Guest blog post from Sew Confident Customer, Amanda.

This week I have completed the Friday Pattern Company Joni jumpsuit with the Sew Along live, made two pairs of shorts for my little girls & got along the Sew your Own Bikini class! Epic sewing week! I’m so chuffed to have gotten so much done and tackled new projects and techniques!! Winner! I think it feels particularly good, because this week I also completed my last EVER paid for sewing work & I can honestly say I’m delighted!
I started sewing for me, and me alone! I’ve been a stay at home mum for 4 years and learning to sew gave me a challenge, got me out of the house, taught me new
skills and gave me a sense of achievement. Initially I focused on making clothes for my daughters, Grace & Ella. I discovered the amazing Jilly Atlanta patterns for girls
and made the girls so many little blouses and pinafores. It seemed every time we went anywhere everyone commented on their outfits, insisting I should sell them!
Obviously this is beyond lovely, for a novice sewer to hear and I very quickly had dreams of my little empire.

So, I did it! It was easy, I got a little Instagram account, sent a few freebies to some ‘mummy bloggersʼ and before I knew it the orders were coming in!
Initially I was buzzing, but very quickly I felt so under pressure. Making things for my own girls had been a joy, it had been fun and creative, but suddenly I was
scrutinising every seam, worrying about fit not to mention competing with more similar instagram shops than I could ever imagine! It was stressed beyond belief and I hadnʼt made a single thing for me or my girls in months! Now, all this might have been fine if I was living a life of luxury with all my new found
earnings, but let me tell you I wasn’t even close! I was covering my costs, but if I was to actually factor in paying myself for my time I was actually at a loss.
I found, to my surprise my little business of dreams was actually crushing my creativity. It was boring, a one woman production line churning out the same again & again & again.

On the plus side I was sewing more than ever. The order book dictated that I needed to sew every day, but far from being the stuff of dreams, it was a chore, although, my sewing was getting better with every order. I had more confidence, but this actually made me resent the orders even more. With my increased skill set I wanted to tackle new more difficult patterns, make things for myself and actually wear them. Fabric shopping and pattern buying became my joy, my little pleasure, but it was all just sitting there in an ever increasing pile! I lost myself in the Instagram accounts of @SewMeSunshine, @I_seam_sew_happy_xx and Sew Confidentʼs very own @made_by_amrit. I took note of new pattern ideas & fabric shops. Iʼd spend a fortune (donʼt tell my husband!) on patterns & fabrics, but made nothing that was actually for myself.

So, in May I decided to take no more orders and get back to the buzz of sewing for me and my girls and itʼs a thrill again! Iʼd honestly forgotten how good it is to sit at the machine for pleasure, for me. To escape into the pattern, sit there with a cuppa & the radio on and just enjoy it! Iʼve got major catching up to do, a hit list of makes and I canʼt wait to get cracking with them!

It would still be a dream to find a way to make a living out of sewing, but safe to say sewing for others is not the way for me!

Amandas Pattern Hit List:

‘Seamwork’ Heidi shorts

‘Simple Sew’ Shannon shorts

 ‘Tilly & The Buttons’ Bettine

‘Vogue’ very easy dress (V9312)

‘Vogue’ Very easy jumpsuit (V9321)

‘By Hand London’ Charlotte skirt!