Sewing for me last year was hit and miss, I didn't really have a focus, I was gifted a sewing machine for christmas and I was more in the mindset of lets just give this sewing thing a try…..
And I did….and fell completely in love with sewing. Although I have produced barely anything!! But sewing has now become a permanent fixture in my life. However, one of the misses of last year was I became so focused on trying to make awesome, beautiful clothes and bypass the beginner first hate makes and sewing errors I set the expectations for myself WAY too high! After FIVE disastrous makes in a row, I'm finally starting to get into sewing things I'm proud of. Smaller and beginner type projects, that I should have been starting with! that I can build from…..and can now appreciate the mistakes and awful makes I still get and take it as a learning curve and make goals for myself..
For 2015 I'm aiming for one successful, wearable make a month but here are the details.
Make Separates – Let's be real, I'm going for a top and trousers over a dress 90% of the time, especially when it's cold, and I really want to start sewing a wearable wardrobe. Now I'm focusing on tops and I really want to improve how I insert a sleeve.
I've booked the Ultimate Blouse class at Sew Over It in February and have these patterns I want to get through. Hopefully I will start trousers later in the year but I'm more relaxed about that.
Connect with Other Sewers – I started my blog to tap into the sewing community and, in my short time here, it's been amazing. However, I still fabric shop alone, don't have people to chat to about sewing, or have people I am in regular contact with who love sewing. I joined meetup and have joined the dressmaking club and I really want to have a group of friends I can hang out with as well as blog lurk on.
Use Fancy Fabric stash – Due to my small flat and my expensive taste in fabric 😉 having a massive fabric stash is out the window. However the stuff I do have I'm not using. I Keep envisioning projects I won't be able to achieve for about a year, like shirts. I bought the fabric now so I should use it now, I need to tell myself there is always going to be beautiful fabric I will want to spend my money on! and to stop putting fabric on a pedestal.
My small stash; I just take it out, look at it and dream.
Upcycle, Reuse and Go Vintage – I originally got into sewing so I could transform my charity shop buys. I want to go back to that non consumerist, sustainable ideal. I also wanted to get into sourcing vintage fabric and get away from dubiously sourced stuff.
Vintage Pledge – During 2015 I, Megan, will sew up at least 3 vintage sewing patterns.
These are the two patterns I will sew up for sure (I've already made a toile of the first dress) and I've bought a shed load of retro sewing patterns off gumtree.
Stop buying so many sewing patterns!! – I'm so influenced by sewing blogs, the patterns that go around the blog circuit call to me, I'm one bad day way from buying the by hand london kim dress as a treat for myself, but I'm going to stay strong. I have enough patterns and I'm not even close to sewing them all. So I've set myself a sewing pattern ban. I am only going to buy 3 patterns this year. Unless it's a charity shop bargain..because I know I will never be able to resist a charity shop bargain.
Sew For Other People – One thing that shocked me was how much I enjoyed sewing small projects for other people and I definitely want to keep it up.
and that's it. Fingers crossed but I'm feeling optimistic 🙂
Yeah – ditto too pricey for us so didn’t stay long! But SO crazy to see Susie Bubble <3 Reviewed it here: bit.ly/1bR1pU8 Hopefully see you at something in future??
Yes, I did! I kept my eye out for you but I wasn’t there for very long, everything was out of my budget!! But I did love having a good look at and stroking such high quality vintage and designer dresses 🙂
Nice one!! Thanks for the tip 🙂 did you go to the jumble sale this weekend in the end?
There are tons of easy patterns out there to help get you started and addicted to sewing!! There’s a brilliant competition at the moment go to http://www.simplicitynewlook.com/blog/searching-simplicitys-star-sewist/#.VTof90JhNFI
You get a free pattern and there’s a beginners category.
Thanks to Great British Sewing Bee loads of sewing blogs are getting incredibly popular
So happy to have found your blog! I’ve got a sewing machine and did lessons at school but have NEVER made a real life garment from a pattern and keep promising myself I’ll try….. maybe this is the inspiration I need!
Good luck to you making friends too!
I think vintage patterns give off a scary vibe, like everyone at that age was a sewing pro and there’s gonna be no guidance, but I’ve found later 60s patterns to be amazing! They are less elaborate and the instructions are pretty good. I went to a vintage sewing day course and everybody just took a vintage pattern and sewed up a toile and I was surprised that no one had a problem….I think I’ve gotten too dependent on sewalongs!
I was having a massive internal debate with myself about keeping my blog just sewing or branching out, which seemed a little extreme haha. After signing up on your clothes swap (probably how you found my blog ;D) I want to not only blog sewing and get into secondhand clothes and ethical shopping, my second true love! I like a mix on blogs but if you start another blog just for sewing let me know!
I really hope I can get sewing buddies!!I feel exactly the same about bigger bloggers, I still just blog lurk on them haha Plus I feel like they get all these fun hangouts! bloggers or not it would just be nice to have sewing banter 🙂
Thanks for positive vibes, my sewing projects are still hit and miss!!
sorry it’s taken so long to reply! I’ve been meaning to for ages!
I’m going to a meet up this saturday so hopefully I can get some new sewing buddies..maybe around my age! haha I didn’t even think of that! Now I’m just super nervous I hope they’re nice.
Good luck with finding a sewing group 🙂
They’re really good plans! Vintage patterns are scary for me so I’m impressed. I really need to make some plans like this! I have vague sewing plans; a planned section on the blog and an Evernote notebook of all the patterns I have (so I can easily refer to them when I’m out and about) but more formalised plans would be better. And I always struggle not to buy a new pattern that comes out, or some pretty fabric I see. So I started hanging up all of my fabric so that I can see exactly how much I have! And connecting with others in the sewing community (basically, all your goals!), I want to do more of that too. I’ll be honest and admit I can be a bit intimidated by the well established bloggers and sewers, and when a gazillion people have commented on a blog post, I don’t feel I have much to add. I much prefer making friends with sewers you can have a real conversation with, and that are at a similar stage to yourself. Plus, my blog isn’t solely about sewing (although I would like to start one to dedicated to it really!) Anyway, enough about me! I’m looking forward to seeing how things progress for you. : )
p.s. I was going to add a little note about how I discovered your blog but I couldn’t quite remember. But am glad I did! 😀
I was away from London for a while and am so glad I got back here because there is so much on! Hopefully, I can get involved and have time to sew but work is a nightmare at the moment for having free time.
I saw the black and white fabric on https://joliesbobines.wordpress.com every fabric she has I want!! I managed to squeeze in one fabric shop on a day trip to Paris to get it haha
You are lucky to have sewing groups near you, there aren’t really any where I live.
You have some great goals for the year ahead, and I have a serious case of the green-eyed monster over that black and white fabric in your stash, it’s lovely!
yay!! i spend so much time on the internet too lol
yes it is soo hard to find friends.
i need to look and see if there are any sewing groups where i live…hopefully if there is there is someone close to my age!
I need sewing blog buddies!!! I spend so much time on the internet real life has taken a backseat anyway haha Especially ones who can rock a peplum like you! Love, love love your blog. I’m finding it hard keeping up with social media internet but discovering awesome people who just happen to, inconveniently, live miles and miles away is great 🙂
I’m trying to put myself out there with sewing groups and hope for the best..but you’re right finding sewers is hard! and for me looking for friends that I don’t meet at work or school is harder!! haha
🙂 Thanks, can’t wait to get cutting into it!!
Love your fabric stash, so pretty !!
I feel the same about connecting with other sewers!! I wish i knew more sweres in real life but i dont think that will happen cause im not sure how to find them!! Lol but we can be sewing blog buddies!!