Why, as makers, do we find it so hard to present a finished project without pointing out the (perceived) flaws, and things we would do differently if we made the thing again?
Why is it so uncomfortable to show what we have made, and to simply be proud of it?
Even as I’m writing about this, I’m feeling slightly cringe that this will come across as fishing for compliments. Or that I’ll be judged as showing off. Ugh.
I made jeans.
I’ve never done it before, and I spent a long time thinking that it was going to be really difficult. In fact I purchased the kit to make these Ames Jeans from Guthrie & Ghani back in September 2021. I have sat on the box containing literally everything I needed, for eighteen months, while I waited for a moment when I would feel up to tackling a big project. I had the same worries that I’m sure lots of you do, before you start a project that feels a bit outside of your comfort zone.
What if I mess it up and waste all that fabric?
What if I get stuck?
What if I make them and they don’t fit me?
What if I’m just not good enough?
Last week, I finally decided that there wasn’t ever going to be a good time to make jeans, so I just started. I traced the pattern. Cut out my fabric. Started to sew. And do you know what? I did get stuck, but it actually wasn’t that big of a deal. I googled tips for topstitching jeans (the fabric kept getting chewed up in my machine) and the internet provided this excellent article from Cashmerette.
Problem solved. Topstitching is now fine.
And a few days later I had made a pair of jeans.
As I shared my finished jeans online, I was quite surprised by how hard I had to fight to stop myself from pointing out all the bits with which I wasn’t totally happy.
So I ask you, kind blog readers, why do we feel the need to do that? Why is it so hard to just say, “I made them and I’m really pleased with them.”
I suspect that the answer lies somewhere in the mess of how we are brought up, and how society expects us to behave. But I think we need to fight against it.
There is of course nothing wrong with sharing things that didn’t go to plan. It can be very validating to know that others struggle with the same things. It can also be helpful to share how problems were overcome. If you read the blog regularly you will know that I do often share all of those things. But today, I want to make space for just being happy with a project. And not feeling bad about that, and I encourage you to do the same.