Needle and Thread

Over 15 years ago, I was signed up (against my will) for a cross stitch needlepoint class that took place directly after Chinese school ended. Much to my dismay, I, a Cantonese/Vietnamese child, was in way over my head when I stepped into that class when the teacher could not speak any of the languages I knew. She spoke Mandarin with very limited English, and we could not communicate. She recruited one of the students she knew to act as our translator, and we became fast friends. The first few translations, however made it very clear how unprepared I was for this class. My mom gave me needles but I was empty handed when asked where my thread, cross stich fabric and stencils were. I was mortified. I am as introverted as one can be and being the only one that could not communicate with my teacher while she is telling me how bad my cross-stitching was did not help. The next week, my mom takes me to get all the materials I needed, and I still did not get the right colours of thread, my needles were too large for the cross-stitch fabric, I forgot to bring scissors, the list goes on. My teacher eventually gave up on trying to teach me directly as my translator friend and I would quietly do our craft until the bell rang. Who knew this extracurricular I reluctantly joined would result in a newfound love for sewing and embroidery?

After I graduated from that class, I started learning how to mend clothing. Anything I could get my hands on that had a tear or even the tiniest hole would be covered up with my crude stitches; as a result, I mostly practiced my stitches on socks. I wanted to learn about sewing and I loved it even if I tended to jab myself with the needle. None of my friends had an interest in sewing so it was always a hobby that I kept to myself and only did at home.

High school comes around and I was meeting people with all kinds of talents with so many to try and sewing fell by the waist side. I got the itch to sew again when I saw other people making their Halloween costumes and I wanted to do the same. I pleaded for my mom to take me to the nearest fabric store so I can buy some fabrics to practice on. My most notable sewing project at the time was a pair of Christmas elf slippers adorned with bells and all. That was when I began craving the needle and thread, but fabric and good equipment can be expensive for an average high schooler, so I used every scrap, cheap fabric and rationed my thread like it was my last. My next sewing project came out of necessity, where I sewed props for my dance class performances and then for drama class, I made miniature versions of The New Look by Christian Dior. People in the hallways at school brought me clothes to mend or reduce the size. Any excuse I could use to sew, I did; the next big step in my mind was to make my own clothing.

I tried to ease myself back into sewing by making pillows and a cape for a cosplay but then I stumbled upon upcycling. Upcycling clothes is a way to bring new life to old clothes and I love it because you could build off of the existing garment. My partner even bought me a new $50 pair of scissors and with that in hand I embarked on my sewing mania. I could not wait to feel the scissors glide on a sheet of fabric and at times may have been a bit overzealous with getting a perfect cut. I upcycled a few old unworn clothes to make a cocktail dress for after-prom. The biggest undertaking for me was when I was making a dress based on Coolirpa’s design on YouTube and…it looks good from afar. Up close the stitching is imperfect and I am kicking myself for not putting in darts, but it was a labour of love worth every stitch. In hindsight, I was insane for sewing everything by hand and yet, I still have not purchased a sewing machine.

As most hobbies of mine, sewing proved to be too arduous of a task for a university student. Between balancing writing essays and labs, it was the first hobby to go. This was until I graduated in 2020 right before the pandemic. It was lonely and being a fresh grad stuck in a city with few friends and no family. My partner, seeing me in this rut, suggested we visit a few of his friends (under pandemic regulations) so I could interact with the outside world. Having never met them, I was nervous to say the least. I have tried to dodge these hang outs for months and now I was faced with social interactions after 2 months of isolation. I am so glad I took that leap because I became good friends with a few of the people in that group. That night, one of the girls asked if I wanted to make bracelets using a kit she had bought online. When she brought out the box, I instantly recognized it as embroidery thread and aske if she ever embroidered. She had not so I asked her to bring me any scrap fabric she had and drew a small outline of mushrooms onto some scrap felt she had. The rest of night we sat peacefully embroidering our little mushrooms and picking out threads of all colours. A truly relaxing, cathartic moment for me as I spent the last 4 years agonizing over assignments and projects, I never got to stop and ‘sew’ the roses.

I am now blessed with time to pursue my craft and the drive to create something beautiful. I am no expert by far and maintaining a hobby is difficult, but it is one I like to keep for a rainy day. In previous travels to Asia, I saw breathtaking double sided, silk, hand-embroidered tapestries. I only dream that I can someday do what those artists did. My passion has reinvigorated after years of neglecting sewing and seeing the world through a different lens. I am ready to create with my needle as my brush, thread as my paint and scissors for those pesky mistakes.