I remember in grade 8 registering for electives for high school. I looked at my mom and said, “I’ll take foods instead of clothing. You can teach me how to sew.” Alas, this never happened. So here I am, 26 years old and still calling my mother or grandmother every time I have a hole in my jeans, a missing button on my blouse, or a pulled out stitch in my sweater. I have always wanted to learn how to sew, in fact, I have made a couple of pillows before (with extensive assistance from my grandma) but I have never had the time, nor the patience to really learn for myself. I think this opportunity is the perfect way for me to learn how to sew so that when I have kids, I don’t have to call grandma to help me fix my kids clothes or so that I am not 40 years old and paying to take my clothes to a seamstress, because I am incapable of handling a needle and thread.
I have always been an independent learner and enjoy learning on my own and teaching myself how to do different things. This means it was very difficult for my mother to teach me when she did try. I will however be giving it another go and allowing my mom to help me with this project as a “mother-daughter bonding experience.” (There will be updates on how much I manage to try her patience over the course of this learning experience). I told my mom I would be learning how to sew for my master’s class and she laughed at me, so we are already off to a good start! I also need her for the resources of materials as well as a machine to practice on however, I do plan on teaching myself a majority of the skills I will need to properly use the machine.
I am also hoping to learn a few basics on my own using a variety on online resources and videos, so if anyone has any suggestions of good ones, please leave a comment! My goal for this project is to first be able to fix simple breaks in clothing like a hole or a missing stitch. I would like to learn how to sew on a patch and fix a button. Once I learn how to do these skills on my own, I will be applying them to a bigger project. In high school, I was very active in sports. I have so many t-shirts from back in the day and when I was in grade twelve I decided I wanted to keep them to make a blanket. Well, I still have all of the shirts, and just have never had the skills or the necessary motivation to learn how to make it. I am really excited to finally get it done! I’m going to attempt to first teach myself one skill at a time, starting small and learning the basics one week, then applying them to small projects throughout the semester gradually gaining confidence to be able to complete my blanket. I am hoping to have the blanket finished by the end of the semester, to show as my final assessment piece, however time may affect this as I really don’t know how long it will take me to complete however, this blog gave me some good ideas and steps to follow.
If anyone has any suggestions about where to start or resources to share, please leave a comment!
The Secret Life Of a High School Teacher 
Hi Shelby,
I am trying to learn sewing as well, but not for my major project.
I love this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkuJY1dJ6SCWxPcAVvdVpPg
I managed to sew a beautiful case for my agenda (following the instructions on this video: https://goo.gl/EYJUR4) and a cover for my sewing machine. I wish I had more time to sew… I have all the materials to make a blanket, I only did not have the courage to start…
I believe your project will motivate me to make some time into my busy week for sewing.
Jaque
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Thanks so much for the resources! I’ll be sure to check them out! I’m really excited to start the blanket and am gathering up the t-shirts to get started right away. It’s definitely a time consuming task, but if you enjoy it, then it’s worth it! Best of luck with your sewing hobby!
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