HOW TO DEAL WITH SEWING MISTAKES

A big fear of beginners in clothes making is making mistakes. Do any of these sound familiar?

"Oh, but what if this doesn't work?"

"Oh, what if I ruin fabric?"

"Oh, what have I done! It's all ruined now!"

Well, here is some breaking news: you will be making mistakes and not only in the beginning. I have been making clothes, designing & sewing for over 25 years. I have made this my profession, I teach other people how to design and make clothes and I still make mistakes. And this is ok. I am a human being. And so are you.

Mistakes don't make you less professional. They make you human.

Every new project comes with new challenges. If you are learning any new skill at all, usually you'll progress. It's very unlikely that you learn how to make a soup and make this only soup for the rest of your life. You'll try new things, you'll experiment, you'll inevitably fail a couple of times but then you'll learn your lesson and continue.

It is very unlikely that in your pursuits to master clothes making you'll learn how to make ONE top and will continue making the same one top for the rest of your life. You'll feel the satisfaction, YOU made it! What's next? How can you continue with your future designs? Add the sleeves? Change the neckline? Add a collar? How about pockets? Ruffles? Buttons?

Every single new step in your learning journey comes with new potential mistakes. And the more you progress, the more challenging projects you will attempt, the higher the chance for mistakes.

Instead of being afraid of the unknown, embrace it, face it and learn from it.

Here are some of my favourite tips to help you make mistakes on purpose before working on the actual garment.

1. MAKE A MINI-COPY. Not sure how to put this new design together? Make a mini version of it and practice garment construction with it. I have a 60% scale of every pattern block and if I need to figure out the best way of putting a new design together, I'll make a quick mini-copy first.

2. MAKE TESTS. Not sure about the fit and design as a whole? MAKE TESTS! This step is heavily under-looked but will give you confidence in your design and, again, extra practice.

3. PRACTICE DETAILS. If you are adding a new element to your design that you have never made before, practice working just on that element. Never sewn a collar? Don't start with an entire shirt: practice making collars. Unsure about the pockets? Practice sewing pockets. You don't need to make an entire garment to practice one thing you're not good at.

4. PRACTICE. Afraid of cutting the fabric? It means you are not ready yet and this is ok, you need more practice. Put those vintage silks aside for now, they are not going anywhere. You will know when you're ready. Keep practicing, keep making, keep cutting fabric.

But what if something terrible happens during the actual work?

Things might go wrong and you have to learn to accept it. Most mistakes are fixable, workable-aroundable. Please remember: you are not performing brain surgery, you are not flying an airplane, this is JUST FABRIC. No matter how sentimental or expensive, this is JUST CLOTH. Never work in a hurry, give yourself plenty of time (i.e. don't decide to make a wedding dress a week before the wedding), don't work when you are tired, prepare with the four steps above and you'll be fine.

Mistakes will happen but they do not define you or your skill level. Reflect on what caused them, learn and move on. You've got this!