Weekend Review: A Sewist's Diary

Patchwork: a sewist's diary / Maddie Ballard
Portland, OR: Tin House, c2025.
144 p.

Today's book is a memoir in short chapters, arranged around garments sewn by the author. Each chapter starts with a garment and a list of what was needed to make it; then the essay goes in many directions, musing on life and larger issues. 

Ballard has arranged the book to follow her life chronology, at least loosely. In the first few chapters she is in love, living with a partner during Covid lockdowns. Then they have broken up and she is living with her grandmother (that relationship is really special), then she's going back to school and moves to a new city once more. She is a New Zealander, and this book takes place in that country. But there are many layers to her essays. 

She talks about her mixed Chinese heritage, while she sews a cheongsam embroidered with the names of her female relatives. There are discussions of friendship, family, the guilt she feels at not speaking Cantonese better, the way that clothing reflects her personal identity and more. There is some talk about fast fashion, the politics of making, and the way that hand making slows down the pace of life in a kind of resistance to capitalist busy work.  

I liked the way that sewing was the core of the book, and everything revolved around the project she was working on in each chapter. Sewing talk was a big part of the book, from fabrics to patterns to techniques, and her comment that sewing for yourself means believing in your future self. I thought that was a charming way to think of sewing a wardrobe. 

I found this a pretty good read - it's short, the hardcover includes sketches of the garments she's talking about, and sewists will relate to the crafty content. The writing is thoughtful and lyrical, but she is a younger writer so the book does contain its share of angst as well. Still, the concept is lovely and I appreciated the recognition that handcraft can help shape a life.