Now on to real business. I've been thinking a lot about how to learn to sew. As someone who works in higher education, how to learn is always a topic of conversation. Sewing is one of those things where there is information about it everywhere. Blogs, books, even our own clothing gives us information about sewing. Sometimes, it's unclear where it is even reasonable to start. Not only that, starting anything is the biggest barrier to productivity (science agrees). So, here is a place to start: make a pouch.
Pouches are personally something that make me feel whole. It's something I can contain objects in and keep my life a little less crazy. It's something I can look at every day and actually use. It's something I see all the time and think "Yeah! I made that. Go me."
Also, it doesn't get much easier than sewing cotton rectangles. There's very little stretch. No weird curves. And you don't even need to cut out a pattern.
Okay, so let's get started. Find something in your dwelling that is just cattywampus. This could be an electronic device that lacks a cover, make-up, a large number of spiders, or a small child. For me it was a straightener. Look at this straightener:
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| Just craziness. |
See that? Wires everywhere. Cattywampus. Now, if you've ever broken your straightener and been yelled at by a beauty supply store employee, you would know that you aren't supposed to wrap the wires around the straightener. It creates [insert technical phrase about breaking straighteners here]. Therefore, the only way you can really keep your straightener... straight, is by getting some sort of tie to keep the wire all together. Well, frankly, I'm 23 and I'm not going to undo a tie on my straightener every morning, or ever for that matter. So what do I need? A case for my straightener. You're catching on.
Next, use this fantastic pattern for a pouch on Purl Soho. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to start sewing or even has sewn several things. This pattern is easy, but makes a difficult-looking product. Given you choose the right fabrics, it's one of those things that people might mistake for a store-bought item. There's no better way to win in sewing than to have your friends say "Hey, that's cute. Where did you get that?"
When you're using this pattern, be nice to yourself. Choose easy fabrics. Choose a normal zipper. Put down the silk and the sequins and stop being such an overachiever.
Now, tell yourself you can do it. First of all, because you can. Second of all, because you can. The zipper might insight some fear, as they usually do. Just follow the directions. They are really good about telling you where the zipper should be at what point, and it helps to treat a zipper like you would any other fabric. It just has weird teeth on it.
Finally, cut those strings off and... you have a pouch! Look at that! Life is so much better! You started something and it looks awesome. Go you!
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| So organized :D |
I haven't experimented much with this pattern, but I have added fusible fleece to make a pouch for my kindle. I just cut the fleece about 1/2" short on the zipper side and fused it before I did any sewing. This gives it padding and structure. Pics or it didn't happen:
Now that you are a pouch master, you can continue making pouches for the rest of your small children, or you could really go anywhere. Here's another pouch I made from a different pattern:
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| Alvin wanted an iPhone case. I obliged. |
In case you are thinking, "hey Alissa, you didn't teach me anything. You just linked another website with all the information I needed," you've missed the point, young one. The pouch is a great starting place for sewing with large rewards. It gives you a sense of accomplishment to know you've made things a little less hectic, and it's a great entry into the wonderful world of sewing. So, go out there and make that pouch. I better see some small children running around in pouches.
Alissa
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