Try, try, try again

I have a confession: I'm not really that good at sewing.

Before I shoot myself in the foot, that isn't to say that I make poor quality things! I know my pouches and tissue holders and all the other things I list on my Etsy are pretty, sturdy and of high quality because I've practiced making them so many times it's very ingrained and I can see every little error and fix them so that they're as good as can be, which is why I feel confident enough to sell them.

But I have no real inborn talent for sewing. It's funny because I have such natural talent in so many other things, like singing and art, all hobbies that I've played around with but never stuck to seriously (granted, I almost went into college for opera, but that's another story for another day...), despite being naturally good at them without working hard at it.

I'll be entirely honest and say that it usually takes me at least a half dozen attempts at a new pattern until I get it right enough that I feel comfortable presenting it on the blog or selling it or even giving it away. Sometimes more! My first time pattern attempts are fairly catastrophic, all lopsided and lumpy. They live in the living room cupboard; I throw them out if I can't cut them up and up-cycle the fabric for other projects, but my parents sneak them out of the garbage and clean them and keep them, because they say they like everything I make. It's kind of cute of them to do, it's a very parent-like thing to do, hehe. :)

I still have my first sewing attempt ever, which was this hideous tote bag that's lop sided, with scary top stitching and is way too small to use. It's kind of a confident boost to look at!

But even now, my first attempts are still pretty poor! I just tried to make my own pattern for a slip-in eyeglass holder and it came out kind of mess. I tried to make a coin purse just before as well, and it was way too small to fit into the frame! Eek! (Though otherwise, it was actually fairly perfect. I'll chalk it up to the expertise of the blog tutorial I'm following, which I will feature later on when I actually make a good enough coin purse to show!)

Perhaps it's the challenge that sewing presents that keeps me hooked to it? It doesn't come naturally so I want to work hard until I can do it just as well as someone who was born to sew? I'm a bit stubborn. :) I'm determined to try and practise as many patterns as I can so that I can become really skilled at many a ton of different things and then start adding them as listings on Etsy when I'm confident they're as good as they can be.

How about you, friends? Are you naturally talented at your choice of crafts or do you think you're on the "mess up a million times until I get it perfect" side of things? Don't be shy/modest! Be honest!