{blogtober day 12} a sewist spotted in the wild

When I’m out and about in me made clothing, one of the worst things to hear is “oh did you make that?”. I don’t want my clothes to look homemade, I want them to look unique. There are times, though, where it’s a fun comment to receive.

On Friday, I was out at the splash park, chatting to the homeschool mums as we waited for the various childebeests to finish their socialising, a voice popped up behind me. “Hi Rachel,” said the voice, and I turned to see a fellow scout + hockey mum gesturing at my top. “I just wanted to say I LOVE your shirt! I’ve had that pattern on my list to sew for ages and it’s great to see it in person.” And we chatted about it and variations; I mentioned I didn’t love the sleeves and she reassured me that the puff was absolutely the perfect amount of puff. We left with her offering a final compliment and me offering encouragement she should prioritise it for summer sewing.

It’s like a secret little bat signal, one sewist to another. I think we also understand how loaded the “did you make that” question can be. Last year at a kid event, one of the other drama mums popped up beside me – in the way of small towns, she was someone I’d known since she went to preschool with my younger sister, and now our own kids were belting around at drama together, or playing each other at touch. Her husband tiled our house, she worked with my mum. Small towns, the circles run tight. After a bit of small talk catching up, she shifted a bit awkwardly and said “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but did you make your dress?”. I confirmed I had, and then came the constant refrain of a sewist forever on the hunt for the next project. “Oh fabulous! I don’t suppose you’d be able to text me a link to the pattern”.

Maybe it’s a crafters code switching skill. We don’t want people to immediately clock a me made garment, unless it’s another sewist and then, with the same tone we answer “nice dress” with “thanks, it’s got pockets”, we answer “nice dress” “thanks I made it”. A little moment of celebrating the magic that is sewing, of being seen for our skills by someone who understands the process.