The Case for: Hand Sewing

Not to detract from the purpose and need for a sewing machine, but hand sewing is a quiet place of concentration that just cannot be found at the machine. Instead of frustration from bobbins and broken needles, there is just the work. Pure and simple and full of purpose.

I’m not going to act like sewing is some idyllic way to spend an afternoon full of cups of tea and Disney forest creatures coming to visit. It is work. Work is hard and it is not always love...and the money doesn't always follow. Sometimes, work is just work. Sometimes work sucks, and sometimes it hurts. Sewing hurts. It hurts your hands, your back, your eyes, and you will end up with a headache if you are doing it right. That's what work is. You may be lucky enough to love what you do, but that's not really what it is all about. But there is meaning to be found even when it is not fun and it is not love, even when it is just work.

Hand sewing is meditation meeting karma. Karma is action, but not just the action itself, it is also the results of that action. I can focus on the stitch just like I focus on the breath. My conscious mind thinks on the stitch while my unconscious mind picks away at something that may need sorting out - a project, a difficulty, whatever. The physical suffering is tactile, minor, and finite...it too shall pass. It is life in tangible miniature. There are pains to be felt in order to get to the result. And that result is unlikely to be perfect.

Hand sewing keeps me in the moment. When I am working on a detailed piece, or even just throwing some stitches on a well loved stuffed toy for my kid, I have to be calm in order to complete my task. I must have a clear space. I must set out my tools in an organized way so as not to tangle my thread or lose my needle. I must be able to envision what it is I am trying to create. I must pick the right stitch for the task, and go over it more than once in some cases. I must stay focused on what is in front of me at the moment and how it connects to the next moment. Not what I’m doing later tonight, only what I am doing right now.

Sewing by hand adds a certain intimacy to a handmade item. I get to become deeply acquainted with the fabric, all of its strengths and weaknesses that would go less noticed or even unnoticed if I used a sewing machine. The sense of accomplishment is also greater. When I put on something that I created. I know that I made the stitches that hold that garment together and how well it holds up over time is strictly my doing, my success or my failure. If I half-ass the job it shows very quickly. The level of quality is tied intrinsically to the level of care and time I put into it.

Learning a new stitch and putting it into practice for the first time. Repairing a tear in a toy. Making something useful. These are things I enjoy. These are things that hand sewing gives me. The bonus is that it also clears my mind. Even if the thing I am making doesn't turn out how I want, I still walk away a little closer to myself, and that is worth all the back aches and pin pricks along the way.