Even though I grew up with a mom who sewed everything, I never really learned the basics. Recently, after talking to several people my age who are into sewing, seeing the awesome fabrics and patterns of Amy Butler Design, and hearing about how my mom has been teaching some of her student workers at the Hope College bookstore how to sew really cute purses, my interest has been piqued.
A few days ago we ventured out to Fields Fabrics in Holland and picked out material for two different purses that I was to make. I was getting excited, but also a little intimidated - art, design and domesticity aren't really my thing and it was embarrassingly difficult to try and pick out different materials that would go together. I'm definitely no Vera Bradley.
Tonight we decided to start on purse number one called the "Birdie Sling." My mom had made a similar purse for my sister so she already knew how to help me. First we had to measure and cut everything out. Then we had to attach some stiff backing on the material so the purse wouldn't be so flimsy.
When it came time to actually use the sewing machine I was really nervous and visions of spurting blood and needles through fingernails quickly filled my head. My goal was to keep all appendages as far away from the crazy needle as humanly possible. Turns out sewing is tricky and takes practice but it's not impossible and it's certainly not as frightening as I had imagined it to be. There's lots of parts and vocabulary to understand and remember and it's hard to get the pace of the pedal comfortable. It felt a little bit like learning to drive a car which actually isn't that comforting to think about since I failed my first driver's test but whatever.
I absolutely love my mom's sewing machine. It is old and small but really simple and efficient to use. My mom was a good teacher and really patient with all of my mistakes - even when she had to rip some seams out and redo them. This made me feel a little guilty and reminded me to be a little more patient when giving my parents lessons on the laptop or the ipod.
After attaching bits and pieces the purse slowly came together. There were so many steps and it seemed that pins were involved with all of them. I even put a pocket in the inside of my purse! Another thing that was funny about sewing was that it seemed that you do everything inside-out first and when everything is done then you turn it right-side-out so that all of the seams are hidden. For someone who had never done it before I struggled with envisioning the finished product and it was a mite challenging for me but I think I'll catch on quicker next time (stay tuned for purse number two).
At last it all came together and I put the final touch on it by sewing on a cute button. Isn't it sweet? I can't wait to try it out. I hope someone asks me where I got it so that I can say that I made it. My mom made the same one for my sister and one day when she was walking around in Target another shopper asked where she could find it in the store! Cool, right?
what a cute purse, Sarah! :) I wish I had a mom like yours around to help me through all my (continuing) sewing mistakes :)
So nice~