6 Tips for more playful sewing

1. 
   Recognize that you’re not having fun. If you’re feeling stressed about sewing, pause and examine your mindset. Are you feeling stress around other things in your life? Are you approaching your sewing with deadlines and expectations that distract you from having fun with it? The first step is to acknowledge and try to name whatever mindset you’re currently in. If you feel perfectionist tendencies creeping in, acknowledge them. It’s not often the sewing project that’s causing you stress, but your mindset around the sewing project.


2. 
   Think of sewing like cooking and baking. When cooking something, you have more wiggle room to experiment, adjust spices, and play with the ingredients. This is similar to taking a general DIY approach to sewing or working on upcycling or mending. But when you bake, you need to stick to the recipe. There’s less wiggle room. Some sewing projects are like baking, and you have to follow the pattern instructions exactly until you really know what you’re doing. Both cooking and baking are enjoyable, so find the most energizing balance for you.


3. 
   Plan a few projects that you will sew just for fun. Make plans to sew just because you want to sew. Don’t worry about showing it off, making it perfect, or making something really important. Just pick a project that sounds fun to you. Maybe its a gauzy, Victorian nightgown or a pair of bright yellow pants. Sometimes you can have the most fun when planning a project.


4. 
   Mix in some smaller, easier projects, too. Little sewing projects make sewing feel like it's not such a big deal. Your sewing isn’t only about those large-scale projects or completing your entire wardrobe but also about making something that's really quick and easy and that you'll wear a lot. Scrunchies are a great example of a small, easy project.


5. 
   Follow the 80/20 rule. You can learn more about this in episode 76 of Seamwork Radio, but this comes from something called the Pareto Principle, which is the idea that for many things, 80% of the outcomes you get come from 20% of the causes. So what does that mean? Well, in sewing, it means that even though there are lots and lots of skills you can learn, if you can learn just the most important 20% of skills, those are the ones you’ll be using 80% of the time. So by focusing on those skills first, you’ll be able to learn to sew much faster. So lean into these foundational sewing skills whenever you feel like you need more fun.


6. 
   Sew something, and then sew it again. If you’ve already sewn the project once, you’re familiar with the order of operations, and you might have identified a place where you made a mistake. Then when you sew it for a second (or third) time, it will be quicker and you can make a note to avoid any mistakes you made the first time.


7. 
   Sew something, and then sew it again—with a new idea. Give yourself even more room for improvisation! Working with a tried-and-true pattern leaves wiggle room for pattern hacks and embellishments—two very fun parts of sewing.


8. 
   Read your instructions from start to finish before you sew. This tip is a good habit to start. If you know the general order of operations for a sewing pattern—you can even jot them down as a list—you can get into the flow of the project. You won’t need to stress about what comes next, and instead, you can really get into the creative experience. Watching an entire sewalong before you sew can actually make the process much more relaxing and enjoyable. You’ll be more likely to get into a state of flow where you are completely absorbed in the process.


9. 
   Have everything set up to start sewing. Lastly, to not break your flow, make sure that everything's in place for you when it's time to sew. Have your notions and tools ready, your space clear, and your iron hot. Then you can just enjoy that flow state and enjoy sewing instead of having to break your concentration and go looking for things.