The Joy of Sewing

   As a Tool for Personal Growth and Self-Expression

August 22, 2025

I've just spent a fabulous weekend with my sewing friend. She lives in a completely different state, so it's fun to go visit because I know we will sew and that's it.  Lately I've been sewing a lot for clients and doing some other things, and not doing as much sewing as I like.  It reminds how I sew as much for the creating more than anything else.  Sewing has been there for me in the really tough times, when I was up against the wall and not sure I would make it through.  If I could sit down and sew, then I knew I could make it through any tough times or huge losses.  

Walt even said to me one time, "Won't you love it when you don't have to sew for people?"  And I told him, "Please don't take my sewing away from me."  Today, I don't have to get a lot of clients through the door, and more often than not, I'm interviewing them on the first meeting as much as they are interviewing me.  If they pass, then I take them on as a client.  This is the real fun of working past retirement.  I don't have to work, but I do because I love the work.  If the client is just as nice, then I take on the project no matter how difficult or strange!

There’s something remarkable about sitting down with fabric and thread, with an idea no one else in the room can quite see yet. I find myself returning again and again to this space, not only for the practical outcome—a handmade garment that fits and feels right—but also for the way it lets me stretch and test my patience, solve a puzzle, or find a space where my imagination isn’t crowded out.

Why Sewing Is More Than Just Clothes

For me, sewing is not so much about clothing myself as it is a way to express myself.  There are mornings I wake up and I feel a bit on the edgy side, and then other mornings I wake up and feel very classic and restrained.  I can dress both ways and not lose myself.  If I were shopping in a store, I'd be at the mercy of not only the shop salesperson, but the owner of that shop, the buyer of that shop, the marketing person who sells for designers, and finally the designers.  That's a lot of filters to go through, and if just one of them isn't me, then I'll lose myself in the process.  This is actually the reason I started sewing.  To express who I am, which is a lot of different types.  We are all that way, and sewing allows us to express all the various moods inside of ourselves.  Now what fun is that!  

Sewing is an act of transformation—sometimes of fabric, more often of ourselves. With every pattern adjusted and every seam let out or taken in, I see not just the evolution of a blouse, but a nudge to my own growth. Maybe you’re like me and have struggled to find clothing that reflects who you are today, not who you were ten years back (or who a retailer imagines you should be). Sewing lets us close that gap—between what’s possible in the store and what’s actually suited to our lifestyle, shape, and sense of self.

I’ve lost count of the times a so-called mistake has sent me down an entirely new creative path. Ruined a sleeve? Well, that might just become a feature. The pattern didn’t fit? Time to learn the art of adjustment, and with it, a little more kindness for my own particular proportions. What could be more personal than creating something unique, and what could be more rewarding than realizing you’re capable of it?

The very act of sewing in itself is a magic beckoning for your creative juices to flow.  Just sitting and sewing a simple garment can cause the creative mind to wander into all sorts of wonderful places.  The wonderful wider sleeve placket is my latest fun thing, and that came from the need to put a buttonhole and button at the bottom of a sleeve, without a cuff.  How was I going to create any stability for the buttonhole and the button? Then the wider sleeve placket popped in, and I thought, "No reason I can't make the simple thin one wider," and it worked beautifully.

Then all those little details make a huge difference in our clothes that we can give ourselves.  Things like deep pockets (to hold the ever-increasing phone size), shorter sleeves, or longer sleeves if you're cold-natured, a thicker coat if you're cold, and a thinner blouse if you're not;  all the things that make our garments so special that you could never buy. 

Practical Tips for Sewing as Self-Discovery

I’ve gathered a few thoughts (and reminders to myself) that might help you rediscover the joy in your sewing:

• Allow for experiments. Not every project needs to go as planned. Some of the most fulfilling garments I own started out as mishaps.
• Use sewing as reflection time. There’s a meditative rhythm to needle and thread—listen to the sound of the machine, the feel of fabric under your fingers, and let your mind wander. Who knows what solutions or ideas will surface?  I'm serious.  This sounds very woo-woo, but it's the part about simply showing up at your machine and letting it take you where your creativity will go.
• Keep a sewing journal. Track your progress, jot down frustrations and breakthroughs. It’s encouraging to look back and see how your skill—and your view of yourself—has progressed from project to project.  I use this in some of my manuals, and make copious notes (on Post-It notes so the manual is never marked up).
• Pick fabrics and patterns that feel like "you" today. Let go of past versions of yourself and allow your current taste to guide your choices.  One thing that helps me the most is to stay in my color palette.  Pretty soon, everything in your closet goes together.  And it won't make your wardrobe dull at all.  To the contrary, it will be lively and all the pieces will look great on you.

Where to Turn When You’re Stuck

We all find ourselves stuck sometimes—stuck on a stubborn technique, or simply low on inspiration.  This is something that Corporate America has studied in depth.  Several of their findings are:

• Time Management - constantly whipping up energy from one project to another gets not only tiring and draining, but there's no time to allow the creative energy to rest and recharge.  Allowing yourself the time to do a project can mean the difference between an enjoyable project and a project that's a chore.  
• The design of your workplace is a lot more important than you think.  Even neatening up at the end of a work period, with notes about where you were and what's next, can jump-start your next work session like the Energizer Bunny.
• Sketching (I can't tell you how many times sketching has actually saved me from horrid, time-consuming mistakes.  Erasing a line on the page is so much easier than cutting out a piece again and sewing it up.  And it's not real sketching.  It's tracing an idea on your silhouette.  This can help you work out the problems of a particular neck closing or a sleeve problem much more easily than sewing, ripping, re-sewing, then re-cutting and re-sewing.  
• Doodling - and by that I mean actually cutting out something, simple but needed, and quick, to get the flow of creativity churned up and roaring.
• Resting and appreciating your work is key here, too.  The creative juices don't always flow, especially when you're tired or worn out.  It's a high to be on a creative surge, and it may seem implausible to stop, but it's necessary so that you don't dry up.  To be on a high all the time is manic, and the crash after that can be devastating.  Take care of yourself and your creative abilities.  

Let Sewing Be Your Voice

Your needle and thread are instruments of self-expression. Whether you’re making a crisp new shirt that fits you just so, mending a favorite pair of trousers and giving them fresh life, or drafting something truly outlandish no store would ever stock, you’re asserting your place in the world—a subtle, powerful act. Let each choice of fabric, every little detail, reflect the inner voice that sometimes gets stifled amid the day-to-day noise.

Stay Connected

If you’re searching for inspiration or need a refresher on past advice, the newsletter archive holds a trove of previous topics and reminders.  I always keep a collection of ideas on Pinterest, which is a great way to catalog and use as resources later.

Sewing isn’t about perfection; it’s about discovery—of new skills, new shapes, and, with any luck, new aspects of ourselves. So I’ll keep stitching, adjusting, and unpicking, grateful all the while for the quiet growth that comes from stringing together one thoughtful seam after another.

Keep enjoying the art of sewing—and remember, the clothes in your closet are only half the story. The real joy is in making them yours.

The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style.  Check it out. 

Look for future classes coming in 2024
The Core Pattern Shirt, (one of my favorites for woven core pattern that you can make into a myriad of different garments), 
Basic Knit Top (core pattern class for knit basic tops, shells, tees, dresses, and tunics)
 

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