Playing piano and sewing a lot alike

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Sally Cowan in Flagler, Keeping You In Stitches, Putnam, St. Johns // 2 Comments

Is it possible that playing the piano is similar to sewing?

I was taking my weekly piano lesson when my teacher said something that made light bulbs go off in my brain. And I’m not talking 75 watt light bulbs – .I’m talking 100 watt or ever 150 watt light bulbs.

I was having trouble with a small section of music and she said, “Notice there is always a pattern. These 10 measures of music are the same ten measures later on in the music piece.”

The key words were, “there is always a pattern.” How true that is in sewing. Take for example a sleeve pattern. There can be variations of a sleeve pattern, such as a raglan sleeve, but a sleeve, is a sleeve, is a sleeve. Once you know how to insert a sleeve into a bodice, you basically don’t have to learn that over again. Another example is a collar. Again, there can be various collar patterns, but the neckline needs to be prepared and clipped and trimmed, but in the end, the collar goes on the same.

“Look for the pattern.” Take a pair of pants. Once you are able to adjust the crotch in a pants pattern, you have 90% of the situation taken care of. There is a front crotch and a back crotch and then the waistline comes in various shapes. But that doesn’t change the necessary front and back crotch. Once you figure out the crotch pattern, the rest of the pants don’t seem so scary.

How about a plaid pattern? The plaid is repeated over and over again. Working with plaids can be tricky, but then so is playing the piano. But once you work out the plaid, the rest follows. The first time you lay out a pattern on a plaid fabric, might not be perfect, but after you start “looking for the pattern” it will only improve in the future.

Is there a pattern in your life? Is it a pattern that you repeat because it is good, or is it self-destructive? Does your pattern need to be altered, like a paper pattern, or are you proud of the path you are taking?

Hmmmm, that’s a good question. Thank you Nancy, for pointing out the “pattern of our lives.