood is hazardous.Creative
Yes, I get to be more creative than usual. When something don't look right, a little fabric sets my imagination to work and I get to upcycle something simple into something better! And it makes me happy. Here's my latest upcycle project:
Emotionally stable
When I am down, or stressed, or upset.. I tend to take out all the fabrics I have and rearranged them. At the end of it, when I looked at my neatly arranged fabric, I smiled again. When I am too full of energy, I set myself to sew and find myself more calm. Sewing makes me feel okay, and it definitely make me feel very useful.If anything else fail, sewing makes me productive in making what I like, the way I want it, and exactly what I would need.
What about you? What does sewing makes you?
Sewing away,
Jun
Wassalam
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