# Can you sew? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653 "2013-07-16T10:37:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/21 "2013-07-16T13:58:25Z")
I’m not crazy about putting in zippers, but I’ve done it enough that it doesn’t terrify me. Except for a fly. A few years back, I attempted my first pair of trousers with a fly. It came out OK, but I wouldn’t do it again, especially not for a good garment. I’m a decent seamstress, but not a tailor by any stretch. And I love my buttonholer attachment - I wish I’d had it 50 years ago when I started sewing! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/22 "2013-07-16T14:21:25Z")
I voted “I can do anything with a sewing machine or a needle and thread!” although, to be honest, I’m not up to speed on modern super-computerised sewing machines with all their fancy settings. But I can use our older model Elna and I handsew well enough- I’ve handsewn an Elizabethan outfit (Doublet, shirt, hose) where I had to make the patterns myself (this also involved making a mannequin of myself out of duct tape) and I’ve made 14th C Japanese clothes. I’ve also done some embroidery (blackwork) but not for a while. On the whole, though, I prefer stitching leather. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/23 "2013-07-16T14:29:33Z")
No. My mom used to force me into attempting to sew things when I was a kid. She’d hand me a needle and some thread and tell me to practice threading it. I feel the same way about sewing that I feel about the liver she’d make us eat once a week: nice in theory but not something I’m going to do voluntarily as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/24 "2013-07-16T14:45:26Z")
I tried sewing the other day. Really simple stuff - repairing my clothes. Then I washed my clothes and most of the stitches came out. So, in answer to the OP’s question: No. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/25 "2013-07-16T14:53:14Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > And I can NOT make pants. I know. I tried. Pants can be difficult. EmilyG, how did you sew, by hand or machine? One error I’ve seen people make on machines is forgetting to backstitch the beginning and end of their stitching and so they just basted the fabric. I love sewing. I’m not great shakes at it as anyone who’s seen my easing can attest but I find it enjoyable, nonetheless. Serging’s even more fun because it’s all the fun of machine sewing with almost no skill required. Just don’t accidentally serge a bunch of armholes because that’s a bitch to rip out. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/26 "2013-07-16T14:57:08Z")
I’m somewhere between options 1 and 2. I can definitely follow a pattern, but I also draft my own skirt patterns. I learnt sewing at school then used it during my university years to make cheap clothes. I’ve recently bought a new machine and made a few basic A-line skirts with elastic bands. My current project is to make a sloper with darts - I have a huge waist to hip ratio so need to get the darting just right! ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/27 "2013-07-16T15:12:40Z")
I can sew on a button and make minor repairs. They probably won’t look great if you make a point of examining them, but they function fine. Can’t use a sewing machine to save my life, though. My wife’s freaks me out a little as it looks like some sort of complicated torture device. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/28 "2013-07-16T15:28:00Z")
I got into cosplay and did a lot of costume work. I mostly worked from patterns as a base, modifying them as necessary to get the desired result. Only once did I make a vest straight-up without a pattern, and frankly the arm holes ended up a bit small. I’ve never actually tried to do anything “finished” for myself, that is, no matter how nice it looked on the outside, the inside of my costumes were not lined and the edges weren’t even finished. It was all raw on the inside! Pristine-looking outside though. I never figured out how to do welted pockets though and did a crude imitation on one of my costumes that looked nice but was actually a nightmare on the inside. Pants are the most hair-pulling stuff ever. When I have to do pants I usually just go to goodwill, buy a pair that fits, and fix 'em until they fit the costume rather than do them from scratch. We had to do sewing in home ec, but for some reason they thought teaching us how to sew pillows by hand out of felt was more important than how to do a patch in jeans, how to sew on a button, or how to replace a zipper. These things are the truly useful stuff for everyday people. I consider those staples on the level of average handyman knowledge people should have, like how to turn off your water or hang a picture. I’m the go-to gal for my friends when they need their clothing repaired. I once had a pair of pants that was more patches than original pants. (The Locke’s Socks conundrum) I kind of miss cosplay now. I no longer go to anime conventions. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/29 "2013-07-16T16:08:15Z")
I selected buttons & hems, since that’s all I am required or willing to do these days. I once made a skirt from a pattern in Home Ec, but that was about 35 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/30 "2013-07-16T16:30:11Z")
I can follow a pattern but I’m pretty rusty. There wasn’t a choice for that. Sewing clothes isn’t worth the effort unless you enjoy it, which I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/31 "2013-07-16T16:32:34Z")
I can’t sew, much, but I really enjoyed The Great British Sewing Bee on YouTube. Think competitive reality show for sewing, kind of a cross between the Great British Bake Off (and/or it’s American rip-off) and what you always hoped Project Runway would be. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/32 "2013-07-16T16:56:40Z")
I chose option 2 but there is a good deal of space between can and do. The last thing I remember completing was a dress for my daughter. When she was 4. 20 years ago. I’ve repaired things and I got as far as buying material for a skirt once but I don’t enjoy it enough to do it willingly and I’m too lazy to talk myself into the labour for saving a few bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/33 "2013-07-16T18:27:23Z")
I can sew on a button, and hem pants. I recently bought a sewing machine after my mom’s Singer hand-me-down crapped out. I made a seat cushion for the blanket chest at the foot of my bed! I was so proud! Other than that, I really don’t have any talent for sewing. I took a class in Junior High, and I remember I attempted to make a jumper. It was hideous! My talents lie on the other side of Home Ec - cooking. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/34 "2013-07-16T18:34:41Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Other than that, I really don’t have any talent for sewing. I took a class in Junior High, and I remember I attempted to make a jumper. It was hideous! The trick is to choose an obnoxious fabric to begin with and that way, no one will notice the differently sized armholes or the buttonhole you ripped clean through and repaired with approx. 20 sheets of stitch witch and interfacing because they’ll be so distracted by the dancing muffins, fried eggs and toast pattern. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/35 "2013-07-16T18:47:49Z")
I can sew from patterns well enough to make clothes for my toddler, but not really anything wearable for myself. I find I’m a lot happier with patterns I buy from indie bloggers on the internet than with commercial sewing patterns, fwiw. ---
**Author:** ![Goosie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@Goosie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goosie)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/36 "2013-07-16T18:50:21Z")
I’m very good at making kites out of rip-stop nylon, and I’ve made a LOT of kites, so me and my sewing machine are old friends. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/37 "2013-07-16T18:54:09Z")
while humorous your poll options didn’t have me in stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/38 "2013-07-16T19:00:31Z")
I voted the first option but need to add, in my case, that it should probably read, " I _could_ do anything. . " I don’t sew very much any more and when I do I notice that my work isn’t as fine as it once was. Sigh. But my rhubarb pie just keeps improving. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/39 "2013-07-16T19:07:19Z")
As long as looks aren’t of paramount importance, sure, I can sew. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653/40 "2013-07-16T19:16:41Z")
I can hand sew buttons and such. And I can needlepoint to an extent. Long ago I sewed some pants from a pattern on a machine, with mom’s supervision. For quick repairs, consider super glue. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-sew/663653.md?page=3)