Swapping limiting high-street clothes for a self-made wardrobe gave Gill the confidence to embrace who she is.
By Gill Thomas
From being a little girl, I’ve been fascinated by dressmaking – my great-grandmother Ivy used to make clothes for herself and all the family. I loved sitting with her and looking at black and white photos of her and my great-grandad wearing clothes that she’d made. Unfortunately, she passed away before she got the chance to teach me how to sew, but she had lit the fire in my belly of wanting to learn.
As I got older, I found it harder and harder to find clothing to fit me on the high street. Like many people, my body shape isn’t “standard”, and every time I tried clothes on in a shop that didn’t fit, my confidence got knocked. Negative thoughts and feelings about my body shape and size were constantly being reinforced by the clothing that was available to buy. I often thought about my great-grandmother and how, if she was alive, she’d be able to help me adjust clothes to fit my body shape or teach me how to sew. But, without her, I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t know if it would be physically possible to use a sewing machine with one arm. At that time, I didn’t know anyone else with a limb difference, so it wasn’t like I could ring my one-armed friends up to ask them how it might work.
In September 2018, I went clothes shopping for some work trousers. I tried on what felt like hundreds of trousers, in different sizes and styles, in every shop I could find. Not one pair came close to fitting me, the difference between my hips and waist was so much bigger than any of the trousers in the shops. I came home in tears, I hated my body and blamed myself for not being able to get clothes that fitted me. I felt like I was unattractive and abnormal, and that I needed to do everything I could to change my body. My husband, Darren, was a voice of reason – he kept telling me that this wasn’t true, and reminded me again about my great-grandmother and suggested I learn to sew.
A ME-MADE JOURNEY
I took the plunge and bought myself a sewing machine – I didn’t have a clue how to use it or where to start! So I bought a book aimed at beginners and it guided me through the very basics, like what a bobbin is and how to thread the machine. The first thing I ever made was a headscarf and, as soon as I’d made that, I was hooked! I went on to make pyjama bottoms, a dress, a shirt, trousers... before I knew it, most of my clothes were handmade by me!
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