My Love for Sewing

Ever since I was 4 years old, I was always into sewing. Although I did not understood the basics, my interest in sewing never died down. It was not until I was introduced to cosplay in 12th grade, that I started to pursued sewing and cosplay.

My mom was learning how to sew from M. S Louisa, an elderly lady at the church. She was very wise and shared her knowledge with the women in the church. I remembered my mom’s sewing machine and the outfits she use to alter amd recreate. She even had sewing needles. I remembered practicing a few stitches on a scarf. I had no clue as to what I was doing. My mom had showed me an in and out stitch but I didn’t quite understand it.

I had attempted to sew again in middle school. I had wanted to make cloths for doll as well as alter some clothing. I was inspired by traditional Asian fashion, Raven from “That’s so Raven (becaise she sewn her own outfits) , and video game characters with their unique styles. I was not very good at it so for a time I pursued drawing instead. I still was interested in sewing, but drawing felt more like second nature.

In decided to attend Monroe Visual arts and Design after junior High so I can improve my art. I had wanted to become a manga artist. As time went I made some friends who had similar interest. They had introduced me to anime conventions and comic con and had invited me to go.

Jenifer Estrella was one of those friends I had looked up to. She was already sewing hats out of fleece, altering and working on other sewing projects as well as crafting things. After she had graduation, sometime in august she had invited me to go to the comic con.  She had introduced me to vocaloids and wanted to work on our costumes for Magnet. She chose Luka and I was suppose to be Miku.

For two months she worked very hard on those costumes. Altering a long black dress I had and asking me to bring certain materials. I had wanted  to help but at the time I couldn’t do too much so I observed the process when I could.

A lot of energy went into it.

When we went to the Con, it was very huge and overwhelming. I do not like huge crowds, but I was happy to see a lot of people dressed up in cosplay.

Since then into my college years I wanted to learn more about sewing. I could not afford a sewing machine so I started hand sewing. I met a group of friends who were into simular things. One of them who inspired me the most was Kirsti. She would sew by hand but you couldn’t tell because what she made looked store bought.

I would talk and showy friends my attempts at cosplay and they would give me pointers and encourage me to do better and think outside the box.

I had joined a hostclub group where I learned more about myself and cosplaying. Essentially I wanted to pursue my own goals so I had left to do just that. I wanted to create a cosplay theatre and had my own group for 3 years until it was disbanded. Things didn’t always work out but I learned a lot.

After a year of starting my own group, I was finally able to invest more into sewing and cosplay. I had gotten a sewing machine and struggled with threading it so I jad continued sewing by hand. After a Year went by, I had stumbled upon a window at Fabric Garden. It was there that I met Maria Marzilli, the mastermind behind the window.

I would often visit Maria at the shop where she would take commissions at the shop. She makes ballroom costumes based on the Italian Carnival, and wedding dresses ,as well as recreating costumes from scratch. She had showed me the process on how to construct a garment. I even asked her to do a few commission and I had learned even more from her. Although I had realized that there was a lot of work that went into sewing, I realized how fun it could be.

I eventually took a seeing class to learn more about the basics of sewing and how to use my sewing machine properly. Since then, I started to make more costumes. There were times where I would get frustrated and put the projects to the side, but then I would feel depress when I am not sewing so I would go back into it.

There was a period in my life where I wanted to quit. My relationships were failing and I was going through a lot internally. I had lost interest in sewing and art. I was tired and stressed and felt like I was not getting anywhere with my goals. I eventually sought out help from therapist, friends, family, and co-workers who had encourage me to keep on going.

This journey I am still on has been a very long one. I still have a lot to learn and explore. Looking back in the past I realized how bless I am to have so much support. I also realized that I have everything I need to move forward. I may have ups and downs, but I feel grateful to be able to create something  like God did with my own hands. I now hope that this would inspire others to ursue their own unique goals while remembering their humble beginnings.