I hear this every time I mention that I sew my own clothes, “I wish I could do that” or “I could never learn how to sew” and “That must be so hard to do!” I hear a variation of all of these almost every day. It is true that starting to sew can come with mistakes and absolute disasters. I have had many of those as I have gone through the different stages of my sewing evolution. It still happens! You will never be perfect 100% of the time. When you first start out, you have to allow yourself the space to grow and learn. When we first learn to ride a bike, we take our tumbles, put band aids on our knees, and get back on the bike. The same should be applied to sewing, including the band aids!

When I first started sewing, I was making period costumes for a renaissance fair. I made a cute bodice that required boning which I did not include in the finished product. My pattern was not for beginners and I did not understand too much of it. This was also a time before google and sewing blogs. I only had my Mom to go to for answers and she did not know all of what the pattern entailed. The finished product was perfectly fine for the weekend I wore it. The front closure buckled since I was supposed to include the boning. The front was also lace up and I had to have a friend help put in the grommets. It also had princess seams! Ugh that was so hard I almost quit right then and there. The whole experience felt like a disaster really.

I will say that no one really noticed the issues with my dress. Well I guess I should say that after all the other sewists examined each other’s costumes, no one noticed the issues with my dress. There were many people there who were much better at creating garments than I at the fair. But I went back each year and made a new dress. We started to have themes each year. Then I was helping to make costumes for others who did not know how to sew. With enough practice, I was creating costumes from pictures I found from the renaissance period.

Needless to say, I practiced all the time on different techniques and how to construct a good-looking bodice. Later, I used those same techniques on constructing 50’s looking dresses. It is amazing how much in common a renaissance bodice and corset and a dress from the 1950’s do have. For instance, both will have princess seams. Those are those rounded seams which allow for room in the bust. It also creates structure for the garment. Many petticoats from the 50’s also have boning just like the renaissance corsets. Since I was pretty well practiced in princess seams, I was able to make a pretty rad looking dress for an 80’s dance party using a 50’s dress pattern.

I am not saying all patterns will be the same, but you will find techniques that you can use over and over again. If I were to make a suggestion, I would say find a pattern you like and make several of the same thing. Start with basics! Everyone can use several camis or tee-shirts. Once you feel confident in your skills, move to something a little different. Try a button-down shirt to practice making button holes. Just never give up on learning. There have not been many people that developed a skill perfectly the first time they tried it. You will get so many things wrong. Just the other day I just made a disaster of a shift dress. It looked so bad on me. I didn’t want to waste the fabric, so I just made a skirt instead.

So, remember that you will get better with practice. There are beginning patterns for a reason. You will fail horribly at something you have made several times and that is perfectly fine. Take the time to learn from your mistakes and seek out answers to what you did wrong.