When I was young, my mother taught me how to sew by hand with a thread and needle. She helped me hem my pants which were too long and were always dragging on the floor. I thought at the time "what a complex and intricate process this is," and yet, my mom had pulled it off so well. She expertly thread the needle and seamlessly stitched the fabric to my perfect proportions. My early attempts were clearly constructed by a nine year old with mismatch colored string and zig zag stitching. Though I didn’t despair about my clumsy fingers. Sewing takes patience, my mom always told me. After further lessons, I learned to craft pillow cases, string back packs, little purses, hats and so on. I loved creating the gifts for my friends and family, obsessed with the heart and soul that went into building DIY gifts. Sewing has always been a skill that brings warmth to my heart, even when I wasn’t the best at it. Even today, I would not consider my basic knowledge to be advanced by any means, but I truly just have fun with being able to control and manipulate my wardrobe.

Sewing provides so much opportunity for us: with some practice and a solid pattern you could completely change the look of your living room with your own couch covers. You could stitch a delicate quilt or a soft blanket or perhaps conjure up window shades, curtains, lamp shades, pillows, rugs, table clothes, car baskets, organizers and the list goes on forever. Your world can look completely different once you arm yourself with the capabilities to make creative changes.

I believe that knowing how to sew is a really important tool because it’s fairly simple to understand the basics of minor alterations and that information can take your wardrobe so much further. When clothes rip or tear that is not the end of it’s life. Without knowing how to sew I would have had to throw away so much of my beloved closet. On the other hand, its super handy to know because you can hem seams, take in or let out space as your shape changes or buy clothes from the store or thrift shops with alterations in mind. The possibilities are truly endless when you can sew your own clothes. It saves you so much money from having to pay a tailor or replace your clothes.

In addition to that, being able to fix my clothes myself provides me with control. And maybe it’s strange, but I feel that if I can sew a rip in my favorite sweater then I can do other things too, like ace my test or put in extra effort at work this week. It’s the little things that build us up to accomplish bigger goals.

I think sewing is a critical skill set that anyone and everyone should learn; man or woman, old or young, sewing will be the skill you will always be thankful you learned. It can save you in a bind and has given back to me so much in times of need. When your prom dress rips or your favorite jeans don't fit as well as they used to, don’t find yourself without the capabilities you need to look sharp and save the day with just some thread and a needle.