Sewing and Stitching With Parkinson’s

I met my friend Kathy when she came to our exercise class more than two years ago. She has Parkinson’s, too. Over the past year, we have developed a “big sister, little sister” relationship. Exercising is part of our time together, but we do so much more, including cooking, shopping, planting flowers, and, most recently, sewing.

Kathy used to make her own clothes, and they are beautiful and ornate with great attention to detail. The garments are truly works of art. (Yes, I said art.) The different sizes and types of stitches come together in precisely finished edges. Today, we pay outrageous prices for strategically placed holes and unfinished hems.

Kathy and I needed a creative outlet. I wanted to learn how to sew, she wanted to do something for me, and it would be a good hand-eye coordination exercise for us both. It was a win-win. How hard could it possibly be? After all, I have an engineering degree and sewing involves a machine.

Over the years, Parkinson’s had made Kathy’s sewing machine quiet. It took some effort to convince her, but she agreed to give it a try. We needed a project, and I had a dress that needed a zipper. That seemed easy: Rip out the seam, put in a zipper, and we would be done.

Well, it wasn’t that simple — not even close. We lost material when we ripped out the seam, the material frayed, and the zipper I purchased was not the right color. Despite my appeals of “let’s just do it,” we abandoned the dress before we even sat down to use the sewing machine.

She was getting frustrated with her “let’s just do it” student, and I was getting nervous. We needed a new project — an easy one! We decided to make two scarves by cutting a large scarf in half and sewing the edges together. There would be one for each of us.

The moment of truth

We were face-to-face with the sewing machine, but something didn’t look right. We were missing thread! Imagine two Parkinson’s sisters trying to thread a needle. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself, and it’s better when someone is laughing with you. Finding the humor can make challenges a little less frustrating.

However, it was pretty clear we needed help. We called in our reinforcement, the master of the needle threader: Kathy’s handy hubby. Needle threaded. Let’s sew. Wait! We needed a bobbin.

What is a bobbin? It’s a little, round spool that holds thread. It supports the thread below the needle and helps complete the stitch. The bobbin we inherited from the previous sewing project was not the right color.

The “let’s just do it” student suggested it was fine. However, the artist at the machine disagreed. The bobbin thread must match the material. We needed to load a new bobbin. Great! We were faced with another fine motor skill.

After two failed attempts, we needed reinforcements. The master of the needle threader was now the master of the bobbin. Bobbin set. Let’s sew. Wait! We needed to iron.

All seams and materials must be ironed to ensure all edges line up perfectly. We do have an iron at home — somewhere. However, I cannot tell you the last time we used it. Hanging our wrinkled clothing in the steamy bathroom during a shower was our idea of ironing.

After a quick ironing lesson, I managed to press the seams for a quasi-straight line. Seams ironed. Wrinkles gone … well, most of them.

Finally, let’s sew

The next two days were filled with sewing classes. Everything from thread emerging from unknown places to rethreading needles and reloading bobbins challenged us. We took turns pushing the foot pedal and guiding the material while the machine placed our zigzag stitches.

The stitches and the seams were not perfect, but it was a success. We emerged from the basement, proudly wearing our works of art: two matching scarves.

They represented something more for each of us. For Kathy, it was a reminder that she can be the teacher. For me, it was a lesson in patience. Sewing is a lost art, and the “let’s just do it” approach “just doesn’t work.”

(Courtesy of Lori DePorter)

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