When it comes to hobbies and creative endeavors sewing isn’t very popular, especially with younger people. However, sewing is a great hobby to pick up no matter your age or gender. There are benefits of sewing for your mind, your body, and your spirit that shouldn’t be ignored. It’s not an easy task and it takes practice and dedication to really learn how to sew properly, but it’s all worth it in the end, especially if you get so good that you can create a wearable garment for you or someone else.
There are classes available in most towns where you can learn to sew in person, but there are also plenty of resources on the internet that can teach you how to hand sew or use a sewing machine. If you’ve been thinking about learning how to sew but are still on the fence, consider all of the good reasons to start sewing and then start learning on your own.
Save Money
One of the great benefits of sewing is that it can save you money in the long run. If you learn how to mend clothing, you can save money by mending up small holes or hemming pants that are too long. By doing this you won’t have to pay someone else to do the work or, worse, throw out the clothes you spent your hard-earned money on.
If you get really good at sewing, you can actually make your own clothing or home décor instead of buying things. Think about the money you spend on things like curtains or tablecloths. You’d be surprised how easily you can make your own just by buying some fabric and doing the work yourself.
Make Your Own Accessories
Much like making your own clothes and home items you can also make your own accessories. These can be one-of-a-kind pieces that only you’ll have. You can match specific outfits with more accuracy than you could by buying something off the rack.
For example, if you have a beautiful blue and yellow sundress and want to have a light decorative scarf to match you can go browse stores and the internet to find one or you can go out, buy the exact color fabrics you need and make your own. Just like that, you’ll have a unique accessory that matches your favorite outfit perfectly that you didn’t have to search for and purchase.
Find Your Creative Side
If you really dive into sewing and make your own items, you can show off your personal style and creative side to the world. There are very few hobbies that allow you to show the world who you are as an individual by creating. For example, if you love chevron patterns, you can show that off by making pillow covers with that pattern and have multiple throw pillows in your home. Maybe there’s a specific fabric that you like instead. You can make things out of the specific fabric and show them off to the world.
Make a Business Out of It
When you really throw yourself into sewing you can turn the hobby into a business. If you learn how to properly sew and start making things on your own you can start to make things for other people. A friend might see one of your sewing projects and want something similar for themselves, a loved one or a special unique piece. You can charge them for your work, start a business just like that and invest in a sewing machine. You can even start your own fashion brand!
Even if you just learn how to mend things, you can make a small business out of hemming pants or skirts for people or for hand sewing up holes or split seams. People go to professionals to have clothing hemmed and repaired all of the time so you can easily make a small business for yourself by marketing to your friends and family. Once you get experience and word begins to travel, you can have a booming home business on your hands.
Mental Health Benefits Of Sewing
Now that you know the practical benefits of sewing, you’ll be thrilled to hear that sewing actually has a lot of benefits for your mental health and wellbeing, too. Whether you choose to take up sewing just as a pastime or if you throw yourself fully into the hobby and become a fantastic home designer, your brain will thank you.
First, sewing helps to reduce stress. There have been numerous studies done on sewing that shows that the physical act encourages mindfulness and can lower stress and anxiety in people. The actions of sewing are repetitive and it takes concentration so naturally, you stop worrying about things in your daily life and focus on sewing instead.
Similarly, sewing can improve your ability to focus on a single task. If you’re the type that has a hard time concentrating on one task, sewing can help. When you sew, you’re forced to pay attention to what you’re doing so your focus will naturally improve. You can then use this deeper level of concentration in other parts of your life.
Another one of the health benefits of sewing also encourages brain growth. When you do anything involving creativity you stimulate new brain cells to grow. This is the opposite of mental deterioration that can happen with age. In that case, neuron connections can be lost but sewing will actually strengthen these connections and promote new ones.
The activity keeps your brain active and stimulates parts of your brain that stop developing once you’re past your 20s. When you sew you’re using problem-solving, creativity, and spatial thinking. Each of these stimulates different parts of your brain and encourages brain development. That’s also a great reason to get kids involved too!
Thanks to this improved neuroplasticity (brain growth and development), sewing can actually fight off dementia and similar issues. As your brain becomes more active and neural connections grow and improve you’re helping your body fight back against deterioration that can lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s.
This particular hobby can also make you a happier person in general. Sewing and similar creative hobbies increase the production of dopamine which is a natural endorphin that increases happiness. This makes sewing an anti-depressant. More so, when you feel happier your self-confidence and self-esteem improve.
All of this can make you a more positive person. Positivity can lead to overall better mental health as stress will be lower, depression will be kept at bay, and your brain will be more active than it was before you began sewing.
Better Hand-Eye Coordination
There are physical benefits of hand sewing too. One of these is better hand-eye coordination. When you’re working with a small needle and thread, you’ll have to use your manual dexterity to do everything from initially threading the needle to manipulating the needle and thread with your fabric. The repetitive actions and the focus on small areas will naturally improve your hand-eye coordination and other skills. This improvement will keep your fingers and hands nimble while also helping relieve stiffness in the joints.
Lower Blood Pressure
Sewing can also lower your blood pressure. By relieving stress and anxiety, your blood pressure will naturally decrease from sewing. Similarly, your body will be forced to relax as you have to sit down for a designated amount of time and simply concentrate on your sewing. Studies have shown that doing this will lower your heart rate, steady your breathing, and naturally improve your blood pressure. If you’ve been searching for natural ways to get your blood pressure under control, sewing might be a good thing to add to your routine.
If you were unfamiliar with all of the benefits of sewing, all of the good reasons to start sewing might come as a surprise to you. Besides the practical benefits of the hobby, you’ll be able to experience improved physical and mental well-being by simply picking up a needle and thread. You never know, you might find out you have a hidden talent and become a great designer, too.