Hello there darlings and loved ones.

As I posted that video last Monday, the one about a skirt tutorial, I watched it and it seemed to me it is good enough to guide you through sewing a thing as simple as an ordinary skirt can be. Then I read through the titles of the videos that were recommended on the side.

And I must say I was a little bit sad about the expectations people have from sewing. Seeing videos where girls made a skirt without zipper and in three steps, made me think how hard it is to be starting with real sewing and succeeding. Today I give you my tips on how to start, continue and succeed with actual real life sewing. And trust me, it's easier than you might think.

First of all, get over your fears. As with everything new, you have to get into it and dive in and find out it is not as hard as you might think. Get your patience ready, it will be a really slow process in the beginning, that is absolutely normal, and as you sew more you will get better.

The same principle applies to the perfection of your sewing. The first skirt will probably look bad. That is absolutely normal. You had to learn how to sew a hidden zipper, how your sewing machine works and how to sew nice and neat lines. Great thing to overcome this obstacle is to start with quilting. Buy some cotton fabrics with a nice pattern great for a blanket and cut them into squares, triangles, rectangles, whatever you want, based on your pattern. The best are squares, they are the most simple.Now take a deeps breath and start sewing them together.

Picture from this link

You'll get a nice blanket in the end and perfect your sewing skills. If you ever played sims, do you remember that status bar that was above your sim, when he or she learned to do anything? Well after that blanket you'll be at level one. And the great thing is, that it does not need to be perfect in any way. My first blanket looked horrifying, and nobody ever noticed. We were using it until it fell apart and everyone thought it looked great :).

My mum always says that there are four stages of sewing:

Don't be ever scared of anything. And come on, sewing machine? If you don't own a sewing machine, you can try to sew in hand, but in my opinion, if you intend to be wearing those clothes you made, it is best to be made on sewing machine. There are many ways to buy cheap ones. And when you are starting, always go for the cheaper ones, since you will be learning and may destroy the actual machine. If you want old and good sewing machine, try buying old Veritas sewing machine. Those are the actual best, mostly they are built into a small cupboard with drawers and a place where you can work. Those are cheap because you have to buy them from some bazaar or second hand for electrics (and yes I really don't know how to call them, if you do please write me down in comments).
Other way, what I did is to buy a cheaper machine, it wasn't the cheapest but it wasn't expensive at all either and start on that one. I learned how to sew on it and it was an awesome machine in the end. When I knew that I love sewing and I want to continue with this hobby, my parents bought me a professional Brother sewing machine as a graduation gift.



If you really don't know how to do this and that, what I normally do, is to take some old piece of fabric that I have no intention of using anymore and try what I want to sew on that piece. This is the actually easiest way:)

I know that this is not a normal post for me, but I am really sad that people find it so hard to start sewing, when I have seen so many videos on way worse things and people loved it. Also I have been on few comic cons and so many people made their costumes at home and by themselves and those costumes are professionally made and really great piece of work. And those same people could not ever imagine sewing something as simple as skirt. I mean why? Why is there a big mystery about it, that people, creating almost everything by themselves can't imagine themselves doing this? And then I remember how I was scared to do a zipper on a dress and made it with buttons instead and completely ruined them and had to throw it out. I've been there too, but now I have to laugh at myself.



Lastly, why is sewing so great? In the past it was mostly because it was way cheaper. This is not so much true these days, I mean you can still make some things way cheaper, but some not as much. For me it is about originality, about putting myself into that piece of clothing and making it unique this way. It's also a great result of my creativity and my abilities coming together :). It's also about creating something for me, in the way that suits me, my personality as much as my figure. I love clothes that fit me, and are made precisely for me and in the way I like them. I also love that feeling of going to a fabric store and searching for a fabric and thinking of what I could create from this or that or this and that combined. And in a way it's like art. And it's an amazing feeling.

If you have read this far you are either my family member, or you are a sewing fanatic, you just don't know it yet. And I think, that you are ready and you will be great once you try it out and start it. You will never know how great you can be if you don't try it out.

Don't think binary. Ever.
Whitelilit.