Saturday, January 28, 2006

Why do I sew?

Wow! Is this a loaded question or what? So what brought about this reflection? Georgene on Patternreview recently posed that question in a folder called "Pattern Expectations!" I had a great answer written and then it floated off into cyberspace so I decided that maybe I should just express myself here instead.

Mmmmmm, why do I sew?
Okay if I say fit, I will sound like a hypocrite since I just ranted about making muslins. But I think that is a laziness factor instead of not wanting a well fitted garment.

I would like to add to that garments in colors and fabrics that I love instead of what the "fashion designers" or "color experts" decide are the hot colors/fabrics for the season. I mean sometimes I look terrible in those colors! And I hate clothing made from all polyesters or mostly poly blends. I understand that manufacturers do this so that the average consumer can have an easy care garment but I like my drycleaners! They know me by name!

Also, I would like the same skirt or pants in more than one season! You know how you find the perfect pair of pants but they come in black, gray and navy only. So those are your choices. But when you have perfected the fit on say a perfect pair of pants, you can have them in any color, any print or plaid and in any season. Oh, and if you don't like pockets on your butt, or side seam pockets - your pants don't have to have them, just like they can be the length that you want them to be instead of the standard length and they can be lined. Don't get me started on unlined garments!!!!

And not all of us are losing money sewing! (Sorry Gigi, if you are out there!) I have a budget! I can only afford so much fabric, so many patterns, so many fabric swatch subscriptions, so many books and magazines, etc. I have to use my fabric dollars wisely! Sewing allows me to make the expensive garments that I crave without the expensive price. I have two teenage daughters getting ready for college. They need to be educated so that they can get good jobs! It will be the difference between whether I am in the low, run down nursing home or the one with all of the fancy shiny equipment and the good nurses and attendants who get paid a decent wage! Therefore, I am always looking for a good price on fabric. Why I stock necessary notions when they are on sale. And why I purchase patterns at the most inexpensive price I can afford! My goal is to get the best looking quality garment for the least amount of money!

Then there is that design/creative factor! I crave the time that I spend turning a piece of flat fabric into a well fitting, beautiful garment that makes everyone go oh and ah! Well, maybe that last part is another issue better debated later! *smile* Seriously, I am most at peace in front of my sewing machine making magic. I can see better, hear clearer, solve a multitude of problems when I am sewing. My soul is at rest. Does that make sense? Do you understand? Do you share those feelings?

So why do you sew?

4 comments:

  1. I love having the clothes I want in the style/color I want with the details I want, with linings! And I want them to fit me the way I want. If I want to wear anti-fashion art-to-wear where fit is not a consideration, I want it to be MY anti-fashion.

    I couldn't afford to buy as many of the kinds of clothes I crave as I could make. But I suppose whether you are losing on money on sewing depends on what you are trying to sew.

    But mostly, in the end, its the joy that comes from taking something flat and two dimensional and turning it into some beautiful three dimensional garment that gives me the thrill.

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  2. I like you love to turn a flat piece of fabric into something I can wear and be proud of. I love to hear, What a great________(you fill in the blank), you didn't make that did you? "Yes, I did". Wow! Feels good.

    I also don't want to see myself coming in the same outfit that somone else bought at one of the department stores. I know not that many people will choose the same fabric and make the same outfit, dress, coat, whatever.

    I also save some money by making something. If I make a jacket and a skirt, I also have this same jacket to wear with a pair of pants I purchased that also goes with something else. So I have extended my wearing of certain items.

    I too am at peace in front of the sewing machine, serger or embroidery machine

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  3. Oh, I'm not losing money sewing...I just have a lot invested in the future. :D

    I guess at the heart I sew becuase I'm in control in my sewing. I decide pockets/no pockets, color, length, etc, and it can be what flatters ME, not what some fashion guru in NYC thinks women should all be wearing this season. And I have patterns that are YEARS old that I'm still using.

    So I guess the investment does pay off!

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  4. I think I can make nicer things than I can buy -- particularly "easier" things like twin sets, blouses, simple skirts etc. I hate cheesy fabrics, wool skirts with cheap linings that fall apart way before the skirt does, and weird fabrics I've never heard of that don't hold up. Plus, don't we all just LOVE fabric! I think we can buy nicer fabric than we can find in the stores, and put much nicer details on our clothes than we can afford to buy.
    I also just like that nice secret feeling I have when I'm wearing something I made that I love.

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