How Sewing Changed My Life

I think you should try it!

This post was adapted from a new YouTube video, which you can watch here. I am focusing on creating a “How to Start Sewing” series over there, so be sure to subscribe!

In 2021, I Was at a Crossroads

I had been sewing for about two years, making quilts, and truly loving the process of finding a passion that I didn’t know I had within me. At that time in my life, I thought of myself as an artist. It was pure. And I loved it.

My first quilt with text, I was so proud!

An early quilt I made for my sister!

An early quilt I made for my dad!

But I was reaching a plateau. I was feeling dissatisfied in my art practice for the first time. I thought that being an artist meant living in that state of “passionate-falling-in-love-staying-up-all-night-ness,” and when it didn’t feel that way, I panicked. I believed I had learned everything I was interested in knowing about sewing. So naturally, I thought: what’s next?

Experimenting Beyond Quilts

I tried painting and I tried collage—desperately searching for something that I loved as much as patchwork. I even tried to document this process through video. (Hint: it was not good. “Tanner, look at the camera” challenge, hahaha.)

But in all that searching, a surprising thing happened: I made a decision, within that discomfort, to continue learning more about sewing. To continue learning about my passion. And it changed my life.

Discovering Shape

Almost immediately, I discovered Shape. You know, a quilt is two-dimensional, and when I realized that I could take the design part—the patchwork element of quilting—and sculpt that into a three-dimensional object, my mind absolutely exploded. I was constantly analyzing ways to apply patchwork into new forms. I started making pillows and soft sculptures, and I was falling in love all over again. Digging deeper meant that I could renew and deepen my passion. I didn’t have to find something new—I was free to explore.

Playthings, a soft sculpture that I made!

The Leap to Wearable Art

If discovering Shape made my mind explode, then making my first garment flew me to the moon. I was enamored immediately because, to me, it was the ultimate form for patchwork to live: three-dimensional and wearable!

My first patchwork garment!

Enter TikTok

Besides deepening my understanding of sewing, discovering patchwork clothing also changed my life in another major way. In late 2021, I decided to start posting on TikTok. I remember thinking there was no way to share my art through video, so why bother? I was so, so wrong.

I spent all of 2022 in “experiment mode,” learning how to apply what I’d already learned about patchwork and quilting to clothes-making. A beautiful thing about sewing is that there’s so much overlap—so again, it wasn’t that I was starting over; it was that I was learning to apply known skills in new ways.

Doubling Down and Growing

In early 2023, I chose to double-down on posting video tutorials to my TikTok. At the time, I had 6,000 followers and, like any artist, I wanted to make a living from what I loved doing. I shared zines about sewing, my favorite tips and tricks, and the response was steadily growing. In July of that year, I released my fourth zine—and it blew up online. In thirty days, I sold 3,000 copies. By August, I was making enough from social media to go full-time.

To date, I have sold 18,000 sewing booklets and patterns. Many of my tutorials have over one million views, and I now have over 400,000 followers on TikTok—making me one of the top sewing creators on the platform.

What’s Next?

We all know that TikTok is on shaky ground. In the same way I questioned my art practice in 2021, I find myself asking: “What’s next for me? What do I do?” It’s nice to think that I’m on the precipice of something bigger—something more expansive.

If I continue to deepen my knowledge about sewing, if I start sharing more in-depth videos on YouTube, if I choose to push myself creatively again…then I have the honor of getting what comes after.