There is a quiet thief that sneaks into the sewing room. It usually sneaks in first thing in the morning when you haven't finished your second cup of coffee, in the middle of the day after a 7 hour sewing marathon, or late at night when the rest of the house is asleep and frankly - you should be asleep too.
This thief leaves your precious fabric alone, but steals your joy, and hands you the seam ripper.
If you have ever found yourself staring down a wonky block with dread - this is your reminder to chill out. Sewing and crafting is meant to be a comforting creative flow - NOT a high stakes geometry exam. Perhaps there is a new way to think about things...
Keep reading for some examples of how imperfection is viewed over a wide assortment of spiritual and religious beliefs.
Before I start - I would like to note that I am NOT an expert in any means on these beliefs systems. I am simply a highly spiritual person and deep lover of research. Please contact me if I get anything wrong!
You have to let your soul escape
Lets start with the Magick (For more details about the difference between Magic and Magick, read this blog post here)
Creating something is a deeply emotional and profound experience. The sympathetic law of contagion believes that when two people or objects have been in contact, they remain spiritually bound together. If the act of creation is an expression of an artists soul - then some piece of you may be left behind in everything you make (Thats right - I don't just sew for fun. I am actively fragmenting my consciousness across seven blankets so I can be immortal, and found a way to do so without any bloodshed and without being a TERF!)
Traditional Irish superstition says when you make something with your hands, some of your soul is trapped inside it. For that reason, you leave a small flaw so your soul can escape. Native American weavers may leave a "spirit line" in their works, allowing the weavers spirit to use that as an exit path.
Within these beliefs, leaving an intentional mistake is a form of Apotropaic Magick, which is intended to keep harm and evil spirits away. (Other examples: crossing your fingers, knocking on wood, or wearing an evil eye).
The divinity of perfection
There are other spiritual principles that absolute perfection is a divine state - which comes into play in other ways:
From a "magickal" lens: Achieving perfection is a like a bat signal for malicious or jealous spirits. Leaving a mistake makes those malicious spirits lose interest.
From a non-secular lens: Only the divine is perfect. Seeking perfection may be considered hubris and border on sin in some religions. Absolute perfection belongs solely to the higher powers.
Outside of monotheistic religion, stories such as Icarus within classical mythology is a metaphor for humans overstepping mortal boundaries.
Acceptance of imperfection
Japanese cultures embrace Wabi sabi, which is a worldview centered on simplicity, and humility, and places high value in imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete things. Imperfections are hilighted via Kintsugi to embrace imperfection. These practices are deeply rooted in Zen buddhist teachings, where Dukkha (in simple terms - suffering) is inevitable, and may be made worse by trying to find permanent perfection in a fundamentally impermanent and imperfect world.
Ignoring Magick - Lets talk real world
Finding a mistake can be disheartening; but if the last few paragraphs teach you anything, click away from this blog post knowing that humans have found excuses to accept flaws since they learned how to create.
If after all of that you STILL cannot find a way to accept imperfection, I want you to try this:
- Reframe mistakes as proof that a real living human being spent their precious limited time on this earth creating something tangible just for the sake of creation. That is beautiful.
- Step back a few feet. Can you still see the error? If not - move along.
- Set a rule for when you bring out the seam ripper. How off does it have to be? My rule is if if the bad seam may damage the structural integrity of the quilt top, I rip it. (example: Maybe one of the pieces being stitched together slips in the machine, so one has a 1/4 inch seam allowance and the other has only a 1/8 inch seam allowance).
- Set a rule for how many times you bring out the seam ripper. If you have to unpick it more than once - maybe that quirk is just destined to be.
In the end, the washing machine is a great equalizer. Slight imperfections disappear in a good quilt crinkle!
So, the next time a block is not perfect.... Take a deep breath... Accept your humanity... and feel safe from the Fae. Your quilt is going to be beautiful without a seam ripper getting involved.
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