Tag: handmade

Remaking My First Sewing Project Four Years Later

Last September, I felt this aching in my creative heart to make what I didn’t make well the first go around. A project that some would say was insane to attempt as a beginner because of the difficult nature of velvet and the frustration that is sewing with stretch fabric. The dress pictured below was my first wearable garment. I saw the same purple stretch fabric on sale for Halloween at my local Joann’s and my heart skipped a beat. It still exists – I could try again!

You see the first dress I made was constructed so poorly that I ended up cutting it down into a skirt because I was embarrassed to continue wearing it out. After all, the bodice was bunching up and gathered strangely in the back. I lacked the confidence to keep going and try to alter the dress for success. I see now that it would have been an easy make to take out the gathers and bunches of fabric for clean seams, but that kind of thought came with trial and error. I needed a bit more experience and patience to make it right, and at the time in 2020, my younger self was not willing to wait.

But what if I am living in the past? My mind thought, maybe I should let it be and let the dress be a learning experience. I put the purple velvet down and left it, it was not on sale, it would be a sizeable impulse purchase at 15.99 a yard for 4 yards. I can’t justify 60 USD for a passing whim, that would be a poor use of money. So I left the daydream and moved on. Still thinking about that fabric. Another few weeks passed, finding myself in my local Joann’s again. It was my favorite place to explore. I went to the shopping plaza over the weekend where Joann’s remains live boarded up with the lights still on. It was eerie. I found myself thinking about what was blocked off inside? Was the fabric slumbering in the bolts, waiting to be made into something new? Would the yarn ever find a home in a fiber artist’s hands? It felt like a mistake, a bad dream, but it was not. It is over and now it is just a memory.

Anyway, on the second trip to Joann’s during the Halloween sales, I found my purple beloved. The bolt was still full, now marked down to 7 USD a yard. But this time I couldn’t get the project out of my mind. I’m glad I did give in to the creative urge or this project would be left without an ending. At the time, I had no idea Joann’s was going to go under. I thought I had plenty of time to remake this when in reality the window was closing. As I worked on this dress in 2025, I followed Joann’s story with frustration and weight of expectation. This remake is the final try, for this fabric I will never find again.

I made a different dress from the original and that surprised me. I believed going into the remake project that I would duplicate the same dress but with better technique. Instead, it was a project of feel. This time, I had a dress form I could drape the garment on. I had fabric clips with securely held the the slippery fabric together while on the dress form or for a quick test of fit on my own form. This time I understood proportion and where this dress would fit into my wardrobe instead of making a dress that only went with my moto jacket. I reinforced the shoulders and was thoughtful about my stitching, to make the garment strong. I added darts to pull the dress in where it was fitting baggy instead of leaving it like a velvet sack.

It became something new and I am okay with that. None of us are the same as we were years ago, we grow and evolve with every passing year. Making a dress for now, with the spirit and the fabric of my first garment, but with a new neckline and a new fit I think is an inevitability of learning and growth. I had the patience this time to try on the dress, mark what was not fitting right, and go back to work until it was correct. That was not something I was willing to do when I started, because it was all so new and confusing, but with time and practice, those new concepts became a familiar old friend. Like this tan carpet. It wasn’t until I looked at the 2020 mirror photo and the 2025 mirror photo that I saw it. The carpet in the house we bought looks just like the carpet in our apartment in Meadville. How random is that?

I have one more section of the purple velvet left over that I plan to make something with, possibly a mini dress, a blouse, or maybe a jacket. I think knowing this fabric is a relic now, makes me feel unwilling to finish this scrap project, because once it is done. I’m going to feel like my time experimenting with fabric from my first craft store is done. A chapter of my sewing life is over, and I hate saying goodbye. I’m a sentimental person. When things end, I take it hard. I dwell on the loss and muse on it. It might be unhealthy. It certainly makes life harder as a person who wants to keep things alive that are gone, it’s why I think I was drawn to study history in college.

As I keep making things, some of these projects become an archive of crafting past. What are some things in your own life that have moved from the present to part of your past? Does it surprise you to consider these things as your history instead of your current story? Thank you, reader, for joining me again down this sewing memory lane. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Character Design: Mabel Mora and Her Sweaters

Going into the show, Only Murders in the Building, I knew the concept of the show was intriguing. It’s set in New York City, in a classic building, where whodunnit murders take place which the trio solve through their of the time true-crime podcast. The age difference between Selena Gomez and the other two leads Martin Short and Steve Martin gave the story layers from the trailer alone. I was pleasantly surprised by the character design and the costuming which layered depth to each character’s story, like a real person would express through the clothing items they choose.

The most relatable to my taste is Mabel Mora because she not only “knits” as a plot device for “Bloody Mabel” but also wears clothing that looks like someone who knits. Her knitwear throughout season one looks like pieces made by someone who enjoys knitting. They are not your typical off-the-rack sweaters and appear to be knit by hand instead of machine. What makes it feel real to me is the weight of the yarn compared to the knitting needles shown in her apartment. The needle she says would be her self-defense weapon of choice is a thicker needle, for bulky weight yarn. My guess would be somewhere between a size 11 and size 13 needle which is appropriate for bulkier projects.

The wooden knitting bowls, the needles, and the unusual designs of the sweaters featured in this scene speak to the craftsmanship of a hand-knit sweater and place Mabel’s knitting needle in her world. They appear to be knitting which is not always the case in TV shows or movies that feature acts of knitting, the best example of this being Gromit from the Wallace and Gromit series.

Although we don’t see this craft as often in Mabel’s scenes as we see her paint or sketch, the evidence of this hobby is peppered throughout the show from her infamous dream, her carrying the needle in her bag when she jumps tie-dye guy or what lands her the moniker “Bloody Mabel” in season two. Movies and TV shows of the last five years have fallen into a telling not showing manner of character development. For example, in the 2022 remake of Persuasion, Anne Elliot breaks the fourth wall to tell views that she and Frederick Wentworth are “exes” instead of developing the story through interactions, long drawn-out glances as we see in Emma (2020), or Pride and Prejudice (2005 & 1995).

Only Murders in the Building did not take the bait, and instead showed what a 20-something knitter would wear in New York City winter – her handmade sweaters made with yarn colors that look like you could buy them from your local yarn shop. It was a clever character hobby to give Mabel as knitting was growing in popularity with people my age and beyond in the last decade, truly exploding in popularity with the rise of crochet in the 2020s. Every sweater she wears in seasons one and two looks like something you could find a pattern for on the site Ravelry.

It was such a great way to add nuance to Mabel’s character, because how many characters in TV shows knit that aren’t older? She’s a girl with a troubled and complex history, you would expect her to be a party girl or have a dark streak, like the characters of Effie Stonem, Serena Van Der Woodsen, or Jenny Humphrey, but instead, she paints, she knits, she is relatable in a plot that can be quite over the top compared to reality. Mabel is a character I can relate to, which pulled me in from the start to a show that doesn’t feel like it is a modern TV show because of how thoughtful the writing is. It never feels like a cash grab and that has given me hope that maybe this time of reboots and CGI reliance will go out of fashion for stories that once again feel handmade, like a good hand-knit sweater.

Have you watched Only Murders in the Building? Did you like it?

Magic of Scrap Yarn Cardigan

I was gifted a set of skeins. This yarn lot was made from peruvian wool, bulky weight in shades of slate gray, purple, and navy. It was some yardage but not enough to know what to use it for. 500-600 yards always trip me up. It’s close enough to be a garment so my mind wanders down that path, but too much to be an accessory, unless its a really extra, truly special accessory. I used to knit big scarves like that. I think maybe I got burnt out? Or maybe the scarf as a project feels like I am staying stagnant, not trying hard enough to make? I’m uncertain why I see it from a view point of melancholy.

Around the same time I was also passed down other bulky weight yarn, a green and red acrylic, a bright blue of wool-acrylic blend, and an olive green much chunkier fiber of many balls of yarn. More than I knew what to with. They were all random, similar im weight, and sort of related in color story. Aside from the red, the red was too bold.

Have you ever seen those absolutely scrappy sweaters? Those ones, usually worn by someone in Copenhagen or another chic city where the handknit garment is exquisitely random? A varied and unplanned web of yarn scraps, carefully made into a uniform pullover or cardigan. I love them. I pin them to boards. I save the posts. They fill the void of completeness of most projects, whether fabric or yarn, because they gobble up the bits left over, like a quilt, to rid the maker of left over yarn without wasting it.

So I made one.

Socks: An Update

Several months ago, I started a new side quest in knitting – making socks. It’s a windy and treacherous climb, fraught with new equipment and an entirely new approach from a garment like a sweater. At the beginning it’s like casting on a mitten or a small hat, yet as time goes on you realize you are somewhere between a knitter and a sculptor, looking for the heel shape in your amphorous block of yarn. It is the most challenging garment I’ve made, culminating in going over the waterfall, at least that’s what turning the heel felt like at times.

What makes this ubiquitous garment so hard to learn? It’s a project of multi-tasking, like dribbling a basketball and moving at the same time. You are not only knitting a pattern – a sock, but you are also learning it on a new court – double pointed needles or with a magic loop configuration on circular knitting needles. There is also the third option, the one I leaned on when I was baffled by hitting gauge on my project and fed up with ripping out my progress over and over, knit flat tube socks that are sewn together to form the tubular shape.

My first two completed sets of socks were made this way, with straight needles to help me process all I was learning from these new techniques. It was the confidence boost I needed to keep going and finish the sock. I get overwhelmed in new projects when nothing is familiar but taking one part, flat knitting, and keeping that as the control part of the experiment let me knit and see how it should look and feel when the socks are completed. To better understand what I was working towards on double pointed needles or circular needles. Flat knitting also gave me the chance to try something I’ve never done before as a knitter, I cast on two socks at a time on my needles. It was incredibly satisfying to finish each sock at the same time!

Attempt on DPNs
Finshed tube socks pair knit at the same time on one set of straight needles

With this new found confidence I carried on and cast back onto the straight needles, making a brown pair of socks from recycled acrylic that wash and wear well. These green socks above are a blend that is mostly wool with a hint of acrylic in the yarn and they are hand wash or steam only for me. I wash them gently with either shampoo or conditioner in the sink, carefully to prevent felting. For my next project I wanted to explore fiber content, so I cast on a sock with three strands – two fingering weight wool and one acrylic. I chose this composition to test wear and washability, to make these a sock I could worry less about washing yet would insulate my foot, this was during a month long stretch of cold weather, dipping into the negatives fahrenheit so my mind was on cold weather. I decided to make these chunky socks into a sock I would use to insulate my L.L.Bean duck boots which are waterproof but are canvas, not insulated at all. They are a boot I want to wear for cold weather and snow, but they make my feet cold even with two pairs of socks.

As I got to the heel portion, I knit these socks cuff down, I made a last second decision and transfered my project to my round needles, joining the row into a round a stitches. With my heel turning reference book in hand I began turning that heel! It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! I don’t think I executed it perfectly, but I conquered a fear. Now, the tough part of the process is that my handwork for circular knitting is subpar. I hold my stitches too tight and the tension hurts my fingers the longer I knit on a project. The only way to improve this is to keep practicing, yet I don’t want to practice. The second sock is cast on but I have yet to make progress on project because I am dreading the circular process and those tight stitches that come from inexperience.

Is this sock the best fitting sock I’ve ever made? Yes! Is it better than store bought ones? A 1000% yes, and I’m a novice so they are going to get better with practice. It’s an art form we wear everyday without thought, but it is truly a sculpture of yarn. Next time you put on a sock, have a moment of appreciation for the geometry, the symmetry, and the sculpture adorning your foot.

Checker Board Pants: Making Pants From Your Favorite Jeans

In 2024, I was inspired to start making pants. I had attempted making pants before and they were successful but I struggled to make them feel like more than just a pair of lounge pants. Part of this was caused by not choosing a good bottom-weight fabric, and instead opting for a lightweight summer cotton that draped beautifully but didn’t give me that tailored look. I also tried an ill-fated scuba fabric in 2023 that crashed and burned because my thread tension was off. Enter this checkerboard denim print I purchased at Hobby Lobby. It was denim but lighter, not too heavy to be a problem for my sewing machine. But how would I find the right pattern?

I had a pants pattern in my stash for menswear trousers, that I considered using on this project. It’s a solid pattern and would make a straight-fit pair of jeans, maybe not the style I was going for though. I considered buying a new pattern, but then I fretted that the pattern would fit me weirdly or might not fit at all. The current style in 2024 still featured that tapered-in waist on pants that favor an hourglass figure, not my rectangle athletic build, so should I risk it? A big reason I chose to make pants in the first place was that I was sick of shopping and trying on pants that made me feel weird about my body. The men’s section was my go-to for their up-and-down pattern cutting, compared to the extreme tapering and high waist silhouette of women’s pants. Even low rise was stuck in mid-rise inseam, not the true low waist inseam I was accustomed to in the 2000s and early 2010s that helped me find good-fitting jeans because they favored my shape not the post-bbl world of fashion. I digress, my point is that buying a pattern someone else drafted felt like a risk because the fit is such a personalized thing.

My solution was to take a pair of pants in my wardrobe that I liked the fit of and to trace that pair of pants to gauge the shape. I did this with a pair of jeans that were high waist but had a nice loose fit through the hip and leg for the K-pop-inspired baggy jeans style I was interested in making with this 1990s Vans checker board print. This worked swimmingly! So much so that I traced the jeans onto a piece of brown craft paper for a quick pattern to reach for on future projects.

I chose to record this project, start to finish in video from instead of video to have a memory of how I did this to learn for myself and remember what I did but to also inspire others to try this. Pants are intimidating, especially from a paper or PDF pattern. The written instructions and diagrams have puzzled me in past projects but truly, pants are simple once you see how its done. I wanted to help others feel that freedom to create because at least in my American fashion market, fast fashion has destroyed the craftsmanship of pants and standardized sizing. I referenced this in a previous post, Shaping Up where I had to confront the dressing room terror of things not fitting and seeking to not be defined by my jeans size, when trends and pattern cutting shape shift sizes, but to take control of it on my end and get healthier in 2023.

This pants project was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects of 2024. I faced my fear of sewing denim, inserting pockets, and fastenings. I chose to not attempt a fly into I had more pants sewing experience, instead I planned to make what I knew I could achieve under my skill set. I opted for a side closer with a drawstring to have an adjustable fit since the denim had zero stretch. The denim containing no stretch was a feature I sought because I believed it would be easier to work with as it was my first project of this kind, and I wanted a crisp tailoring from the woven fabric. A key thing to note is that the jeans I used for my template also are non-stretch denim. For an accurate this is paramount or else the project will not work. Either you will cut your project too large or too small. It is also essential to leave a seam allowance on your pattern pieces. When self-drafting it is your responsibility to take charge of the seam allowances and plan ahead.

I messed this up with the crotch line and had to make a quick fix. My fix was a diamond gusset. Popular in women’s leggings, this diamond gusset shape piece allows for greater mobility while maintaining the strength of the seams.

The second challenge I faced was the problem of a narrow bolt and an all-over pattern. This fabric was quite narrow and because I was cautious with my seam allowance, I cut my pieces large. This meant that I was not cutting from the longest side, but the most wide. The pattern pieces were cut out missing length on the leg. My solution was to add on to the bottom and pattern match. It’s easier to match than people say, it just takes patience and intentional sewing. I’m pleased with how seamlessly I got my pieces to match up.

The pockets were a challenge. How do you place them? How do you insert them with strength so the pockets can be used without pulling the pants down or ripping? I chose to place them angled on the sides, aligned with my hips so that they would be practical and not create weird bunching at the front of the pants. No wonky crotch fit here!

Would you make your own pants? I hope I inspired you to get creative and go for it if you are sewing-inclined. Thanks, reader, for joining me once again on this quest to grow my fashion design skills. Have a wonderful day!

Hot Air Balloon Knit Hat

Do you ever pick up a knit object and the fiber feels buttery soft? That’s exactly how this cerulean blue yarn feels to the touch. It is a bulky weight yarn blend of super wash Australian wool and acrylic fibers. It’s a yarn that I believe has been discontinued by Knit Picks but I hope they bring it back because no project has been a joy to knit up like this one. It glided across my needles! It’s one of the reasons I chose to knit this fiber into a hat that would be soft and warm on my head. It’s cozy. Another reason was because this skein of yarn was a destash from my mom, there was only one skein so I decided to make it the focus of one small project.

I’m not very good at using one solid color throughout my projects so I paired this was a Brava bulky in red also from Knit Picks to add visual interest to the hat. I think it looks like a hot air balloon from an illustrated book. An imagination filled tale, like how the heffalumps and woosels turn into hot air balloons during Winnie the Pooh’s trippy dream during the flood. I love how bright the contrast is between the delicate red lines and the vivid water-like blue. It has a bit of the Apres-ski vibe with the vivid color story of the late 80s and early 90s.

I made this knit hat on size 10 bamboo straight needles in two pieces that I seamed together. I made the decision to construct this hat using two pieces because I had not made a hat in over a year and felt a bit rusty. I also wanted control of the taper of the crown, without needing to also refamiliarize myself with circulars or double-pointed needles. I made this hat in August 2024 and I was coming off the big move into the storage unit for two weeks and then into the new house. To be honest, I was feeling a bit creatively stir crazy from the busy summer. I’ve learned a lot since I made this from my dabbling with sock knitting and could confidently make this now with a different construction, but as a quick beginner project or knitting warm up when you’re feeling rusty it’s an easy to make project. I believe I made this over one weekend, potentially one day? I can’t remember how focused I was.

You will need a tape measure or a knit hat that fits you the way you would like your hat to fit for reference. Cast on stitches according to your head size for one half of your head. Knit ribbed stitches for 3 inches and then switch to stockinette for the rest of the hat. Switch yarn at the end of rows and don’t decrease too quickly. I’ve made this mistake before. You will need the width across your crown to join at the top and you can decrease quickly at the end so be filled with care as you taper and don’t hesitate to frog and try again for the right fit. Adding a safety line where you plan to unravel your project to, is a huge life saver! Mirror your second side and stitch the two halves together with a tapestry needle. An easy knitting project that is useful and can help you practice skills like purling, ribbing, yarn over decreases, crown shaping, and yarn tension.

Bunny Plush Keychain

Recently, I shared a Knit Star Plush Keychain Pattern, but that wasn’t the only keychain I’ve been working on. Behold, a knit bunny keychain made from repurposed fabric! This keychain was inspired by my Skzoo Quokka plush keychain which I have styled on my purse and belt loop. I was tempted to buy more as this trend has been all over my feed this year, but that’s unrealistic. So I thought, in Jeremy Clarkson fashion, how hard could it be?

This key chain was made by repurposing a pair of underwear, that was weirdly made without any stretch. They had no purpose but to be trashed, which I didn’t want to do because they were brand new and I liked the pattern and color story. So I wondered, could I translate this to a plushie and I could make this plushie into a keychain without buying any materials beyond the keychain hardware? The answer is yes!

I used a pen to draw pattern pieces onto the underwear by designating the fabric into four ear-pieces, two head-pieces, and a rectangle piece that would be used to connect the keychain hardware. The rest of the fabric was cut into small cut pieces that would be used as the stuffing. This worked like a dream!

I chose to sew this item by hand because of the small nature of the project. The pieces were too small and delicate to sew by machine with any semblance of control or care. It was a quick make and took one day to complete. I sewed 90% of the ears, turned them right side out, stuffed them, and then set the ears aside. Next, I repeated this process with the circle for the head and stuffed it. When I was certain that all the stuffing was divided between the three pieces adequately, I sewed closed the ears and head. Next, I attached the ears to the head. Finally, I sewed the rectangle and threaded it through the loop of the keychain before attaching it to the bunny plushie. I opted for an abstract look so I did not decorate the bunny plush with a face, therefore if it spins around it doesn’t matter what side is facing out.

Overall, this was a quick and thrifty project with the hardware coming in a pack of two for $2.99. I used the other clip on the knit star plush project. This type of plushie could be made with any scrap fabric you have and could be adapted into other animals. It would be an easy DIY gift too!

Knit Star Keychain Pattern

Back in the spring, I had this grand idea that I would learn how to crochet. I had a friend who crocheted next door, I had recently found TL Yarn Crafts on YouTube. Toni made it look so fun. I was enamored by what I saw others creating with crochet hooks. Crochet rose in mainstream popularity again through 2020 and beyond in 2024.

My Impression of Crochet

The internet is chock full of crochet plushies, dresses, sweaters, bags – you name it you can crochet it. I didn’t see this kind of creativity from my corner of the knitting internet. I had this impression that knitters were serious and crocheters were mavericks. So the hook was calling to me.

I bought a crochet hook and spent a few weeks watching videos, perusing a book my neighbor lent me, and getting the hook into some loops. It’s a weird transition from knitting. I apparatus from two is a change. There is a posture, one hand, and yarn holding. There is a new way to keep yarn tension, and there are a lot of new stitches. There was more emphasis on turning your work than the orientation of the wrong side and right side. Single crochet and double crochet were not a one-for-one of knit and purl. That surprised me.

Granny squares were a bit more involved than I expected. It’s an art form that deserves respect. I definitely respect it. It kept me back, I had the tightest tension and felt like I had never done yarn crafting before. I was shocked, shouldn’t this be a piece of cake? I’ve been knitting off and on since 2012. Yeah, it’s not that simple.

Fluff Around and Find Out

To be honest, the way that I learn best is to just go for it, and doing these basic crochet stitches on a project that was a rectangle, all while it looked like a tattered mess was discouraging. I wanted to make one of the little plushies or shapes that seemed to be a sculpture that only crochet could create. But I was seriously not getting it. So I paused and thought about it. Is there any way to apply this creative point of you, the sculpting of yarn that only crochet can, but try it with knitting needles?

This might seem weird to consider if you don’t knit or crochet but the processes seem vastly different to me. There’s a strategy to knitting. You have to do things in stages, like knitting a section and transferring stitches to a stitch minder or picking up stitches that were bound off or are just part of a knit edge. While crocheting builds on itself and is an amorphous thing that is truly sculpting and adding as you go.

So I decided, what if I made something with the sculpting element of crochet but with knitting steps. I decided on a star as you can see above that was crafted out of multiple knit sections that were stitched together. This pattern has a lot of little steps but I think it was effective.

Star Knitting Pattern

Star Point Diamond – Row 1: Cast on, Knit 1, Row 2: Purl 1, Add Stitch, Row 3: Knit 2, Add Stitch, Row 4: Purl 3, Add Stitch, Row 5: Knit 4, Add Stitch, Row 6: Purl 5, Row 7: Knit 4, Decrease 1, Row 8: Purl 3, Decrease 1, Row 9: Knit 2, Decrease 1, Row 10: Purl 1, Decrease 1, Row 11: Knit 1 and Bind Off.

Repeat four times until five are made. Then using a tapestry needle, join the five points together at the center so that you have the base for a star, then join the sides of the diamonds together so that you have a flat star. Repeat the whole process one more time so that you have two flat stars and then sew them together with the tapestry needle.

So now that you have a star what can you do with it? I had planned originally to make a star garland for Christmas, but then the Fire Nation attacked and I had to move.

So we pivot to the bag decoration trend of 2024. This is a combination I’d say of Kpop, Xiaohongshu style trends, and the Japanese Ita bag becoming popular in the West. If you would like to learn more about Ita bags, I would highly recommend Addy’s video on YouTube. And these little stars in the original green and its pink starfish cousin have made excellent DIY plushie keychains.

Finished Product Used as a Keychain

Final Thoughts

I think creativity is about experimentation and learning as you go. I think sometimes it is important to do it the normal way and other times it is more satisfying to try a new method, a new medium, and make something you may not have thought you could. I still have incredible respect for crochet and I also think knitting has more potential than I thought. I have also learned that if a key chain or other small trinkets are not specifically branded I should try making them before I buy. It’s a great way to use up materials in my stash, level up my skills, and keep my consumption down and my wallet happier.

Socks, A Journey

Today I completed the most stressful cast on of my knitting life, casting on a sock. This was with three strands of lace weight yarn and four double pointed needles, size US 1. Why double pointed needles? Why not! It got me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to be a focused, careful knitter with dexterity and cultivated patience for myself, the materials, and the technique.

Once the first round was joined, I felt the tension coursing through my body settle, like a war had been won in needles and yarn.

How will my first sock turn out? Who knows, but I’m optimistic. I have a sock knitting book, a step-by-step pattern, and properly gauged materials. I’d like to have cute socks to wear, the ruffly kind so here goes nothing! 😃

Sewing Stretch Fabric Struggles

Do you ever spend time learning a skill just to forget it when you need to use it? That’s me. That’s how I sew stretch fabric on my machine. I just jump in and completely forget that I need to first properly adjust the tension and stitch type or else mayhem ensues. Mayhem like my machine having a nice little snack on my fabric.

Sometimes the machine gets extra bold and drags the hem under into the bobbin’s domain, jamming the machine. This is what I am talking about:

In the moment of panic, when I realize the fabric is stuck down in the machine a few thoughts dance through my mind.

  • Why didn’t you sew this by hand?!
  • You did it, you finally broke the machine you maniac!!
  • It’s ripped to shreds, isn’t it? The whole project might be gone in a moment.
  • This machine hates me. How do other people sew so effortlessly??

But it’s not the machine’s fault and it’s not the fabric that caused this, and it’s not even my fault. It’s morally neutral, it’s an accident and a learning experience to grow from!

As I was writing this, I caught myself crafting sentences to describe the situation with very negative and demeaning language towards myself for making a simple mistake. (A mistake that once I freed the fabric from the machine, I corrected and carried on to make the finished garment. The tight thread tension actually made a happy accident, a lettuce edge hem.)

It is not something that I should hold with such severity against myself that I internally tell myself I am an idiot, a lousy sewist, or useless.

Because how would I respond to hearing someone say that to another person? I would be disappointed in the speaker and make them stop.

How would I respond if I spoke with such aggression to another person? I would be ashamed.

I am learning through these sewing setbacks to temper the internal monologue and be a more gentle and loving person towards myself, to maintain better mental health, and establish the practice in my mind so that I can be a source of gentleness and kindness to others.

How do you speak towards yourself and others when they make a mistake?

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