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| coinoperatedgirl |
As a pre-birthday gift to myself (or as a consolatory "oh my god I'm going to be 24 in 5 days time and then it'll only be a year until I'm 25 and then I'll be closer to 30 than I am to 20!" gift) I bought myself a wee sewing machine. I've been secretly wanting one for a long time now - in fact, I think ever since my 7th birthday when I recieved one as a present but my mother confiscated it because she thought it was an inappropriate gift for a seven year old (to be fair, it probably was). I've been idly browsing craft and sewing communities and blogs for a while now, and I have been having vague fantasies about making all my own clothes and sticking it to the man and becoming a feminist DIY punk icon, etc etc etc. But, due to a combined lack of funds and a lack of confidence in my creative and technical abilities (I'm book-smart but hideously impractical and really not much of a lateral thinker) I haven't done anything about it.
But today...well, today, I just decided to take the proverbial bull by the proverbial horns. I want some new additions to my little girl/adult baby wardrobe but being of an, uhm, ample frame and a non-standard shape means that it's difficult to get the stuff I *really* want to fit properly. So I just thought: fuck it! I'll learn how to make my own. I'll probably spend more money in the process (at least in the beginning) but hopefully at the end of it, I'll have some pretty new things to wear that are exactly how I want them to be and that fit me as snug as a bug in a rug.
Sooo, I hauled myself off the internet (!!!) jumped on a bus up town and crept somewhat tentatively into John Lewis' haberdashery department (I know, how subversive huh?). I immediately decided it was My Most Favouritest Place Ever. Rows upon rows of yarns and wool and thread and ribbons and buttons and lace. More shapes and sizes of knitting needles than I ever thought possible. So many beautiful fabrics - cotton, linen, jersey, fleece, poplin, tulle, chiffon, silk, voile - and in the prettiest colours and patterns! I had a bit of a mini panic attack because I was so over-whelmed by the choice. I spent a very happy hour in there and I ended up buying this little sewing machine - small and basic, but it should be alright for what I need to do. (Also in green!!) I also boughts lots of little odds and ends to make me feel like a Proper Sewer and some fabric to have a practice with.
Extremely excited by my potential new career as a Seamstress Extraordinaire, I set it up as soon as I got home. It took me an embarassingly long time to understand the instructions and thread it properly but thread it I (eventually) did and - feeling more than a bit pleased with myself - I tentatively tested a few stitches. It worked! 
Over the course of the afternoon, I managed to turn my fabric into something resembling a tote bag. It's too narrow, the lines of stitches are wonky, it would have been better if I had lined it, there are frayed threads everywhere...but it's a bag and it achieves the desired objective of carrying stuff so I'm quite pleased with it, considering it was my first go. And I'm surprised how easy it was. I think a lot of it comes down to just thinking things through logically.
I am now extremely excited and raring to get started on my next project. I think I'm going to do a basic t-shirt using some kids patterned fabric. Maybe farm animals. Or dinosaurs! My plan is to basically just use an old t-shirt that fits very well as a template. Part of the whole DIY ethic is not to rely too much on patterns and just sort of make stuff up as you go along. I need to spend some time practising stitches on scrap fabric first, though.
OK - internet fabric shopping now! Well, after I do my chores that is 
Pooface.
xxx
| 31 Aug 10, 9:58 PM FairyGirl UK(YO), 3 yrs   |
How exciting! "Nothing saves anyone's life, Sir. It just postpones their death." - Posner , The History Boys. |
| 31 Aug 10, 11:03 PM Telesto UK, 8 yrs  |
That's just lovely! Really inspiring. Hope you continue to have fun with it x |
| 1 Sep 10, 1:48 AM cuddlybeth UK, 6 yrs |
aren't you clever something I never had inclination to do was sew but I do knit and do tapestry but if you want help with anything can point you in right direction. Libraries have books on sewing with patterns etc if you get stuck
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| 1 Sep 10, 12:45 PM little_belle UK(E), 4 yrs |
Yay!! Crafty munch round my house! I needs a sewing machine too to complement my knitting machine for sewing up the bits I knit and expanding exciting crafty opportunities. Oooh I love a good crafty blog. I just got an attachment for my knitting machine that allows me to use drawn-up patterns to guide the shaping rather than couting rows etc. and apparently I can take any sewing/dressmaking pattern and knit the pieces rather than trawl around the net for patterns. I think we need to team up and take over the world. "I'm a right bitch, but if you want to get laid, you'll have to lump it." Marilyn Monroe. |
