First bit of (actual) sewing in a while (not embroidery)!

Sew yeah- basically the title! Inspired by my brother having recently purchased a sewing machine, combined with the fact that I've neglected to use mine in I-don't-even-want-to-know how long, as well as having completed all the visual work on my animation (woop!) freeing up some time, I decided to get over my fear of the dreaded machine and get to work on a project.

I'm way more confident with hand sewing, because it feels much easier to control and there's less to learn- needle and thread, you're all set. Pretty much. But what good is the machine just sat there taking up valuable desk space? The only thing really stopping me using it at this point is myself. But, like with anything, the first step is usually the hardest and the more you do something, the easier it becomes. So I dusted it off (literally) and decided to really delve into learning it properly this time round. After a lot of practise and threading/ rethreading, I decided I was finally ready: with a clothing alteration.

I ripped my trousers skateboarding (quelle surprise) a week ago- pesky stones, causing me to fall! Knee has almost recovered- it's always the knees, I swear. Anyway, instead of patching over the hole like any normal person might, I decided to go full Flora Martyr and turn it into a project. Of course I did. Knees tend to be one of the points where the concrete is most attracted to when I fall, so I decided to turn this into an opportunity and create a 'double knee' style trouser, which is quite common on a lot of skate/ work wear. Picture below of the pretty small hole:

I thought it would just be a case of cutting out two large patches, hemming them and sewing them on. But nope, it wasn’t quite that simple.

After having cut and created the patches using the machine to hem them (see above pic), I presumed the next job would be a hand sewing task to attach them to the trousers. But, this was taking ages:

I estimated to sew on each patch it would take approximately 3-4 hours. Do I really have time for that? I can’t say I do, however much I like my trusty thread and needle. Plus it also meant there was no shying away from using the machine again. Though, turns out, without ripping the seams, it would have been almost impossible to attach them. Something I had no idea I’d need to do for this project. But, I do love a good learning opportunity, so the seam ripping prospect kind of excited me.

Ripping the seams was a genius plan. I was able to stitch the patches on in no time, after choosing the correct stitch length on the machine to match the sewing I had started by hand.

Voila- I now had two patches attached. Just need to sew back up the seams now, right?! Well, firstly, not quite that easy, because for some reason I had like zero black thread. Such a standard colour- how did I not own any?! Emergency trip to Hobbycraft ensued. Now just to sew the seams up then? Well, kind of: I managed one, but when it came to the other, urm I realised this had happened:

Yep, clumsily, I had mistakenly stitched one of the corners onto the underside of the material. So, I unpicked that, restitched it by hand, then it was time to complete the final seam. On both, I used a straight stitch and then as I don’t have an overlocker machine, I used a zig zag in place of that:

Turned them right sides out, and I am now the proud owner of some contrast double knee skate trousers!

I’m honestly so pleased with myself for having completed this project, because it made me look straight into my fear of the sewing machine (rather than the safety net of hand sewing) and complete a few tasks going into this project I didn’t expect myself to be doing, such as the seam ripping. It’s all a bit rough around the edges and I’m still getting to grips with creating neat lines with the machine, but nevertheless I am proud of my achievements here. I am actually really excited to continue sewing and getting to the point where I’m comfortable enough to make my own garments: I have loadsss of ideas! But, can’t get too carried away at this point or go too fast with it all- need to build my way up on small projects, before creating made to measure clothing. As always, watch this space, and stay creative xo