Sewing… My new old love.

I grew up hearing about how my grandma made all her seven of her children’s clothes and swimsuits, including my mother’s wedding dress. My grandma also made me amazing dress up clothes. Playing dress up is honestly still my favorite thing to do as an adult. Dressing up to go out, creating fun fashion just to leave the house, and making costumes has always been a passion. Sewing my own clothes fascinated me. Being able to be creative about clothing and making it truly fit to my body is a wild idea. I have always felt that the clothes I enjoyed never fit my plus size body. At times this caused eating disorders and negative self image.I have always been plus size even when I was on the high school volleyball team working out several hours a day and as a very active small child. (My struggle with my body that was a journey from self-loathing to body neutrality is a different story for a different blog post, but I feel this is relevant.) My point being the clothes and fashion I love doesn’t seem to be made for my body or affordable. This has lead me on a mission to make my own clothes.

I begged for a sewing machine as a child and ADHD had me abandoning it after making a few pillows and some dress up clothes. I held onto that machine for years and eventually made an Oogie Boogie costume for Halloween as a 24-year-old. I had no idea what I was doing so I spent way more money on making that thing than I should have, but I loved it. It was simple hooded dress that I added embellishments to such as glow in the dark paint, stitches, and fake bugs. Though because of the cost and mental health struggles, I ended up not making anything for a long time. Eventually the sewing machine ended up in storage when my life fell apart. Well, it was an unpleasant discovery to find it damaged by a rodent infestation that ruined basically everything we had in that storage unit a few years later. If I am being honest, I don’t know if I was more devastated about how sentimental I was toward the machine or that all the possibilities I looked forward too were taken away. Thankfully I have some great parents that bought me a new one for my 31st birthday when I wouldn’t shut up about it.  And man have I made a point this time to keep sewing.

2017 Oogie Boogie Halloween Costume

First, I made blankets and pillows for my nieces. This time around I knew I needed to start slow and learn stuff before making the clothes of my dreams. Well, in reality right after the blankets and pillows I worked on clothes. I made a high low skirt with pockets and a corset halter top thing with bat wing sleeves. Because I didn’t know what I was doing they pretty much fell apart. Then I attempted many other random tops and skirts from free patterns online. Pretty much all of them failed. I learned so much from these disasters. I also learned that sewing patterns are also not always nice to plus size mathematically challenged individuals like me. Math is my nemesis, but it was the only way I am going to get the patterns to work for my body. Most (free) patterns I have found stop at large or extra-large sizing. Drafting my own patterns is definitely a new skill I have learned. I plan to make a dress form to address the issue. I have found ways to make it all work in the meantime.

From a few months of experimentation, I think I am finally starting to make clothes worth wearing. There are definitely flaws. They for sure look homemade. But I love them. After my third circle skirt I think I have gotten hemming down much better. I am definitely getting much better at problem solving and stitch ripping, and I can’t wait till I get more comfortable with adding more of my own ideas to the pieces. I harvested those bat wing shaped sleeves off the first top and added them to a top I made from scarps and honestly it is one of my favorite things I have made. I made three cotton spandex knit circle skirts with pockets that fit me well. I have only made one skirt without pockets and that’s only because it is see through. It is more of an experiment with organza than a skirt. When I was making the blue circle skirt my plan was to make a dress, but I decided to make a matching set instead. I am fully aware I am at a beginner’s skill level, but I am proud of myself. I wanted to share the pieces I have made so far and kinda explain my random sewing journey.