Scissors

Scissors

I’ve been sewing since I was 16. My first sewing machine was a Singer Treadle machine. I still own it today and have moved around different houses for 40 years. I didn’t get an electric machine till I left home at 18. And I’ve had many of them, worn out and thrown out from hundreds of hours of sewing on each machine.

Imagine my delight when I got an overlocker. How did I manage without one for so long. Finally I could give my sewing machine a break from overwork.

My sewing machine serviceman smiles as I go to get my machines serviced. I’m one of his best customers.

I’ve made my sister’s wedding dress, my daughters formal dresses, hundreds of dance costumes, repaired broken toys and sewn much loved dolls back together.

I scour Op shops for beautiful materials to remake clothes or just update the style.

I am currently restoring and upholstering some mid century teak chairs.

There isn’t much I can’t fix that’s made of material. And if I can’t I’ll give it my best effort.

I have 2 pairs of scissors that I can’t do without. 1 is a pair of stork shaped embroidery scissors and the other is a pair of dressmakers scissors.

I’ve had the stork scissors for 25 years and the dressmakers scissors for about 30 years.

But tragically I had the dressmakers scissors misplaced, not be me but my someone else.

See, I work backstage for my daughter who owns a dance studio. I do emergency repairs, sew students into costumes. I’ve actually had to fashion a replacement costume when a child vomited on one.

I went to pack up a few years ago and they were nowhere to be found. I was devastated. So upset I didn’t but another pair for months hoping mine would turn up. They didn’t and so I had to purchase another pair.

But strangely it want the same. My scissors had seen so many adventures with me, made so many memories, helped children and adults alike and helped me make beautiful costumes from nothing more than material, thread and love.

My old scissors seemed to make what was an impossible job possible and I knew when I used them they would cut faultlessly. I knew how ever part of them worked and the exact cut they would make.

It’s taken me a while to get used to my new pair, but I can’t blame the new scissors for my longing for my trusted pair of 30 years.

Both my daughter’s teach dance and for nearly 30 years I have made costumes. Hundreds of costumes. Mostly for love, sometimes for money. Not much money just a token gesture.

There is nothing more lovely than when I child receives there first custom made costume and they’ll say “ For me? It fits so beautifully.” Or the smile when they have their first set of laces sewn onto new ballet shoes.

My children had custom made clothes all their life. In fact the first time they had to buy off the rack they got a shock. Why didn’t it fit? Why was it uncomfortable? I just laughed.

So my passion has been making beautiful clothes. Mending beautiful clothes. Breathing life into old clothes.

Fixing what I can for people because they love that item.

Recycling beautiful upholstery on old furniture. Furniture that has a story to tell.

When you look around fabric is everywhere in our lives. And every piece of that material has been cut. Cut with scissors, some new some old but every pair owned by someone who is creating something new.

I can’t live without my scissors. I can’t create without my scissors.