Am I Polymathic or Just Chasing Dopamine? My Unplanned Dive Into Hand Sewing

Last week, completely out of nowhere, my brain decided to develop a sudden, intense new special interest:

hand sewing.

Sure, they taught us basic hand sewing and machine sewing back in school. Later, while studying in the equestrian field, we were actually hand sewing leather—so I already have the foundational leatherworking knowledge and skill set.

If you're wondering why on earth an equestrian school would teach handcrafted leatherwork, it comes down to deep-rooted tradition. Brands like Hermès originally started purely as equestrian saddleries, and to this day, the finest saddles, riding boots, handbags, and bespoke shoes are still handcrafted using those exact same techniques. They teach it to keep the traditional craft alive.

Even though I have that background, I've never been deeply interested in handicrafts in the sense of wanting to create actual garments or soft goods from scratch. That’s why this sudden obsession has left me totally baffled. It immediately begged the question: Am I an ADHDer chasing a dopamine fix, or am I a polymath? I honestly don't know.

What I do know is that I have been consuming an unhinged amount of videos lately—historical hand sewing, modern hand sewing, people crafting entire dresses and purses using nothing more than a hand, needle, thread, and fabric. It’s slow. It’s painstaking. Every single mistake shows, and it requires a ridiculous level of skill.

Naturally, my immediate thought was, Sure, I could try creating my own clothing... but what’s the point? Why am I suddenly so obsessed with this?

Then I stumbled upon a video of a woman traveling to Japan to hunt for vintage silk kimonos to upcycle for her London-based business, turning them into skirts and handbags. That was the exact moment the lightbulb went on.

I needed to view this new obsession through the same lens as my jewelry making. I’ve been crafting jewelry all summer—and still am—but maybe my brain is simply pushing me toward a new venture because I’ve already cracked the code on basic pearl and stone stringing. In a way, I’ve mastered that process. My brain just craves a brand-new puzzle to solve, and hand sewing happens to be next in line.

Part of me would love to work with secondhand leather given my background, but it feels like the wrong direction right now—mainly because sourcing real leather is so difficult. Most of what turns up in charity shops and local flea markets is poor-quality imitation leather or plastic. So the real hunt will be finding actual vintage silks or high-end natural fabrics. I can distinguish expensive, high-quality textiles without a problem; the real question is whether they're waiting out there for me to find them.

And even if I do find those luxury fabrics, what will I actually do with them?

This requires a whole new set of skills, and to be honest, it’s way more intimidating than making necklaces ever was. I'm definitely going to have to start with hand sewing, mostly because I don't have the budget for a professional machine right now. From my past experience, I know that if you’re working with thicker fabrics, cheap domestic machines just won't cut it—they simply can't handle the bulk. So, hand sewing it is.

The plan for now is just to dabble, learn as I go, and eventually look into getting a secondhand beast of a machine down the line.

I’m also still figuring out what I even want to make. Maybe mini tote bags—elegant, structured totes. One thing I know for sure is that I don't want to waste time working with cheap fabrics. When I create something, I want it to feel like a statement, a total showstopper.

At the very least, learning these skills means I’ll be able to mend my own clothes, maybe design new garments, and see where this rabbit hole leads. Could it turn into a new innovation or business direction? I have no idea. But for now, I’m just along for the ride, wondering what on earth my brain is up to and where it’s taking me next.

P.S. On top of all this and my current obsession with the French language, my brain also decided it wanted me to learn to paint with acrylics. But I’ve realized I actually hate acrylic paint, and I’m firmly refusing my brain’s request on that one. Sure, abstract work is fine, but I genuinely dislike the actual feeling of spreading paint around—I'm a pencil person through and through. So yes, my brain is completely all over the place right now, and I have no idea why it suddenly wants to collect all these random skills. Maybe it's just the change of season, or maybe my mind is just doing what it does best. It's baffling, but here we are.