Sewing mistakes can happen, as can mistakes in life. How we deal with them makes all the difference. Treat mistakes as an opportunity for learning rather than as a disaster to ruin your day.
Last week I had a technological nightmare and accidently deleted this website from the internet!
Thankfully, my hosting company tech support managed to retrieve it. Which is why you are able to read this right now!
I breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was restored!
That was the reason why there was no blog post last week. And the reason why for over 24 hours last week I did no work. Zero, zilch, nada! Even though I had planned a busy schedule of recording videos for my Membership Club.
It got me thinking about how we deal with things going wrong when it comes to sewing too.
Do you do panic? Get frustrated? Shout and swear at your sewing machine?
My advice to students when they tell me that things are going wrong is to step away from the sewing machine. Breathe. Go and have a cuppa. Do something different for a while. Go for a walk. Read a book or watch some telly. Allow your brain to do its thing and work through the issue while youβre doing or thinking about something else.
Come back and face the problem with fresh eyes.
Having that physical and mental distance from the issue and then returning to it can make all the difference.
Sometimes all thatβs needed is to go right back to basics. Something as easy as rethreading your sewing machine can rectify some common issues.
A bit of perspective when it comes to your project can also help. Itβs unlikely that your make is a matter of life and death. Yes, you might have wasted some time and possibly some fabric too. But think of the lessons youβve learned too.
Get some sleep. If youβre tired thatβs when mistakes can happen. Come back to it when youβre feeling well rested.
Ask for help. Just as I called on tech support, asking an expert can bring you solutions. Whether thatβs a more experience sewing friend or a sewing teacher, two heads are better than one!
Even the most experienced sewers still make sewing mistakes from time to time. But their experience means they know how to fix the mistakes and also when it is time to scrap it or to start again.
Remember that mistakes are an opportunity to learn. But that requires a growth mindset and an acceptance that mistakes will happen when you are learning. Striving for progress, not perfection.
Love & Stitches
Alison xx
