One of the common refrains I hear from sewists everywhere is, "I love this fabric, but I'm so scared to cut into it!"
For whatever reason: because it's silk, it's lace, it's expensive, it's knit... the list goes on. We are sometimes afraid to take that leap and start ripping into fabrics. We spend tons of time making muslins, perfecting fit, tweaking the design and then... nothing. We look longingly at the fabric and think, "But what if I ruin it?" And the fabric then sits on a pile until we forget what we had originally planned for it. It's textile paralysis.
"Bah!" I say. Fear not the fabric. The fabric should fear you!
Here's the thing. What's the worst that can happen? A wadder? A garment that doesn't end up looking the way you envisioned? No. The worst that can happen is the fabric sits there unloved and unused. The fabric isn't going anywhere without you. Dammit, you paid good money for it. I don't care if it came from Lace Heaven at $800/yard or from the dollar table at Wal Mart. You still paid good money for it. Don't let it cow you into submission. Take the Nike approach. Just do it!
The wine writers at the Wall Street Journal have a great event every February that they call Open That Bottle Night. They encourage people to pop open that bottle of wine that has been sitting there waiting for a special occasion. Their reasoning is, "It's today. What more special occasion do you need?" The same goes for your fabric. Go for it! Make that garment you've been envisioning. Isn't that what the fabric is there for?
So fear not the fabric. The fabric should fear you.
After all, You're the one with the shears!
Happy sewing!
1 day ago
17 comments:
Great post! I've taken this approach this year! It's the year that I let go of all my sewing fears. It's JUST fabric! I tried my hand at a jacket...it didn't work out...I moved on! LOL
Thank You!! I'm going to go cut into some silk knit that I have had for 5 years now, because I was afraid to cut into it :)
Oh I have such trouble with this. My mom has no qualms, but I do. My biggest fabric fear is vintage yardage. You've inspire me though. Where are my shears?
Great post! While I don't have this particular problem, I often don't think enough before cutting.
I had somewhat of the same conversation with a co-worker this morning. She used to sew a lot but about 5 years ago, she broke off a needle and the broken part fell down the feed dogs. And she was too scared to flip out the little levers underneath and open up the bobbin case to fish it out (we're talking a Singer Slant-imatic here)and never got around to taking it to the repair shop for THEM to fish it out...so her machine sat there in the case and she did not sew - and whined about it a lot. And I said to her, "what's the worse thing that can happen? You take out the bobbin case and you still can't find the piece of the needle? Then you KNOW you need the repair shop and you can bring the machine to work and we'll walk down the street (it's literally four blocks away from where we work) and take the thing in. Life is too short and you like sewing too much to let it sit there."
She walked into my cube this morning and told me that she'd gotten brave over the weekend and had...opened up the bobbin case and ...there it was. And she cleaned out the case and oiled it and the machine works like a charm.
Life is too short and there is too much gorgeous fabric to let your machine sit there all alone.
Amen, sister!! I refuse to coddle my fabric - I wash it, I dry it, I cut it, I tear it, I sew it - you get the picture. I figure if I destroy a piece of fabric while trying to turn it into a fab garment, there's always more fabric around the corner. Like you said, what use is a fabric that sits in a closet - use it and love it!
Ann, this is one of your best posts ever! I finally got over saving fabric but what you're saying applies to many aspects of life! I wish more people could understand that. Don't save the "good" clothes, dishes, perfume...whatever, because life is short -- no matter how long you live!
Obi-Wan, Master of all things sewing, I take your words to heart, once again.
Excellent advice.
I think this approach is a well advise for most situations in life. Just try it, what do you have to loose?
You even make me be brave enough to post a comment on your blog, I been reading your posts from PR and now your blog but never make a comment.
Excellent advice, love it.
Nohemi D.
Wonderful post, Ann. I try to live by this philosophy, but sometimes need a reminder. Thanks!
Jodi
Amen! Thank you for the wonderful reminder. :)
What great timing! I was just having this conversation with a friend about my fear of cutting into some new fabric. So thanks for this, if nothing else I will be making space in my sewing room for more fabric (I might have made a couple orders this weekend). Thanks again.
Yes, I am very familiar with Fear of Cutting. I do have fabrics that are older than my daughter in the stash (she is soon to be 18). But I have been working with DD on a fashion show they are doing at her school, and we have hacked into a lot of fabric recently. Shoppin' the stash! When her pals asked where she got all of the high-quality fabric at a recent fitting she said "My mom collects fabric the way other people collect action figures.."
I love my fabric, but I love sewing it more. Good post.
Just what I needed to hear. When I use a so so fabric as a muslin hoping for the best, I usually get a so so result. When I use something good from the stash, it usually comes out good.
I love this just do it attitude. I lost mine some time ago. I need to get it back!
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