Sewing... Sort Of

November 4, 2010

36. Learn how to use my mom's sewing machine

The other night when we were putting Andrew's Phantom costume together, we realized that Andrew needed a bow tie. Seeing as how this realization came to us at almost midnight, we really didn't have the option of driving out to a store to pick one up. So we needed to be creative.

Looking through my stash of fabric, I found some left over from previous projects. It was just good enough for us to use with the costume. Using Nathan's little bow ties as a template, I mentally planned out how it was to be constructed. And sewing was involved. Lots of it.

Not wanting to risk another incident like last year, where I sat for hours hunched over Nathan's little ghost costume, sewing around the eye holes, I asked Andrew to bring out my mom's sewing machine. My sister had given me a quick rundown of how to use it and I thought I remembered most of what she said.

I thought wrong. The next hour or so was filled with trial and error. Mostly error. But after about the 9th try, I finally got the machine working the way it was supposed to. I still don't know for sure exactly what had to be done, I have an idea, but in any case, I got it working.

Once that was done, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there and the bow tie was finished in no time. It's not exactly the snazziest accessory. And it should probably not be worn out in public, but it was the best I could do. Plus, it's the first thing I've really sewn to be used so I think I should be given a little bit of credit for that!

So now that I've successfully used my mom's sewing machine without any outside help, I think I can say I've learned to use it. Next step... learning to use it well.