This afternoon in the staff room a colleague asks the two other people present if they know of anyone who sews. Everyone I work with knows I sew. I have to admit I did have a inner chuckle at that silly little scenario.
My response was quick, "I sew but I don't sew for others." And wanting to be helpful and not dismissive, I added my recommendations for tailor shops in the neighbourhood. One of which I've heard good things about was known to the person asking. She agreed that it was a good tailor shop.
I have yet to meet an non-sewer who truly has an appreciation for the time, effort and expense that goes into sewing tasks.
That said, I don't have an aversion to teaching someone how to sew, suggesting books or sharing tips or suggestions to complete a task on their own.
My experience is that often people don't want to learn or do what they wrongly tend to perceive as simple tasks, let alone pay a fair rate charged by tailor shops.
Whenever someone asks about sewing it is because they are trying to cut costs.
I can't say that I'm surprised, I do live in Winnipeg with a reputation for being
Sew, I was taken aback when someone was looking for someone to sew a curtain. Yeah, a curtain! One that hangs on a curtain rod to cover a bookshelf. You can pick up a curtain in this town cheap at a number of places, why would you look for someone to sew one? And why hide books?
Sometimes people ask for the silliest things, don't they?
The silliest things.
Happy Sewing!
I can relate to this. I'm not interested in sewing for others either (with rare exceptions).
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how many people think if they pay for the fabric, you should be willing to do the hard work for free! That's my opportunity to tell them my charge-out rate, and how many hours it would take to do the work, hahaha.
Every time somebody asks me to sew for them, I offer to give them some lessons... surprisingly, nobody has ever taken me up on this ;-)
I'm the same too - and I always feel so AWFUL turning someone down. But people that don't sew have no idea how difficult it can be - they think that because they see you 'whipping up another creation' that it must be super easy, they don't realise that you worked your butt off to make it! Plus the standards I have for myself ("ah, it will do") might not be what the person asking the favour expects - they may expect to get a professional level service....but I'm no professional!!! Far too much stress!
ReplyDeletePlus, I have limited time for sewing and the thought of having to give it over to someones elses project is not entising either!
We have a friend who every time we see him keeps asking if I can make his fiancee something with silk he brought back from a trip abroad. He doesn't get why I don't want to do it but I don't feel bad about saying no because there are so many aspects of that scenerio which could get stressful! And I might be able to make decent looking clothes for me but trying to fit someone else is like going back to square one! No thanks!
ReplyDeleteRecently I met a woman who is a consultant for a company I hired to do some work in my house. Her eyes lit up when she saw my sewing room and learned that I also sew home dec (she saw the floor to ceiling curtain in my DD's bathroom that I made). I quickly stated that I never sew for others (not true - I've been known to sew for a good friend or two). Her look if disappointment was obvious - and she told me she was interested in having a leather bed replicated..... and that has what to do with me and my seeing machine, exactly?? I believe you are correct when you say folks don't get what goes into sewing a garment or quality home dec item.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right when you say people do not appreciate how much work it is to sew, I always wonder why they don't sew if they think it is so easy. I sew for me because I get something out of it and it is fun. Sewing for someone that I do not have DNA in common with or am not married to, is not fun at all.
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