When you've finished your latest creation, sewn or knitted, who do you like to get approval from? Is it close friends, who know what your style is? Work colleagues who'll swear your new skirt looks like it's from Topshop? Or family, who don't hesitate in giving you the most unflinchingly honest opinion?
For me, my husband is always the first to see what I have been making so his is the first opinion I get. I like to get the basic level of 'Does this look ok/Does it look a bit mad?' approval from him, as reassurance that my choice of pattern and/or fabric wasn't a disaster. I know I can count on an honest opinion, and even if it is negative it always seems to reinforce my own opinion, even if I haven't been quite able to admit it to myself.
What about you - whose opinion do you like to get?
K x
I listen to my boyfriend depending on what I want to hear! Sometimes he can't even tell if something's finished or not. Otherwise, it would probably be my mum and sisters, though that one's tricky as they don't live in the same house as me! It's very difficult to find people to give you honest opinions, as most don't want to hurt your feelings.
ReplyDeleteMy husband for sure. He is usually brutally honest and says if some of the sewing is less than perfect.
ReplyDeleteMy husband too, but to be honest anyone who will give an opinon. lots of different people give different types of feedback.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely good to get a mix of opinions, isn't it?
Deletemy husband is the first too. and he is very frank, but does try to be supportive and not hurt my feelings. Eg "It looks quite mad, but maybe that's just the print? but it's very nicely sewn" :) I can tell when something is a complete fail when I show it to him and he says "I don't really know about fashion ..." - if that's literally the only thing worth saying, it's definitely for the bin! :)
ReplyDeleteAh, very diplomatic!
DeleteWell I get my boyfriends verdict by default first, because I live with him. But the opinion that seals the deal for me is always my mums - she was the one who introduced me to sewing and she has been sewing most of her life, so for me she is the 'guru'. She is also a stickler for detail and a hard nut to please...so it's not always a good thing. I was actually show casing my latest make to her last night and on the way there in the car I warned my boyfriend that if she didn't give me the thumbs up I may be coming to him for consolidation afterwards! lol - luckily she seemed pretty impressed, phew!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it got the thumbs up - it feels even more valuable when you know that your mum knows what to look for too.
DeleteMy mum is usually pretty good for technical opinion, and my dad is good at spotting htings that don't quite work. My sister is the one for 'is this too crazy' opinions. I'm pretty lucky really!
ReplyDeleteI ask my mother, honestly, and she's always painfully honest in return. Sometimes it's tough, because I've spent 10 hours working on something and then she purses her lips and says "that's not a great style for you", but I guess that's best, right?
ReplyDeleteAnd then after, I ask the internets.
strugglesewsastraightseam.wordpress.com
My family... My father and my sister do not sew or understand sewing much, but I can count on them telling me if something is not right (and on my sister for helping me mark muslins on my back). And mom, who taught me the basics of sewing.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend ... Family is away but get hold of them on Skype and get their option. Dad once told me my hemming was not right and I measured and indeed it was a bit off but not really notable by anyone else.. So dad is always the one I try to get to see the errors ...
ReplyDeleteMy husband is very good at judging fit and seeing if a look 'works' ... My mom also is a sewist so she gives me a good honest opinion about the quality!
ReplyDeleteMy husband will always give an honest opinion which I trust - he's got a good eye. He's a man of few words so if he raves about something I know it's REALLY good! I sometimes ask my 10 year old son and always regret it. "It's half nice and half horrible" or "The lady on the pattern is much thinner than you mummy" etc etc! x
ReplyDeleteHa ha, nothing like the honesty of children! :)
DeleteI have a ruthlessly honest teenage fashion panel. It is not always good for my ego, but there is no way it will let me out of the house in something unflattering or too dowdy for public viewing.
ReplyDeleteMy husband always sees things first, by default, but his response is always 'uh-huh' whether it's a flop or whether it's fabulous. And I'm just now starting to create a group of sewing friends in town, so I'd have to say that I've really had to rely on my own judgment.
ReplyDeleteI always post finished items on my blog and on mysewingcircle.com, but the w/ that is that folks can't see the clothes in person and a lot of mistakes (and maybe some of the beauty!) don't show up in the photos. :) But people on-line are normally remarkably encouraging and inspiring, so that's been a yard-stick for me.
My husband for sure. He's often pretty honest. If the garment is a doozy, he holds back and and I have to get it out of him.
ReplyDeleteHubby first, because he is always so positive about anything I make. But the real judgement lies with my 18 year old daughter, who just seems to have an uncanny eye for 'what is' and 'what isn't' on me...
ReplyDeleteFunny, I heard the question differently first time. I don't care what anyone thinks of my sewing as I know what I am doing, but I do care about whether thigns suit me, whether I am buying them ready made or making them myself, and so it is nice to go into work or to a party and get positive comments!
ReplyDeleteI'm the same, I ask my partner for his opinion first-he's got a great sense of style and understands how clothing should fit.
ReplyDeleteThe latest exchange went a bit like this:
Me: How's this?
C: Grandma-style.
Me: *sputtering* What? The h*ll's that supposed to mean?.. well how would you fix it?
C: "Shorten it by about this much (gestures with is hand), bring in the sides, and what happened to those darts you said you were putting in at the back?" *goes back to gaming*
15 minutes later-having incorporated all of the suggestions I check the result in front of the mirror-.".OMG you were right!"
C: That looks great baby.
The best way to judge if a garment is awesome is when I stand off to the side just outside his field of vision when he's gaming and he'll turn, do a double take and ..get this.. pause the game to get a good look. That's when I know its done, its awesome, I can go out in it.
Too often when you've made something yourself (particularly something that's taken a while to put together) you get a bit defensive/protective of your 'ugly child' =D. Its good to have someone around to say exactly what they think about it.
That sounds like helpful feedback!
DeleteMy poor boyfriend always sees everything first since we live together... he knows I'll be crushed if he says anything negative, so he's always very complimentary. I always ask him what he thinks about 15 times in an hour once I've finished something, I'm sure he finds it rather obnoxious. I'm my own harshest critic, so sometimes I need to hear more than once that it looks good and the flaws that I can't seem to get over are in fact basically invisible.
ReplyDeleteGreat question! I'll pretty much ask anyone who happens to be around for feedback!
ReplyDeleteMr Ooobop! generally gives an honest opinion but like Karen, it depends if I want to hear it or not!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure...I think I'm a bit of a free agent (which might not be ideal!). My husband would say if I made something truly rank though!
ReplyDelete