How learning to sew helped us find our confidence again after chronic illness…
Written by Rachel Bearn
learning to sew is something I had always wanted to do. It was one of those bucket list skills and, after learning about the evils of the fast fashion industry in my early 20s, I knew that making my own clothes would be a great way to ensure I had an ethical and sustainable wardrobe. But it wasn’t until, at age 24, I became severely ill with a chronic illness called M.E.CFS that I began.
M.E.CFS is a chronic pain and fatigue condition that left me housebound 90% of my time and often bedbound. I lost the ability to do all the things I had loved before and felt totally isolated and lost. My body changed significantly and that easy confidence I had been lucky enough to feel all my life disappeared. Lots of my clothes didn’t fit and the ones that did were too restrictive and uncomfortable for wearing around the house and resting as much as I needed to. I soon found myself wearing pjs most days and my confidence plummeted.
I was spending a lot of time watching TV as I wasn’t well enough to do anything else, so I decided to learn to knit. This was such a solace for me and would later become the foundations for my knowledge of basic garment construction, making sewing that bit easier. My dream was to one day sew dresses and knit matching cardigans, but every time I wanted to sew I would have to lug my machine out with all my fabric and sewing box, set it all up on the kitchen table and then put it all away again at the end. I would then feel duty bound to “make the most of it” and push myself to sew for hours trying to make all the effort worth it and turning it into the most unpleasant experience. I just couldn’t manage it with my chronic fatigue, and it wasn’t the lovely experience sewing should be.
FINDING A WAY WITH ILLNESS
I did a bit of research on learning to sew with chronic illness and soon discovered Samantha (@purplesewingcloud) on Instagram. Sam lives in the north-east of England and loves all things crafty. “I started sewing when I was recovering from a brain injury to help with my fine motor skills,” says Sam, “I soon realised I could make amazing clothes to suit my own tastes and never stopped.” Sam began sharing on Instagram and, before long, she became an advocate for disabled and chronically ill sewists.
Sam regularly shares helpful tips and tricks for those of us sewing with illness and disability on her Instagram. She encouraged me to create a designated space for my hobby – somewhere I could leave my sewing machine out and stop mid hem if I needed
