This morning over coffee I was reading Carolyn's blog Diary of a Sewing Fanatic and she was talking about how you become an advanced stitcher, a term I found on a blog new to me, Tilly and the Buttons who's been sewing for a year and a half. Carolyn wanted to add experience, the muscle memory of doing a task repetitively to Tilly's list of sewing objectives. At the time I was thinking about doing a post on the joys of slow sewing. We are often in such a hurry that we don't sew the things that make us a better stitcher(I love this term) I have not been happy with my sewing lately, and I realized that I was picking easy, quick things to sew and forgetting the joys a beautifully made jacket. I have learned how to make well finished pants; it's a lot easier to do them well when you aren't struggling with fit. But, I avoid other things like making a blouse, or a dress that isn't a knit (this is partly not finding any I think would look good on me. Doesn't help when you've had a weight gain). Or doing the advanced techniques that I used to love doing. I have a list like Tilly's, not the same of course, but I haven't pursued sewing anything from that list. I have called myself an advanced stitcher, but lately I've thought about demoting myself to intermediate!
My jacket is slow sewing and it has been a joy to work on. I made a muslin, not something I do that often usually preferring to tissue fit, but I didn't want to have fit problems once I started sewing. This is a teaching moment! If you don't having fitting issues during your sewing, well it's a whole lot more fun. I even liked all the hand stitching and basting needed for this jacket. Basting doesn't show so it doesn't need to be perfect. I would love to learn how to make a hand sewn buttonhole, something I've never done. There are other things on my list that people who have much less experience do beautifully, like Peter, who's only been sewing a year and he can make a gorgeous tailored shirt. I need to start pushing myself again if I want to become a better stitcher. Carolyn is right that experience counts, but so does pushing the boundaries and not being afraid to try a new technique.
Where are you on the sewing scale? What do you need to make yourself a better stitcher, or are you happy where you are?
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I am definitely a beginner....after coming back to sewing after many years of being away and then realizing my home ec teacher wasn't a good teacher and having to unlearn some bad habits.. I have serious fit issues, so I'm taking it slow to try and really learn how to do these adjustments the right way so what I do make looks good, instead of just making lots of things that are just ok. It definitely goes against the "instant gratification" that we've come to expect these days....
ReplyDeleteTo advance in any craft one does need to advance in one's techniques. You could sew for years and never get beyond perfect pyjama pants if you never push yourself to try something new. Nothing wrong with that, if you're happy. Me - I always think that there is nothing that I couldn't do if I set my mind to it, but the reality is, do I really need to excel at every possible sewing technique? I do what I need to produce the garments that I want, and sometimes that requires adding a new technique to the repertoire.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty happy where I am EXCEPT for the fact that I fear welt pockets. I don't know waht it is about them that has me convinced that I can't do them, but I just can't.
ReplyDeleteI was working on a pair of Vogue pants a few monts back, and the welt pockets were coming along rather well when I got frustrated with the crap fabric I was using and gave up. I should of at least finished the pockets...
I, too, consider myself a beginner. I have been sewing for about 5 years but only consistently for 1.5 years. A close friend of my shared a quote (which I cannot now find) but the essence is that you need to sew over 100 miles of fabric to really be advanced. Coming late to the game, I am not reaching for 100 miles sewn. I do try to push myself with techniques though there are many "advanced" techniques which scare me and that I have stayed away from. Hello welt pockets, I am looking at you.
ReplyDeleteRe: the hand sewn buttonhole: you should sign up for Susan Khalje's Couture Hand Stitches class on PR. I haven't booked it yet (it starts next Friday) but I'm about 85% certain I'm going to do it, even though ALL the chats are at 2am for me. But it'd be fun to do it together!
ReplyDelete(Also, Tilly is great fun in person!)
I'm obviously a beginner, what I need is practice, practice, practice. Luckily all that practice is turning out to be fun and more than half my attempts are wearable.
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ReplyDeleteI think where you are on the scale has to be looked at from an historical viewpoint, sort of what Caroline has been saying. I have been at the machine since age ten so that gives me 51 years experience. If I look back there have been plenty of welt pockets, formals, tailored suits, home dec, etc. etc. etc. That doesn't mean I don't have an occasional miss on a seemingly simple project. It's always a blend of fabric choice and skill and that is not always 100% correct each time. But I do feel, as I know you are, Nancy, that I am pretty advanced. I do think I am also able to bring to my experience a history and love of handwork which my grandmother and the nuns had me doing from a tender age. So does being well rounded count in this "advanced" description? If one can sew a couture jacket but can't do a perfect hemstitch on a napkin are they any less "advanced"? It's all very subjective. Interesting topic, Nancy. ETA'd due to grammatical error!
ReplyDeleteInsightful post, Nancy. First, I hope I'm never happy where I am in sewing. I consider myself advanced, but then, Susan Kalhje and Claire Kennedy just knock my socks off! There is always something to learn. Like Bunny, sometimes the simpliest of sewing ends up in the trash. Right now, I'm making T-shirts. Not creative, nor satisfying, but the fact is, I need them. RTW does not fit me. But, when I sink my teeth into a complicated, tailored jacket-I get such satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteI think I am on the advanced side of the scale in that I'm confident I can sew pretty much anything, fit it, and match the style to fabric. But that's sewing with a machine. Hand-sewing, heirloom, or true "couture" projects make me run in the opposite direction because I just don't like doing that. However, calling myself "advanced" doesn't mean I think I know everything. I'm constantly learning, and that's one of the things that I love most about sewing (beside the end results, of course) - there is always a new challenge, always something to learn, even if it's just a better way of doing something you've already done many times.
ReplyDeleteI would probably call myself an intermediate stitcher because I've made things like jeans, although I have never made a fancy dress. It's not because I don't need one -- I do, desperately, need a cocktail dress, but I'm afraid of bodice fitting. I like sundresses because I can find patterns for them with gathers and elastic rather than darts and zippers.
ReplyDeleteI have to keep pushing that envelope, because I've found that I backslide if I don't continue working on my skills. Technically, I've been sewing since I was 9 but clothing only in the last 5 years and my skills have been up and down because I had to force myself out of my comfort zone.
PS. I'm seriously considering signing up for Susan's PR class on hand stitches, although I've done a lot of hand stitching, but I haven't mastered the hand-worked buttonhole.
ReplyDeleteI've rated myself an Advanced Beginner for the past 5 years and will probably stay one for a while. I'm constantly bargaining with myself to learn more techniques, i.e. "if I can finally do _______ (collar with stand, sleeve placket, fly front, etc)" then I will advance myself to Intermediate. But I always think of more challenging projects that deter me (I SHOULD be able to make a lined jacket, formal dress, etc...)
ReplyDeleteI like to challenge myself, although sometimes I NEED to sew some instant gratification projects (like a knit top that I've made before) or I start avoiding the sewing machine.
I would tackle any (regular, pattern magazine) garment and think that given the time, thought and willingness to re-sew, most would come out all right. That's how I would define "intermediate". I would consider myself advanced if I didn't have to read the instructions but knew all the techniques (collar, placket, welts...) by heart. I would consider couture sewing "off the scale", and I wouldn't necessarily include fitting knowledge. I'm not hard to fit, so I might never know much about fitting even if I were "advanced" in every other way! And I would definitly consider you advanced; just thinking of the beautiful jackets you made...
ReplyDeleteWhenever I look at PatternReview or other guidelines for self-rating your skills, I'm shocked at how highly I "ought" to be rating myself - usually intermediate, which I most certainly DO NOT consider myself. I'm not a newbie, but I am not that far along either. So, I consider myself to be in the "petulant adolescent" phase - I have some skills and have had some successes, and so sometimes this leads me to think I know it all. That usually leads to some kind of big flop and a hissy fit at my sewing machine where my inexperience comes back to bite me in the bum and I end up feeling like I don't know a thing. But somehow, I end up back at my machine, at it again. I can't wait until I am more experienced. LOL
ReplyDeleteEverything I do is "slow sewing." It's not because I think slow is inherently better. I do it because given my experience (Advanced Beginner/Intermediate with exposure to many techniques and moderately perfectionist tendencies), I'll have a much better chance of producing a clean, nice project if I do the prep and go slow.
ReplyDeleteI used to work the way other night students did; no basting, etc., but I didn't have great control of the industrial machines we were using and ripping out a line of stitching was a real ___. I still have to remove stitching, but it happens less often when I baste and thread trace.
Clio:
ReplyDeleteGood for you for not getting caught up in "experience inflation." It usually takes many years to get good at construction. That's not "old school," that's reality. The claims and pretentions I see on the web at times are unbelievable.
Although I'm learning couture techniques, even when I consider myself advanced I doubt I'll ever call what I'm doing "couture." Couture, in addition to superb workmanship, means using unbelievable fabrics that cost thousands of dollars a yard, design that approaches artistry (although I think I have a good eye). Extreme effort to make one-of-a-kind clothes. I know some embroidery, but I'll never have the time to cover an entire dress made of silk velvet as if I were an embroiderer at Lesage in Paris.
It doesn't take anything away from me to consider myself a self-sewer working at the highest level she can. Some people think if they have a sewing machine it's couture. I use the term somewhat more selectively.
It sounds like we're back to a discussion on the 10,000 hours concept: 10,000 hours working at skill will gain you basic proficiency. Think about it: 10,000 hours is the equivalent of 5 years' full time work. It takes that long to master all the basics and the most common exceptions to any job. Even though I've been sewing since I was a small child, I probably didn't have 10,000 total hours at it until I was 40.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself advanced intermediate, not simply advanced, because some straightforward tasks still escape me: fly zips and a perfectly matching invisible zip at the nape of the neck, for 2 things. My goal with every garment is to make it better than the previous one, whether it's a neater hem on a t-shirt or a better-matched pair of single welt pockets on the back of a pair of pants.
I need and wear far more simply made casual clothes, but I make at least one complex, slow to finish, near-couture garment every year. I truly enjoy the process. Being in a hurry never saves time, in the end.
And I can recommend the Couture Hand Stitches class on PR.
I've been sewing a couple of years and I call myself an advanced beginner, but I have no burning desire to master a list of new techniques and work my way up to intermediate ( whatever that might be!) I only learn a new technique if I find something I want to sew that happens to need it. I guess that for me the actual process of sewing simply isn't the important thing, but for others it's obviously very satisfying in its own right, quite apart from having nicely fitting clothes at the end.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gwen. I'm better than average, but there is always something to learn. I am learning to embrace slow sewing. I'm much happier with my results when I take my time. And I'm very happy when I push myself to try something new and it's successful.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I don't know where I'd put myself. Striving for Advanced but probably more Advanced Intermediate? I do love slow sewing and hand sewing and couture stitching, and think the results are always worth it. Right now I'm on an easy sewing only break.
ReplyDeleteOn the button scale! I still resort to bribing you or (guilty to admit here)paying for major repairs. But I sew a mean button. :-p
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