My first dress
About 2 years ago, I made the decision to learn how to sew. I decided to go to Wal-Mart and purchase my first sewing machine. A Singer Heavy Duty classic. I wanted to learn how to sew so bad and couldn't grasp the idea of waiting on someone to teach me. Next stop....Fabric store! I went to Arnolds Fabric and decided to purchase my first Cotton non-stretch fabric (which was a big mistake). I had no clue what I was doing but I knew what I wanted to make. I purchased it in a gray color along with some African prints. Oh I was ready to do this
That day, I went home and watched a YouTube video on how to set up the machine. If I told you it only took me 10 minutes to learn the set up of the machine, I would be lying to you. I spent about 3-5 HOURS trying to first find a video that would be suitable for the machine that I purchased, the whole set up process (which took the longest) and grasping the concept of this machine. Thank God my dad was passing by my room this particular night and he came to help me out after noticing my frustration (Thank God for parents born in the islands cause they all seem to know how to sew, LOL). My parents mostly used the industrialized sewing machine so these new and improved machines was a little challenging for him too, however, we watch the video together. My mom was also able to helped out, and we made it through this first process (that was only the first step yall). By now its like 12am and my eyes are getting heavy. I proceed to watch another video. Something similar to what I was trying to make. T-Shirt dress! The video I watched didn't require me to create my own pattern so I said, "ok that would be perfect". I grabbed a t-shirt dress that I currently had out of my closet and laid the fabric down directly on it and began cutting. Little did I know, I shouldn't have cut so close. I needed space just in case there was room for error it could be fixed (there was definitely an error, remember the fabric I purchased? No stretch and I was making a t-shirt dress, you need stretch, smh). Long story short, the dress turned out to be:
#1. Too short for my liking
#2. Way too tight
#3. Uneven
I decided to try making this dress one more time, since I kind of knew what I did wrong the first time. This time I went black. It felt better. I could breathe and also I didn't have to fake the funk to much.
After being stuck by the needle countless amount of times, after watching videos that didn't necessarily help me out, after purchasing the wrong fabric, after fighting with a machine that didn't want to comply (it was really me though, lol), after sleepless nights to finish this one dress that seemed to be a giant in my life. and so much more, I came out with what I thought to be a lovely dress. Despite all the imperfections I was able to WEAR IT & OWN IT!!! You couldn't see the imperfections of this dress because I was able to protect it from the viewers eye by the confidence in which I wore it. In our lives we tend to do the same. We hide behind our imperfections by covering ourselves with loads of make up, with extensions, and so much more. Which to me is not really a problem only if you have identified your imperfections and is able to be comfortable with it. Doing it for the wrong reasons, I don't agree with. There's nothing wrong with enhancement. I'm for it. But you have to be able to identify, embrace, and love who God created you to be.
I hope this post encouraged someone today. I know it encouraged me. Thank you for reading this post. Have an amazing day!
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