Our Favorite Reasons to Sew

Sewing has long been viewed as a women's hobby, a childhood crafting pastime, or as part of a dreary sweatshop existence. But really sewing is so much MORE than any of that. Sewing is art. It's a creative voice. It is a dynamic domestic and career skill. It can brings its practitioners independence, greater wealth, and greater health. And like all education and knowledge, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. If you can sew you can survive. It really is just as simple as that.

Maybe you just want to have FUN? Turns out sewing can be that too. With so much to offer it wasn't really hard to create the following list. If you sew, let us know if we included your favorite reason. If we didn't, feel free to comment and share what we missed. If you don't sew, hopefully you'll understand why you should. Enjoy!

THE LIST:

THE DESIGNER' S COMMENTARY

Engage My Hands

There’s something about working with my hands that can bring me right into focus and kind of take me out of the immediate environment and its concerns and create a kind of calm. Even though my body is moving, my mind is at peace and a kind of synergy forms between me and my machine.

Stimulate My Mind

Whenever I start doing something creative, inevitably that’s the time that more ideas appear, and they don’t always have to be sewing related ideas. I think about all kinds of ideas and solutions when I am in the process of sewing. Sometimes when I have a mental block, or an answer I can’t quite figure out, I just pull out a sewing project and work for as little as 15 minutes and my answer will slowly evolve in my mind.

Express My Individuality

This is an important reason for me because there is some sewing I don’t like, for instance alterations, and that’s because I don’t get to express myself with alterations that much. For me one of sewing’s rewards is the ability to create something just the way I want it and for my own satisfaction and purpose. I imagine other artists find this an important aspect of their craft as well.

Inspire My Soul

In the same way that sewing stimulates my mind, it also lifts my spirits. It is hard to stay down when I am sewing. Even when I am tackling a big complicated project there is this feeling that my efforts are all worthwhile, and there’s often evidence of my progress in my tangible project. I experience an overall feeling of increased confidence and accomplishment when I sew, that just fills me with optimism and positive outlook.

Build My Confidence

That feeling of increased confidence that I experience as sewing inspires my soul actually carries over into other aspects of my life as well. I often wear and carry many of my creations like physical armor. In the course of my “traditional” job, I often engage with the public, as such I am often the recipient of harsh criticism or complaints directed at my workplace. And I can often withstand these onslaughts with ease because, though I cannot always solve the complainant’s issue, I know my custom creation was made with expertise. So feeling good about that prevents me from feeling bad about a complainants' sour mood (which in most cases I did not create in the first place.)

Sewing makes me feel smart. It makes me feel self assured. And it helps me build trust in my own decision making.

Awaken My Creativity

The thing about sewing is it only takes a little bit of skill to get really creative. Once I figure out how to tackle one creative project that knowledge carries over into the next project where I can pick up more skill and confidence and that carries into the next project and so on. Again this creative problem solving doesn’t just stop at the sewing table, it carries over into practical applications and situations in everyday life as well.

Maximize My Budget

So this is a big reason for me personally. I find the more I sew the more cost effective it gets especially if you invest time and money wisely.

Consider this: Initially the average cost of a reliable sturdy machine with the most common functions averages around $250. The basic tools to start sewing will run you around another $50-75. So let’s say it takes on average $300 to really get stocked and started sewing. Assuming you like to sew and can manage to create 12 projects a year or use your machine once every month. Your costs come out to about $25/month. Now imagine you continue sewing with that same machine and those same basic tools for a second year or 24 months. Now your costs are averaging $12.50/ month. And if you keep your machine periodically maintenanced and your scissors sharp and practice your skills enough to keep them accessible when you need them, you could keep on using those same tools for many many years, even decades.

The machine I was given for my birthday 30 years ago, still works and still pumps out projects I make on a regular basis. Though I have added to my collection, many of my tools are 30 plus years old as well. So the return on investment can be hundreds, even thousands of percent.

Then there are just the savings I get, doing my own alterations, creating my own curtains, and making my own specialty gifts.

In short, sewing i