My Sewing Journey: It's Never Too Late to Learn A New Skill... and Never Give Up!

I started learning to sew three months before my daughter was born. I braved myself and bought a second hand sewing machine, not knowing anything about it and how to use it. 

I started to watch online tutorials and familiarized myself with sewing terms and machine parts and I was so happy when I made my ever first sewing project - a small tissue holder. I even added lace, I thought it was so fancy. I was so proud of this first accomplishment.

 Then I bought zippers and I wanted to learn how to sew in zippers, sos I made a small pouch. Though far from perfect, it was another milestone for me.

Then I wanted more. I wanted to know more, learn more, and make more, but there was so much information online I started to get lost, so I made an investment to take four basic sewing lessons with someone I found off craigslist. It was not cheap but in retrospect, it was well worth it. I became more comfortable with my basic stitches, I was able to ask all my questions from learning myself, and most importantly, the teacher gave me a boost of confidence that I could do more and better with regular practice. I told my teacher I really wanted to try make this handbag, but I was too intimidated to try it. She simply said: "You can do this." And just like that, I felt that much more confident of my ability, despite my limited knowledge, that I could do it. Then I know, this is why I paid so much money to learn - not so much for the how-to's, but for these precious intangibles. Fresh out of the class, I made the handbag, with many challenges that involved a broken needle and lots of painful unpickings, but I was able to follow the steps from the beginning until the end, and learned a lot of new sewing skills in between.

Since then I experimented with ruffles, inserting buttons, smocking, making dresses for my baby girl, quilts, household products, and more. 

A stand-mixer cover

Sewing Machine Cover

Christmas Tree Skirt

My daughter's first birthday dress

A Clutch

Quilt for Baby #2

Quilt for Baby Niece

(You can find all the tutorials through my arts and crafts album on my facebook page)

It is very true that you get better with practice. With more practice, the more stable, comfortable, and confident you get with the machine and sewing techniques. I don't like the process of measuring, cutting, and pressing fabrics, but they are all crucial to the final product. There is no short cut. And it is so with anything in life. So I am learning to enjoy the process. And I learn that the process of learning is more important than the final product itself, because it teaches us perseverance and discipline. 

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" - Romans 5:3-4

Hope this inspires and encourages us to never give up. It is also never too late (or too early) to learn a new skill! I asked my husband sometimes if sewing is a waste of time, and he said "I wish someone taught me some very practical skills when I was young, which I can pass on to my children. Now you can." :)