As long as I could remember, I had an interest in the ability to make things with my hands, but it wasn’t until an MTV Making The Video episode with Destiny’s Child, that I even heard of the idea that one would make their own clothing. While the mother of one of the artists mentioned that she made the entire group’s outfits - a flame in me was sparked and it’s been burning ever since.
I had little to no knowledge at the time of what making your own clothes actually meant, so for me this would mean that I need to think about what clothes I wish I had, draw the idea, and then figure out how I could make it by hand. This involved combining clothes that I already had, to hand stitching them into what I wanted them to become.
Below is a make that I designed when I was 13. It was the very first time I let my imagination take over to create something physical that began from thought.
Today looking at it, it seems like a simple scarf wrapped around a tank top, but it is so significant to me as it was something created out of whim - this was a time before social media and before crafting or sewing was something I was even aware of. This top is super common but I had no clue of it at the time, all I knew was that I wanted to manipulate this fabric in a way that I had never seen before, and that is something I’m super proud of.
It wasn’t until much later in life that I learned that both of my grandparents sewed and even owned their own tailor shops. Looking back I could have picked their brain about how to start or how one would go about sewing, but now knowing sewing was something familiar to the family, I am inspired to teach my children and keep exploring ways to carry on that legacy.
The today me also would’ve told the 13 year old me to keep going, keep designing, and keep researching the clothing making process. If I would’ve consistently been sewing or creating since then, who knows how far I would be by now - but everything happens for a reason and the beauty is that today I get to share a piece of my origins story with you with hopes that it will encourage, inspire, and motivate you to start, continue, and keep creating and sewing ❤️
XO
Stephanie
@sewwithstephanie
