Psst ... Diane of CraftyPod is
hosting a giveaway on her blog for one of my birdcage handbags. You better zip over there and comment today because she's going to do the drawing soon!
Recently I sent a
package of goodies to Diane of
Crafty Pod. One item was a custom-made wristlet. I love making things knowing who they are for. I'm able to put a little extra love into them.
I've got my wristlet-making down to a science. While I was making this one, I was not only thinking of Diane, I was thinking of possibly publishing the pattern. While sewing the zipper in, I thought, "Well, in the pattern I think I should have them sew the zipper a little further from the teeth, because if you're not careful the fabric could get caught in the zipper pull.
So how do you think my zipper came out? You guessed it ... I wasn't careful enough and the fabric on part of the inside of the zipper wasn't flattened and it poofed out just enough to get caught in the zipper one of every three zips. I didn't discover it until the wristlet was completely finished.
Now, if I'd discovered it right when I put the zipper in, I would have ripped it out ... but I'd already finished an otherwise perfect wristlet. I thought I'd at least try to fix it in situ. So I ironed the inside fabric so it folded away from the teeth (like it was supposed the first time). Then I used tiny little stitches to secure the new fold where the seam stitching already was.
I tested the zipper about one hundred times after the fix and it didn't get caught at all, so felt like I didn't need to rip it all apart and redo the zipper. And, once I made that decision I thought of all the old handiwork I'd seen and realized that all the indications that something is handmade ... the missed stitches, the crooked sewing, the imperfections ... are what make a handmade piece precious, personal, and unique.
I'd bet my bottom dollar that no one would ever see those tiny stitches, so I could have totally kept this secret. But it's a part of the story of the wristlet, and I thought it should be told. Plus, my crafting goal isn't to make things that look like a machine made them (even though I'd love to be a robot!). My crafting goal is to make things that create joy. Joy in me and joy in the people that receive them. This mistake and the tiny stitches that fixed it give the wristlet character.