Two days ago, I finally started to create a new bag.
After I finished the previous bag a week ago, I faced an abstract problem: why do remodeling bags sometimes become so difficult to create? In other words, I wanted to create satisfying quality consistently, not by chance.
That would be an unavoidable issue when we improve our skills. Let’s talk about it.
How to improve our skills fundamentally
Sometimes, we want to improve our skills fundamentally.
When we develop our skills, we often experience logical shifts in perception. Even though we look at the same thing, we understand it differently.
For example, a photographer takes photos with impressive compositions. It means he has unique perspectives. They take photos in more restricted conditions, such as considering the relationship between the subject and the surrounding elements. On the other hand, many people take photos just centered on the subject. That makes the difference.
In other words, discovering such unverbalized logic enhances our skills. It allows us to create high-quality work consistently in a short time, even without long-term experience.
However, we sometimes lack such an experience.
Today, I will introduce the example that I experienced these days. This story might tell you how to improve our skills fundamentally.
My confusion about remodeling
Try identifying the factor that makes your ideal work difficult. That can provide you with the key factors to improve your production.
To make it easier to understand, let’s look at my case.
I wanted to make a short handbag. When we put many small items in, a lower-height bag is more convenient.
However, using a pair of jeans as the material made it difficult. It has various components, such as a waistband, pockets, thick seams, and a zipper. They caused the uneven thickness of the fabric. Once the thickness reaches a certain level, we cannot sew that part with a sewing machine.
That made it difficult for me to make short-height bags. Even if I imagined a functional remodeled bag, its thickness got in the way and made it difficult to realize.
At that time, I could not logically tell why. It means I was confused and didn’t know how to deal with the problem. If I tried to solve one problem, another problem arose. For example, when I planned to make it easier to sew, the bag’s size became too small or too big, or I had to increase its height.
I wondered why that happened for about four days.
Changing my focusing perspective
The trigger for solving my problem was focusing on the factor that hindered me repeatedly. That was the edge of the cloth. In sewing, we have to finish the edges properly. That made me choose the parts with finely processed edges. However, before sewing, cloth with unprocessed edges is easier to sew.
That realization changed my perspective on fabric. In the past, I used to focus on which surface of the fabric to use. I thought that bags are a connection of surfaces. However, I realized it would cause confusion and trouble. Now I focus on the lines of edges. Bags are a connection of edges.
That perspective shift allowed me to create bag designs steadily without a logical breakdown. I eliminated my confusion and increased my productivity.
When we develop our skills, we often experience such logical shifts in perception. Even though we look at the same thing, we understand it differently.
That tells us that modifying our focus and perspective helps us enhance our skills.
Conclusion
That is a way to improve our production.
Modifying our focus and perspective helps us enhance our skills.
That can enhance your skills in the short term.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
