Many years ago I heard a expert sewer say multiple times in a seminar the difference between a beginner sewer and a good sewer is the willingness to redo a seam and the difference between a good sewer and an expert sewer was the willingness to redo a seam. This has stuck with me, except when it is time to pick out a seam.
So very true. Over many years I've learned that patience to do things right and/or redo them until they're right is what makes the difference in the overall quality. I always look back and know it was worth it to take the extra time to do all the little steps that add quality like basting by hand, pressing, stitching in interfacing, etc., etc. And when I rush something I always want to go back and "fix" it because I regret not doing my best work.
Aw, this makes me happy. I just started sewing a week ago and got a machine yesterday. One of the seams on a tiny doodad I made to learn how to use the machine didn’t turn out right, because I’m still learning how to position fabric under the foot, and it was bugging me so tonight I ripped it open and redid it...3 or 4 times...until I was finally pleased. I hand stitched a similar doodad last week and one hem came out so awful I was waiting for this weekend to come so I could redo it. They’re small useless projects though so it’s no big deal to redo a seam in this case lol, if I ever get around to a skirt or pants and have to redo a seam, that’s when I’ll be tested...
Debbie Chandler I put a blouse together in a workshop, where two pinstripes intersected they were off by a (visible) hair. I declared I was leaving it. My friends who know me better gave me a look, and I got out the seam ripper. 😂
Haha, this applies to so much in life! It's hard to admit mistakes, and even harder to face the consequences, and try to fix them. It also gets at the underlying idea, that skill is developed by spending the time necessary to do it right, and stick with it no matter how frustrating it is.
This! I am a knitter. Or Knitter. There is a similar saying in knitting that says the difference between a knitter with a capital K and one with a lowercase k is that the knitter with a capital K is willing to take apart their project to fix a mistake 100 rows before. It has to do with being able to recognize mistakes, to understand the anatomy of knitting, and most importantly the willingness to fix mistakes in order to make a better end product. I am trying to apply this to sewing. I am barely a sewer.... years ago I made rudimentary clothes very badly on a machine. I made a quilt when I was 15, but totally forget how I managed to accomplish it. I put down sewing for decades. Now I am learning to hand sew at 45 and it is weird to be so clumsy! I can't figure out how to make my hands do simple things. But this gives me hope.
Me too! I get so upset about it because I'm a "tailor" at work and even thought I've been sewing for 13 years I'm still slower than I'm supposed to be. I'm glad to know you're slow too. I'm starting to look at my weaknesses through a neutral eye and then see where they are strengths. Eg. Being slow isn't good at work as I normally do it, but in teaching, being slow is a good thing. It takes the stress out of it for students. I'm slow, I always will be. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.
I relate to this so much! I spent last summer/fall focusing on learning "real" modern sewing techniques to help up my overall game, and I am *so glad* I did! It's really helped me with finishing, confidence, and overall construction! If you're interested, I highly recommend Sew Over It's Stitch School!
Same. I mix and match techniques I've picked up from various historical eras and things that just makes sense to me. But "real" sewing? Nah, I don't know what you're talking about 😂
Meanwhile, I've just found the freedom to go "off course"and do my own thing to make it work if I need to. Ha ha, we all come from different perspectives! Isn't it great!
SAME I was so scared to start sewing after my grandmother died and I got her sturdy old Kenmore and then when I opened my first pattern I realized I could read it just fine because I'd sept so much time in her sewing room with her. XP so for the first few years it was just doing what came natural from what I picked up by watching her.
for me it’s the other way around and i hate it 😫 i learnt to sew while studying fashion design, but my school focuses a lot in pattern making so it’s really hard for me to just let go and go for it when making things, because it’s so ingrained in my brain everything has to be exact to the millimeter it’s really hard to just eyeball things
I'm not a great sewist to begin with. But of course, when the pandemic started, I busted out my gifted sewing machine and got to work, crooked seams and all. And then my bobbin ran out. A little backstory on my machine, it was given to me by my aunt. It was her mother's and she brought it with her when she came to the states from Holland. So the bobbin runs out, I have no idea what I'm doing (and why it won't wind a new bobbin) so I look up the manual. And because it's such an old machine from Holland, the manual is ONLY available in Dutch. Thankfully my aunt can speak, read and write Dutch. So, after no less than 3 phone calls with two amazing women, help from my SO (in which we remove the entire top of the machine), lots of tears, and a few prayers later, my bobbin was filled and reinserted into my side-loading machine. Fast forward to today, my bobbin ran out again. I knew just what to do and I was able to do everything by myself, no tears included. 😊 If I can do it, sew can you ❤
Jay Bird YES!!!! I did the same! I sat down at my grandmothers machine, twice as old as I am, and began to sew with those all-too-familiar crooked seams. I had to ask my 97yo Nanna how to thread the darn thing (my favorite half hour of this whole mess, sitting with my Nanna at the machine, her telling me what to do) and off I went. Since then: I’ve made 500 (it’s a guess, I lost count weeks ago) masks. I’ve learned to repair machines. I’ve broken and changed needles. Sat with Nanna again whilst she taught me how to oil the machine. My seams still aren’t always the straightest, and I can’t sew when I’m tired or frustrated, and I swear there’s a little troll living in my bobbin compartment, but I’ve never felt like part of such a wonderful community as I have lately, with everyone coming together to sew. Yes the pandemic sucks, but there are so many good things that came from it, and those are the things we need to focus on in these trying times. Much love to you my dear. May your seams be straight and your needles strong. 💜
I’m sew impressed. I didn’t have to contend with the translation issues, but I have re-learned to make a bobbin and to thread the machine... while my 20 year old learns with me. I’ve sewn, with my mother’s help years and years ago, so some of it is coming back. I feel half blind leading my (blind) newbie daughter! Lol But we have been making masks for people who do not have them and it has been wonderful to have this in common. And it’s been fun to talk by phone and text and text photos to my mom, the awesome seamstress! She also made a LOT of masks so that everyone she loved - friends and family, each had two. Like you said, some of us are learning a lot, and making sweet memories, too.
Thank you so much for your added comments ladies! I agree, the circumstances are hard but stories like these, connecting across the generations, are definitely some of the silver linings to come out of this whole situation!
Have you tried taking a picture of the text and running it through Google Translate? I’ve done it with stuff in French and it worked. It might help you too.
I have just discovered this community. Sewing machines scare me more than the prospect of a zombie apocalypse. Crazy true story. I was in a women's refuge. A preteen boy had torn his favourite trousers. I volunteered to mend them. When they were returned he inspected them carefully. He looked at me and said, "Wow, man, you've got seriously neat little stitches". Beam. I'm scared of my sewing machine, but I have very neat little hand stitches. Thank you for this video. It has helped. 🤸
🐝 To receive admiration like that from a preteen is rare, and certainly well deserved. Meet another machinophobe ( and don’t mention zombies) who is absurdly fond of making tiny neat stitches. It’s therapy with a tangible result. Positive OCD?
@@alhambralions5985 I'm starting to suspect that anxiety and OCD (and possibly other stuff too) are a result of hardwired skills we don't use anymore freaking out because of a lack of use. A bit like the cleanliness -> allergies hypothesis.
So basically all sewers have imposter syndrome. Machines completely overwhelm me. The noise, the speed...so mine lives in its box. Buttons...they're hard and they're boring to sew. But handsewing is my jam...I'm still a beginner but it feels very intuitive, and while my stitches arent as tiny as a seamstress's from the 1800s, they're pretty darn good. You keep on being amazing and inspiring!
Spot on. And it's the same for professionals in any profession. My father was an aviation historian with over 50 books and 2500 magazine articles to his name, yet he told me he always felt like some day someone would realize he was no good at it. But he was never bored and loved what he did, so the insecurity was a small price to pay for that. 😊❤️
Sense & Sensibility Patterns Yes! In my old line of work we called that “imposter syndrome”. As a new professional I was surprised to find out that my boss two levels up felt the same way! Now because I have no “formal” training I still run into that, but I also notice how much more makes sense to me now, that used to seem elusive or too hard to understand. :)
I can do a blind hem by hand like nobody's business. My mom taught me right around the time I was learning to read and write. The list of things I cannot do is vast, but that blind hem is a thing of beauty.
Blind hem is one of the few things I am good at, too. Blanket stitch, herringbone, whips, backstitch, and French knot, almost in my sleep, but one of my grandmothers taught me embroidery as a teen. I wish I would have thought to ask my other grandmother to teach me tailoring, millinery, and re-upholstery. I could kick myself for not having the foresight to ask. (But she taught me how to cook, bake, play eucre and poker, so I didn't miss out completely.)
It is truly faster for me to hand sew a blind hem than to dig out my sewing machine manual, find that stupid hemming foot, fold my fabric just right, and pray my thread doesn't bunch up.
I don’t know if it’s a skill but I’m really good at just saying “I’m gonna make this” even though I have so little experience. I just want to make things even if they don’t turn out perfect. I’m not afraid to disassemble my existing garments and put them back together in a way that I like. I have no experience and no practice and I need to learn all the techniques and terms. But it’s fun to just go for it. I just say f*ck it! Let’s make an 1890’s corset! I’ll just copy the pattern from a picture and do the things that all the other costubers are doing and maybe it will turn out okay and if it doesn’t then it was good practice
Did you just read my thoughts? Because I just finished sewing my prom dress after the most elaborate thing I had done before being, idk, a casual button up top? And now I want to do an 1890s corset, exactly the example you went for! I think it's definitely a skill, even if more of an indirect one because it enables us to learn more.
Haha I am exactly the same. My first paper model was an abbey with the rating 'Advanced', my first inlay was a complicated witchcraft symbol, my first traditional filigree was a 3D mask. I run before I can walk, which can be frustrating, but it always teaches me so much.
Sewing is fairly intuitive to me and the thing I'm most proud of is definitely making a sweater from start to finish, one handed after breaking my shoulder. As a right handed person, making something that actually turned out nice with only my left hand, purely out of stubbornness and extreme boredom made me proud
My clothing holds together like its Iron. I wish my top stitching looked better, I wish I had more than a three second attention span for doing anything, but when its finished I can wear it till its threadbare and the seams will still hold up.
I use an attachment on my machine,( its 30 years old) it's for blindhem I think. It has a bar that sits along side the foot. Move the needle on your machine over as far as it will go , in the opposite direction. The bar runs on the outside of your project on the plate . Works a treat! Good luck. ! Hope this helps i just recently changed the thread to a thicker type. What a difference.
YES I totally always feel like someone, someday is going to see my stuff up close and realize I am actually a charlatan and everything is held together with spit and baling wire.😱😱😱 Thing I'm really good at: imagination. I can work almost endlessly on a theme and make mistakes look intentional with some thought. 🤦♀️🤣 Thing I'm really bad at: closures. Those suckers drive me so crazy. I'm getting better, but slowly. Thanks for the pep talk! I now want to go and keep on learning this craft!
This reminds me of my aunt who works as a costume maker for a large art school. They asked her to make all the corseted costumes for a show except for the main corset, which they sent out for with the fabric. It came back TERRIBLE, so the designers had to go to my aunt and beg her to fix the awful thing. That day they all learned that corsets are hard, but my aunt has a knack for making beautiful costume corsets! As for me, I am very good at making precise, fitted garments. This helps me when making things like corsets and fitted bodices on 1950's dresses. But I cannot work with stretch material. I have no clue how to operate any material with stretch to it. I tried to make a tube of stretch material to wear as a liner under a corset and messed it up. I made the corset, but not the stretchy tube.
aaand subscribed! Seriously, I always sucked at sewing and knitting. But telling myself that its ok to suck toom away anxiety to be perfect and let me practice in peace. the perfection mindset seems to be very strong in older people, I was supposed to have a felting class before covid struck and some ladies asked me how I learnt it. I said I just bought the supplies and started cold. They thought they could never do that without someone showing them "proper way". that is bit sad, sometimes just throwing caution to wind and trying things out teaches you the best.
Yeah same, I get questions from elderly ladies in the train when they see me crocheting (I had a very intense amigurumi phase couple of years ago), and they were totally shocked when I told them I taught myself using multiple TH-cam tutorials. I did not even know the different ways you could hold the hook until I started to teach myself how to crochet with my left hand and I found out I held it very differently compared to my right hand. (I'm ambidextrous and like torturing myself so I can do everything with both left and right).
I’m proud that I just ripped the seams of five masks that I sewed the wrongs sides together, instead of the right sides and then turning them inside out. (Duh) I was tempted to just make do as they would have “worked”, but after letting them sit for a day, I picked up my seam ripper and started ripping. I even kept going after I ripped off 1/4 inch of the actual fabric all the way down one side! So, yes, I’m learning! And by the way, I’m 58 years old and it was my 78 year old mother who encouraged me to redo them all correctly. She said it’s just part of sewing. (As my mind fills with ALL the beautiful clothes she made for my sister and me growing up, as well as all the thoughtful Christmas gifts she has made.) And, I modeled it for my twenty year old, who decided to learn to sew by watching another You Tuber! (Mikarah Tewers) My daughter and I are sewing masks to give away to friends who do not have one... and I’m sucking my way to success! Lol Thank you for your video! It was very encouraging!
I love it! At 55 years old, I'm sucking my way to success, too. I just finished redoing a tank top that I managed to make 2 (!) sizes too small. I had to let out the side seams -- in the process I ripped the fabric twice. Still, I got that sucker sewed back together and am pretty pleased with myself. (Now I need to figure out how to ,end the fabric tears.)
@@ragnkja right!! My partner has the same struggle. My goal is to get good enough at sewing/tailoring that I can alter all their trousers for them by Christmas 😊
Makes perfect sense actually. Pants are generally patterned, not draped, and making a well fitted pair seems to be similar voodoo to making properly fitted bust cups in a corset.
You basically quoted everything I have told my daughter about sewing. My mom can whip up anything but never taught me cause she lived/lives far from me. I am totally glued to my machine manual every time I use my machine. I love your humor and honesty about it all because I can’t even sew a straight line if my life depended on it. 😂. I am good at sewing on buttons and resewing on buttons.
I suck at tailoring patterns to my shape. I got, or lack, flesh all over and I’m clueless about making patterns fit me and give me the right silhouette. I rock at crocheting, though! Thanks for keeping it real. 😘
Fitting is hard. I find it the absolute worst thing about sewing, to be honest, and so I sew a lot of skirts (only have to fit them to my waist!) and button up shirts (they're not an overly fitted garment and I made the pattern to fit me so I just use the one pattern over and over again.) If someone else fitted the pattern for me and gave me all the bits I could sew them very well, but I *hate* fitting and whenever I have to do it I doubt myself and I want to just give up
You had me at "all y'all." At this stage, I'm good at very little but I can see where I'm improving. My single pride and joy is my ability to machine sew long flat-felled seams just a hairsbreadth from the edge.
I'm watching this while sewing my third project... ever, and I just wanted to say how much this means to me. I decided to start sewing after learning about "history bounding", and this whole community is SO lovely. ❤
Perfectionism gets in my way. Once I am finished with a project I think about how I could improve it. I am glad that you brought up this subject. Nothing is perfect. I like your emphasis on learning. It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is always something new to learn. Thanks!
When I was 12 I made my mom an apron and it went pretty well but I haven't really tried sewing since. Now I'm 21 and attempting to make a jacket from a vintage pattern for my boyfriend's birthday. I just finished cutting out all the fabric and I'm kind of horrified to get started or mess things up, but this video made me feel a lot better. I'm excited to try to learn and we'll just have to see how it goes! Thanks for giving me the encouragement I need to start this sewing journey
I’m very much a beginner but here we go: I am reeeally confused whenever I am presented with a machine. I don’t know how they work. But tbh I think I have a really good eye for color combos.
Elizabeth Sacktor The standard advice for when you’re starting is to make pillow cases, but that boring. My preferred choice is tote bags. Way more useful.
If you have the ability, I highly recommend Sew Over It's Stitch School! They're video tutorials, for all levels, and even do the basics on machines. It's a really great program!
Color combos are soooo important. Without that you could finish a while project perfectly and it still doesnt look good. So that is a super special skill that you should be proud of!
I am proud that I'm very versatile in my skills and am a quick learner. I have no clue how to do something? Well, I look it up and try to teach it to myself. Thus I've acquired basic knowledge in many crafts. What I'm bad at is focusing on one project and not giving up and throwing it in the corner when things don't go like planned. I am very guilty of this, I've tried making a list of all projects I've begun but didn't finish and told myself not to start anything new until I've crossed something off... it went well for a month, but then so many interesting new things sparked my interest...
pretzeldragon 🐝 You are among countless kindred spirits, co-queens of the Duchy of Unfinished Projects. And we are our own worst critics... Must Finish, Must Finish, until... “Ooo, pretty! I can make that!” comes along. Again.
Love this. I tell my beginning sewing students that every type of sewing thinks the other types are hard, and that when they find the thing that lights their fire, that’ll be the one that doesn’t seem hard (or at least is worth struggling to get good at). I think bags and home dec are really hard; but the bag and home dec sewists look at me and say garments are really hard! And they say if you want to practice precision, be a quilter for a while! So it clicked when you shared about sewing being such a broad skillset, we can’t all be perfect at all of it! Me, I’m a technician; I’m not good at designing an outfit, but I can put it together like nobody’s business. My favorite classes to teach are techniques, like setting in a sleeve, or joining opposing curves, or when and how to properly staystitch and how it will change your life, in ways that demystify sewing and get consistent results (less frustration!). People ask me to sew for them and I offer to teach them instead, because that’s what I’m good at and love. But when I need to coordinate colors? I ask the quilters! :D
I am the very opposite. I’m trying to work on my patterns by starting with simple patterns to make myself -my next project is a 3/4 hip length cloak with hood. It’s a very simple pattern, but I got to start somewhere. But hand finishing and hand sewing in general is something I’m pretty comfortable doing. Anything related to machines, not so much. But I’m learning.
What a refreshing take on this. Yes, we all find sewing hard. It is so easy to forget that the people who show us their amazing skills struggle too. For me, tiny hand stitches are effortless, but pleating is something I find stressful and always overthink, and I am only occasionally on speaking terms with my sewing machine.
I adore handsewing but I'm not the best at it, I'm working on my Victorian hand sewing methods (thank you Bertha Banner) and hope to do more projects in the future. Thank you Abby, hope you're doing swell!
I love learning to do historical sewing in this time. There are so many resources & books & creators to help us learn and to guide us even if they aren't instructional videos but simply I'm trying something new, there's always something you can learn from watching or reading or simply looking at images.
Now that I had a good cry over how much better about my sewing this made me feel, let's see. I can take in clothing for friends and family and produce a decent result even though I had NO training/classes to do it. I am completely self taught and yet I am capable of making pretty things. Who knew? However, I SUCK at finding the correct position to start a button hole on my machine. I have an older machine so the button hole-maker is not a handy dandy foot to slap on but a monstrosity that fastens on the machine and requires finagling to get in the proper "start" position. Marking, measuring, testing, all valiant efforts that turn into epic failures. Good times!
When I aske my grandma to teach me how to use our sewing machine for button holes she straight up refused. She barely remembers how to use it and told me that if I know how to make them by hand and I have enough time, to just go for hand stiching them aince the machine option is super finicky and she often lost her patience with it. I actually really enjoy the process of making a buttonhole. I'm a begginer but the quarantine gave more time then usual to sew.
I'm a pattern pirate, I look a modern items and after some thinking I know how it was made. I can draft patterns from online picturesi If I have enough angles and decent quality to zoom. Also I possess a legendary stubbornness so I'll decipher the crap out any garment I'm obsessed with but please dont make me pleat. To give shape to something using pleats is hell for me, the pleating demons are scary, mostly because I sew for myself and my self has biiig bobs and narrow ribcage 😑
Yes! I first realised I could do that with a book of Erte paper dolls - I still have the note book of all the tiny paper patterns I made from them. I truly, truly, truly suck a pressing things though. I tell myself it’s because I don’t have the proper equipment like a sleeve board or a tailors ham. But then I deliberately don’t buy those things to test that theory!
My mother says my great-grandmother could pattern pirate from the Sears catalog and just use your measurements and make the pattern herself. I think it's rad to be able to do that. I'm no where near that level of skill .....but one day.
Things that I suck at: long straight seams. and zips. My zips often look like crap and I have to ask my mother to do them. Also overlockers (sergers) scare me. Things I’m good at: invisible hems and facings, figuring out how patterns go together when I’ve misplaced the instructions or I never had any in the first place. Things I want to know more about: Pockets, so I can retrofit everything in my wardrobe.
@@dianesawyerdooley4424 My mother gifted me a really nice serger for Christmas this year. It makes my table shake (it's a small crappy table) and terrifies me. Hahaha
I feel this way about 100% of the things in my life. I've been teaching 6 years and I'm still waiting for people to realize I'm hot garbage at it. Slowly learning to ignore the "hot garbage" narrative constantly running through my head and just do the thing. Just finished my first sewing project in a burst of quarantine energy and I'm pretty proud of it, because it's not perfect but I made it.
@@AbbyCox Yes! I love the math, too. Many people will just keep trying to fix a math (read patterning) problem with more careful stitching. That can work, too. But I would 100 times more rather keep tweeking the pattern all day long. And making muslins, and adjusting, etc. But can someone else just put the welt pockets in for me?
Thank you for that video! I suck at pattern making and sleeves. Once i have a good pattern i will use it over and over😂 but i am proud of a 16th century Italian dress i made (and i never made something 16th century before that)
My mom is an award-winning quilter. Despite sewing 45 years now, I'm ...not on her level. Just not. However: my stuff keeps rennie kids warm, my simple designs that I give away freely are encouraging to new sewing folks, and I'm making efforts to learn. And I enjoy sewing. And enjoying it--that's the key. My favorite quote of late came from the Closet Historian-- she said that "zippers are like a battle--everyone should just get through them the best that they can." It was SO REASSURING.
Ooof I needed to hear this. I swear every time I take on a new project, I feel like a complete novice. But then I learn something new from every project. I have to remind myself that this process has such a wide range of skills to learn and that fitting human bodies is weird and each person, garment, textile, era, and combination of the above will make for a new experience each time I sew.
My Mom taught me to set the fabric with an iron - before sewing. This is magic, ladies! I have no clue what I'm doing, but it seems to work out well enough for me to start and finish new projects. THANK YOU for this video!! I have been feeling COMPLETELY inadequate.
Absolutely! Listening to this whilst unpicking a waistband cos I've sewn the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric! You'd think with 40 years of sewing experience I'd have cracked this! However I've only recently started doing 3 piece waistbands and it isn't in my memory yet. A real asset is my patience. If I make a mistake, I unpick it and do it again until I'm happy with it. I wish I could gift this to every sewer who gets frustrated with their projects. I'm also a very neat dressmaker so like things to look neat. Good job I love the process. Like you I also love learning new or old techniques and love my vintage sewing books. Happy sewing!1🧵🙂
Honestly Abby, I want to thank you for your inspiring words. I have literally sat here staring at my sewing machine trying to find the motivation to keep practicing. Back when I started sewing about 5 years ago, I was taught on a sewing machine. Believe it or not, after all these years - I still struggle to keep a straight stitch! So, it's not just you. But, I'm really good with patching and stitching on buttons by hand.
Preach on sister! I'm see you and this is the pep-talk I needed today. ❤️❤️❤️ Edited because I posted before the end of the video... I'm really good at construction and putting a garment together, but I'm rubbish at fitting and figuring out where adjustments should be made. Sometimes I feel like I'm just throwing something together even though it isn't thrown together. ❤️❤️
I relate to this so hard! Fitting on yourself is *difficult* and it takes so much time to learn how to do it. I always second guess my ability to fit on myself - and if it's not perfect I always get so upset (*coughcough1860sbodicecoughcough*)! I'm glad this pep-talk has helped! :D
I have determination. The crying? Yep. I walk away if I have to. But I come back, again and again and again, until I get it. I might waste a bolt of fabric to get it right, but I WILL get it right. I heard a professional seamstress say something like, "When we make a pattern for the first time, we don't know what we're doing either. We have to practice, too." That gave me a lot of comfort.
Great video Abby! I’m a looongtime quilter and knitter trying to learn how to sew clothes. I’d say I still suck at a lot, fitting and math are by far the hardest parts. One thing I will brag about is my finishing skill, I’ll hand sew hems and no one can see it!
This video gave me such a boost!! One thing I know I can do well is finishing garments. Everything that requires teeny tiny hand stitching, buttonholes, small hems, all precision work is my realm. The thing I cannot do to save my life is drafting patterns. I have a loOOooOoooOonng way to go!
Love you, too! I'm so new to sewing in general that most things escape me. I am however proud of myself for getting the courage needed to use my mom's serger. I now serge, pre-wash, and iron all my fabric.
@@lizm92 Thank you. I have no idea how to thread the beast and just go with whatever my mom has in it but every time I use it I'm a little bit more confident. My favourite thing right now is when my mom asks me to thread her needle for her when she hand sews.
This is great. I became a fearless sewist when I suscribed to Martha Pullen's Sew Beautiful Magazine in the 1980s. Each month there was a how to fix problems column. One column was dedicated to how to repair torn lace. It started out something like this: "If you are going to sew with lace, at some point you will have to repair it. We have all had to do it, so I'm going to teach you up front." This was so liberating!!! I went on to sew professionally making custom formal wear and doing alterations. The first thing you must do for alterations is tear the garment apart. Forever lost my resistance to tearing apart new consruction. I've retired from sewing professionally and now just make masks and work on the thousand projects in my tiny sewing room at leasure. Remember your seam ripper is your friend. I suck at evenly spaced hand sewn hems. I excel at making garments fit any kind of body and making my computerized sing and dance.
So true. Everyone sucks at it. I’m new to garments. I’ve been quilting for a while. In quilting I suck at binding. I’m learning that I do binding better on curves better than straight edges. I have a machine from the fifties and it has a separate button holer. It was my Granny’s and I inherited it. So I’m learning it all over again. I love that you focused on this. It’s true. Thank you. Everyone is different, and I love this. Thank you!!!
I am a stripe matching badass - I love the challenge of getting it right (I make most of my own daily wear clothing). I would love to learn how to drape.
🐝 I love that you have this accomplishment, and can boast about it. Badass, indeed! Sometimes we just need to blurt out our own pat on the back. Take that, everybody’s mom who overemphasized modesty!
Wow, that blouse is perfect on you! The colour, the shape and texture, it looks so beautiful on you. Also, this video's message was so helpful. Thanks for sharing
I'm really good at following instructions. Like even if I've never attempted a technique before, if I just have instructions on what needs to be done I can do it and it usually turns out really well. I can copy someone else's technique pretty much exactly. The downside being that when left to my own devices I am completely and utterly lost, so I find adjusting or drafting patterns almost completely impossible. I'm completely self‐taught and haven't attempted anything bigger than mending some clothes and making small household items, so I guess I just lack the training and experience to understand how things work without a detailed, step‐by‐step breakdown of what to do. It's something I'm excited to work on though :) Oh and I've literally never used a sewing machine so I'm sure I'll suck at that for a while too, I'm saving up to buy my first one now so I can start learning
Thanks for confirming my feelings of inadequacy! I mean I feel better about my challenges. I have been hand sewing costumes since 1976. Well I started machine sewing, but realized, that I liked had sewing better. Even though it takes me sew long😉, that I can loose momentum. Yea, and I keep learning new things every time I pick up a needle and thread. Either from yourself, or one of the other amazing creatives here in the historical / costuming sewing community. I think I’m best at the details. Hand finishing a welt pocket, or working button holes, which I sucked at for many years. I only finally used silk buttonhole twist like three years ago! I think you have hit on a feeling amongst us that is so prevalent that nearly everyone has the sense, that their own work is flawed, that others’ work is better, and that some others are so good that you will never attain their lofty godlike skill set. You will. Everyone starts a beginner, and you are just like me, I need to refer to directions nearly every time a repeat something that I have done before, even after years of doing it. Yep, thanks. John Carlson
Thank you for your kind words! And yes, I think impostor syndrome and feelings of inadequacy are *strong* in our community, and we should all take a moment to be proud of what we can do and what we can accomplish! 🥰
This made me feel so much better about my sewing! So let’s see, my grandmother taught me to sew using scrap material and making clothes for my barbies. I am really good at invisible hems, I can alter a pattern to make it a little more “me”. However, I suck at getting sharp corners and sweetheart neck facings are the Bain if my existence.
Thanks for this cute video. I’m 45, been hand sewing since I was about 10 because, I was always so tiny. At 16, weighing 70lb and being 4’10”, and eclectic. Just any store bought clothes did not work on me. So, I started sewing with my grandmother both by hand and on an antique machine. Into my teens, I’d hit some thrift stores, then a sewing department and rip seams, use sewing tape when all else fails to make my own unique clothes.. Props both to my hard as nails Mexican grandmother who knows how to do everything with such eases, to the influence of the character Andy from Pretty in Pink. To this day, patterns baffle me. And to crochet my own items is still a dream skill that my sweet Granny tried so hard to teach me but I just wasn’t ready. I want more sewing groups, more needlepoint groups, more historical garment sewing groups. EVERYWHERE. So more of us, wishing we had a network of peers of various ages and skill sets to grow and learn and share with, could be empowered to break free of this “throw away” clothing culture. If anyone here knows of anything like this, please share for everyone here to see if there are sewing groups in their community. Thanks Abby.
I suck at having the confidence to sew. I've been a knitter for 30 years. I have total confidence, muscle memory, and courage when it comes to yarn and needles. I can identify and fix any mistake. Sewing is so new to me and it terrifies me to mess up. I have set myself a goal of replacing store bought clothes with handmade. I've been watching every tutorial and inspirational video I can find (thank you Abby and Cathy Hay). So now, I just need to roll up my sleeves and get to messing up so that I can learn and gain confidence. Thanks Abby!!!
I feel like it's ok to suck at things when you first try something. Hell, even if it's not the first time... it's ok. No one is great at everything... and it's ok to say you don't know. Like you said, it gives you something to learn! I've sewn by hand for literally decades, I've even made clothes by hand. I've started using a sewing machine in the last month, and holy CRAP I'm learning so much! It's so much fun! It is truly addictive!
I’m short, so I’ve hemmed things for my entire life. My waist is small compared to my hips, so I learned to take in the waist when I buy pants that fit my hips. I found clothing frustrating for many years, so I worked on upholstery projects and handbags. I only make clothing for myself, and I don’t speak about a project until it’s finished...except when I make things for little girls. I don’t do it often, but when I do, it’s delightful.
i was asked to mend some shorts that had a broken zipper. for a couple weeks i would walk by it and think "i should really get to that but ive never done it before. what if i mess up?" then one day i had so much time to spare that i buckled down and go to it! it took me longer than i am sure most anyone would take... took notes, pictures, studied how it went in.. and the i went to town and swapped the zipper. you probably couldnt tell that the zipper had been switched out! it looks fantastic and it was something i had never done before! i was so proud. that is one thing i can say that I am good at haha leveling up everyday
I'm really good at pattern making for doll clothes, and I have really good hand-sewing skills and basic machine sewing. I am not good at using all the fancy stitches on my machine, and I've never done a machine buttonhole or used a serger in my life. And because I've mainly done doll-scale sewing in my life, any time I work on people-sized items, I feel like I'm dealing with huge amounts of fabric.
This is why I love you and THE reason I started fallowing you last year ❣️ Even your unboxing and study of your antique garments, shows that NONE OF US are Perfect at EVERY part of construction ❣️❣️❣️❣️ Love you ABBY COX!!!
For the life of me, I cannot make pants. All my pants projects fail me. But ive always been good at flat patterning out the designs in my head and I can make a good sleeve! Also I'm glad I'm not the only one who has gone into the bathroom and forgotten I was wearing a thimble 😂
@@lizm92 thank you! My mom finds it hilarious that failed math all through high school, but I can flat pattern and scale up patterns with ease 😂 but I'd recommend thinking in the reverse, take a 3D piece and find a way to make it flat! When I get stuck on a curve I'll find a physical thing in my house that has the curve or something similar and make a duct tape pattern of it so you can see how it needs to be cut to lay flat and give yourself that understanding of it in the real world and not just in your head!
I can *deeply* related to the math thing. Like...why were we taught formulas and other mundane math practices where if they had given us something physical to apply these techniques to it would have made so much more sense? (not even making clothing, but building a table, or anything hands-on?!) Math makes *so much more sense* to me now that I understand how to apply it!
This gave me so much to be grateful for. I was so stuck on a project I thought was crap, and watching this made me look back at my first project and see how far I have come, and it made me so proud because this new project is progress. ❤️
I can make teeny teeny tiny 1/8" flat felled seams that look pretty decent for my daughter's clothes, but I can't make a garment that fits ME. Not even if my life depended on it. I also only JUST learned which of my sewing dials is for stitch width and which is for length. My cheap brother machine had it labeled so when I got my 60s, unlabeled, kenmore I just assumed it was the same.
Bathroom thimble story, so relatable!!! I sow with a leather thimble ala Bernadette Banner and I keep forgetting I have it on and so I put it down but then I forget where I put it and then I have to get another one. I'm really proud of my felling. I can litterally see the difference from my first viking dress to my second! Aldo I used the iron alot more this time around, so that helped alot! This video is really important and alot of fun so thank you! I'm looking forward to you next video.
Thimbles in the bathroom will forever be a thing. LOL (and one of the reasons why I have so many!). Isn't it so satisfying to be able to see your progress? It always makes me feel good too - and yes - learning to take the time to iron after seams and steps is also a big leveling - up moment (and one that I learned not too long ago!)
@@AbbyCox yeah it's really nice to se my sowing get so drastically better now when I'm I'm relatively new to sowing, itll probably slow down when I get better and better but for now it's a fantastic moral boost ^^
LOVE this, Abby! I LOVE to hand-sew . . . and I don't know what a serger is . . . so I imagine I would totally suck at that! I prolly should get better at machine sewing (at some point), but I make journals and not really anything to wear, so for what I do, it doesn't have to be as precise.
Oh, I would like to hug you! You are so, so right. I have recently turned 60, and I learned to sew in my late teens, so I have been sewing for more than 40 years. I am a careful and tidy sewist, you can look at all my clothes from the inside and they will look good. BUT - I suck at fitting things properly, and I even realized why this is so. I learned to sew back in the late 1970's and really got into it in the 80's - a time when oversized styles were in fashion, no fitting required. I was over 50 when I did my first FBA.
My sewing usually isn't the best, but I can do most of the things that are important. Versatile? It might not always be very pretty, but it's usually durable.
I am proud to have just gotten started on handsewing to repair holes and tears this year. Bernadette Banner's handsewing beginner's course was a godsend, and I am proud that I am practising the techniques while making simple items like a little pouch from repurposed old fabric to store the supplies in. I am also proud and grateful to have found the basic supplies at a second hand shop.
Im not even a beginner is sewing, but I already can oil my mom´s 40 years old sewing machine. Im rather technical type and I look forward to use my skills more.
Something I think I'm good at that I actually discovered relatively recently- I can sew ribbons onto a skirt and make the stitches practically invisible. I recently finished making myself a pinafore and I hand sewed two ribbons onto the skirt as decoration. I didn't have matching thread (because I bought new ribbons for it and didn't think to buy thread to match) so I went with the closest match I had and you practically can't tell because the stitches I made were so tiny. I was really proud of myself for that, it took forever but I'm so happy with how it turned out. Something I suck at (one of the long list of things): cutting. fabric. It always shifts around underneath my scissors so my cuts always end up super jagged and weird. I cannot cut in a straight line to save my life. But I recently acquired my grandmother's tailor's chalk, so I can try actually drawing out pattern pieces instead of trying to awkwardly cut around the paper.
Another way of marking it without using chalk is threadmarking :) I use it all the time, as I don't have any method of drawing on my fabrics without it leaving permanent marks. I basically pin the pattern to the fabric (I always use patterns excluding seam allowance), then cut it out with some room around the edge for seam allowance, and do long running stitches in basting thread or any weak cotton thread all along the edge of the pattern. If you cut the pieces double, make sure to not pull the running stitch tight, but leave some ease to you can separate the two fabric pieces and cut the running stitch between them. It is a lot of thread wastage, but for me it really works as it does not fade :) Hope this made sense, if I could show it in a picture or video I would've done it xD English isn't my native language xD
I'm really good at items that fit close to the body. Corsets, doublets, fitted bodices, etc. I cannot, for the life of me sew anything with a lot of ease. ALL of my chemises look like trash. Everyone says chemises are beginner garments and I'm just baffled.
The nice thing about shifts and chemises - is that no one sees them - so its ok if they're funky (or shredding to bits..don't ask me how I know that...) 😂
THIS!!! Seriously, I deal with that self-doubt every day. I became a freelance stitcher for TV and Film 6 months ago, and I never thought I could go from a self-taught cosplayer to a professional stitcher. But in a costume shop, I can hold my own. I can make beautiful work. I learn so much from the people around me, and they learn from me. Sewing as a hobby/passion/career is a gift that never stops giving, because there's always something new to learn. And no two days in front of the sewing machine are ever the same. I love it!
Abby: "You might be able to make hand sewn historical gowns but not know how to work a surger!" Me: *shuffles around uncomfortably* YEP! It's a no from me on the surging front! But hot diggity I have a snazzy prick stitch when I try.
Alli Nielsen I’ve never encountered a serger in person, but I believe they are scary noisy machines. I may not sew as prettily as you, but I am definitely more comfortable with hand tools of and kind than with machines.
I finally got a second hand "Kenmore" sewing machine, from the 70's, but it has the booklet so I'm probably going to be ok I will attempt to make kitchen curtains when I can finally get a place to lay out all that fabric without the dogs running through it I'm good at hand embroidery tho
How did the algorithm know I needed this? Yesterday I got so frustrated about everything I was making so I started knitting a square because it's pretty foolproof. Now I feel motivated to draft that stupid pattern I've been putting off!
I practically get anxiety attacks every time I need to attach sleeves. Seriously it takes me about five tries to remember how to put them on correctly so they don't end up inside out. I'm really good, however, at finding creative solutions to just about any other problem.
Oh my I wish you would have written this comment earlier/I would have seen it earlier/all of this took place earlier!😅 There was a PHENOMENAL course on making sleeve patterns, preparing the arm hole and setting in sleeves right by "foundations revealed" the business of Cathy Hay! It was available for anyone who isn't a member for free for some time...sadly isn't available anymore if you aren't a member (I tell you it made all of that all too familiar anxiety go away)
I totally agree. I still consider myself a basic sewist, even though I've been doing it for 20 years. Yet customers are impressed when they look at the costume I've run up that they wanted, saying that they could never do that. That's when I appreciate that most people don't have even basic sewing skills, so embrace what you know, and happy sewing.
You are so right! I’ve been sewing for over 50 years and I’m still amazed that so many people cannot even replace a button that fell off. My mother started teaching me when I was around six years old and in my day, girls took ‘home making’ or ‘home economics’ in school. We had to choose a very simple pattern for a dress that was never worn again. I was surprised recently to find a photo of myself in a 1973 yearbook where I was pinning the hem on a ‘maxi skirt’ that went with a blouse that buttoned. Was it a Louisa May Alcott book where the young lady was tasked with learning to make bread and perfect buttonholes? I must have taken those instructions to heart as I’m very good at both. I’m worried about the next generations who can do neither and do not care to learn.
I needed this today! I’m trying to start a me-made wardrobe this year and while the finishing is pretty wonky it makes me so proud to know I’ve made something from nothing. It gives me such a mad rush to see something come together because of my own two hands.
I’m good at threading sergers, and stitching on hooks and eyes with buttonhole stitch. I suck at stitching with chiffon and other light drapey fabrics by machine. SCARY AS HECK.
Lyndabeth Cave I am thrilled that you are comfortable with threading sergers. Even with Air Threading on my high end serger, I still dread it !! And I agree about chiffon types . I actually just pulled out two gorgeous sheers from my stash ( that will need lining ) this morning and thought hard about attempting them today....
I think I’m most proud of learning patience in sewing. Patterns, adjustments and making garments we love to wear or use is the ultimate for me. Snags and mistakes are a part of learning. Same applies to my knitting, but I love both..
I haven't felt inadequate when it comes to sewing for a few years now. I used to think that just because a expensive brand made clothes they were automatically better at sewing than I was (there's probably a term for this assumption), after all (I reasoned) they were officially in business selling clothes therefore must know what they are doing. But then I bought some of those pieces and inspected a lot more of them and discovered... dum.. dum.. dum; wonky stitching, unclipped tails, traces of tailors chalk, uneven gathering and so on. The stuff looks great from a small distance, and this is mostly because of the design and the great quality of the materials used (I can't even find comparable quality and designs of lace like it online or in brick and mortar stores). But the actual quality of the sewing involved is unimpressive. Not a high bar to meet. The downside of my work is that I take a long time (even using a machine for 50%-80% of the steps) and I can't always find materials that are as good as I would like, plus I spend a lot of time researching new skills and making mock ups. But the upside is that my work is pretty neat. I don't suck at what I finish, at least not any more.
I'm breaking into tailoring this year and my quilting experience is really helping. Do I know how to make clothes that fit me? Heck no. Can I cut the most beautifully precise pieces you've ever seen? Hell yeah.
I’m really good at intuitively figuring stuff out when I hand sew, but I still don’t know how to sew with a machine and my machine attempts have been pretty awful
Thank you for your pep talk. I am with a group of very talented historical sewers, who are younger than me. I have been sewing for years but feel so inadequate around these ladies. But what I can do quite well is a French seam. I can French seam just about anything. When I finish a garment it lasts. I made clothes for some of the French Marines over 35 years ago and they are still holding up. Thank you again for your encouragement.
I suck at buttonholes, but I'm amazing at matching fabrics for quilting. I used to work in a fabric store and quilters would ask me what I thought, or if they go together. Loved helping people gather the materials for their projects.
I feel like because I'm a spoonie everyone is churning things out left and right and I will never have a full ensemble even if I work on it for 10 years...
🐝 We all produce spoonfuls (spoonsful?) in relevant sizes. Maybe think of it as turning out instead of churning out. I consider every little project of mine a triumph, flaws and all. We are all forever deriding ourselves for not being productive enough, so it’s worse when make comparisons to the... otherly motivated. I have some spectacularly gifted, accomplished friends. I also have about three lifetimes worth of plans, projects, and supplies. The daily chore is to enjoy making what I can, and deciding that it’s okay that I’ll never do all I want to. In my sixth decade (where the hell all that time went is another reckoning altogether) I’m easing up a bit on the self-scolding. I hope your particular spoon is soon full of self satisfaction.
Abby, bless you for this. Angela Walters has something along these lines in her video entitled ‘Three things machine quilters should stop doing’ for those of us who quilt- essentially, stop comparing your worst to someone else’s best, don’t point out your mistakes, and don’t forget the purpose of your work. I’m actually most proud of the ballet costumes I designed and made- with his help- for my son when he was dancing. The challenge of designing and making costumes for ballet classics like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella for the male dancers and younger kids who played the larger cast roles, which needed to be visually effective, moved with the body, and not fall off in pieces, still gives me a good feeling. Every year, I learned something new. A fellow dance mom told me about fiberglass kite rods that, when threaded along the top of the Dragonfly Cavaliers’ wings, allowed them to perch the Fairy Godmother on their shoulders without their wings drooping. Plastic boning, which kept the wings elliptical and did not deform like wire. The picture of a medieval armor breastplate that I used as a pattern to quilt 40 ‘goth monster’ tabards. Watching a professional production of Firebird and (attempting) to reproduce the monster costumes for kids- who at one point were rolling on the ground. Mermaid tails. Creating with my son (who took a pattern making course in college) doublets based on a historical reproduction pattern for the princes in Sleeping Beauty’s Rose Adagio. And tearing up when he did the role of ‘visiting prince’ for the last time, wearing something we both had a hand in sewing. Good times. Now, have I ever made a garment for ME that I was happy with? No. Do I always find the mistakes ( and tell people about them)? Yes. But I can still learn and ‘geek out’ on stuff like this in my ‘latter days’ (I’m 67). And a surprising effect of not being able to do my ‘other life’ (work) right now means more time to finish UFO’s. I ran across a ‘prepper’ video that suggested stockpiling fabric and bartering sewing skills. 30 boxes of fabric in my garage-I’m ready! Keep up the good work, Abby, your videos make my day 😀. And we really need the ‘if it’s good enough for Memaw’ T-shirts- in XXL, please😀
I am amazing at sewing a very long straight seam on my sewing machine. I can follow those marks like nobody's business. I would love to learn how to drape material and have it look like something wearable. Patterns are great, but not when you have something in your mind and can't find any pattern to fit the idea. Thanks for the boost and the smile. Take care of you
I've been sewing since I was 8 yrs old. Watching my mom, watching my aunt's quilt as a kid. So, for 51 yrs picking up this and that over the years and putting it to use. The one thing I really suck at, is putting in buttonholes by machine. And just a few weeks ago, I successfully completed a rolled hem ( 1/16") sample that was a glorious moment for me!!! And felled seams on my 18th century bedgown ( lined to boot) I'm now working on for a reenactment , i hope that is still going to happen (My very first event to be in).
I love this so much because I always feel inadequate for any project I take on. I intend to start learning pattern making as I try to make a costume for my 5 yr old daughter. I just finished a 18th century dress for myself. I never thought in a million years I'd be able to pull it off, but I did. And well. My sewing journey is just starting and I'm loving it. Thank you for bringing your light and passion to all of us! ♡
Many years ago I heard a expert sewer say multiple times in a seminar the difference between a beginner sewer and a good sewer is the willingness to redo a seam and the difference between a good sewer and an expert sewer was the willingness to redo a seam. This has stuck with me, except when it is time to pick out a seam.
So very true. Over many years I've learned that patience to do things right and/or redo them until they're right is what makes the difference in the overall quality. I always look back and know it was worth it to take the extra time to do all the little steps that add quality like basting by hand, pressing, stitching in interfacing, etc., etc. And when I rush something I always want to go back and "fix" it because I regret not doing my best work.
Aw, this makes me happy. I just started sewing a week ago and got a machine yesterday. One of the seams on a tiny doodad I made to learn how to use the machine didn’t turn out right, because I’m still learning how to position fabric under the foot, and it was bugging me so tonight I ripped it open and redid it...3 or 4 times...until I was finally pleased. I hand stitched a similar doodad last week and one hem came out so awful I was waiting for this weekend to come so I could redo it. They’re small useless projects though so it’s no big deal to redo a seam in this case lol, if I ever get around to a skirt or pants and have to redo a seam, that’s when I’ll be tested...
Debbie Chandler I put a blouse together in a workshop, where two pinstripes intersected they were off by a (visible) hair. I declared I was leaving it. My friends who know me better gave me a look, and I got out the seam ripper. 😂
Haha, this applies to so much in life! It's hard to admit mistakes, and even harder to face the consequences, and try to fix them. It also gets at the underlying idea, that skill is developed by spending the time necessary to do it right, and stick with it no matter how frustrating it is.
This! I am a knitter. Or Knitter. There is a similar saying in knitting that says the difference between a knitter with a capital K and one with a lowercase k is that the knitter with a capital K is willing to take apart their project to fix a mistake 100 rows before. It has to do with being able to recognize mistakes, to understand the anatomy of knitting, and most importantly the willingness to fix mistakes in order to make a better end product. I am trying to apply this to sewing. I am barely a sewer.... years ago I made rudimentary clothes very badly on a machine. I made a quilt when I was 15, but totally forget how I managed to accomplish it. I put down sewing for decades. Now I am learning to hand sew at 45 and it is weird to be so clumsy! I can't figure out how to make my hands do simple things. But this gives me hope.
So beautifully said Abby! I'm great at doing stuff slowly, but terrible at doing stuff quickly. 😊
And what you do always has an incredible pay off in the end! #worthit 😉😂 (it's a double pun...I love double puns!)
Me too! I get so upset about it because I'm a "tailor" at work and even thought I've been sewing for 13 years I'm still slower than I'm supposed to be. I'm glad to know you're slow too.
I'm starting to look at my weaknesses through a neutral eye and then see where they are strengths. Eg. Being slow isn't good at work as I normally do it, but in teaching, being slow is a good thing. It takes the stress out of it for students.
I'm slow, I always will be. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.
Everything Cathy does is Worth-while 😂
I feel like all of my sewing skills are intuitive things I've figured out on my own, but when it comes to actual "Proper" technique, I'm lost lol.
I relate to this so much! I spent last summer/fall focusing on learning "real" modern sewing techniques to help up my overall game, and I am *so glad* I did! It's really helped me with finishing, confidence, and overall construction! If you're interested, I highly recommend Sew Over It's Stitch School!
Same. I mix and match techniques I've picked up from various historical eras and things that just makes sense to me. But "real" sewing? Nah, I don't know what you're talking about 😂
Meanwhile, I've just found the freedom to go "off course"and do my own thing to make it work if I need to. Ha ha, we all come from different perspectives! Isn't it great!
SAME
I was so scared to start sewing after my grandmother died and I got her sturdy old Kenmore and then when I opened my first pattern I realized I could read it just fine because I'd sept so much time in her sewing room with her. XP so for the first few years it was just doing what came natural from what I picked up by watching her.
for me it’s the other way around and i hate it 😫 i learnt to sew while studying fashion design, but my school focuses a lot in pattern making so it’s really hard for me to just let go and go for it when making things, because it’s so ingrained in my brain everything has to be exact to the millimeter it’s really hard to just eyeball things
I'm not a great sewist to begin with. But of course, when the pandemic started, I busted out my gifted sewing machine and got to work, crooked seams and all.
And then my bobbin ran out. A little backstory on my machine, it was given to me by my aunt. It was her mother's and she brought it with her when she came to the states from Holland. So the bobbin runs out, I have no idea what I'm doing (and why it won't wind a new bobbin) so I look up the manual. And because it's such an old machine from Holland, the manual is ONLY available in Dutch. Thankfully my aunt can speak, read and write Dutch. So, after no less than 3 phone calls with two amazing women, help from my SO (in which we remove the entire top of the machine), lots of tears, and a few prayers later, my bobbin was filled and reinserted into my side-loading machine.
Fast forward to today, my bobbin ran out again. I knew just what to do and I was able to do everything by myself, no tears included. 😊
If I can do it, sew can you ❤
Jay Bird YES!!!! I did the same! I sat down at my grandmothers machine, twice as old as I am, and began to sew with those all-too-familiar crooked seams. I had to ask my 97yo Nanna how to thread the darn thing (my favorite half hour of this whole mess, sitting with my Nanna at the machine, her telling me what to do) and off I went.
Since then: I’ve made 500 (it’s a guess, I lost count weeks ago) masks. I’ve learned to repair machines. I’ve broken and changed needles. Sat with Nanna again whilst she taught me how to oil the machine. My seams still aren’t always the straightest, and I can’t sew when I’m tired or frustrated, and I swear there’s a little troll living in my bobbin compartment, but I’ve never felt like part of such a wonderful community as I have lately, with everyone coming together to sew. Yes the pandemic sucks, but there are so many good things that came from it, and those are the things we need to focus on in these trying times.
Much love to you my dear. May your seams be straight and your needles strong. 💜
I’m sew impressed. I didn’t have to contend with the translation issues, but I have re-learned to make a bobbin and to thread the machine... while my 20 year old learns with me. I’ve sewn, with my mother’s help years and years ago, so some of it is coming back. I feel half blind leading my (blind) newbie daughter! Lol
But we have been making masks for people who do not have them and it has been wonderful to have this in common. And it’s been fun to talk by phone and text and text photos to my mom, the awesome seamstress! She also made a LOT of masks so that everyone she loved - friends and family, each had two. Like you said, some of us are learning a lot, and making sweet memories, too.
Thank you so much for your added comments ladies! I agree, the circumstances are hard but stories like these, connecting across the generations, are definitely some of the silver linings to come out of this whole situation!
Have you tried taking a picture of the text and running it through Google Translate? I’ve done it with stuff in French and it worked. It might help you too.
I'm Dutch and was on my way to the reply field to offer my help with the translation but I see you're good now. Happy sewing!
I have just discovered this community. Sewing machines scare me more than the prospect of a zombie apocalypse. Crazy true story. I was in a women's refuge. A preteen boy had torn his favourite trousers. I volunteered to mend them. When they were returned he inspected them carefully. He looked at me and said, "Wow, man, you've got seriously neat little stitches".
Beam.
I'm scared of my sewing machine, but I have very neat little hand stitches.
Thank you for this video. It has helped. 🤸
🐝 To receive admiration like that from a preteen is rare, and certainly well deserved.
Meet another machinophobe ( and don’t mention zombies) who is absurdly fond of making tiny neat stitches. It’s therapy with a tangible result. Positive OCD?
@@alhambralions5985 I'm starting to suspect that anxiety and OCD (and possibly other stuff too) are a result of hardwired skills we don't use anymore freaking out because of a lack of use. A bit like the cleanliness -> allergies hypothesis.
So basically all sewers have imposter syndrome.
Machines completely overwhelm me. The noise, the speed...so mine lives in its box. Buttons...they're hard and they're boring to sew. But handsewing is my jam...I'm still a beginner but it feels very intuitive, and while my stitches arent as tiny as a seamstress's from the 1800s, they're pretty darn good.
You keep on being amazing and inspiring!
Please aoid slapping diagnoses left and right. Its natural and common to not fell secure in your skills no matter what you do.
I don't like using my machine become my stitches end up looking drunk. Even when I slow down and take my time.
@@taritangeo4948 it was a joke, please relax.
@@sapphirecamui6447 It sounded reasonably applicable from that anecdote tbh. Is Tari sure they're not pathologically insecure...
@Bryan French not all the machines have it.
Spot on. And it's the same for professionals in any profession. My father was an aviation historian with over 50 books and 2500 magazine articles to his name, yet he told me he always felt like some day someone would realize he was no good at it. But he was never bored and loved what he did, so the insecurity was a small price to pay for that. 😊❤️
I just realized I wrote a similar comment without checking first to see if someone else wrote this...oh well. just validation.
Sense & Sensibility Patterns Yes! In my old line of work we called that “imposter syndrome”. As a new professional I was surprised to find out that my boss two levels up felt the same way! Now because I have no “formal” training I still run into that, but I also notice how much more makes sense to me now, that used to seem elusive or too hard to understand. :)
I can do a blind hem by hand like nobody's business. My mom taught me right around the time I was learning to read and write. The list of things I cannot do is vast, but that blind hem is a thing of beauty.
Same here :-)
Never even tried the blind hem on the maschine.
Blind hem is one of the few things I am good at, too. Blanket stitch, herringbone, whips, backstitch, and French knot, almost in my sleep, but one of my grandmothers taught me embroidery as a teen.
I wish I would have thought to ask my other grandmother to teach me tailoring, millinery, and re-upholstery. I could kick myself for not having the foresight to ask. (But she taught me how to cook, bake, play eucre and poker, so I didn't miss out completely.)
It is truly faster for me to hand sew a blind hem than to dig out my sewing machine manual, find that stupid hemming foot, fold my fabric just right, and pray my thread doesn't bunch up.
I don’t know if it’s a skill but I’m really good at just saying “I’m gonna make this” even though I have so little experience. I just want to make things even if they don’t turn out perfect. I’m not afraid to disassemble my existing garments and put them back together in a way that I like. I have no experience and no practice and I need to learn all the techniques and terms. But it’s fun to just go for it. I just say f*ck it! Let’s make an 1890’s corset! I’ll just copy the pattern from a picture and do the things that all the other costubers are doing and maybe it will turn out okay and if it doesn’t then it was good practice
That bravery and confidence in your ability to do something is absolutely a skill (& a blessing!)
and Let me tell you... THATS a fucking SKILL. i want to work on that for sure.
Did you just read my thoughts? Because I just finished sewing my prom dress after the most elaborate thing I had done before being, idk, a casual button up top? And now I want to do an 1890s corset, exactly the example you went for!
I think it's definitely a skill, even if more of an indirect one because it enables us to learn more.
Haha I am exactly the same. My first paper model was an abbey with the rating 'Advanced', my first inlay was a complicated witchcraft symbol, my first traditional filigree was a 3D mask. I run before I can walk, which can be frustrating, but it always teaches me so much.
This is undoubtedly the skill here I am most envious of
Sewing is fairly intuitive to me and the thing I'm most proud of is definitely making a sweater from start to finish, one handed after breaking my shoulder. As a right handed person, making something that actually turned out nice with only my left hand, purely out of stubbornness and extreme boredom made me proud
Be proud, that's damn impressive!
I am great at setting in sleeves... which does mean I've jinxed myself for the next one, but setting in sleeves, that I can do!
Just walk counter-clockwise around the garment before you set the sleeve to undo the jinx. 😂😉
Thats a BIG one!
Nope, suck at setting in sleeves. Great st hemming and darning.
Set in sleeves are my nemesis. One day I am going to get them figured out but for now I just do the best I can and hope no one looks too close.
My clothing holds together like its Iron. I wish my top stitching looked better, I wish I had more than a three second attention span for doing anything, but when its finished I can wear it till its threadbare and the seams will still hold up.
I use an attachment on my machine,( its 30 years old) it's for blindhem I think. It has a bar that sits along side the foot. Move the needle on your machine over as far as it will go , in the opposite direction. The bar runs on the outside of your project on the plate . Works a treat! Good luck. ! Hope this helps i just recently changed the thread to a thicker type. What a difference.
Same. God yes, my wobbly hand seams are almost impossible to rip. I love that, but I hate it too!
YES I totally always feel like someone, someday is going to see my stuff up close and realize I am actually a charlatan and everything is held together with spit and baling wire.😱😱😱
Thing I'm really good at: imagination. I can work almost endlessly on a theme and make mistakes look intentional with some thought. 🤦♀️🤣
Thing I'm really bad at: closures. Those suckers drive me so crazy. I'm getting better, but slowly.
Thanks for the pep talk! I now want to go and keep on learning this craft!
Fashion is theatre. So spit and baling wire is fine.
😁
This reminds me of my aunt who works as a costume maker for a large art school. They asked her to make all the corseted costumes for a show except for the main corset, which they sent out for with the fabric. It came back TERRIBLE, so the designers had to go to my aunt and beg her to fix the awful thing. That day they all learned that corsets are hard, but my aunt has a knack for making beautiful costume corsets!
As for me, I am very good at making precise, fitted garments. This helps me when making things like corsets and fitted bodices on 1950's dresses. But I cannot work with stretch material. I have no clue how to operate any material with stretch to it. I tried to make a tube of stretch material to wear as a liner under a corset and messed it up. I made the corset, but not the stretchy tube.
I think of making a corset with utter terror! But am the queen of knits. Diversity is good, we can trade around.
aaand subscribed! Seriously, I always sucked at sewing and knitting. But telling myself that its ok to suck toom away anxiety to be perfect and let me practice in peace. the perfection mindset seems to be very strong in older people, I was supposed to have a felting class before covid struck and some ladies asked me how I learnt it. I said I just bought the supplies and started cold. They thought they could never do that without someone showing them "proper way". that is bit sad, sometimes just throwing caution to wind and trying things out teaches you the best.
Yeah same, I get questions from elderly ladies in the train when they see me crocheting (I had a very intense amigurumi phase couple of years ago), and they were totally shocked when I told them I taught myself using multiple TH-cam tutorials. I did not even know the different ways you could hold the hook until I started to teach myself how to crochet with my left hand and I found out I held it very differently compared to my right hand. (I'm ambidextrous and like torturing myself so I can do everything with both left and right).
I’m proud that I just ripped the seams of five masks that I sewed the wrongs sides together, instead of the right sides and then turning them inside out. (Duh) I was tempted to just make do as they would have “worked”, but after letting them sit for a day, I picked up my seam ripper and started ripping. I even kept going after I ripped off 1/4 inch of the actual fabric all the way down one side! So, yes, I’m learning! And by the way, I’m 58 years old and it was my 78 year old mother who encouraged me to redo them all correctly. She said it’s just part of sewing. (As my mind fills with ALL the beautiful clothes she made for my sister and me growing up, as well as all the thoughtful Christmas gifts she has made.) And, I modeled it for my twenty year old, who decided to learn to sew by watching another You Tuber! (Mikarah Tewers) My daughter and I are sewing masks to give away to friends who do not have one... and I’m sucking my way to success! Lol Thank you for your video! It was very encouraging!
I love it! At 55 years old, I'm sucking my way to success, too. I just finished redoing a tank top that I managed to make 2 (!) sizes too small. I had to let out the side seams -- in the process I ripped the fabric twice. Still, I got that sucker sewed back together and am pretty pleased with myself. (Now I need to figure out how to ,end the fabric tears.)
I remember Micarah Tewers being like "confession time: I cannot make pants" and I was like BBBUTT WHAAAT
I can’t even _buy_ trousers, because it’s so hard to find any that fit both my hips, my waist and my legs.
@@ragnkja right!! My partner has the same struggle. My goal is to get good enough at sewing/tailoring that I can alter all their trousers for them by Christmas 😊
Makes perfect sense actually. Pants are generally patterned, not draped, and making a well fitted pair seems to be similar voodoo to making properly fitted bust cups in a corset.
I remember when I heard Micarah say that I was stunned! It gave me hope.
I made a pair with 2 left legs a few weeks ago. Cussed, felt sorry for myself, and then ripped out one leg and redid it.
You basically quoted everything I have told my daughter about sewing. My mom can whip up anything but never taught me cause she lived/lives far from me. I am totally glued to my machine manual every time I use my machine. I love your humor and honesty about it all because I can’t even sew a straight line if my life depended on it. 😂. I am good at sewing on buttons and resewing on buttons.
I suck at tailoring patterns to my shape. I got, or lack, flesh all over and I’m clueless about making patterns fit me and give me the right silhouette. I rock at crocheting, though! Thanks for keeping it real. 😘
Fitting is hard. I find it the absolute worst thing about sewing, to be honest, and so I sew a lot of skirts (only have to fit them to my waist!) and button up shirts (they're not an overly fitted garment and I made the pattern to fit me so I just use the one pattern over and over again.) If someone else fitted the pattern for me and gave me all the bits I could sew them very well, but I *hate* fitting and whenever I have to do it I doubt myself and I want to just give up
Im good at crochet too, and do it a lot more. I feel like to be better at sewing, I would need to give up the hooks for a while to focus on it lol
Amanda T I’m trying to marry the two but you are right... one takes time from the other... if I could only have more crafting hours in my day!
You had me at "all y'all." At this stage, I'm good at very little but I can see where I'm improving. My single pride and joy is my ability to machine sew long flat-felled seams just a hairsbreadth from the edge.
I'm watching this while sewing my third project... ever, and I just wanted to say how much this means to me. I decided to start sewing after learning about "history bounding", and this whole community is SO lovely. ❤
Perfectionism gets in my way. Once I am finished with a project I think about how I could improve it. I am glad that you brought up this subject. Nothing is perfect. I like your emphasis on learning. It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is always something new to learn. Thanks!
When I was 12 I made my mom an apron and it went pretty well but I haven't really tried sewing since. Now I'm 21 and attempting to make a jacket from a vintage pattern for my boyfriend's birthday. I just finished cutting out all the fabric and I'm kind of horrified to get started or mess things up, but this video made me feel a lot better. I'm excited to try to learn and we'll just have to see how it goes! Thanks for giving me the encouragement I need to start this sewing journey
I’m very much a beginner but here we go: I am reeeally confused whenever I am presented with a machine. I don’t know how they work. But tbh I think I have a really good eye for color combos.
Elizabeth Sacktor The standard advice for when you’re starting is to make pillow cases, but that boring.
My preferred choice is tote bags. Way more useful.
If you have the ability, I highly recommend Sew Over It's Stitch School! They're video tutorials, for all levels, and even do the basics on machines. It's a really great program!
Me putting stuff under sewing machines is almost congruent to if I put them in a wood chipper
Color combos are soooo important. Without that you could finish a while project perfectly and it still doesnt look good. So that is a super special skill that you should be proud of!
Me neither. They are devil contraptions.
I am proud that I'm very versatile in my skills and am a quick learner. I have no clue how to do something? Well, I look it up and try to teach it to myself. Thus I've acquired basic knowledge in many crafts.
What I'm bad at is focusing on one project and not giving up and throwing it in the corner when things don't go like planned. I am very guilty of this, I've tried making a list of all projects I've begun but didn't finish and told myself not to start anything new until I've crossed something off... it went well for a month, but then so many interesting new things sparked my interest...
Sounds like me 😎
pretzeldragon 🐝 You are among countless kindred spirits, co-queens of the Duchy of Unfinished Projects. And we are our own worst critics... Must Finish, Must Finish, until... “Ooo, pretty! I can make that!” comes along. Again.
Love this. I tell my beginning sewing students that every type of sewing thinks the other types are hard, and that when they find the thing that lights their fire, that’ll be the one that doesn’t seem hard (or at least is worth struggling to get good at). I think bags and home dec are really hard; but the bag and home dec sewists look at me and say garments are really hard! And they say if you want to practice precision, be a quilter for a while! So it clicked when you shared about sewing being such a broad skillset, we can’t all be perfect at all of it! Me, I’m a technician; I’m not good at designing an outfit, but I can put it together like nobody’s business. My favorite classes to teach are techniques, like setting in a sleeve, or joining opposing curves, or when and how to properly staystitch and how it will change your life, in ways that demystify sewing and get consistent results (less frustration!). People ask me to sew for them and I offer to teach them instead, because that’s what I’m good at and love. But when I need to coordinate colors? I ask the quilters! :D
I can whip up a pattern like an absolute mother, but my finishing SUCKS
Same, Jim. Same.
I am the very opposite. I’m trying to work on my patterns by starting with simple patterns to make myself -my next project is a 3/4 hip length cloak with hood. It’s a very simple pattern, but I got to start somewhere.
But hand finishing and hand sewing in general is something I’m pretty comfortable doing. Anything related to machines, not so much. But I’m learning.
Yep! Grading, alterations, no problem. Sewing a straight line? Forgot it.
I have the exact opposite problem. I can finish amazingly, but trying to create a pattern, it always comes out garbage.
What a refreshing take on this. Yes, we all find sewing hard. It is so easy to forget that the people who show us their amazing skills struggle too. For me, tiny hand stitches are effortless, but pleating is something I find stressful and always overthink, and I am only occasionally on speaking terms with my sewing machine.
I adore handsewing but I'm not the best at it, I'm working on my Victorian hand sewing methods (thank you Bertha Banner) and hope to do more projects in the future. Thank you Abby, hope you're doing swell!
I love learning to do historical sewing in this time. There are so many resources & books & creators to help us learn and to guide us even if they aren't instructional videos but simply I'm trying something new, there's always something you can learn from watching or reading or simply looking at images.
Now that I had a good cry over how much better about my sewing this made me feel, let's see. I can take in clothing for friends and family and produce a decent result even though I had NO training/classes to do it. I am completely self taught and yet I am capable of making pretty things. Who knew? However, I SUCK at finding the correct position to start a button hole on my machine. I have an older machine so the button hole-maker is not a handy dandy foot to slap on but a monstrosity that fastens on the machine and requires finagling to get in the proper "start" position. Marking, measuring, testing, all valiant efforts that turn into epic failures. Good times!
When I aske my grandma to teach me how to use our sewing machine for button holes she straight up refused. She barely remembers how to use it and told me that if I know how to make them by hand and I have enough time, to just go for hand stiching them aince the machine option is super finicky and she often lost her patience with it.
I actually really enjoy the process of making a buttonhole. I'm a begginer but the quarantine gave more time then usual to sew.
I know what you mean about the button hole I can’t seem to make mines in the correct place.
I really needed this pep talk. I've been sewing for about 10 years and all I've made are circle skirts, I got a little down about it
I'm a pattern pirate, I look a modern items and after some thinking I know how it was made. I can draft patterns from online picturesi If I have enough angles and decent quality to zoom. Also I possess a legendary stubbornness so I'll decipher the crap out any garment I'm obsessed with but please dont make me pleat. To give shape to something using pleats is hell for me, the pleating demons are scary, mostly because I sew for myself and my self has biiig bobs and narrow ribcage 😑
Yes! I first realised I could do that with a book of Erte paper dolls - I still have the note book of all the tiny paper patterns I made from them.
I truly, truly, truly suck a pressing things though. I tell myself it’s because I don’t have the proper equipment like a sleeve board or a tailors ham. But then I deliberately don’t buy those things to test that theory!
My mother says my great-grandmother could pattern pirate from the Sears catalog and just use your measurements and make the pattern herself. I think it's rad to be able to do that. I'm no where near that level of skill .....but one day.
Things that I suck at: long straight seams. and zips. My zips often look like crap and I have to ask my mother to do them. Also overlockers (sergers) scare me.
Things I’m good at: invisible hems and facings, figuring out how patterns go together when I’ve misplaced the instructions or I never had any in the first place.
Things I want to know more about: Pockets, so I can retrofit everything in my wardrobe.
Sergers scare almost everyone. I was put in front of an industrial serger once and I was convinced it would take my thumbs off.
@@dianesawyerdooley4424 My mother gifted me a really nice serger for Christmas this year. It makes my table shake (it's a small crappy table) and terrifies me. Hahaha
Diane Sawyer Dooley I’m more scared of it eating my fabric. Especially at the moment when I’l limited to what I already have.
Amen!!!
Morgan donner added pockets to all her dresses and has a GREAT VIDEO on it!!
I feel this way about 100% of the things in my life. I've been teaching 6 years and I'm still waiting for people to realize I'm hot garbage at it. Slowly learning to ignore the "hot garbage" narrative constantly running through my head and just do the thing. Just finished my first sewing project in a burst of quarantine energy and I'm pretty proud of it, because it's not perfect but I made it.
This was so me today 😭 and wow did “sucking at sewing” really get me down today! I know this is a month old but I needed to hear this. ❤️❤️
I love all of the math that goes into sewing and MacGyvering (my thimble is made out of duct tape) but my execution is awful 😂
The fact that you have a duct tape thimble and compared sewing to MacGyver has made my day. 😂🤣❤
@@AbbyCox Yes! I love the math, too. Many people will just keep trying to fix a math (read patterning) problem with more careful stitching. That can work, too. But I would 100 times more rather keep tweeking the pattern all day long. And making muslins, and adjusting, etc. But can someone else just put the welt pockets in for me?
Thank you for that video! I suck at pattern making and sleeves. Once i have a good pattern i will use it over and over😂 but i am proud of a 16th century Italian dress i made (and i never made something 16th century before that)
For the sleeves, cathy hay has a workshop
16th century can be tricky. I'm glad you have an outfit you're proud of
Leila Lachapelle thanks:)
My mom is an award-winning quilter. Despite sewing 45 years now, I'm ...not on her level. Just not. However: my stuff keeps rennie kids warm, my simple designs that I give away freely are encouraging to new sewing folks, and I'm making efforts to learn. And I enjoy sewing. And enjoying it--that's the key.
My favorite quote of late came from the Closet Historian-- she said that "zippers are like a battle--everyone should just get through them the best that they can." It was SO REASSURING.
Ooof I needed to hear this. I swear every time I take on a new project, I feel like a complete novice. But then I learn something new from every project. I have to remind myself that this process has such a wide range of skills to learn and that fitting human bodies is weird and each person, garment, textile, era, and combination of the above will make for a new experience each time I sew.
My Mom taught me to set the fabric with an iron - before sewing. This is magic, ladies! I have no clue what I'm doing, but it seems to work out well enough for me to start and finish new projects. THANK YOU for this video!! I have been feeling COMPLETELY inadequate.
Absolutely! Listening to this whilst unpicking a waistband cos I've sewn the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric! You'd think with 40 years of sewing experience I'd have cracked this! However I've only recently started doing 3 piece waistbands and it isn't in my memory yet. A real asset is my patience. If I make a mistake, I unpick it and do it again until I'm happy with it. I wish I could gift this to every sewer who gets frustrated with their projects. I'm also a very neat dressmaker so like things to look neat. Good job I love the process. Like you I also love learning new or old techniques and love my vintage sewing books. Happy sewing!1🧵🙂
Honestly Abby, I want to thank you for your inspiring words. I have literally sat here staring at my sewing machine trying to find the motivation to keep practicing. Back when I started sewing about 5 years ago, I was taught on a sewing machine. Believe it or not, after all these years - I still struggle to keep a straight stitch! So, it's not just you. But, I'm really good with patching and stitching on buttons by hand.
Preach on sister! I'm see you and this is the pep-talk I needed today. ❤️❤️❤️
Edited because I posted before the end of the video... I'm really good at construction and putting a garment together, but I'm rubbish at fitting and figuring out where adjustments should be made. Sometimes I feel like I'm just throwing something together even though it isn't thrown together. ❤️❤️
I relate to this so hard! Fitting on yourself is *difficult* and it takes so much time to learn how to do it. I always second guess my ability to fit on myself - and if it's not perfect I always get so upset (*coughcough1860sbodicecoughcough*)! I'm glad this pep-talk has helped! :D
I have determination. The crying? Yep. I walk away if I have to. But I come back, again and again and again, until I get it. I might waste a bolt of fabric to get it right, but I WILL get it right. I heard a professional seamstress say something like, "When we make a pattern for the first time, we don't know what we're doing either. We have to practice, too." That gave me a lot of comfort.
I’m good at learning something new. My issue is sticking with it until I master it but hey that’s me... thanks for the pep talk!
Fellow ADHD haver?
Great video Abby! I’m a looongtime quilter and knitter trying to learn how to sew clothes. I’d say I still suck at a lot, fitting and math are by far the hardest parts. One thing I will brag about is my finishing skill, I’ll hand sew hems and no one can see it!
Thank you! A good hemming skill will take you *so far* in sewing (it's amazing how much construction can be done with this one technique!) ❤
I love my medieval veil hems. The are just so dainty & quick. I have always sucked with sewing in Zippers.
Give me a fine hem any day of the week - zippers are dark and full of terrors, errors, and seam rippers. 😂
This video gave me such a boost!! One thing I know I can do well is finishing garments. Everything that requires teeny tiny hand stitching, buttonholes, small hems, all precision work is my realm. The thing I cannot do to save my life is drafting patterns. I have a loOOooOoooOonng way to go!
Love you, too! I'm so new to sewing in general that most things escape me. I am however proud of myself for getting the courage needed to use my mom's serger. I now serge, pre-wash, and iron all my fabric.
That's so exciting! Sergers are so scary to me. Bless you for taking the leap!
@@lizm92 Thank you. I have no idea how to thread the beast and just go with whatever my mom has in it but every time I use it I'm a little bit more confident.
My favourite thing right now is when my mom asks me to thread her needle for her when she hand sews.
This is great. I became a fearless sewist when I suscribed to Martha Pullen's Sew Beautiful Magazine in the 1980s. Each month there was a how to fix problems column. One column was dedicated to how to repair torn lace. It started out something like this: "If you are going to sew with lace, at some point you will have to repair it. We have all had to do it, so I'm going to teach you up front." This was so liberating!!! I went on to sew professionally making custom formal wear and doing alterations. The first thing you must do for alterations is tear the garment apart. Forever lost my resistance to tearing apart new consruction. I've retired from sewing professionally and now just make masks and work on the thousand projects in my tiny sewing room at leasure.
Remember your seam ripper is your friend.
I suck at evenly spaced hand sewn hems. I excel at making garments fit any kind of body and making my computerized sing and dance.
I do great handwork, especially trimming. I’m slow, my stitches are tiny, and you bet it’s worth the wait.
So true.
Everyone sucks at it.
I’m new to garments. I’ve been quilting for a while.
In quilting I suck at binding.
I’m learning that I do binding better on curves better than straight edges.
I have a machine from the fifties and it has a separate button holer.
It was my Granny’s and I inherited it. So I’m learning it all over again.
I love that you focused on this. It’s true.
Thank you.
Everyone is different, and I love this.
Thank you!!!
I am a stripe matching badass - I love the challenge of getting it right (I make most of my own daily wear clothing). I would love to learn how to drape.
🐝 I love that you have this accomplishment, and can boast about it. Badass, indeed! Sometimes we just need to blurt out our own pat on the back. Take that, everybody’s mom who overemphasized modesty!
Wow, that blouse is perfect on you! The colour, the shape and texture, it looks so beautiful on you.
Also, this video's message was so helpful. Thanks for sharing
I'm really good at following instructions. Like even if I've never attempted a technique before, if I just have instructions on what needs to be done I can do it and it usually turns out really well. I can copy someone else's technique pretty much exactly. The downside being that when left to my own devices I am completely and utterly lost, so I find adjusting or drafting patterns almost completely impossible.
I'm completely self‐taught and haven't attempted anything bigger than mending some clothes and making small household items, so I guess I just lack the training and experience to understand how things work without a detailed, step‐by‐step breakdown of what to do. It's something I'm excited to work on though :) Oh and I've literally never used a sewing machine so I'm sure I'll suck at that for a while too, I'm saving up to buy my first one now so I can start learning
Thanks for confirming my feelings of inadequacy! I mean I feel better about my challenges. I have been hand sewing costumes since 1976. Well I started machine sewing, but realized, that I liked had sewing better. Even though it takes me sew long😉, that I can loose momentum. Yea, and I keep learning new things every time I pick up a needle and thread. Either from yourself, or one of the other amazing creatives here in the historical / costuming sewing community. I think I’m best at the details. Hand finishing a welt pocket, or working button holes, which I sucked at for many years. I only finally used silk buttonhole twist like three years ago!
I think you have hit on a feeling amongst us that is so prevalent that nearly everyone has the sense, that their own work is flawed, that others’ work is better, and that some others are so good that you will never attain their lofty godlike skill set. You will. Everyone starts a beginner, and you are just like me, I need to refer to directions nearly every time a repeat something that I have done before, even after years of doing it. Yep, thanks. John Carlson
Thank you for your kind words! And yes, I think impostor syndrome and feelings of inadequacy are *strong* in our community, and we should all take a moment to be proud of what we can do and what we can accomplish! 🥰
This made me feel so much better about my sewing! So let’s see, my grandmother taught me to sew using scrap material and making clothes for my barbies. I am really good at invisible hems, I can alter a pattern to make it a little more “me”. However, I suck at getting sharp corners and sweetheart neck facings are the Bain if my existence.
Thanks for this cute video. I’m 45, been hand sewing since I was about 10 because, I was always so tiny. At 16, weighing 70lb and being 4’10”, and eclectic. Just any store bought clothes did not work on me. So, I started sewing with my grandmother both by hand and on an antique machine. Into my teens, I’d hit some thrift stores, then a sewing department and rip seams, use sewing tape when all else fails to make my own unique clothes.. Props both to my hard as nails Mexican grandmother who knows how to do everything with such eases, to the influence of the character Andy from Pretty in Pink.
To this day, patterns baffle me. And to crochet my own items is still a dream skill that my sweet Granny tried so hard to teach me but I just wasn’t ready.
I want more sewing groups, more needlepoint groups, more historical garment sewing groups. EVERYWHERE. So more of us, wishing we had a network of peers of various ages and skill sets to grow and learn and share with, could be empowered to break free of this “throw away” clothing culture.
If anyone here knows of anything like this, please share for everyone here to see if there are sewing groups in their community.
Thanks Abby.
I have to say, I love your channel!❤
Thank you! I'm having fun figuring out "my style" and what kind of videos to post - so your support and encouragement are much appreciated! ❤
I suck at having the confidence to sew. I've been a knitter for 30 years. I have total confidence, muscle memory, and courage when it comes to yarn and needles. I can identify and fix any mistake. Sewing is so new to me and it terrifies me to mess up. I have set myself a goal of replacing store bought clothes with handmade. I've been watching every tutorial and inspirational video I can find (thank you Abby and Cathy Hay). So now, I just need to roll up my sleeves and get to messing up so that I can learn and gain confidence. Thanks Abby!!!
Imposter syndrome is real. Thanks for the reminders!
I feel like it's ok to suck at things when you first try something. Hell, even if it's not the first time... it's ok. No one is great at everything... and it's ok to say you don't know. Like you said, it gives you something to learn!
I've sewn by hand for literally decades, I've even made clothes by hand. I've started using a sewing machine in the last month, and holy CRAP I'm learning so much! It's so much fun! It is truly addictive!
I’m short, so I’ve hemmed things for my entire life. My waist is small compared to my hips, so I learned to take in the waist when I buy pants that fit my hips. I found clothing frustrating for many years, so I worked on upholstery projects and handbags. I only make clothing for myself, and I don’t speak about a project until it’s finished...except when I make things for little girls. I don’t do it often, but when I do, it’s delightful.
i was asked to mend some shorts that had a broken zipper. for a couple weeks i would walk by it and think "i should really get to that but ive never done it before. what if i mess up?" then one day i had so much time to spare that i buckled down and go to it! it took me longer than i am sure most anyone would take... took notes, pictures, studied how it went in.. and the i went to town and swapped the zipper. you probably couldnt tell that the zipper had been switched out! it looks fantastic and it was something i had never done before! i was so proud. that is one thing i can say that I am good at haha leveling up everyday
I'm really good at pattern making for doll clothes, and I have really good hand-sewing skills and basic machine sewing. I am not good at using all the fancy stitches on my machine, and I've never done a machine buttonhole or used a serger in my life. And because I've mainly done doll-scale sewing in my life, any time I work on people-sized items, I feel like I'm dealing with huge amounts of fabric.
This is why I love you and THE reason I started fallowing you last year ❣️ Even your unboxing and study of your antique garments, shows that NONE OF US are Perfect at EVERY part of construction ❣️❣️❣️❣️ Love you ABBY COX!!!
For the life of me, I cannot make pants. All my pants projects fail me. But ive always been good at flat patterning out the designs in my head and I can make a good sleeve! Also I'm glad I'm not the only one who has gone into the bathroom and forgotten I was wearing a thimble 😂
Flat patterning is amazing! I am working every day to improve my brain power to imagine pieces in 3D when they're lying flat on my table. Amazing!
@@lizm92 thank you! My mom finds it hilarious that failed math all through high school, but I can flat pattern and scale up patterns with ease 😂 but I'd recommend thinking in the reverse, take a 3D piece and find a way to make it flat! When I get stuck on a curve I'll find a physical thing in my house that has the curve or something similar and make a duct tape pattern of it so you can see how it needs to be cut to lay flat and give yourself that understanding of it in the real world and not just in your head!
I can *deeply* related to the math thing. Like...why were we taught formulas and other mundane math practices where if they had given us something physical to apply these techniques to it would have made so much more sense? (not even making clothing, but building a table, or anything hands-on?!) Math makes *so much more sense* to me now that I understand how to apply it!
@@AbbyCox exactly! Like i flunked geometry in high school but this math is literally applied geometry and it makes soooo much more sense.
This gave me so much to be grateful for. I was so stuck on a project I thought was crap, and watching this made me look back at my first project and see how far I have come, and it made me so proud because this new project is progress. ❤️
I can make teeny teeny tiny 1/8" flat felled seams that look pretty decent for my daughter's clothes, but I can't make a garment that fits ME. Not even if my life depended on it.
I also only JUST learned which of my sewing dials is for stitch width and which is for length. My cheap brother machine had it labeled so when I got my 60s, unlabeled, kenmore I just assumed it was the same.
Bathroom thimble story, so relatable!!! I sow with a leather thimble ala Bernadette Banner and I keep forgetting I have it on and so I put it down but then I forget where I put it and then I have to get another one. I'm really proud of my felling. I can litterally see the difference from my first viking dress to my second! Aldo I used the iron alot more this time around, so that helped alot!
This video is really important and alot of fun so thank you! I'm looking forward to you next video.
Thimbles in the bathroom will forever be a thing. LOL (and one of the reasons why I have so many!). Isn't it so satisfying to be able to see your progress? It always makes me feel good too - and yes - learning to take the time to iron after seams and steps is also a big leveling - up moment (and one that I learned not too long ago!)
@@AbbyCox yeah it's really nice to se my sowing get so drastically better now when I'm I'm relatively new to sowing, itll probably slow down when I get better and better but for now it's a fantastic moral boost ^^
LOVE this, Abby! I LOVE to hand-sew . . . and I don't know what a serger is . . . so I imagine I would totally suck at that! I prolly should get better at machine sewing (at some point), but I make journals and not really anything to wear, so for what I do, it doesn't have to be as precise.
Oh, I would like to hug you! You are so, so right. I have recently turned 60, and I learned to sew in my late teens, so I have been sewing for more than 40 years. I am a careful and tidy sewist, you can look at all my clothes from the inside and they will look good.
BUT - I suck at fitting things properly, and I even realized why this is so. I learned to sew back in the late 1970's and really got into it in the 80's - a time when oversized styles were in fashion, no fitting required. I was over 50 when I did my first FBA.
My sewing usually isn't the best, but I can do most of the things that are important. Versatile? It might not always be very pretty, but it's usually durable.
I am proud to have just gotten started on handsewing to repair holes and tears this year. Bernadette Banner's handsewing beginner's course was a godsend, and I am proud that I am practising the techniques while making simple items like a little pouch from repurposed old fabric to store the supplies in. I am also proud and grateful to have found the basic supplies at a second hand shop.
Im not even a beginner is sewing, but I already can oil my mom´s 40 years old sewing machine. Im rather technical type and I look forward to use my skills more.
Something I think I'm good at that I actually discovered relatively recently- I can sew ribbons onto a skirt and make the stitches practically invisible. I recently finished making myself a pinafore and I hand sewed two ribbons onto the skirt as decoration. I didn't have matching thread (because I bought new ribbons for it and didn't think to buy thread to match) so I went with the closest match I had and you practically can't tell because the stitches I made were so tiny. I was really proud of myself for that, it took forever but I'm so happy with how it turned out.
Something I suck at (one of the long list of things): cutting. fabric. It always shifts around underneath my scissors so my cuts always end up super jagged and weird. I cannot cut in a straight line to save my life. But I recently acquired my grandmother's tailor's chalk, so I can try actually drawing out pattern pieces instead of trying to awkwardly cut around the paper.
Another way of marking it without using chalk is threadmarking :) I use it all the time, as I don't have any method of drawing on my fabrics without it leaving permanent marks. I basically pin the pattern to the fabric (I always use patterns excluding seam allowance), then cut it out with some room around the edge for seam allowance, and do long running stitches in basting thread or any weak cotton thread all along the edge of the pattern. If you cut the pieces double, make sure to not pull the running stitch tight, but leave some ease to you can separate the two fabric pieces and cut the running stitch between them. It is a lot of thread wastage, but for me it really works as it does not fade :)
Hope this made sense, if I could show it in a picture or video I would've done it xD English isn't my native language xD
I'm really good at items that fit close to the body. Corsets, doublets, fitted bodices, etc. I cannot, for the life of me sew anything with a lot of ease. ALL of my chemises look like trash. Everyone says chemises are beginner garments and I'm just baffled.
The nice thing about shifts and chemises - is that no one sees them - so its ok if they're funky (or shredding to bits..don't ask me how I know that...) 😂
Abby Cox
Is it at all related to you wearing them every day for five years?
THIS!!! Seriously, I deal with that self-doubt every day. I became a freelance stitcher for TV and Film 6 months ago, and I never thought I could go from a self-taught cosplayer to a professional stitcher. But in a costume shop, I can hold my own. I can make beautiful work. I learn so much from the people around me, and they learn from me. Sewing as a hobby/passion/career is a gift that never stops giving, because there's always something new to learn. And no two days in front of the sewing machine are ever the same. I love it!
🙌❤🙌❤🙌❤🙌❤
Abby: "You might be able to make hand sewn historical gowns but not know how to work a surger!" Me: *shuffles around uncomfortably* YEP! It's a no from me on the surging front! But hot diggity I have a snazzy prick stitch when I try.
Alli Nielsen
I’ve never encountered a serger in person, but I believe they are scary noisy machines. I may not sew as prettily as you, but I am definitely more comfortable with hand tools of and kind than with machines.
Literally just saved this to my Sewing playlist so I can pep talk myself when I get really mad at myself. Thank you!
I finally got a second hand "Kenmore" sewing machine, from the 70's, but it has the booklet so I'm probably going to be ok
I will attempt to make kitchen curtains when I can finally get a place to lay out all that fabric without the dogs running through it
I'm good at hand embroidery tho
Bluebelle51 Good for you , that’s a great machine , and awesome that you have the manual!! Enjoy
How did the algorithm know I needed this? Yesterday I got so frustrated about everything I was making so I started knitting a square because it's pretty foolproof. Now I feel motivated to draft that stupid pattern I've been putting off!
I practically get anxiety attacks every time I need to attach sleeves. Seriously it takes me about five tries to remember how to put them on correctly so they don't end up inside out.
I'm really good, however, at finding creative solutions to just about any other problem.
Oh my I wish you would have written this comment earlier/I would have seen it earlier/all of this took place earlier!😅 There was a PHENOMENAL course on making sleeve patterns, preparing the arm hole and setting in sleeves right by "foundations revealed" the business of Cathy Hay! It was available for anyone who isn't a member for free for some time...sadly isn't available anymore if you aren't a member (I tell you it made all of that all too familiar anxiety go away)
I totally agree. I still consider myself a basic sewist, even though I've been doing it for 20 years. Yet customers are impressed when they look at the costume I've run up that they wanted, saying that they could never do that. That's when I appreciate that most people don't have even basic sewing skills, so embrace what you know, and happy sewing.
You are so right! I’ve been sewing for over 50 years and I’m still amazed that so many people cannot even replace a button that fell off. My mother started teaching me when I was around six years old and in my day, girls took ‘home making’ or ‘home economics’ in school. We had to choose a very simple pattern for a dress that was never worn again. I was surprised recently to find a photo of myself in a 1973 yearbook where I was pinning the hem on a ‘maxi skirt’ that went with a blouse that buttoned. Was it a Louisa May Alcott book where the young lady was tasked with learning to make bread and perfect buttonholes? I must have taken those instructions to heart as I’m very good at both. I’m worried about the next generations who can do neither and do not care to learn.
I just googled “bread and Buttonholes”. It was indeed LM Alcott in her book “Eight Cousins”.
I sucks at the pattern drafting but I think I can "figure this project out" from an image ok
I needed this today! I’m trying to start a me-made wardrobe this year and while the finishing is pretty wonky it makes me so proud to know I’ve made something from nothing. It gives me such a mad rush to see something come together because of my own two hands.
I’m good at threading sergers, and stitching on hooks and eyes with buttonhole stitch.
I suck at stitching with chiffon and other light drapey fabrics by machine. SCARY AS HECK.
Lyndabeth Cave I am thrilled that you are comfortable with threading sergers. Even with Air Threading on my high end serger, I still dread it !!
And I agree about chiffon types . I actually just pulled out two gorgeous sheers from my stash ( that will need lining ) this morning and thought hard about attempting them today....
I think I’m most proud of learning patience in sewing. Patterns, adjustments and making garments we love to wear or use is the ultimate for me. Snags and mistakes are a part of learning.
Same applies to my knitting, but I love both..
I haven't felt inadequate when it comes to sewing for a few years now. I used to think that just because a expensive brand made clothes they were automatically better at sewing than I was (there's probably a term for this assumption), after all (I reasoned) they were officially in business selling clothes therefore must know what they are doing.
But then I bought some of those pieces and inspected a lot more of them and discovered... dum.. dum.. dum; wonky stitching, unclipped tails, traces of tailors chalk, uneven gathering and so on.
The stuff looks great from a small distance, and this is mostly because of the design and the great quality of the materials used (I can't even find comparable quality and designs of lace like it online or in brick and mortar stores). But the actual quality of the sewing involved is unimpressive. Not a high bar to meet.
The downside of my work is that I take a long time (even using a machine for 50%-80% of the steps) and I can't always find materials that are as good as I would like, plus I spend a lot of time researching new skills and making mock ups.
But the upside is that my work is pretty neat. I don't suck at what I finish, at least not any more.
I'm breaking into tailoring this year and my quilting experience is really helping. Do I know how to make clothes that fit me? Heck no. Can I cut the most beautifully precise pieces you've ever seen? Hell yeah.
I’m really good at intuitively figuring stuff out when I hand sew, but I still don’t know how to sew with a machine and my machine attempts have been pretty awful
Thank you for your pep talk. I am with a group of very talented historical sewers, who are younger than me. I have been sewing for years but feel so inadequate around these ladies. But what I can do quite well is a French seam. I can French seam just about anything. When I finish a garment it lasts. I made clothes for some of the French Marines over 35 years ago and they are still holding up. Thank you again for your encouragement.
I am good at handsewing and I have sewn human and doll sized clothes but I suck at machine sewing.
I suck at buttonholes, but I'm amazing at matching fabrics for quilting. I used to work in a fabric store and quilters would ask me what I thought, or if they go together. Loved helping people gather the materials for their projects.
I feel like because I'm a spoonie everyone is churning things out left and right and I will never have a full ensemble even if I work on it for 10 years...
🐝 We all produce spoonfuls (spoonsful?) in relevant sizes. Maybe think of it as turning out instead of churning out. I consider every little project of mine a triumph, flaws and all. We are all forever deriding ourselves for not being productive enough, so it’s worse when make comparisons to the... otherly motivated.
I have some spectacularly gifted, accomplished friends. I also have about three lifetimes worth of plans, projects, and supplies. The daily chore is to enjoy making what I can, and deciding that it’s okay that I’ll never do all I want to. In my sixth decade (where the hell all that time went is another reckoning altogether) I’m easing up a bit on the self-scolding.
I hope your particular spoon is soon full of self satisfaction.
Abby, bless you for this. Angela Walters has something along these lines in her video entitled ‘Three things machine quilters should stop doing’ for those of us who quilt- essentially, stop comparing your worst to someone else’s best, don’t point out your mistakes, and don’t forget the purpose of your work. I’m actually most proud of the ballet costumes I designed and made- with his help- for my son when he was dancing. The challenge of designing and making costumes for ballet classics like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella for the male dancers and younger kids who played the larger cast roles, which needed to be visually effective, moved with the body, and not fall off in pieces, still gives me a good feeling. Every year, I learned something new. A fellow dance mom told me about fiberglass kite rods that, when threaded along the top of the Dragonfly Cavaliers’ wings, allowed them to perch the Fairy Godmother on their shoulders without their wings drooping. Plastic boning, which kept the wings elliptical and did not deform like wire. The picture of a medieval armor breastplate that I used as a pattern to quilt 40 ‘goth monster’ tabards. Watching a professional production of Firebird and (attempting) to reproduce the monster costumes for kids- who at one point were rolling on the ground. Mermaid tails. Creating with my son (who took a pattern making course in college) doublets based on a historical reproduction pattern for the princes in Sleeping Beauty’s Rose Adagio. And tearing up when he did the role of ‘visiting prince’ for the last time, wearing something we both had a hand in sewing. Good times. Now, have I ever made a garment for ME that I was happy with? No. Do I always find the mistakes ( and tell people about them)? Yes. But I can still learn and ‘geek out’ on stuff like this in my ‘latter days’ (I’m 67). And a surprising effect of not being able to do my ‘other life’ (work) right now means more time to finish UFO’s. I ran across a ‘prepper’ video that suggested stockpiling fabric and bartering sewing skills. 30 boxes of fabric in my garage-I’m ready! Keep up the good work, Abby, your videos make my day 😀. And we really need the ‘if it’s good enough for Memaw’ T-shirts- in XXL, please😀
I am amazing at sewing a very long straight seam on my sewing machine. I can follow those marks like nobody's business. I would love to learn how to drape material and have it look like something wearable. Patterns are great, but not when you have something in your mind and can't find any pattern to fit the idea. Thanks for the boost and the smile. Take care of you
Love this!! I am 56 and have been sewing most of my life!! Thank you!!!
I've been sewing since I was 8 yrs old. Watching my mom, watching my aunt's quilt as a kid. So, for 51 yrs picking up this and that over the years and putting it to use. The one thing I really suck at, is putting in buttonholes by machine. And just a few weeks ago, I successfully completed a rolled hem ( 1/16") sample that was a glorious moment for me!!! And felled seams on my 18th century bedgown ( lined to boot) I'm now working on for a reenactment , i hope that is still going to happen (My very first event to be in).
I love this so much because I always feel inadequate for any project I take on. I intend to start learning pattern making as I try to make a costume for my 5 yr old daughter. I just finished a 18th century dress for myself. I never thought in a million years I'd be able to pull it off, but I did. And well. My sewing journey is just starting and I'm loving it. Thank you for bringing your light and passion to all of us! ♡