Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Lisa Laree, Carla, Marie, Claire, Debbie, Linda, Barb, Gwen, Anotheryarn, Becky & Summerset for talking back to my confession last week! I asked about your experiences with people commenting on and/or asking about the clothes that you are wearing.

So, who asks us, “Did you make that?” Well, almost everyone (9 out of 11) reported that they are usually asked by someone who already knows that they sew – a friend or family member. (Although, at the other extreme, Summerset reported that her friends and family just take it for granted that she has pretty much sewn her whole wardrobe, and thus they rarely ask…) Only 3 people reported that they get asked by distant acquaintances or strangers.

And, almost everyone (9 out of 11) reported that they generally take the question as a compliment and feel good when they are asked – regardless of whether they are wearing one of their own creations or something RTW. Certainly no one reported feeling offended by the question, but sometimes Mary feels a bit caught off-guard and embarrassed, and Anotheryarn remembered a time when a stranger asked if she had made her skirt and then did not follow up with a compliment, and so she was never quite sure how to take it. (I’ve had that happen too – it is disconcerting.)

There were two other popular refrains echoing through the comments. The first, brought up by 4 people, was that many people who don’t sew are not able to tell the difference between RTW and handmade. They don’t know what to look for and sometimes don’t even recognize the differences between well-made and poorly-made garments. Barb, for example, reported that her sewing experience has taught her to notice and be critical of lots of details, such as puckers, mismatched seams, etc.

The other theme, also brought up by 4 people, was how amused and/or surprised they were by the reactions that they get when people find out that they are wearing something that they made – apparently many people are amazed by the idea! (Possibly getting the cat face pictured above.) Debbie has even met people in Joann’s – in line to have fabric cut! – who are shocked by the fact that she is wearing her own creations. Okay, here’s one place where the idea should NOT be coming out of left field…

Becky, on the other hand, has the opposite experience – her friends know she sews and so they are more surprised if she tells them that she bought something in the store! ;)

Finally, Lisa Laree called out a reaction that she gets – and that she finds quite annoying – when people find out that she makes her own clothes. Apparently some people take it for granted that, if she sews, well of course she’d just love to sew (or mend!) something for them too… Yikes! Thank goodness I don’t run into that situation too often!

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to leave a comment! I love reading your stories! :)