Stop Buying, Start Making

Comments · 88

• DA

  @dayamitrasaraswati6276 · 2 months ago

  Sewing and enbroidery was taught in school when I was there many years ago. <br>Hands on craft is so satisfying, especially when you can use or wear it. I was taught by a lady hotw to knit. Another taught me to crochet. Another to sew better. Now I also love weaving at my loom. I never buy tea towels or hand towels. I&apos;ve not bought scarves on years - and will never have to buy them. Face washers get woven. <br>The satisfaction of knowing I can choose the design I want and the colours I want adds to the joy. <br>You are correct in saying that being shown by others is important. I was shown the basics of weaving before COVID hit. After that I was forced to join an online Academy of Weaving. It was the best thing I did! There are plenty of Zoom meetings and Q &amp; A&apos;s for more personal interaction. But there are classes I can take within the Academy - and forums. &nbsp;Because it is online I can send in questions with photo&apos;s if I need help, but some things I have to work out myself as nobody is there to do it for me. That can be good. It can also be frustrating. It also feels the success is more in my own hands. <br>Good on to you for seeing the joy in doing it yourself. I love to learn how to do things myself if I can.

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• 10

  @10AntsTapDancing · 1 month ago

  I&apos;m a sewer and I would never lend my machine to someone who can&apos;t sew! That said, I admire you trying to learn a new skill. Sewing is a great thing to know and you can save money and get the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

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• BE

  @beccssmith6285 · 2 weeks ago

  Great job for a first timer. Sewing is a great skill to have. It&apos;s good to see more men doing it these days. Those old Janome&apos;s are a great machine. They last forever.

• NE

  @newenergyawakening · 2 months ago

  It was so cool to see you quickly move from frustration to enjoyment of sewing! I am probably part of the last generation that got taught these skills growing up. Dad was the sewing wizard in our family and even used to design and make amazing clothes for us kids. One Nana taught me how to crochet and embroider and the other one taught me how to knit. I still crochet to this day and make decent &quot;pocket money&quot; selling my crochet hats at the local market. &nbsp;There seems to be a big resurgence of interest in crafting from teenage and primary school kids right now and I have great conversations with the young ones who come to my stall - they mostly learn from online videos - and so do I when I need to learn something new or get stuck.

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• WA

  @WadeSchwartz-u8v · 2 months ago

  I am 62 and i had to learn all my skills on my own after 35 ,,because all i knew how to do before was plays sports . Great job in the end bravo !

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• RH

  @rhonaanderson3820 · 1 month ago

  Brilliant job on the curtains. <br>I learned sewing in school and was taught to knit by my grandmother. <br>I love seeing, but my machine is needing repaired at the moment. <br>But I find hand sewing so therapeutic and relaxing. <br>A few months back I made a load of cushion covers by hand to go with my new colour scheme and enjoyed that immensely. <br>Good on you for giving it a try and I do believe we are losing so many skills that we may need again in the future. Pass on your knowledge. 😊

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• NE

  @nemoignorat2443 · 2 months ago

  I&apos;m not sure how easy you can get your hands on a mechanical treadle or hand machine but I really love my both which makes me electricity independent. My brother was married to a woman from Burkina Faso and he organized two treadle machines for their little sewing shop in the small town they live in. It made up for a lot of their income and they didn&apos;t need to depend on shoddy electricity. <br>The basic principle how a sewing machine works is the same with a hand cranked or foot treadle but ... you won&apos;t need electricity. :) My treadle machine is way sturdier than a usual electric machine and I can even sew denim and leather on it.

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• LI

  @livebiped · 5 days ago

  Project suggestion: a bag. &nbsp;Produce bag, zipper pouch, tote, whatever bag would be useful. &nbsp;Given your willingness to work through frustration (which is almost always a necessary phase when learning), you could potentially get a backpack or handbag pattern and go from there.<br>That moment when you admired the thing you made and realized you&apos;ve got a new skill-- I&apos;ve been sewing for years but recently started to crochet and it kinda blew my mind to hold up a stupid rectangle of crochet stitches and realize I&apos;d started with thread and a hook and made fabric. &nbsp;And really, even experienced sewists will still put things together back to front sometimes.<br><br>Learned to sew in my early teens. &nbsp;(Well, started learning to sew then. &nbsp;I&apos;m still learning.) &nbsp;My mom didn&apos;t enjoy sewing, only did things like replace the zipper on a coat to save it. &nbsp;She showed me the basics of the sewing machine and turned me loose. &nbsp;My first project was to copy my favorite pair of pants with a few tweaks. &nbsp;It was ugly on the inside but the most comfortable pair of pants I&apos;d ever had on. &nbsp;I was hooked! &nbsp;I&apos;ve made lots of bags and purses and pants since then, a firewood carrier, and a corset (aka back brace).<br>Online learning wasn&apos;t an option when I started. &nbsp;I have found that talking to a real, knowledgeable human in person is the quickest way to get answers about skills, tools, or sewing machines, especially when you don&apos;t actually know what question to ask or the terminology to use. &nbsp;That said, it honestly didn&apos;t occur to me to ask for help when I was starting out, I just bumbled through on my own. &nbsp;I have since learned a lot online, both via written info and videos.

• TH

  @theserendipityjourney · 4 weeks ago

  Hello from our Scottish homestead. I am horrified that any person or company would charge $3,000 for curtains. I&apos;m a firm believer in supporting local artisans over mass produced items, but that quote was ridiculous! I sew everything I can myself. I&apos;ve made curtains and cushion covers and bedspreads for the van I used to live in and also for other friends&apos; vans. Most of the time I traded my sewing skills for skills they had and everyone was happy. But I encourage everyone to learn to do it themselves if they can, self sufficiency is definitely the way forward wherever possible. Absolutely good on you for making them yourself. 👍

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• SA

  @SailriteUncut · 1 month ago

  Great video! Sewing is a great skill and im always surprised at how many things you can make/repair and use day to day. Thanks for sharing your first sewing experience, and I hope to see more in the future!

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• KI

  @KingSteen · 1 month ago

  Also, not sure if you haven&apos;t posted or I haven&apos;t got your notifications but I&apos;m so glad you&apos;re back!

• CA

  @CatHamster-wf5xs · 2 months ago

  The curtains looked great for first project and you`ll be able to use them each day. Sewing was something we did in second year home economics at secondary school along with woodwork, metalwork and tech drawing. I know my tool roll I made is still going strong as its my mums knitting needle store. I can`t remember what the other items we made as it was last centuary. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

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