When I was in high school, I took a sewing class as one of my electives. I made a small pillow for my niece, a pair of pajama pants, and a drawstring purse. I really enjoyed learning how to sew and I loved the feeling of accomplishment once I’d finished a project.

I wish that I’d continued to sew, but I didn’t. A few years down the road, I went through a brief sewing phase where I made (with lots of help from my mom) pajama pants and drawstring bags for family and friends.

My mom is a great sewer and is currently on a pillowcase kick. Our family has dozens of Disney themed pillowcases. She’s made the kids pillowcases to match their rooms. She’s made college sports pillowcases. Over Christmas, she decided that she wanted me to sew a pillowcase for my mother in law and my nieces and nephew on my husband’s side as gifts.

I had just enough of the sewing bug to agree.

My mom brought her sewing machine to my house one weekend in December and we got started. She already had tons of material and I picked from her stockpile for each person. All I really had to do was sew a bunch of straight lines. She cut the fabric, ironed it, and did pretty much everything else that didn’t involve straight lines.

She encouraged me along the way. Even when my lines were jagged and I’d managed to mess up the threading, she always insisted that I was doing great. Even though I just sewed the straight lines, she claimed that I did it!

I felt such pride in my accomplishments and my family enjoyed their pillows!

With Caroline’s first birthday coming up, I found myself perusing Etsy one night for all things ladybug (her party theme). There I found several adorable pillowcase dresses and I fell in LOVE! I was just about to order one of them, when it dawned on me that I’d really like the experience of making one. It is essentially the same concept as the pillowcases, so I asked my mom about it. Of course, she was on board and so excited.

My mom is on Spring Break this week so we went up to Hobby Lobby for the pattern (on sale for 99 cents!), some ribbon, and coordinating material for the bottom of the dress (mom already had the main material).

Once again, my mom did most of the work. She figured out the pattern, cut the material, ironed, pinned, and lined me up at the sewing machine to sew those straight lines. I did have to do a topstitch, though, so I’m moving on up in the world of sewing!

The dress turned out adorable and I’m so proud of it. I already have several other ideas for a princess dress and a 4th of July dress for my sweet girl! I told my mom that I want to do the bulk of the work (with her guidance) on the next dress we make.

Sewing does not come naturally to me at all, but I’ve enjoyed learning how to do it. It is such a neat skill to have and I hope that I will continue to grow in confidence and in proficiency.

Life is all about trying new things! I like sewing because it makes me feel self-sufficient and even a little old fashioned, but there is a whole wide world out there waiting for us! What would you like to try?

Life happens when we learn something new!

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