You know who you are. Your pinterest account is full of sewing projects you’ll get to…some day. You share closet space with your sewing machine… still in the box it arrived in two Christmases ago. You really ARE going to learn how to sew, you’re just waiting to find a project that you feel like you can actually finish.
If these descriptions sound familiar, I’m sorry, but you probably suffer from a severe case of CBFOSM (Crazy Big Fear of Sewing Machines). Don’t worry- I’m here to help.
It’s time to stop buying patterns and fabric only to pass the project on to your mom to sew up! (ok, maybe not entirely- if you can get free sewing done in the name of Mother/Daughter bonding time it’s probably not a system you want to mess with) We’re going to tackle this Sewingmachinephobia once and for all!
Here’s how we’re going to start. Don’t worry, you’re going to like this one. For the first lesson, I’m not even going to make you touch your sewing machine. (see, it’s not sounding so bad, right?!) We’re just going to learn some CBFOSM coping methods.
Method 1: Repeat the phrase “These ladies probably all stink as sewing.”
I attend a lot of sewing classes, sewing conferences etc. I meet a lot of seamstresses. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been sitting in a classroom, looking around and thinking, “What am I doing here?! I can’t compete with the 30+ years of sewing experience each of these ladies has!”. And then the class starts. And you know what? 98% of the time, the ladies I was intimidated by really aren’t very good at sewing. In fact, if I had to rate their technique, I’d usually put them somewhere between ‘bad’ and ‘just ok’.
And that, my friends, is why I LOVE sewing. These ladies with ‘just ok’ technique are creating beautiful items that their families will cherish for generations.
So next time you find yourself staring like a deer in headlights at a pile of beautifully sewn items thinking, “I will never be this good…” Just repeat after me, “The lady (or guy) who made this probably stinks at sewing.” If she made it, chances are, you can too!
My 10 year old niece with her first sewing project. You don’t need perfect technique to sew adorable items!
Method 2: Always Remember: If someone is explaining a project and the instructions seem unnecessarily complicated and over detailed, it’s probably because they are.
We all have our own ways to measure sewing success. For me it’s if something is looks nice, holds together and doesn’t have any obvious holes or mistakes. For other people it’s if the inside of a project is finished with perfectly even french seams, all ironed in symmetrical patterns. There’s nothing wrong with either approach.
Just know that if you find yourself listening to a 20 step explanation when all you wanted to do was sew 2 squares together to make a pillow, there’s no need to get overwhelmed. You’ve probably just asked someone who’s a little more detailed in her finishing techniques than the average seamstress. Since you’re currently reading an article on how to make sewing less scary, I’m going to go ahead and guess that you’re not quite ready for the perfectionist version of a project. Just smile, nod, and go look up a YouTube tutorial on the subject.
Method 3: Always Remember: Most seamstresses are not mechanical engineers.
When my mom taught me how to sew, I thought she was a mechanical genius. I could get thread so tangled up, or make the machine sew the weirdest seams and she’d sit down and fix it in 10 minutes or so. I mean, every time! When I got my first machine I was so nervous- how would I know how to fix so many different problems? I had no idea how this thing worked!
So every time something went wrong, I’d call my mom. Every time she talked me through it. After the first few phone calls I began to realize why my mom seemed so smart. There are like 3 things to check on the machine when things are going wrong and all of them are super easy. Once I picked up those three things (I will talk about them in the next lesson- are you so excited?!) I’ve never had to call for help again.
Most seamstresses can fix minor problems with their sewing machines, and most seamstresses are not engineers. No need to be nervous about keeping up with your own machine once you pull it out of the box.