Why I . . . make my own clothes

After the initial acute phase of the pandemic Helen Alderson found that sewing eased her stress. “Services were in the ‘recovery’ phase and work was very stressful,” she says. “Sewing really helped me.”

Dressmaking continues to allow the consultant perinatal psychiatrist at NHS Fife to unwind. “I love that when I’m sewing, it occupies my mind so that worries about work can’t take over,” she says. “There’s something very relaxing about the sewing machine working away, and I love the creative process. It’s also great to do something practical and mindful in my spare time, when so much of my working life is spent listening and talking.”

Sewing also brings the gratification of knowing that she has created something unique. “There is a great sense of satisfaction when you finish a project. You see the fabric turning into something that’s three dimensional. You have something that’s unique to you. Sewing is totally absorbing and it allows you to explore your creative side,” Alderson says. “And at the end of it all, there’s the bonus of having lovely clothes to wear.”

Alderson, who grew up in rural Scotland, says her mother was a fantastic sewer who made clothes for her and taught her to sew, alongside home economics lessons in her first year at high school.

It was as an undergraduate student in the early 1990s that her sewing skills came into their own. “I made a lot of clothes,” Alderson says. “I looked through pattern books and used Vogue dress patterns to copy designer outfits. I made a crushed velvet dress which I wore to friends’ 21st birthday parties, and I sewed a jacket out of a curtain.”

Writing up her doctorate in her mid-twenties meant there wasn’t much time for sewing. But three years ago, just before her wedding, she returned to the craft, working with a local dressmaker to design and make her perfect 1930s style wedding dress.

Continuing the 1930s theme, she also created her honeymoon wardrobe. “I made a kimono style beach wrap. I loved doing it and I haven’t stopped sewing since.”

Her sewing mainly involves making clothes on her sewing machine at home, using a range of patterns and fabrics purchased from online shops. “I try to make as many of my clothes as possible,” says Alderson. “I enjoy making tailored clothes. I’ve just finished making a charcoal wool coat, complete with a collar, belt, and a pleat at the back in maroon herringbone tweed. And I’m currently making a gilet jacket for winter.

“I enjoy being able to make clothes unique to me. I don’t particularly like shopping, and I can’t find clothes I like. So I make the clothes I like—tailored trousers, dresses, and shirts that fit me properly and are the right length and shape, rather than the shape shops think I ought to be.”

As well as finding sewing “hugely relaxing,” she also finds the problem solving aspect of the craft helpful to her work. And the patience and attention to detail required in her consultant role also transfers to her sewing, “where you learn that things can’t always be rushed.”

With sewing, she says “It’s nice to do something that feels simple and straightforward. It feels like a useful, traditional skill to have, and I like that.”

Sewing can also open up social opportunities. “You can learn so much from sewing groups on social media. I’ve also done a couple of online sewing courses to up my skills. And I’ve been on weekend sewing retreats—which are really fun—and met other doctors there.”

To doctors interested in sewing she says to give it a go. “The worst that can happen is you make a mess and need to have another go. Don’t worry if you make a mistake. Nothing’s ever perfect. Try sewing and see if you like it.”

While working in the health service continues to be challenging, she says sewing is an outlet for that stress. “You switch the machine on and sew a seam. And everything is better.”