One of the most satisfying things I’ve learned in the past year is how to sew. I taught myself how to sew because I was fed up with constantly rolling up all of my sleeves accommodate my short arms.
It’s not that my arms are freakishly short – like Ceelo or like a Tyrannosaurus Rex – it’s just that they are a few inches shorter than apparently every long sleeve shirt, fleece and jacket manufacture uses as their standard.
So last year, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos. Then I bought a basic sewing machine and got started. Now, I can confidently hem pants, shorten cuffs and even add elastic to jacket sleeves.
If you look at my work closely, you’ll see that I still suffer from “Steve Ainslie cannot draw a straight line syndrome“. Consequently, my hemlines are not factory finish perfect. Still, my altered clothes look better now that they fit. They feel better to wear and I’m not constantly pushing up my sleeves.
On my better projects the hems are straight and even and the shirts fit as if they were custom tailored for me.
I am an idiot for not learning to do this earlier in life.
I spent 50 some years rolling up pants cuffs, pushing up sleeves, wearing raggedy cutoffs, and even (back in middle school) stapling my jeans cuffs to make them the right length.
For rare items, like suits and dress pants, I’d pay for custom alterations from a real tailor. But those were expensive and inconvenient one offs.
Now, alterations are just a part of my normal daily life.
Last week, I ordered two base layer shirts for winter. They had extra long sleeves with thumbholes so you could have partial coverage for your hands in cold weather. When not using the thumbholes, you simply push up the sleeves.
I love the shirts but the last thing I need are extra long sleeves with thumbholes. So, I pulled out my sewing machine, cut off the sleeves and sewed new cuffs at the perfect length. It took about 30 minutes.
While I was at it, I patched a hole in my sheets that Wiggles chewed in a fit of ecstasy one morning. I then took this annoying extra long Buff neck warmer I owned, folded it in half and sewed it to make a warmer, double layer neck warmer.
The best part of knowing how to sew is the feeling of accomplishment and self sufficiency it provides.
None of my work will ever make a debut on YouTube or Instagram or Pinterest. That’s fine with me.
And if I ever buy another suit or fancy, expensive clothing item, I could see visiting a tailor for a professional alteration.
Then again, I’ve been thinking about taking an actual sewing class. It might help to have some hands on, personal instruction.
Perhaps, I will.