My grandmother’s idea of getting Easter dresses for her three little girls was to take them downtown, have them try on the dresses, make a lot of notes, and then go home and copy them.
My mother sewed very well herself, but she did it strictly pragmatically. I remember a long string of chambray work shirts for my father, with pearl snaps and elaborate top-stitching. She sewed the dress I wore to the Junior Prom. She refused to pay for baby pants until she couldn’t sit at her machine anymore. They were $2.50 even at the thrift store, and she could beat that if she caught a deal on the fabric.
My grandmother taught us all to cross stitch and embroider and crochet, but I think she didn’t trust us with her precious machine. My mother didn’t have the patience to teach anyone else. So, eventually, just as sewing was making a “comeback” as a hobby, I learned from a stranger at a craft studio in Austin (long closed). I knew how, partly by osmosis, partly by being “allowed” to do the easy bits, but no one had ever “taught” me anything.
I find it frustrating, now, because my mind has such very real memories of how things work, but my hands do not.
Which brings me to my list of sewing issues:
- What the heck am I supposed to do with all these bits of thread? I cannot handle messes, and everything in a four foot radius of my machine is covered in tiny thread bits.
- Similarly, ironing. Is there some kind of ironing wizardry that I am not in on, or do you really spend this much time on it? I feel like sewing is an excuse to practice my new hobby, ironing.
- I know that textile waste is real, but please give me permission to throw away all these fabric scraps.
- Bias binding. Seriously? I remember now that my mother refused to buy patterns if they called for more than a certain amount, and I see why.
- Is there some quick and easy answer to why my fabric drifts gently to the left and makes my seams crooked, or do I just need to pay more attention?
- The posture police are going to come after me. I am a short person, and I still feel like I am constantly hunched to see my needle. What am I doing wrong?
Jessica Thinks 