Setting Some Sewing Resolutions… Or ReSEWlutions!
Have you made any crafty plans for 2018? Set some stash-busting goals? Written down your sewing resolutions? I always try my best at this sort of stuff – I even set a tiny set of goals for myself in 2016 in the not-entirely-successful aftermath of the more ambitious plans I made in 2015 – but I end up completely forgetting about it all some time around March. What can I say: I am easily distracted, although I do enjoy throwing together a list or two, preferably with tick boxes.
So when Boz approached me to see if I was interested in taking part in a tag about sewing resolutions, you might have thought my answer would be a polite no, thanks, given my past experience. In fact, it was a resounding yes, please because these were actually reSEWlutions and they come with absolutely no pressure whatsoever.
Read on to find out more…
#NewYearsResewlutions
The #NewYearsResewlutions tag was started by A Girl Called Boz and Cotton by Candy, both of whose channels I love. Please check them out: you won’t be disappointed.
Boz and Candy came up with a list of five questions that allow us to focus on what we’ve achieved, what didn’t work for us, and what we’d like to do in 2018. It’s a fabulous way to set some clear goals and an equally fabulous excuse to trawl through photos of your 2017 makes all over again.
Watch The Video!
Here are the questions for #NewYearsResewlutions.
1. What is your favourite make of 2017 and why?
This was such a difficult question to answer, although I wouldn’t have believed that to be the case way back at the beginning of the year. So many projects went terribly wrong at the start of 2017, but it definitely picked up and my sewing went from strength to strength. This left me with the rather delightful problem of choosing a favourite from multiple contenders.
Do I pick Simplicity 9579 (1971), one of my favourite vintage sews ever? I loved the heck out of this dress in 2017. It has an amazing collar detail, it fits rather well, and the whole thing probably cost about $10, including the pattern.
What about my favourite skirt pattern ever? I need to write a letter thanking Vogue for V9090, because they seem to have designed it specifically for me. The waistband sits perfectly on me; the pockets are divine; the pleats give it the shape I’m always looking for in a skirt. There’s a lot to love in that pattern.
Of course, I can’t forget the endless parade of McCall’s 6964 t-shirts… Well, I had to test each of the sleeve lengths, right? This pattern introduced me to the delights of sewing ordinary clothes that you end up wearing all of the time. It certainly didn’t hurt that they were all made in ridiculous prints, either.
(You can find photos of the Vogue skirt and one of the McCall’s t-shirts here.)
Despite all of those worthy contenders, nothing beats the underwear I made. It was so satisfying, albeit a little disappointing because I love being able to show off my handmade clothes and showing relative strangers your underwear is somewhat frowned upon. That didn’t stop me from making a drawerful of the stuff, though!
But why does underwear earn the title of favourite? It wins on so many levels. Firstly, it was vital and filled a desperate wardrobe gap, given that my existing underwear was literally falling apart. Secondly, it was my first time sewing with knits (and I have to confess: it took me a few months to summon up the courage to start). Thirdly, it is easily the most-worn stuff in my handmade wardrobe.
I really need to make some more, now I think of it.
2. What did you attempt in 2017 that you won’t be doing in 2018? Why not?
Another tricky question! Actually, this is why I love the questions in this tag: they rarely came with a quick answer, which means you need to engage in some quality thinking time.
Fortunately, after engaging in said thinking, I came up with an answer: I will not be buying stuff in 2018.
Unless it’s necessary, of course. (In the interests of transparency, I must admit that I have already bought stuff, but it really was necessary. I’ll be posting what I bought on my instagram this week, so let me know if you agree with me there.)
Shockingly, my plan not to buy things encompasses op shopped or thrifted items, too. The fact is, I frequently buy things because they’re gorgeous or I simply can’t bear for them to be left behind. This year, I’ll only be buying things if I know I’m going to use them.
3. What are you going to continue doing?
OK, this one was actually easy to answer. I’m going to continue being a Sustainable Seamstress. I want to learn new practices and techniques that make the most of my sewing resources and share them all with you in my videos (and blog posts).
It’s so easy to forget that we’re still consuming when we sew, even if we’re doing good work by avoiding the fast fashion trap. I’m definitely still learning myself, but it’s important to me to be more sustainable with my sewing and I really want to encourage others to be more mindful by setting a good example myself. Stay tuned for more on this in 2018!
4. What are you going to try in 2018?
Firstly, I would like to sew bras. Now that I have mastered undies, it’s clearly time to move upwards in my ambitions!
Secondly, I want to make more use of my vintage pattern collection. I love using vintage patterns and I have a lot of them in my collection – without exaggeration, at least ninety percent of my patterns would be vintage. With so many to choose from, my plan is to turn to my vintage patterns before I look to my more modern ones for projects this year.
This will be no hardship whatsoever! Every time I happen to go through a pile of patterns, I find a handful of clothes I desperately want to make. In fact, the tricky bit will be finding the time to make everything on my current list.
5. Where do you see your handmade wardrobe by the end of 2018? What about in five years?
By the end of this year, I would like to have a wardrobe that fits me well, goes together nicely and represents my style. I think I’m making progress on this already: many of my recent sewing and knitting plans have been chosen to fill gaps in my wardrobe and I’m in the process of making a bodice toile so I can strut about in dresses that fit me perfectly.
Once that’s sorted, the five year goal is to have worked my way through a decent portion of my fabric stash and to have developed sustainable practices in my sewing. That doesn’t sound quite as exciting as my one year goal, but I think it will be every bit as rewarding. After all, it means I’ll have a wardrobe full of gorgeous clothes that suit my personality and I’ll know they were made using an approach to sewing that is considerate of the world around me.
That’s not too much to ask, surely!
Time To Tag
Now that I’ve run through my sewing resolutions for 2018, I would love to encourage the following YouTubers to take part in the #NewYearsResewlutions tag:
- Jessica Lorraine // YouTube // Instagram
- Elizabeth Made This // YouTube // Blog
- Tanja from Don’t Dream It – Sew It! // YouTube // Instagram
- Abbey Morris Designs // YouTube // Ravelry
And I tag all of you…
That’s right: I challenge YOU to take part in the #NewYearsResewlutions tag, whether you’re a blogger, vlogger, instagrammer or whatever else there is now. Remember to let me know if you take up the challenge or if you’ve already taken part in the tag – I’d love to hear about it. Please share the link to your #NewYearsResewlutions tag in the comments below. Or simply answer them in the comments, if you like!