When in the military I had the thrilling opportunity many years ago to make extensive repairs to canvas truck bed covers. New ones were going to take months to arrive and they had to be pristine since they were for the mess hall truck. Threats of not eating are a sure motivator! I was good at making strong repairs and got good canvas for almost all of the trucks.
Seeing promise and needing one last cover, they asked me to "sew the front of this one to the back of that one" after the torn portions were cut removed. The canvas that I had was undamaged and all I had to do was make a straight seam all the way across but it was the hardest project I had--by far.
I couldn't imagine someone successfully making something to wear without many hours of practice and educating themselves on the mechanics of assembling clothes from a pattern. Unlike cooking, sewing isn't a day to day activity. After basic techniques are learned, taste and recipes can guide. I don't think anything but an experienced teacher or trial and error is going to tell you how material is going to fray, unravel near a seam or how it will wear once it's put together.
I could see Clark eventually getting it right. Lois? Some tailor on the outskirts of Singapore or Santiago or Cairo is going to have a small sign in his window advertising he makes Superman's suits first.
