February 1, 2019

Writing this weekly guide is a lot of fun for me, but I do wrestle with one problem week in and week out.  After having sewn through most of my wardrobe for the last 5 decades, it's very easy, and truly in plain sight for me to see how beneficial this has made my life. 

There are so many ways from being ahead of the fashion curve, to creating my own look to having less of an ecological footprint on this planet.  There's also the part that not many people talk about, unless they are really introspective about creating.  Then when they do talk about it, it's almost always about another medium -  music composition, acting, drawing, but hardly ever about sewing.
 

The Endorphin Rush

There is a buzz of creating - and I mean that in a good sense.  There are studies that show there is a definite rise in endorphins when a musician plays music.  There is the same buzz when creating your own design.  And remember when I say design, that is making your own garment from fabric you have selected, using a pattern you have chosen, incorporating notions and other elements that  you have picked.  All these selections were not made by the pattern designer, nor anyone else - they were chosen by you to create a one-of-a-kind creation by you. 

This is two-fold.  There's the immediate high of seeing something you envisioned become real.  Something  that was a mere thought becomes something you can touch and use.

And the other is the empowerment of not only learning a skill but honing it as well. Having the knowledge of knowing how to make is very empowering.



Literally the world is at your hands - or even in your hands.  Having the freedom to sew and create exactly what you want is one of the great highs a maker can have.

Today many are realizing this empowerment with learning new skills that were formerly thought of as "pink" and relegated to lower classes which in history mostly consisted of women's work. 
 

Sewing is Art

There is the whole idea of creating a look that is not only flattering, comfortable and useful, but creates a much smaller footprint on the planet.  Again, this is two-fold.  The first being that fewer scraps and waste are created in the making of a garment.  The second is that because the garment made is almost always more durable, there is less thrown away in a period of time, than if the garment were purchased and thrown away on a much more frequent and therefore greater scale.


These reasons are so embedded in me now that I hardly think about them. 

• I simply know that if I need something, I sew.
• If I'm depressed, fearful, angry or otherwise at odds with the world, I sew.
• If I'm in a really creative mood, I sew.
• If I'm looking to get inspired, I sew.
• If I need a pick-me-up, I sew.

And on the road to sewing, questions like:

• "Can I really do this?"
• "Is it possible to do this?"
• "What fabric is best for this project?"
• "Should I be inspired by the fabric or the pattern?"
• "What sort of techniques should I use for this project?"
• "What sort of special equipment, if any, do I need for this project?"

....do not even enter my mind.  I've done this so much that even though I may not be familiar with the design or exactly how to put it together, or that it will involve a difficult alteration, or even that I know using a certain pattern will be difficult but worth it, I know that I can travel through the maze of making and solve the puzzle. 
 

I've Forgotten What I Didn't Know

 

But this creates a really big problem when it comes to tailoring my classes and curriculum.  If even these basic questions don't even enter into my mind when I start a project, how am I going to know what my students want/need to know?

I don't mean to be cocky here, like I'm the end-all in knowledge for sewing instruction.  I know a lot, but I don't know everything, and any teacher, instructor or expert that tells you that he/she does, is sadly mistaken.  Like any art form, no one can know it all, cause that's what makes it an art form.  We teachers teach the basics, and then next group comes along and develops a whole set of new art forms, and the next generation does the same, on and on.  That's the nature of art.

But I do know a lot.  Unfortunately, by the time I found my mentor and instructor, I was such a dry sponge, that I soaked up the water faster than a sponge and hardly remember anything at all about the frustration or process of learning.  I simply don't remember what I didn't know.  Anytime I had a question or dilemma, my mentor was right there to answer it, so there was no frustration at learning at all.
 

I Need Your Help!

 

So when I try and put together class ideas or materials for the Resource Center, I feel at a serious disadvantage.  I might not have one, but I feel like I do. 

So you all can help.

What do you consider your greatest learning hurdle?

What are the main blocks to you starting a project?

What are the main problems to you finishing a project?

What do you wish your sewing skills were better?

What inspires you the most about sewing?

What brings you to this site most often?

What brings you the most joy about sewing?

And the granddaddy of them all - what do you wish you knew about sewing that you don't know now?


I'm not looking for praise here.  I really am trying to put myself in my students' and followers'  heads.  I do this all the time when I'm designing for my clients, and I'm pretty good at it.  But for various reasons, and the main one probably being the way I learned sewing and design, it's really hard for me to put my head into how students and followers are thinking, wanting and looking for. 
 

LMK

So now this blog post will run on all my social media where I will get responses and you all are more than welcomed to post there, and also, comment here on this blog.  But if you don't want others to see your responses, email me.  I would really like to hear what's on your mind about sewing problems and issues you have.



 

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