Why We Sew — Micro-Closet

When Claire and I were younger, we were enrolled in summer sewing projects at the local Bernina store. I remember our first project together were quilts. We picked out our fabric and spent numerous afternoons sewing it together. For me, that's when my interest in sewing began.

While sewing has seemed to have a comeback in recent years (noticeable throughout the newly opened trendy fabric stores) this is not something that has ever been out of style for me. There are a variety of reasons why I have continued sewing for the past 20 years, even when no one around me was doing the same.

First, you can insure you will have good quality clothing. Unfortunately in clothing stores, you get what you pay for. This means, if you are on a budget, you might stumble upon what might appear to be good deals, but in a few months these articles of clothing could already be falling apart. Sewing, however, helps you avoid that.

Second, you will have custom-fit clothing. If you're like me, almost anything you try on won't fit perfectly. By using measurements for your pattern pieces, though, you avoid this. One of the most common pieces of clothing I make for myself are dresses, because it's almost impossible to find a dress that fits without needing any alterations. The mock wrap dress below was a wardrobe staple last summer due in large part to how it fit well and was of good quality.

You also have complete flexibility over what style and fabric you want. Shopping for patterns and fabric has always been my favorite part. Sitting in fabric stores flipping through pattern books trying to find my next creation has always sparked joy and finding unique fabric to compliment the chosen pattern is equally fun. In this step, you can either decide to mock brands or trends you like, or, you can do something entirely new. Either way, you can be guaranteed one thing by sewing, no one else will be wearing what you have on! The blouse pictured below is my most recent project. By choosing a pattern that wasn't a dress plus had numerous buttons, it was definitely a project out of my normal routine.

Finally, if you sew, you can learn to alter ready-to-wear pieces you find in stores. Claire has not stuck with sewing as I have, but she did buy a sewing machine a couple of years ago so she could learn to alter her own clothes. She also has difficulty finding pieces in stores that fit correctly. The first thing she learned to alter were pants. Both of us have shorter inseams and alter most pair of pants we buy. If you learn how to alter clothes, you can tailor an ill-fitting piece of clothing into a knock-out piece.

Claire showing off her freshly hemmed Ann Taylor ankle pants.