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 Sometimes learning to sew successfully means unlearning "I can't sew."
In high school Home Ec class I took on a project that was beyond my scope. When it didn't turn out, I thought it was because I couldn't sew.
A few fashions from the 80s have made a comeback. Just look at high school girls' hair. But one thing that hasn't caught on again is the coordinated vest and skirt outfit. Bonnie Tyler would wear this ensemble on "One Day At A Time." I remember Joanie from Happy Days wearing this outfit on her spin-off show. And if these big stars were wearing vest and skirt outfits, I wanted one too.
I was a sophomore in high school and on a very limited fashion budget. The only way I was going to get my vest and skirt was to make them in Home Ec. I was excited when our teacher, Mrs. Fanelle, told us we would learn enough sewing to make our own "garments." But then disappointed to learn that we wouldn't get to that skill level until the end of the year. I couldn't stand the idea of not wearing my vest and skirt outfit now.
 With a little babysitting money I went to the fabric store and bought a basic pattern. My vest was going to be made out of a new kind of fabric called "ultrasuede." For my skirt I picked out a brown floral fabric.
My Mom sewed a little, mostly to repair things. I didn't ask for her help because I didn't want her telling me this project was too hard for a beginner. When she asked me why I needed to use the sewing machine I just told her it was for school, which was true. I was going to stun everyone at school when I came strolling down the main hall in my new outfit.
"Wow," they would say. "Where did you get that cool outfit?"
"I made it," I would say.
"No way!"
Mmm. Hmm.
But as I unfolded all the pattern pieces and tried to make sense out of the instructions, reality began to set in. They seemed to assume a lot of sewing knowledge I hadn't attained yet. And there were little notes everywhere on making the pieces the right size. This was a lot different than following a cookie recipe.
I once heard an airplane pilot say that it's a lot of little mistakes that add up to a big disaster. He could have been talking about my outfit. The armholes on the vest were too big. The seams were puckered in a bunch of places. The waist on the skirt gaped while it was too tight around the hips. And then I didn't match up the floral print on the different skirt panels. My seams looked like the San Andreas fault line.
 My first fitting had come late at night after I'd finished everything but the hem. It was quite a disappointment. Lying in bed, I couldn't accept the idea that after all the hours of work I'd put into it, I was not going to have something I could wear to school. But in the morning it didn't look any better so I stuffed it in a plastic bag and buried it in the back of my closet.
For the next fifteen years or so I got along fine without sewing. If I saw a machine in a department store, it reminded me that the world was divided into two types of people: Those who could sew and those who couldn't, and I was definitely in the latter group.
My turning point came when we needed curtains for our daughter's room. I didn't like what they had at the discount store and having somebody make them was going to be very expensive. I got a book on making simple curtains and immediately realized that this was much easier than trying to make either a skirt or a vest. I borrowed a friend's machine, bought some fabric, and made the curtains.
Sewing them was easier than I remembered. In fact it was kind of fun. The machines had certainly improved since I was in high school.
After a few more minor successes, I bought my own machine. And somewhere along the way I realized that I could sew after all. Now I do mostly home decor, including slipcovers. (Just about everybody I know has seems to have an old chair they want me to cover.)
The vest and skirt outfit is safely hidden away in a box of high school memorabilia. One day I might take it out and show my daughter.
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