Slow Stitch: a Book Review

I normally read a book before reviewing it. I haven’t exactly done that this time.

I’m terrible at sewing, and I can’t say that I’ve devoted much energy on improving, but it has always appealed to me.

Not machine-sewing. It’s fast with the seams, but then the bobbin gets stuck, and where are I? That’s right: I’m doing annoying repair work that I’m even worse at than sewing itself. The process is not worth it to me. So I don’t even have a sewing machine, though I won’t rule out acquiring one in the future. As it is, though, while I’m very impressed by friends who sew themselves or their kids bespoke cute clothes, or let’s face it, people who make their own curtains, I just don’t do it.

I also don’t hand sew, and I’m no better at hand sewing than I am at machine sewing. But the process—I love it. The sound of the needle piercing the fabric, the annoying way my stitches veer off course and become uneven, in the wrong ways, like an accidental syncopation or a failed sonnet. The strange compulsion I have to try to see efficiently —the right way—without a messy chaotic back. Who cares? I do. Every time I sew on a loose button, I think: I need a sewing project.

When, recently but in another lifetime, I was browsing a knitting store (I am not a knitter either), the book Slow Stitch: Mindful and contemplative textile art by Claire Wellesley-Smith, caught my attention. Although I have not actually done anything directly related to this book, it has inspired me. In fact, after reading only a few paragraphs, I became far more interested in cutting up a white sheet and stitching the pieces back together..

My re-stitched sheet is coming along slowly. The back is somewhat inefficient and chaotic, but I’m loving it. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for that.