It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.
Being a 90s kid, I grew up in a 13-storey HDB building. To be precise, I grew up in this four-room apartment on the fourth floor. The only things I know about the ‘Kampong Spirit’ are based on the stories my parents told us – of living with three other families under one roof, climbing trees in the neighbour’s yard and Mee Pok carts along the five-foot way.
Living in a HDB flat, maybe the ‘Kampong Spirit’ is still alive but has evolved.
I know… I know… that making friends in the common lift, and exchanging numbers of tuition teachers while we clear our letter boxes at the void deck, is not the same as ‘those days’.
It never really is the same. But must it be?
Could the Kampong Spirit be still present amongst us despite our quickened pace? Can it still be drifting in between the blatant stares from everyone at the bus stop, to the man in the wheelchair who takes a few more seconds to alight from the public bus? Or would it still linger around the service staff who curtly instruct us to leave, if not all of our party is present?
If it is not the same, it must be something else then.
Is the Kampong Spirit chased out by efficiency, progress, pragmatism, don’t-waste-my-time-isms and don’t-get-me-in-trouble-with-my-boss-isms?
Same old rhetoric, I say to myself. Don’t waste my time on things that are long gone. Because some things don’t change, say I, as I sink comfortably into my massage chair. See that boy? See that one with the all white uniform, nerdy face, that one? Doing his homework in MRT, blinded to the pregnant lady standing in front of him? Want to score A* for Trigonometry only.
But that A* is short-lived. After Secondary School, he most probably won’t use it unless he becomes an engineer, architect, mathematician… etc. Poor thing. All he can see now is his Trigonometry homework – not the pregnant lady in front of him, or his future.
He is going to be tomorrow’s leader. New generation, new spirit. It’s all about Xs and Ys, angles and straight lines, numbers and gold.
Where is the Kampong Spirit? Not as easy to find it, as calculating interest rates and profits in a Primary School Problem Sum, I suppose.
Yet, if we lead the way by encouraging the Filipino waiter flipping your ribeye steak, or hold the door open for a slow-moving, tottering, elderly lady; maybe the next generation will catch a breeze of your version of the Kampong Spirit and revive our Singapore.
Thanks to my cousin who generously lent me her sewing machine.
Since then, I have made my own bagpack, pouches and sling bags, which gather a lot of comments like:
“How did you learn how to do that?”
“Can you teach me?”
Well, sure!
So I thought that I could celebrate my first year of sewing, by sharing a few of my trusty tools that I used (and still use) in my first year (and beyond), in addition to my Brother Sewing Machine (LS 2160 model).
1. Unpicker
This is amazing tool helps me to unstitch all the seams, if I sewed something wrongly.
It is a must have for everyone, amateur or not. Unpicking can be the biggest frustration, but with this nifty little thing, you can unpick in twice the speed, and with less frustration.
Find it at Brighton or Lye Nai Shiong in Chinatown People’s Park Complex between $1.00 to $1.60 or at Daiso for $2.00. Sometimes neighbourhood multi-purpose shops sell them too. They should never be more than $2.00.
2. Chalk
Different Chalk and its effect on light or dark coloured cloth
Never use pencil or pen, because they stain the cloth. Also, the pen and pencil tips are sharp and poke through the cloth, causing holes in them. Not good.
Always buy tailor chalk, because you need to draw templates on your cloth in order to cut correctly or even sew in a straight line. The reason why I use tailor chalk is because I’m not a professional. I don’t need an expensive ($2-$8) tailor pencils. Tailor chalk costs between $0.50 to $2.00 depending on the type.
This red one costs about $1.90 and is the most expensive tailor chalk that I have ever bought. I like it because it is plastic with this metal gear as a tip:
This means that it is more durable and less mess. The little block of powder is refillable at about $0.50-$0.80. I also like yellow, because it works on both dark and light cloth, making it a versatile colour to mark on the cloth.
Only problem is that the marks on darker cloth are really obvious and don’t fade easily.
I got mine from Brighton at Chinatown People’s Park Complex.
This white one, on the other hand, has the special quality of fading. That’s why I got it, even though it is white. White is a really non-versatile colour for chalk because you can only use it on dark-coloured cloth. It’s only $0.50, not much to just try using it. And it works really well. It lasts long enough for you to sew, and after a few shakes it would just fade off. I love it because it doesn’t leave its mark on the cloth.
I got mine at Brighton too!
The last one is the usual $0.50 tailor chalk.
I use it only because it is cheap. And I use blue only when yellow and white is too faint on light-coloured cloth. But usually, yellow works well, which is why this blue one is untouched.
3. Scissors
Never scrimp on a scissors. A good pair is the make or break for sewing, because cutting is the key to getting a neat seam. For sewing, always buy a tailors scissors.
Mine is $20, which is cheap for a good pair of scissors. Yes, $20 for a pair of tailor’s scissors is cheap. Don’t scrimp on a good pair. It will pay off.
And don’t even think about getting a pair from Popular.
After that, NEVER EVER EVER EVER USE YOUR PRECIOUS PAIR OF CLOTH SCISSORS FOR ANYTHING ELSE BUT CUTTING CLOTH.
Yes, I have been tempted – especially those times when my cloth scissors was in reach, and my paper scissors was far far away. But I am so proud of myself for never giving in to the temptation. So proud.
4. Pins and a pin cushion
Pins and a pin cushion would really help in keeping two pieces of cloth together, and sewing them in straight line. I use mine especially for sewing zips, because it always goes slanted.
It’s not expensive to get a packet, and when they are bent, you don’t feel bad about throwing them away.
Yes, they will become bent, especially if you try working with them on canvas.
5. Ruler
I have been using this ruler for about a year. I think I paid $6.00 for it.
A long one will always help a lot, especially in bag-making.
I don’t actually like this ruler because it is transparent and sometimes, it does not show up against my dark-coloured cloth. I would rather buy a metal one, because it is more durable and would not get sliced into if I ever used a rotary cutter. After a while, the plastic edge gets cut into or sliced by my penknife (I use this ruler for other craft too), and it loses its straightness.
But it was cheap.
Yes, see how frugal I am (except when it comes to scissors), I try to keep my hobby inexpensive. Wait… I actually save, so that I can spend all my money on cloth. *sewing addiction syndrome*
Everything else from cloth to zips, buttons and velcro straps are on a buy-as-I-need basis. But, after a while, I roughly know what I need more, so I actually have 30+ zips of various lengths stocked up at home.
So with these five trusty tools, plus my Brother LS 2160, I would loudly say to all my fellow friends, who have yet to start sewing, but been asking me to teach you:
“Are you girls from Singapore?” He asked. We were stopped by this friendly uncle on our first night in George Town, Penang. It was 8.30pm and we were hungry yet unsure of the streets – from Jalans to Lebuhs: what did it all mean? So we said,
“Yea, we are.”
“I saw you both in the bus just now, you were sitting opposite me.”
“Oh really?” The three of us gave a little laugh. The kind just to fill in the blanks after the word ‘awkward’.
“We are looking for dinner actually,” said my friend.
“You should go to Kimberly Street. Come I’ll bring you there.”
And that marked the beginning of a new friendship. All three of us from different walks of life, finding in common the love for teaching, food and walking.
Apparently, Uncle had been teaching for 40 years, before he became a counsellor in the school. He has seen the policy changes with every education minister. Over Orh Luah he shared about gangs, students and detectives in ‘those days’. Sipping his Teh Tarik, he told us of the challenge with ‘kids these days’ and his philosophy of discipline management that he developed as the HOD of Discipline and counsellor. “It’s like flying a kite – you have to let go, let go, let go, and then when its out to far, some times you have to just pull them in,” he advises. And as the Yam Cake was being served, encouraged us with stories of how a loud and naughty student became a Kindergarten Teacher. Gentle, kind and always looking out for us on the busy streets of Penang, I felt blessed to learn from this uncle, a complete stranger willing to share his experience with us.
My friend and I thought that we were in Penang for a break from school life. But it seems that God divinely blessed us – a new friend with 40 years of teaching experience to encourage us for the long road ahead.
Of course, as all Singaporeans go – food opens the heart, and sparks friendships.
Set Forth 