Sewing as meditation has been a practice of mine for years and is one of the ways I try to regularly bring mindfulness into my daily life, for instance, I recently finished a set of coasters. Yay me!
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It seems that I always have something to sew. Though I love my sewing machine, I have made more time for sewing meditation. I have hand sewn dish scrubbies, coasters, curtains, furniture, hankies, quilts, tea towels, bedspreads, and farmers market bags, to name a few projects.
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hand sewing vs. machine sewing
Sure hand sewing takes more time. For example, it’s been essential for me to brush up on various useful stitches, but incorporating sewing as meditation to my weekly routine has been worth it. Helen Kent of United Kingdom Quilters United shares in her post ‘Sewing and Meditation’ that “hand stitching beats machine as it is a conducted at a slower rate, allowing the body to relax and slow, mirroring the pace of work.”
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I am one of those people who can’t sit still for five minutes to meditate, but I can spend hours on a sewing project. Sewing, especially hand sewing, also brings creativity into my life that is not related to anything digital. I am actively bringing more hobbies into my regular routine that offer me time away from my digital devices and, as a result, I have less anxiety.
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Sewing as Meditation to Reduce Stress
Sewing as meditation means that I can produce something hand made for our small cottage or to gift to friends and family. At the same time I am sewing, I’m also investing time in my own wellbeing by reducing my stress level.
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Sewing, like many things that can enrich our lives both personally and professionally, is a skill that improves with time. We learn from patterns others have created at first – but the real freedom of success comes when we have the skill to create our own.
Do you use sewing as meditation? What have you sewn lately and how has this practice improved your life and stress levels?
