Hemming

Back in December, just after I left my job and turned my life sideways, I had a friend suggest to me that I should try to sew for lululemon. We knew that they had been looking for a local seamstress for a long time, but I hadn’t thought to pursue it before. I never really wanted to do alterations, as I prefer to make things not alter pre-made ones, but by end of last year, it had much more appeal; it was sewing work, and it would be a steadier income than anything else I had planned at the time.

So I went to my local lululemon and asked about it. They were thrilled at the possibility of having someone nearby to send all their hemming work to; their current hemmer was out of state, leaving them with a 2-week turnaround. I was thrilled not only because I had found another sewing job, nor just because I’d be able to work from home and continue to work on launching my business at the same time, but I was also excited about the team there. They were friendly, happy, caring people who were excited to have me and also very encouraging to my business and plans. It seemed like a wonderful match.

It’s been a journey. I had several meetings and interviews. I had to invest in business insurance and a new machine and the time to practice and learn it. Then I had to do some test samples to make sure I could hem to their standards. Finally I received the contract. I took my time to review it; I’ve never had to sign a contract like that and I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing.

Six months it took, from first walking in and asking about the job to signing the contract. At times I was worried that it might never happen, or that maybe it was a mistake to try to do this work, or maybe I wasn’t good enough with this new machine to be able to get the job. I also had to take 2 different retail jobs while I waited and worried about my focus being split in so many directions.

I’m grateful that I am a patient person. Two days after I signed the contract, I received two large bags of clothes to be hemmed and a large amount of thread. That was about 2 weeks ago, and I’m definitely still trying to find my rhythm. I’m even still working on acquiring enough colors of thread and a place to store all of it. I’ve been wholly overwhelmed, and it feels like another full-time job, not just a side-gig. But it’s coming along. My space is ready and organized, my supplies are well stocked, and I have an incredible tracking sheet my best friend made for me to keep up with the financial side of things.

Really, I’m just happy to be earning an income from sewing again. There’s nothing quite like getting paid to do what you love.