Recently, I made a dress from a pattern I will not name here but it was so horrible that at the end of making it I decided to cut off the bodice and make it a skirt. I thought that I could make the pattern better. I read many reviews saying this pattern is not good and still I tried. I attempted to change the parts of the pattern that did not work, like the pockets. But after all of the fixing and trying, I gave up.
Has this ever happened to you?? It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It is really hard to recover from a bad project. It is even harder to start another sewing project. I think this is why sewing can be a challenging hobby for most people. In today's world we can buy most things made from fabric cheaper than we can buy just the fabric it took to make the project. Then you spend your time and effort and if the project doesn't turn out in the end, you feel worse because you could have bought the dress already made, for the amount you spent. Your sewing machine starts to collect dust and you begin to wonder if you shouldn't donate it or put it in the closet! STOP! Don't give up.
- Sew a project that you have made before. Go back to a tested, tried and true pattern that you love to make. The one that always turns out right.
- Take a field trip to the fabric store. Look through each print thinking of it's potential to be something gorgeous.
- Sew a small gift for someone else. When you give something you have made to someone you care about, it makes you happier.
- Sew a project for charity.
- Start a sewing group or join a group so you will have support while you sew.
- Get away from your smart phone, tablet and computer, and sew more. These are distractions and they will be there when you are finish sewing.
- Open up a window and let nature in. Or sew outside. I once saw a picture of a sewing group sewing in the middle of an old barn. It looked so peaceful.
- Slip those shoes off. I love to sew with my bare feet on the pedal of the machine.
- Show someone else how to sew!
- Sew scraps together.
- Dye your own fabric.
- Make your own look. Be unique, innovative and experiment with different fibers.
- Get a new sewing book for inspiration.
- Play music as you sew.
- Clean your sewing space. If you are like me, you work best in a clean environment.
- Make some time just for you. If you have a job, family or friends, it can be hard to get away from everyone. Make time for you. It is health to have time to yourself.
- Make your project in short spurts. Cut everything out on day one, iron everything day two and sew on day three.
- Go through your stash!
- Have a fabric stash share party with friends who sew. "One persons trash is another persons treasure."
- Make a project board of colors fabric swatches and patterns you would like to create.
Never Give Up! You are awesome!
Comments
I wanted to comment about the pattern mishap you had. First of
all was it the pattern or pattern instructions that you disliked
the most? I ask this because as a seamstress I too have had problems
patterns a time or two. Mostly, with pattern instructions. Really bad
instructions can be a total waist of time and fabric! But, some companies
especially the big 4 pattern companies like to keep their customers coming
back.... i.e., a happy customer is a return customer! So, I checked on the
pattern envelope after having a terrible time with what should have been a
quite simple shorts pattern for my 14 year old daughter. Let's just say I
have made wedding dresses with easier to understand instructions. I explained
this to the company, and that if it had been my daughter who had been so baffled
by these instructions.... I would not have ever expected her to return to sewing.
They asked if I could think of any way to make them easier to understand... (to be
honest... it was a lost cause) and asked for my snail mail address so they could send
me a voucher for a free pattern. Sooo the moral of the story is; contact the company,
let them know that this consumer isn't happy with their product. It couldn't hurt!
djcogdill@q.com
Jean C.