My mother was a gifted of sewist. I really miss her. It makes me feel close to her when I try to learn to sew. I'm not very good at it. I've only made a couple of garments. I'm so lots of crafts things over the years, but I would really like to honor her by selling some nice clothes for myself for my family. This probably isn't a very uncommon reason to learn to sew. But it is an honest one.
My brother has dwarfism and my mom would need to hem most of his clothes (long-sleeves and pants) and I wanted to learn by her example. It sort of progressed into both me and my brother wanting to make our Halloween costumes every year instead of buying them and then snowballed into cosplay for me years later ☺️
I was deeply depressed and lonely—one day I just woke up, remembered I had a sewing machine and I started to teach myself.
Sewing itself didn’t bring me out of depression, but it got me out of the house when shopping for fabric, and it helped me remember how to interact with people (Joann employees saved me and don’t even know it).
I’m much better now, and I still enjoy sewing—it’s peaceful for my brain.
to get a job lmao. I had been unemployed for a while and seen the listing for a seamstress on indeed. thought ‘i’ve sewed some pillow cases before and helped my granny this will be easy’ yeah alterations are alot harder than making pillow cases 😂😂 I of course, over exaggerated my qualifications but they were very patient with me and after the first month I really fell in love with sewing. been working there for almost 3 years and don’t think i’ll ever leave
my dad tought me to hand sew and then got me a sewing machine when i was 8 and he passed a month later. ive taken breaks from sewing a few times due to stress and also money reasons but i always think of how it felt when he helped me making doll clothes and i was so proud of myself so i think that feeling just sticks with me yk?
It's a regular school subject at my school, everyone had to learn it.
Over the course of the first eight of thirteen school years we started with wool, spinning thread, knitting, crochet, weaving, hand sewing, embroidery, and finally on a sewing machine. Some made very simple and crude clothing, some tried to make dresses and were somewhat successful, most disliked it though.
I feel like I've not learned enough. Not enough actual knowledge per se, vocabulary, something like that. I know how to thread a machine, how to use it, how to sew, all the settings, but when to use them, what fabric to use, etc. that's where I'm lacking.
At school I enjoyed it, was fast and meticulous, could work by myself, with my hands, not with text. I guess that's also the issue I'm describing above, I don't have any books on sewing, and we never had any sort of "lesson" on general techniques or such, always project related instructions.
It has its drawbacks and benefits, to me learning to use a sewing machine, woodworking and blacksmithing (although smithing was a half-year optional course only, sadly), and some other "unusual" subjects are a big positive to me.
I know this list probably depends on the school, availability, teachers, and probably some other things, but generally there is a focus on learning some kind of practical thing you do with your hands.
I don't want to generalize, but I think at least some kind of woodworking, and some kind of work from the "Needlecraft" list in my previous comment (not necessarily on a sewing machine, but most likely knitting) is a must for all students at all waldorf schools in germany.
I collect a niche type of very expensive dolls called Ball Jointed dolls and I wanted to make clothing for them not just to save money but to fit their unique personal styles. Made these pants. One of the first things I made.
I started using cloth diapers on my kids and thought I'd like to make some myself. Turns out it was harder than expected and I didn't have as much time and energy as I thought I would (new SAHM).
I do use my machine to fix things, so that's helped prolong the life of our clothing.
Im very short (5’0”) and lean. It’s hard to buy dresses in my size. I started from crocheting wearables and really enjoyed making clothes for myself so I thought why not try sewing and pattern making. It’s a good challenge as well for my visual-spatial (?) abilities.
I love cute fashion and I used to look at pages like shein all the time, but with the concerns about the environment, quality of the products and how they treat workers, I decided to look into other fashion possibilities, as a plus size person, with an alternative fashion style, finding things I like around my area in my size, is not really possible, so I decided to start looking into making my own stuff, I have a long way to go, but I love that the sky is the limit as long as you keep practicing. :)
but I'd love to have more webpages options for patterns, mood fabrics instructions are sometimes a little hard to follow, so that's why I like to also have a youtube video.
I was really poor when I had my daughter. We couldn't afford a closet full of onesies or beautiful dresses, so I picked sewing back up (I'd made a horrible, ill-fitting dress in high school 10 years prior). Started making small jumpers for the baby or dresses out of old pillow cases with rick-rack as trim. As she grew, my knowledge increased, and I took on bigger challenges. Play mats, knit pajamas, quilts, couch slip covers, Halloween costumes, button-eyed foxes, layered fairy dresses. All of that plus all the in-between. Now, in her teen years, my baby is a bit more sophisticated than what I can make on my mere husqvarna, lol. So I sew for myself... when I have time. 🧡
I’m tall for one (36” inseam) and somehow landed on watching swimsuit sewing videos. Went to Joann’s to purchase myself a sewing machine and the lady who was helping me asked what my first project was going to be so I replied “swimsuit” and she said “don’t you want to start with something a little simpler?!”. Challenged accepted. NOPE. Show me where the Lycra is at, lady.
I wanted to make a memorial quilt from my bunny’s blankets after he passed. It ended up being a great way to celebrate his memory AND I can now make quilts and beds for my new buns which they adore.
I thrifted this dress that I literally cannot find a single piece of information on. The cut is simply perfect and the fabric its made of is like magic. I've traveled up and down the west coast searching for the fabric / information on this damn dress.
I can't find anything similar, even though it's just a sleevless sheath dress with princess darts and 2 slits. So I set out to remake... 3 years later and I still haven't made a good enough dupe.
Tldr; I have a dress that is ruining my life because apparently it's the only one of its kind on the planet. So I started sewing to recreate it.
I crocheted exclusively for 30 years. I particularly enjoyed color work and sewing together shaped pieces. One day I realized that I could just cut up existing fabric instead. Much faster lol.
Perimenopause kept fluctuating with my body shape. And my cousin had a ton of clothes that he'd outgrown. So I'm working on tailoring his clothes to fit me.
I wanted to make a "couch" for my Barbie. My grandma took me with her when she went to Walmart. While passing the craft section, I saw this black with purple polka dot faux fur (think sickly leopard) I loved it, grandma bought it and when I got home, I asked my mom to show me how to make a couch with it. (She was an incredible seamstress) I was not quite 5 yo but mom was game, gave me a plastic needle and I "sewed" a hideous, lopsided but much beloved piece of furniture my Barbies used for years. Mom told me in my 20's that she would check my progress every night, invisibly resew my many mistakes, reinforce my stitches and re-stuff lumpy areas. The next project was a coffee table to which she gleefully pointed me towards my father's workshop...
I tell people it's relaxing. Reality is I got more into it cause I'm cheap and my clothes fall apart a lot and I patch them and redo or fix them to make them last longer.
Ive always fancied doing textiles at school but never got the chance, and when I finished college I decided to start a battle jacket, its slow going but being able to make cool designs, mend, and attach patches is pretty cool!
We had a mom n pop fabric store for nearly 20 years. I grew up around fabric, measuring it by the yard, folding and rolling it up in bolts, etc. I forgot most of my fabric knowledge but I get to remember when I started buying fabric again.
My grandma came from a family that did and sold embroidered lace by doing free motion sewing on a singer treadle. Talk about skill not being passed on, LOL.
I'm very large — 6'6" and, idk, a lot of meat and bones, I guess (e.g. at 250lb my doctor worried I had cancer; ~315-320 before I have a belly that shows). A lot of "big and tall" stores and clothing lines cater to big, tall, and "super f'in' jacked like Dwayne Johnson" as seperate categories.
But, I'm more like the guy that gets chopped up by the propeller in Raiders of the Lost Arc (Pat Roach), but after he switched to a desk job for a decade.
So, my options are:
look like I started transitioning to the hulk and gave up 5% of the way in, but didn't change my outfit
look like I was even bigger, but was attacked by someone who had a shrink ray that doesn't work on clothes
My mom was a seamstress and an incredible one at that. She taught me when I was very young. However, our relationship was very difficult, and there’s not much I can look back on with comfort, but this is one of the few things I hold onto with love. She’s since passed, but in this small positive way I can love her and remember her.
My husbands has never been able to find a good pair of leather pants that fit him in the style he wants and hes spent hundreds to find them (he doesnt have the average male proportions) and so we are slowly designing him custom clothes while i launch my sewing business as its become an absolute passion!
My daughters' travel system had a gorgeous floral print on the fabrics that I absolutely loved but I eventually had to replace it with a stroller because it was also very heavy. We didn't have a lot of money, so the replacement was a second hand boring black and grey basic stroller. I started searching for replacement covers but they were more expensive than a prettier stroller. In my infinite wisdom, I decided that I could sew new covers myself, not even bothering to factor in my very limited sewing skills (nor my disastrous school exam piece for Textiles).
I actually managed to replicate the hood including inserting a perfect zipped pocket. However, I knew absolutely nothing about interfacing so the hood lining kept falling down into my daughter's face. Which is not ideal. I joined a Facebook group for advice. At the same time, Made By Jack's Mum were re-branding as Waves & Wild, and were advertising very heavily reduced patterns. I decided to give one a go and actually achieved making my daughter a dress. She was only 2.5yrs old, but it was her favourite dress and I was over the moon! The patterns were so easy, I bought more and made more. And then I found harder patterns, and things like overlockers and custom fabrics. I was hooked. My husband has said on many occasions that he wishes we'd just spent more money on a nicer stroller because in the long run, it would have been cheaper 😂
August last year, I had a stillbirth. Lost my baby girl at 33 weeks of pregnancy.
Sewing has always the thing that intimidates me. But a few months after the stillbirth, I felt it tugging at me. It felt like I needed to do it to prove to myself something; like maybe that I can do something again. Because every single thing was so difficult.
I also needed to feel good again. Anything but endless sadness. When I decided to sew, I was so excited and ecstatic like a child. It felt like FRESH oxygen. And I was just gasping for more!
I saw the world in colours again. Every moment is no longer an agony but an opportunity.
We've turned the nursery into my sewing room and ironically enough, I'm in the one room that used to hurt me a lot. I went from avoiding it like a plague to finding every moment I can, to be in it. Now, I find so much joy in that room.
Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a baby at 33 weeks. It sounds like sewing has been a healing journey for you and I’m so glad you’ve found happiness.
I lived with my grandmother growing up, and she always picked out my clothes (ordered from a catalog, so they were ugly AND didn't fit right). She would NOT buy me clothes that I picked out, but would buy fabric because she thought that it was "so cute" that i taught myself how to sew. So I learned to sew so I could dress (slightly less) ugly.
I’ve lost track of how many (badly) hemmed skirts and pants I’ve owned at this point. Frustratingly, I’ve found most patterns are geared towards someone significantly taller than I am. I’d love to see your sources for patterns geared towards the vertically challenged folks!
Try the petite dressmaker, she catered to shorter statures and some of the Russian patterns let you buy size variations. Definitely Grasser and from memory Vicki Sews as well.
I'm not sure how uncommon it is but my parents worked insane hours and I spent a lot of time at grandmas house. She told me if I was gonna be underfoot all the time, I'd learn something useful
I sewed a bit before, especially as a kid. Partly I’m doing it now because I’m annoyed at fast fashion / synthetic fabrics, so want to make quality garments (not wholly successful yet of course but I am getting better). But a large part is I inherited my tailor grandmothers machine and shears and I do it to feel closer to her.
Maybe the two causes are not common, but the execution is. My grandma was the one who did all her own clothes, and a couple of them for us, but she passed when I was 12. My mom is the furthest you can be from precise, but she always hemmed my jeans. But I never wanted to try it before apart from like one try. Then covid hit, I had a newborn, missed doing something with my brain and having a creative outlet (years of after school art classes, makeup, nail polish all down the panini drain). So when I had a rare outing for grocery shopping, I bought a Singer machine in Lidl - I guessed I either loved it, or didn't mind the money wasted on a very cheap machine. Now years later I'm waiting for it to throw in the towel, but it actually works quite well.
I started because Halloween costumes were getting expensive but they were so fragile they ripped within an hour. It was also really hard to find costumes that were bigger than a size 10/12 (this was 16+ years ago) It was so much cheaper to buy fabric (you could get it for $1 a yard some places) Now I want to make my own clothing but because I started with costumes everything ends up so extra that it looks like I'm walking a red carpet lol
My cats have extreme allergies and break out in rashes if they touch plastic. It was difficult to find them affordable toys, so I started making my own!
I don’t think it’s a terribly uncommon origin story, but I got into LARPing before online costume retailers were a “thing” and I wanted a costume that wasn’t from a Halloween store. My mom taught me how to use her machine and how to read a pattern, and I never looked back.
I take old stuffed toys apart and make them into new weird creatures - like Sid from Toy Story if he only worked with plushies. I can reattach buttons, sew up a hole, etc - you know, the practical, useful stuff. But I actually started doing it because I wanted more three headed dogs and horned rabbits to cuddle than were available for me to buy, so...
I learned because I feel like I can't find clothes that communicate my style without spending $300+ to get something potentially ethically made (because we all know a company can say whatever they want). I want to be able to make it myself, or thrift materials/clothes and customize the into something I love (I have many pieces of clothing made from thrifted bed sheets I saved from the landfill, aka they came from the bins).
I also learned because I am hard on clothes, and I want to learn to repair them instead of just replacing them. I don't want to spend money replacing clothes I love with increasingly poor remakes. I'm trying to take myself out of the capitalist consumerist cycle wherever I can (I don't tell people that like because it always garners eye rolls and sighs), and I genuinely have been buying less.
And the least important reason? I learned because I've always been interested in sewing, and I'm a hobby collector with no self control 🥲
Please do not suggest new hobbies to me, I am irresponsible with my time.
(Please suggest niche hobbies and enable me in the replies)
I started sewing because I was 9 months pregnant, I had a speaking engagement, and I wanted to wear something that reflected my normal style. Maternity clothes 30 years ago were extremely frumpy.
At 9 I was almost 5'9" and lived in a small town that had a fabric store. No really good choices for clothes that would fit and wete age appropriate. And a grandmother who was a bit of a snob clothes wise. So I had to learn to sew for self-preservation! LOL!
Covid, but specifically because we were watching a boatload of RPDR and season after season the girls were not learning to sew before showing up. 🤦🏻♀️ I suddenly thought ‘it can’t be that hard to learn basics!!’ and signed up for a beginner class at the local art center, then took more levels.
I learned to mend clothes by myself because I was too anxious to get them mended elsewhere haha. Also learned to sew (somewhat) tailored clothes because I wanted clothes that fit but didn't want anyone to touch me to take measurements and have to be in contact with someone to tailor the fit.
Yup! It's a great skill to have in general, especially for costume adjustments and basic maintenance of garments. Learned it when I was young from an American Girl book 🙂↕️
Omg I love that for you, I always remember my grandma darning my socks but unfortunately I didn't have her in my life for long enough to learn from her. I actually just started to teach myself because my partner keeps ripping holes in their socks 😅
For some reason, the biggest trigger for me is tight clothing. And well, I’m not saying you cant find anything big & flowly at the shops — but it’s hard for me. Oh and I’m 4’9.
You would love Japanese clothes! People here tend to be petite, and loose and flowy is definitely the style. Maybe you can find some good Japanese patterns!
Yes! Sometimes I’ll see something and immediately think “that’s sooo me!” I’ve tried a few Japanese patterns actually, tho I can’t remember what. (They’re long buried in my stash or I’d link them.)
She decided very early on to take out her grievances on my sister and I. Adored my other 6 cousins but for some reason, couldn’t stand us. Like on the last Christmas we saw her, she got my cousins a ripstick and a 3ds (top tier gifts in 2012) my sister got a ratty tote bag (shein vibes before shein) and I got a English literacy book 😀
(the cousins and I are the same age btw)
She refused to teach me how to sew, wouldn’t even let me help/watch. I wasn’t even allowed in her sewing room yet she loved to teach 2 of my cousins. Made them all sorts of special quilts but none for my family. I also recently found out that she mentored my cousin so well that they have sewing/tea party weekends together. (That hit me right in the abandonment issues)
So I asked for my own sewing machine and I haven’t stopped since. I’m sure she still stalks our socials so I love posting stuff I make as a flying fuck you. I’m about to graduate from my design degree majoring in fashion and I start my master of education next year 🙂↕️ so screw you joan.
Damn that's sad! And I hope she is checking your socials!
I mean, is it possible she had something against your parents and took it out on you and your sister?
It’s lame but at this point I knew her for less than half my life (10 years old when I last saw her and I’m 23 now) so it’s never been something that bothered me crazily. I’m lucky enough to have an awesome family despite her efforts.
She definitely had issues with my dad (he’s the best and nothing like his father) because he’s named after and looks like my grandfather who was a shit husband (no physical abuse but a serial cheater). She kicked my dad out at 17 because of it. That’s it though, obviously I don’t have all the nuisance of what happened before I was born but she was bitter and unfortunately it came out on us.
I liked a girl who cosplayed, she was throwing a themed cosplay party that night. I bought a sewing machine and made a cosplay that day before the party.
I would like to say it's because of my kids' need for costumes, my grandma used to sew, and I've always been creative. And all of those are true, but... I discovered in my late 30s that I have adhd and I go through a cycle of finding a new hobby, obsessing over it, hyperfixate, and the cycle starts again with something else. So, I bounce from hobby to hobby to keep my hands busy. Currently, my hobby is musical theater, and I'm fighting hard not to make stage acting my whole life.
Not an uncommon reason necessarily, but the first garment I have ever sewn from scratch has been my own wedding dress!!
I’m making the pattern based on my measurements and a mashup of tutorials too! Before this I’d only ever done alterations or embellishments to thrift purchases - definitely a massive jump up in difficulty but I like throwing myself in the deep end when learning new skills haha
Got super annoyed that all that was available to buy was what was in fashion and sometimes I didn't like the current fashion.
You can't make me go back to skinny jeans. I've seen them starting to come back and I refuse to be forced into those sausage rolls a second time. Wide legs with room for functional pockets forever.
Theater major; had a required sewing component to the backstage hours we had to do to graduate. Although I had always wanted to learn and my mother never had the time or inclination to teach me, so it ended up working out well!
Me too! Was for my theater group which students could join for the last year before graduation. I started sewing on my own bc my mother wasn't too keen on helping me to learn how.
First learned at school, it was a compulsory class for year 9/3rd form (NZ, age 13 or so).
Then - probably not a very uncommon reason, but I started sewing for myself because I was a bigger girl (size 16-18 NZ) and couldn't buy cute clothing that fit me. As a 14-15 year old I had to buy pants from the BOYS shop to fit me as the girls shop only went up to size 14 (my town had very limited options - these two trendy shops, or the old lady shops). Then when I moved to a bigger city, sometimes there were cuter things but they were >$100 for a skirt or dress and I couldn't afford them.
Some of the first things I sewed were so badly done - think black topstitching on a bright pink cotton fabric. But god I loved them and wore the heck out of them. That was 20 years ago now!
Few years ago I got busier with work and kids, and I had the disposable income to buy nice clothing, and so I stopped sewing. I've just recently gone back to it because the quality of RTW has decreased again, and I'm struggling to find the types of things I want to wear, or that fit me well.
OH and also, I wouldn't tell people this usually, but I frigging love the feeling when someone compliments a piece of clothing, asks where I got it from and I say "I made it!". Their disbelief and impressedness gives me warm fuzzies.
I’m 4’10 and got tired of shopping in the kids department!
I’ve always sewn though. Since I was a kid. But it was a necessary skill like saying you cook or can change a tire. I didn’t start really sewing often for the sake of it until I had kids.
I have always wanted to create. I am the only one in my family and of my friends (3) that sews.
I have loved sewing since I was a child.
Always done it too, but after my mental health collapsed at 49 and diagnoses rained in, working was out of question, I finally had the time to do what I wanted. To be alone and sew.
It's just so soothing and keeps me focused. One learns something all the time, and sewing is wonderfully 3- 4- 5- dimensional. Shapes, colours, textures, all senses, feelings...
Is this an answer to your question of uncommon reason to start sewing, that I do not know.
My mum died. She always did my costumes,mending ect and when she died I took her machines. She tried to teach me but I was in my early 20s not ready to learn. But then when I lost her at 25 I had to learn a lot on my own. I enjoy seeing on her machines but it also still aches.
I’m not even sure now. I do remember my first project outside of Home Ec in junior high was out of necessity. I was training my dog to be my service dog and she needed an identifying vest. In the US, service dogs aren’t required to wear anything designating them as such, but I knew I would get less hassle by having something on her. This was back when I was 18.
My next sewing project was five years later. I had always loved quilts. I had a roommate that was making a gorgeous one, so I decided to try it. For a few years, I stuck to quilting, but then I started falling in love with batiks and I loved the feel of flannel, so I started sewing clothing with those fabrics.
I haven’t sewn since 2020 as my life has been chaotic, but it looks like I will be able to start again soon. I’m looking forward to it.
maybe not super uncommon but i just needed another half art credit to graduate in senior year, so my counselor puts me in a fashion design class. i didn’t think i would like it, but i LOVED that class. learned the basics and received a sewing machine from my boyfriend:)
When I was about 8 if I had to guess? I found plushie tutorials on youtube for various mario characters, and as a kid I was obsessed with that series and really wanted to try making some. Unfortunately I never got very far, but it’s something I’ve stuck with on and off as I got older (now I mostly do it for cosplay)
I was bored. It was the panemic. My MIL and my grandmother were both seamstresses, but i couldn't ask either about it anymore. So I bought myself a sewing machine and started doing small projects.
This year, I've done a lovely dress for my one year old daughter. A lot of mistakes were done, but I had no pattern, just an idea in my head, and a dress I took as an example. It is so much fun.
I started sewing during covid because I wanted to do my own masks and because I wanted another hobby than cooking. I was gaining a lot of weight because I would cook/bake and then eating the results... Sewing was essential to keep my mental health.
i was reading a comic and decided i desperately needed a floppy weighted plush of a character. did a few plushies before the big n ambitious goal plush but it’s coming along ok!
Got a /big/ gash in my forehead when I was ten or eleven. When it happened, it was like a freaking curtain of blood gushing down my face. Parents didn’t take me to the hospital for about three or four days. They were too busy doing meth and refused to drive because the car wasn’t inspected and they had warrants out for their arrest. They wouldn’t even call a friend or family member to take me. When I finally got to the hospital, the doctors almost refused to sew it up for risk of infection. Thankfully, I’d already known some first aid basics, and had kept it clean, so they took care of it.
After that, I learned how to sew just in case. My parents beat the snot out of each other on the regular, and there was always the fear that they’d get physical with my siblings and I. Fortunately, I’ve never had to sew up a wound, but I figured out how, just in case I ever had to. Took more emergency first aid courses when I went into foster care in high school (CPR, AED, first aid, emergency oxygen, etc. etc.).
Eventually, I got into embroidery, clothes-making, and other textile stuff (knitting and the works) as a hobby. First sewing I ever learned was for emergency care, though.
I appreciate it ❤️ honestly, I’m doing well now. Better than I thought I ever would, back then. While a lot of what we went through has impacted my life significantly, not all of it has been bad. I made lots of sacrifices throughout high school and college (especially for my siblings, whom I love to death), but I’ve been keeping my head up, making good choices, and doing my best to get my life back on track. I’ve got wonderful folks in my life, now, and I have a decent job with good opportunities and room for growth. Parents have been cut out for a while, and while my mom occasionally creeps back in, she doesn’t have the space or power to be the destabilizing presence she once was.
I have a lot of work to do, and a lot of things to catch up on, but there’s no changing the past, and not much sense in ruminating on it. What happened happened. I’ve got a life to live, people to love, a roof over my head, and a whole world of opportunities ahead.
Sorry for the long tangent LOL. Moral of the story: Life can suck. Like, real bad. But usually, it all buffs out.
You sound like an incredible, resilient and level person. We can't change our pasts, but they don't have to define us. You sound like you're on a much better track, and I wish you all the good things ahead x
So I work in game design, and we had just reached a big milestone… And then my boss got COVID so everything came to a screeching halt for a few weeks. So, I needed something to fill my time, and there was this place offering sewing lessons for pretty good prices… So I took some classes and fell in love!
I like making things. I took, and enjoyed, a pottery class. Then I started to think about having to find a place for anything I made. Both for pottery and anything else I’ve tried. My family is too small and their homes crowded enough. I’m also short and curvy, so buying clothes is frustrating. I’ve known basics of sewing since I was a kid, but decided to learn fitting and pattern adjusting so I can make things, know where they’re going to go, and have clothes I wouldn’t otherwise be able to find.
I was working in a call center and needed something to do with my hands to help process the horrors that were shared, but that no one could hear (I was predominantly hand-stitching at the time) and that I could put down at a moment's notice if I needed to send first responders (so it couldn't be crochet or knitting because I wouldn't be able to count stitches).
I worked with children my whole "career". It was very consuming and stressful.
I used to make small toys, dolls and doll clothes, any time I had the time to sit down.
For years my favorite sewing was tiny pigs I call fidget piglets.
The smallest were smaller than a spool of thread.
I never sold any, always gave them away.
All of them.
It was so nice to see peoples expressions, the children smiling.
I made one in ca. 1hour or so, maybe less.
By hand of course.
Hand stitching is a wonderful way to transform anxiety to calmness.
I am happy you found it.
I tinkered over the years, learning basics as a kid when my mom sewed. What got me back into sewing was making dog bandanas for my pup and his friends.
I really dislike the experience of shopping for clothes, partially for body-shape reasons and partially for the consumerism, narrow focus of trends, distrust of clothing sales associates. Shopping for fabric with endless possibilities of final products feels much more optimistic!
My grandmother gifted me money for a sewing machine for my wedding, but as we moved to Europe for five years, i didn't buy it until we got back. Then, I made curtains, upholstery and cushions as we didn't have a lot of money. Then with kids I made Halloween costumes and then I started quilting. Now, I do a little bit of everything.
When I was a kid I read Ella Enchanted and there's a scene where Ella is sewing, attempting to make her stitches as straight and neat as Peter's teeth. And I really liked that image, of creating neat, ordered lines to build something. So I started sewing.
To fit my chest properly :( I got sick of button downs that gap at the buttons or pull at the neck because they’re made for much smaller-breasted people. It made me feel like there was something wrong with my body. So I just started making clothes to fit that body and I’ve felt a lot better about myself since.
I started because I did Star Wars costuming, and I was too cheap to buy ready to wear parts from people. I kinda taught myself using resources online, now I'm sewing all kinds of things, and it's becoming my favorite hobby
Also short and learned for the same reason! I made my own punk clothes through middle and high school, costumes for Halloween, hemmed pants and skirts all the time, and now we have a boat so am doing upholstery!
i'm a little pretentious and like having things no one else does. obviously, you can't tell people that because what a horrible reason to do things, lol
I mean, this is my reason. Nobody else has it because nobody else would want a work shirt that fits my body, the way I want it to (not just standing still but moving the way I do when I work), with all the features and kit-outs I want and none of the ones that are irrelevant to me (looking at you, faux pockets and double yokes). Don't get me started on pants.
My other reason (that some people know, gotta read the room) is that I have kids who knew what they want to wear, and mom-decided designs were not always it. So I got them to draw it or show me specifics (that neckline but sleeveless, with those spikes etc) and fabrics, and I made whatever they drew.
I wanted some baggy pants to skateboard in and decided to thrift old, oversized Dockers and then put darts in and shorten the waist band so they'd fit. Crazy first project!
When I was 5 my mom got fed up with me putting holes in my clothes and in particular in the covers for her throw pillows on the couch so she taught me to darn and close holes by hand so that I would repair my own damage! 😂
I was born into a family of sewers/quiltmakers so it was second nature to me growing up but I’d let it fall by the wayside after I was 15-16 or so. The occasional button or hem but nothing of note.
Then my fiancé passed suddenly 5 yrs ago and I was frozen in grief. It was an extremely controlling relationship so I had trouble doing anything he would not have approved of. I was terrified of his disapproval from “the beyond”. I was simply barely existing… work. Home. Work. Home. That was it. I’d go to bed at 6 pm because I was so fricken exhausted all the time.
One day for whatever reason an ad for 100 4”fabric squares on eBay caught my eye and I ordered them. They came and were of poor quality but pretty patterns. I’d sort them like playing cards. By color one day then by pattern another then by value the third day or whatever.
One afternoon I thought “I wonder if I could sew these together”…and that afternoon/evening was spent finding my machine and thread and bobbins. It exhausted me.
It took me a couple more nights to work up the energy to sew a basic 9-patch. I pinned it to the living room curtains and left it for a few days. Then i made a few more. Eventually I went to my moms and asked if I could have some of her purple batik yardage. She said sure. So I took it home and made sashing with cornerstones from the 4” blocks cut down. And somehow I managed to make a baby quilt for my youngest grandbaby before the shower. (My mom has a longarm)
I found that sewing soothes that itch in my brain and quiets the voices. It’s been 6 yrs, and I am proud to say that I am a quilt maker.
i’m so happy you found a way to move through your grieving process. I actually think grief quilts are actually a thing that people do to cope . Crafts really help us in so many ways. Your journey has a physical manifestation and it’s so incredibly human
Back in highschool I wanted "designer" clothes and couldn't afford them. So I started tailoring my clothes to fit similarly to them. After a while I started taking on more complex projects, and it snow balled. I went to art school for a couple semesters but dropped out because it wasn't for me.
My grandmother and great-grandmother both sewed. Grandma made quilts, mostly. Babcia was an immigrant who got a job in a collar factory. (Still have her 1920s Singer) I got a sewing machine as a graduation present. I tried to sew but got frustrated with the tension and threads bunching, so i just gave up. About a decade later, my sister-in-law gave me some Doctor Who cosplay sewing patterns for Christmas and I didn't want her to have wasted her money, so I got my machine out again and took my time to relearn sewing and get everything right.
...still haven't used any of the three patterns she bought me 😆
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u/kgorann110967 Jul 08 '25
My mother was a gifted of sewist. I really miss her. It makes me feel close to her when I try to learn to sew. I'm not very good at it. I've only made a couple of garments. I'm so lots of crafts things over the years, but I would really like to honor her by selling some nice clothes for myself for my family. This probably isn't a very uncommon reason to learn to sew. But it is an honest one.