Last spring, I made a quilted body warmer. It was my fifth one. I was trying to be creative with it, because you justifiably can’t make five of the same thing.*

I double-lined it with polyester batting to make it extra puffy. I cropped it. I made the cross front pieces pointed rather than squared off. To top it off, I made a fold-over shawl collar.My previous body warmers were lined with cotton batting. The double layer of polyester batting in this one made the shawl collar bulky and overly warm. Also, the collar never lay quite right.I had over-tweaked this one. As a result, I didn’t wear it often, and felt annoyed when I did.

Last month, I finally brought it out of the closet and gave it what it deserved. I cut off the big old collar, and sewed the rest of it back together again. And guess what? I love it and wear it all the time now.I had to remind myself: it’s OK to take something you made, dismantle it, and put it back together. Admitting I’d made a mistake and fixing it was a relief.So don’t be afraid to do a little seam ripping, for real or just metaphorically.

*This is a lie.