Whether it’s the white knuckle ride of bobbin chicken when you know you have none of the matching thread left in the house, the infuriating second side of your zip, or the soul crushing realisation that you’ve just cut a huge whole in the middle of your garment when trimming a french seam, we’ve all been there.
One of the wonderful things about the sewing community is that we all have these experiences. Whether you’ve been sewing for 5 days or 25 years you will have to unpick something, you will attached a sleeve the wrong way around, and you break a sewing needle so badly it’s left looking like a paperclip (just me?). These things happen.
As an experienced sewist I’ve learnt that there are certain fundamental rules of sewing and it is wise to prepare. For example, never buy only one spool of a very specific thread colour, get a couple; check your bobbin level BEFORE starting a very long seam; and never ever put your seam ripper away. In the same way that when you call someone from IT when your computer breaks only to find it works when they are stood there. While your seam ripper lies next to you everything is fine. The minute you put your seam ripper away, you send a cosmic signal to the universe asking to unpick half of your garment and put a sleeve in wrong side out. It’s pure hubris and I have to stop doing it.
To get back into blogging I thought I would pull together my list of ultimate sewing truths, the rules at the heart of the thread-iverse. I should say, there will be someone who takes this too seriously so for the sake of a small minority(who always make their toiles), this post is based on my experiences of sewing and is also just a bit of fun.
10 Ultimate Rules of Sewing
- Even the most accomplished dressmaker has to unpick things
- The one time you don’t follow the fabric allowance on the pattern is the time you will actually need it.
- One side of your zip will be perfect first time, the other side will take 17 tries
- It is easier to get a degree in Nuclear Physics than it is to work out the correct overlocker tension first time
- No one actually changes their sewing machine needle every 8 hours
- If your thread is going to run out, it will do it in the middle of topstitching
- No matter what is in your wardrobe, you will find yourself sewing a new dress hours before you have to leave
- Toiles are both incredibly important and stunningly dull, as all the most useful things are.
- Whenever you think you’ve sewn something perfectly first time, you will find your bobbin ran out at the beginning and you have to do it all over again
- Always get two more buttons than you need. An extra for when you inevitably miscount the number you needed in the first place and one to go in the buttonhole foot after you’ve attached the rest without thinking.
This very silly and fun post signals that I am indeed back to blogging regularly. I will write a proper life update so you lot can know what I’m up to, where I’ve been, and where I’m going. But! In the meantime, let me know what you would add to this list in the comments below! I’m considering having it put on a tea towel.
So What If I Sew 