Why does the sewjo go?

Looking back there wasn’t just one reason why my sewjo had upped and left, but several.

Work had got busier.

I had got more involved with my cycling club; which I loved.

I was really enjoying my portable crochet.

But the biggest reason was that the time and money I was investing in my sewing wasn’t resulting in a wardrobe which matched my efforts and investment.

As I became a little more knowledgeable I had begun to see the glaring fitting issues in my garments and they bothered me.

I had begun to realise how much I didn’t know.

I really enjoyed the planning and the buying of fabric but was getting despondent around the actual sewing part – the supposedly fun bit!

My stash was huge, my confidence, low.

(clicking on the image titles will take you to the original post)

Many of my carefully chosen images of myself wearing a great looking garment hid things that were actually wrong with it.

At the time I thought it was just me, and that every other blogger was producing perfect looking and fitting clothes. I was hiding a gaping front neck line, a gaping back neckline, sleeves that fell off shoulders, skirts that wouldn’t stay up and then banishing them all to the stash pile.

When I actually realised that dressmaking wasn’t just about cutting out pieces of a pattern, sewing them together and viola – a perfect fitting garment, I felt utterly daunted about the amount I had to learn.

Last garment I made was in March 2016 , almost 3 years ago!!

I had become conscious of my own incompetence.

It sounds awfully sad but, with hindsight and now, with some knowledge, looking back I had reached the second stage of competency.

Did you know about the 4 stages of competency?

Stage 1: Unconsciously Incompetent
At this level, you are blissfully ignorant: you have a complete lack of knowledge and skills in a specific area, and you’re unaware of this. Your confidence therefore far exceeds your abilities.

It is an exciting time. All you see is the possibilities ahead of you. The fact that you are simply wearing something you have made is enough. I remember this well

Level 2 – Consciously Unskilled
By this stage, you’ve discovered that you need to learn new skills. You realize that others are much more competent than you are, and that they can easily do things that you are struggling with.

Ah, yes this was me 3 years ago. So much to learn. All I wanted to do was sew but there seemed so many fitting issues to know and techniques to pick up.

Apparently, ‘this level can be demoralizing, causing people to lose confidence or even give up on their learning efforts altogether. Therefore, it’s important to stay positive at this stage.’

Yep, that was me!

Level 3 – Consciously Skilled
At this level, you know that you have acquired the skills and knowledge you need. You put your learning into practice regularly, and you gain even more confidence as you use your new skills.

I never got there.

Level 4 – Unconsciously Skilled
At this level, you use your new skills effortlessly, and you perform tasks without conscious effort. You are completely confident of success.

As if!!! Although it did seem that every other sewing blogger was at this stage. I appreciate now, that they probably weren’t.

So what changed?

Well I have enough crochet blankets to furnish several settees and beds and my downstairs loo now has an entire embroidery wall!

I needed something new. I had discovered all the amazing sewers on YouTube and I rediscovered an itch that needed scratching that led me to dust down my machine.

What has changed in the world of sewing? So much!!!!!

I think social media and the resources available has changed enormously in the last 3 years. Soooo many tutorials and resources for help. And so many groups to reach out to.

I think the amount of Indie designers producing modern but simple patterns with detailed clear instructions and in many cases online courses and sewalongs has completely changed the accessibility of sewing.

Fabric too has come along way. The jersey and viscose sections in fabric shops has quadrupled in size!

Looking back over my blog I made some really great stuff!

Stuff I still wear now, completely forgetting that it is not RTW.

I’m so excited about my sewing future. I just need to be patient, slow down, research, and not recreate my errors.

So did you recognise yourself at any of the competency levels?

Hopefully another year might see me part way to stage 3!

Love, Lucie xx