It’s 2010 and I’ve chosen Textiles as a GCSE. I want to be a fashion designer. I design a denim ball gown - it’s patchwork with lighter and darker blues. I can still see it so clearly now.

We start our first project and everyone’s making cushion covers but I’m set on doing a dress. It was short, pink, and remained unfinished. I had the design perfectly in my head, but translating that to a sewing machine, a needle, and some fabric was a bridge too far. I didn’t have the patience, so I switched to something I thought would be easier: a hammock. It’s flat, so can’t be that difficult, right? I nailed the hammock part. It was dark green and I appliquéd felt and other scraps to make a face inspired by nature: blue patchwork waves as a mouth, lighter pieces for the nose and eyes. It was also unfinished, but it hung in the textiles classroom long after I left school. I doubt it’s still there now - but there’s a chance.

That Christmas I asked for a sewing machine, completely set on becoming a fashion designer. I got a laptop instead (boohoo) and so my obsession for The Sims was born and I didn’t look back. Flash forward to 2020. I’m fumbling through a conversation with my line report about what creativity means in tech consulting. I’m chatting shit and I don’t know the answer. "Creative" isn’t a word I’d ever use to describe myself.

It’s 2025, I’m 30, signed off and recently left my job due to stress. My wedding is coming up, but my hen do is sooner. It feels special, and I have a very clear idea of what I want to wear. I start looking online, but nothing’s ticking the boxes. I can see the outfits so clearly in my head. I also have a limited budget.

I have time on my hands and a craving for a form of expression I once found joyful, even if I never mastered it. I remember I’m an adult; I have free will; I can wear whatever I want. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look neat or polished.

So I commit. I buy a sewing machine - no going back now. I head to Etsy for a skirt pattern. I find the perfect one, message the seller, and she kindly explains that this isn’t a project for a beginner - I decide to go ahead anyway. 

At my local fabric shop, I pick up a mix of greens, browns and patterns, without much consideration for how they’ll stretch or wear. Kind of the same vibe as that hammock I made at 15, now I think about it. I consult YouTube on how to set up my machine, thread my bobbin and needle… it works with little difficulty. I set my printer to the right setting with some difficulty, making sure the scaling is right, I attach to the fabric and then I cut. Then I sew. Piece by piece - but It doesn’t look right, so I start to freestyle a bit. I work away at the skirt, bit by bit over a few days and I finish it AND it’s wearable AND I actually WORE it for HOURS out in the wild… 

The end result: Skirt