Clothes in Days of My Destiny

I am finding free dress patterns online. For years I have wanted to sew clothes for my girls (and myself). My interest in this began when a friend of mine told me about how fun and easy and cheap it is to sew clothes for yourself or your kids. I'd see her son walking around in clothes that she'd worn and I liked the idea of finding joy in creating wearable and unique "art" for my babies to wear. I liked the joy I felt at the thought of living in a more organic way. However there was no way we could afford even the cheapest of sewing machines. I remember once we were at a party and there was a girl there, Naomi, who ended up criticising me for dressing my daughter (I only had M at the time) in pink even though I myself said I hated pink. Little did she know that a) it was the last thing left for her to wear for the week ie my last resort and b) that the clothes my daughter wore were all given to me right up until she was about 4 and a half, therefore I didn't have much say in the matter besides choosing to be grateful for people's kindness and generosity. Lastly, even when I COULD afford to spare a few dollars, I would simply shop at second-hand shops or Best'n'Less, because they are precisely the places to go when you only have a few dollars to spare (I remember being ecstatic once when I bought 10 items for about $3 at an op shop).

Last year, L bought me a sewing machine. I had talked about it so much, only because it was on my mind and something I was becoming passionate about. I hand-sewed curtains for the guest room (I sat on the guest bed while sewing it one night and didn't realise until later that I'd accidentally sewed it to the guest bed LMAO) and this inspired me to hand sew curtains for the lounge room (something I have not done yet because I need plenty of material; I don't know which material I want; I am unsure of when, if ever, to spend that much money on material for curtains). From there, I remembered my ideal of sewing clothes for the girls and my passion for wanting to own a sewing machine grew. I remember a few weeks before my birthday last year, I was upset because I felt that I lacked creativity in my life. I was crying, exasperated at the fact that all my ideals had gone out the window simply due to Motherhood and everything this entails. I was in desperate need of time and space to delve into my creative passions. I mentioned the fact that I wanted to sew beautiful things and that it felt like I'd never be able to do that. Unfortunately L wasn't the best listener at that point - all he heard was that I wanted a sewing machine, and with an annoyed expression on his face he told me I could stop hinting now as he'd already bought me one for my birthday. This revelation only served to upset me further. One, I LOVE surprises, and two, I WAS NOT HINTING!!!!!!!!!! I was simply expressing and sharing thoughts and fears!!!!! The last thing I needed was for him to get annoyed and on TOP of that, blurt out what could have been a most beautiful surprise!!!!!! Anyway... the grand day came. I opened the box and pulled out a basic but beautiful sewing machine. I played around with it a little. Over the next few weeks I made my daughter a library bag. I sewed a storage bag for Little L's bed linen for preschool. I cut one of my black stretchy singlets and the bottom of a dress L's mum gave me (that she wore when she was young) and sewed the two together. I'd cut the dress in the wrong spot which meant the dress was too hard to actually put on over my head or from underneath me. The bottom half of the dress had buttons all down the front and when I was sewing it to the top half, I had the buttons undone. When I finished the product, I realised that I'd somehow sewn it all together so that the buttons sit on top of the buttonholes and I was unable to button the dress back up. Ever since that day I have not looked at the dress again or use the sewing machine. I was frustrated at the result. A few months down the track, I was talking about this with L and he encouraged me to try again, reminding me that after all, it was only the first time I'd ever sewn anything and I wasn't to know.

A few weeks ago, I was at the shops with my girls. It was a freezing cold day and M had a flimsy little cardigan on - the only thing she owns in the warming up department, as she has grown so much lately. I decided then and there to use my allocated weekly spending money on a decent jumper for her and I'd let her pick, as long as it met the criteria of keeping her truly warm. She chose a black hooded pullover with pink outlining the pockets and a pink zip. The sleeves are long enough that they cover her arms right up to her knuckles, and at the end of the sleeve there is a hole specifically for her to place her thumb through it. She was ecstatic! I was happy for her, but I walked out of the shop feeling disillusioned, because aside from that pullover and maybe one or two other items, all other clothing items in the size she needs next fall short for my standard. It's like kids up to 6 are allowed to be cute and feminine and BANG, from 7 onwards you're supposed to dress with crude, loud patterns and colours, or clothes imprinted with boy bands and bold statements. I reject that ideal. I reject it completely. By now, my oldest daughter well and truly has her own taste in clothes and I can tell you that these ridiculous clothes, made cheaply and unethically and thoughtlessly, are NOT her taste.

I know that I could find clothes that are more aligned with her taste (and mine, thankfully our tastes match at this point in time), however I would most likely have to pay a fair bit of money for them - something that I'd be willing to do but my husband not so much. Aside from that, where oh where would I find decent shops around here????

So I'm googling dress and skirt patterns. I'm happy with what I see so far. Now, to prioritise the purchasing of material.