Posts
Then a family member kindly offered to teach me how to sew. She took me to Lincraft where we purchased some fabric and a skirt pattern (then insisted on paying!) and then patiently walked me through the process of sewing a skirt from a pattern. Well the skirt was great; I wore it all winter, but I still didn't feel as though I knew how to sew and I wasn't sure how to get the practice and instruction that I felt that I needed.
Finally the Christmas before last I requested a sewing machine as a present from my parents (it was also for my birthday since they are not cheap) and then I let it sit there intimidating me for a while. After a while I decided that I better make some use out of it and I sewed something very practical and simple for the house. It seemed to work just fine and so I felt a little more confident, but I still felt as though I needed more instruction. However, I didn't really have time to go out and get instruction (since Lily was very little at this point) and so I did nothing for while.
Then my sister-in-law gave Lily a gorgeous doll for Christmas. She got the pattern from One Red Robin and after a while of looking at the doll I decided that perhaps I would give it a try. So, I downloaded the pattern, purchased some fabric and thread, and I set about following the instructions as though I was cooking from a recipe book. To my absolute shock it worked. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it actually worked.
Well, this was pretty exciting actually and so I downloaded another doll pattern (this time from Inside a Black Apple) and went through the same process. Once again it worked. Hurray! [Yeah, I know it needs a face. The instructions say to paint it on which completely terrified me and so I left it blank. I did start sewing on one in felt the other day though and now she looks a tiny little bit like Jemima from Playschool - 'cause Lily was asking to cuddle Jemima.]
Around this time I borrowed the wonderful Softies book from my sister-in-law and with my new found confidence proceeded to make "Boo boo" and "Dar". Lily loved them and I started to get really into this sewing gig. It was really dawning on me that I really didn't need to wait until I had the time to enrol in a course. Of course there are plenty of tricky skills that would be great to learn about sewing, but the basics, it seems, can just be learned 'on the job' - by doing. It is sort of like cooking. You just have to make sure that you have all the right materials (ingredients) on hand and then you need to follow the instructions carefully - the rest will follow.
My most recent project (with the exception of Lily's Steiner baby) was a dress for Lily. This was a great beginner's project because the pattern was printed directly on the fabric. Once again my lovely sister-in-law was the instigator of this one - she bought it for me from here for my birthday (and then gave it to me ridiculously early!). The has been my favourite sewing project so far. Not only does it really suit Lily, but she absolutely loves it and asks to "Pu-on" (put it on) every time she sees it.
|