Ryan's Crafty Shirt & Cloak

Ryan came to my room the other day and said, "Mom, I need a couple feet of black yarn."

I gave him a couple of feet of black yarn, and in a little bit he comes back wearing the medieval shirt he'd created after watching a You Tube video.

He had cut the neck and sleeve hems off of a white Fruit-of-the-Loom t-shirt, then cut a slice down the chest (it made a V naturally) and made holes to lace the string (yarn) ties through.

A little later he comes down carrying a large drop cloth and says "Mom, I want to sew a cloak. I might need some help."

I informed him that I was not a very good seamstress, and didn't know how much help I'd be able to give him.  But he wasn't concerned, and spread his drop cloth on the floor and started slicing it up with no hesitation.

Once upon a time, probably when I was about the age he is now, I was brave like that. I was young and smart (knew everything) and there wasn't anything I couldn't do.
Well, years later, I've learned better. There's a lot I can't do. And I fear messing up. I have sooo many unfinished projects simply because I can't take the next step, for fear of messing up.

Messing up my own stuff is one thing. I might be aggravated or disappointed, but still, it's my thing(s) to mess up.
Now Ryan comes to me with this project, and he's just cutting up this drop cloth like, no big deal. And expects me to help him sew it up.

Turned out - as I probably should've known - the "help" he needed was for me to sew it for him.

Oh, no pressure there, not wanting to disappoint my kid or mess *his* project up.

I would tell you how I did it, but to be honest, I don't exactly know.  Ryan cut a piece and folded it and said, "Sew this together". It was just a straight line, so I was able to manage that, and it made a hood.

Then he brought me the large body piece and says, "This needs to be gathered across the top edge, then the hood sewed to it."

Well, I have never made a gather or sewed a gather to anything in my life.
I somehow knew - one of those things I learned by osmosis from my Mom or Grannie, I guess - generally how a gather was made, so I gave it a try.
And by some miracle, it worked.

I opened the hood and laid it out and lined the cloak-body up along and started pinning the edges together.
I even managed to get the right (wrong) sides together this time.
Then I sewed it on my sewing machine.
And it came out damn near perfect.

I had completely amazed myself, but when I took it to Ryan he was like, "Yeah, that's what I wanted. Thanks."
Like, no big deal, I knew you could do it.

(It looks better in person. Apparently I'm never going to amount to a good photographer, much as I wish it.)