Tips for Sewing Big Projects

Show Notes

• Five Ways to Just Get Started


• The Aims blouse pattern


• The Chelsea jeans pattern


• Video: Sarai’s spring wardrobe plans


• Episode 133: How to Build a Sewing Ritual


• Download our free fitting journal


• 
  Podcast listeners get half off an unlimited Seamwork membership when you use this link, plus you get to keep that price as long as you’re a member!


• Tell us your idea for the next icebreakers for makers!

Podcast Transcript

Sarai
You. I'm Sarai.

Haley
And I'm Haley.

Sarai
And this is Seamwork Radio. Welcome back to Seamwork Radio, where we share practical ideas for building a creative process so you can sew with intention and joy.

And today we're talking about how to approach big sewing projects. We're going to cover the benefits of sewing large, more challenging projects, what to do if you have trouble getting started, and how to motivate yourself to finish. Okay, here's our icebreaker for today, Haley. It comes from Seamwork member Kelly Sews again.

And Kelly asks, “What is the oldest piece of fabric in your stash, and why haven't you sewn it yet or gotten rid of it? Do you have something from a past, relative, or relationship you have been saving? Will you do something with it?” Good question, Kelly.

Haley
Well, this is tough because the oldest fabric, the fabric that was made the longest ago, is different from the fabric I've had the longest. I actually don't really know anymore what the fabric I've had the longest was. It used to be this quilting cotton that I bought when I was, like, 19. Learning how to sew, I was like, you know, if I have a daughter, someday, I'm going to make her a quilt out of this. And then I did.

Sarai
You made the quilt, you mean?

Haley

I made the quilt.

Sarai

Not you had a daughter.

Haley
I did both! Dream fulfilled.

But I do have a lot of fabrics from, like, the 1930s and 40s, and with those, I feel like I just have, like, really small quantities of. There’s this one kind of like I think it's, like, early 30s because it has a little bit of an Art Deco influence. I have, like, four or five yards of it, and I'm just like, it's such a precious fabric. It feels like such an artifact. I don't know what to do with it. It totally intimidates me.

So I don't know. Maybe Charley will inherit it someday when I'm long gone. What about you? What's the oldest fabric in your stash?

Sarai
Well, in terms of what I've had the longest, I can't say I don't really know. I have a lot of fabrics in my stash that I've had for quite a while, but nothing I've had since I was real young, so I don't think there's anything in particular I can call out there.

But as far as the age of the fabric itself, I also have a lot of fabrics from the 40s, maybe the 30s. I mentioned on the podcast one time this fabric I had that was a yard of rayon that had these cute little ladies with songbooks and little musical notes on it, and it was so cute, and I only had a yard of it, and I didn't know what to do with it. I think I talked about this on the podcast, and then somebody emailed us and said that, I think she was a music teacher and that she would love to take it off my hands or something like that. And so I sent it to her. She would send me, like, a picture of what she made with it, and I sent it to her. I think she was in Australia.

I don't know if I ever heard back, though. So if you're listening, I would love to know if you made anything with it. It was a really cute fabric, but I had idea what to do with it, so I was glad to give it to somebody and have it have a good home. I hope she made something cool with her. If not, she just takes it out and looks at it and enjoys it, and that would be fine with me too.

Haley
Send pictures, at the very least, of yourself holding the fabric, smiling.

Sarai
I hope I didn't just miss if she sent me her finished project. I hope I didn't miss it. Sometimes these things fall through the cracks, but I have a lot of cool fabrics from the 40s that are enough to make garments with, but I'm just scared to cut into them because they're irreplaceable. You know, that makes it hard. But then I feel like they're just sitting there.

Haley
Yeah, it feels like a waste both ways.

Sarai
Yeah. I'm just afraid I'll make something with it that I don't end up wearing, and I don't know, why should I care? It's just sitting in a box.

Haley
Right. And then maybe someone else will end up wearing it.

Sarai
It's true. I probably should use them more. I need more of a process around using that's. Like, one of my goals is to come up with a process around using some of the stuff in my stash instead of buying new fabric all the time.

That's a great question, Kelly, and I wanted to answer the second part of your question. Do you have something from a past relative, or relationship that you've been saving? I mean, you mentioned it's not from Charley, obviously, but it related to a relative.

My grandmother gave me some unfinished quilt pieces that she had, and those have been sitting around for quite a long time. There was one, it’s a Dresden plate quilt. That's hand pieced. Maybe like, half of the plates have been pieced, and the other half haven't. And I started doing it by hand, and I was just like, I don't know if I have the patience for this. It's been sitting in a box. I should probably do something with it because I think Dresden plate quilts are so beautiful, and it's all these cool fabrics, like feed sack type fabrics.

Haley
I love that.

Sarai
Yeah. Really nice. So, yeah. Thanks for the question, Kelly.

And if you have an icebreaker for us for a future episode, you can leave it for us. If you're a member, just go to Seamwork.com/go/icebreakers and share your idea there. And we'll probably use it on a future episode. We love hearing your icebreakers. They always spark some cool memories or stories. So thank you so much, Kelly

All right, so today let's get into our topic for today. Sometimes it can be hard to choose to sew big projects when your sewing time is limited. I know I feel that way a lot. And it's really easy to be enticed by something fast instead because it gives you that instant gratification. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that. I love fast and easy projects, and I find them very motivational, but sometimes there are benefits to doing something that's a bit bigger and a bit more challenging.

I think those big projects can really be kindling for that creative fire, if you know what I mean. They let you really level up your skills. They make you feel that sense of pride. And I think just we kind of need them in our sewing lives.

They balance out some of those quick and easy wins and keep things from getting boring, I think for me. Because for me, learning is a big part of why I enjoy sewing. Doing something new every time. Even if it's something small and new, that sense of discovery. And even if it's something you've done before, you're getting better and better at it. So I think that challenging projects really help to keep that alive in your sewing practice.

So what's your ratio between quick projects and big projects, Haley?

Haley
I would say probably for every four little projects, I do one big one.

Sarai
That's interesting for me; it's changed a little bit recently because I would say normally I do more quick projects than bigger projects generally. But for this last round of Design Your Wardrobe for spring, if you want to see what I planned out, we have a video about it on our YouTube channel. So if you go to the channel, it's called Seamwork Video. If you're not a subscriber already, there's a video on there about all the stuff I'm planning to sew for spring, and I'm in the middle of sewing it right now as we record this.

And it was really about 50/50. Half of it is really easy stuff. That's the half I've already sewn, and then half of it is more challenging. Or it has techniques that I've never done or, I wouldn't say never done before, but maybe haven't done in a long time. Or it's just a lot of hand-sewing kind of stuff, and those things are going to be a lot more time-consuming. And I think it's interesting that planning things out led me in this season to at least to do more big projects and fewer quick wins.

I don't know why that is, if that's just the mood I'm in right now or something else, but I've been a lot more enticed by details lately and, like, figuring out some cool details and less about more simple things. Although I like those too.

Haley
I feel like it really comes in seasons for me, especially right now, spring is around the corner. I feel like I get a little bit more into it. I have more energy. I'm more apt to take on a little bit more of a challenge. But something about those cold, gloomy months, I just really crave ease in my life and just kind of in general, don't sweat it. If I go through a phase where I, like, sew ten easy things in a row, and then I know that things come in waves.
Sarai
I think generally I feel the same way. I don't know, maybe we should define big projects versus little projects, because I think those can have different flavors. So just as an example, with some of the things that I'm making, what I consider bigger projects, there's a pair of I'm going to be doing the Chelsea jeans , and I think anytime you sew fitted pants, it's going to be a bigger project because I'm going to make a muslin go through the whole fitting process and make sure that everything's right. And then you have some hardware and things like that and zip fly, all that stuff.

So those, to me, are bigger projects, although not huge. And then I'm making an Aims blouse right now, which is in itself not a big project, but I'm adding a lot of embroidery to it, which is something I haven't done since I was quite young. And it's a lot of hand sewing. And I just finished all the embroidery on it. It looks so cool. I'm really excited about it. I got really addicted to the embroidery. Like, I could not put it down. I was doing some of it yesterday, and Kenn was he was out for the evening, and he's like, what are you going to do? You have the house to yourself tonight. And I was like, I don't know. Maybe I'm going to take a bath, read, do some yoga, whatever.

No, I had my embroidery on my lap. I was doing it until I got so hungry I had to have dinner. And then I went immediately back to it. Just like, I don't know, laser-focused on it. I don't know why, but I finished it. It looks really cool. So that's another big project. And then the other one is it's a dress. It's not that big a project, but it is lined, so it's got a little extra sewing to it. It'll take a little bit longer than some of the other things I've done.

Haley
It's interesting that you bring up criteria for defining bigger projects, because I feel like that's going to vary from person to person what feels like a bigger project. Because for me, I think it's anything where I feel like I need to use a higher level of thinking. I don't have to be on autopilot would be how I define it also, like something I couldn't sew in one day even if I wanted to.

So I'm curious, what is the biggest project that you've ever taken on and how did you feel about it when you were finished?

Sarai
That's a good question. A few of them come to mind. I think the one that comes to mind right now is I made a jacket. This is quite a while ago, and it's like a wool jacket, fully lined, and I did a lot of tailoring to it. So I think that's probably the biggest and most involved project that I've taken on. And it was so fun. I mean, it was really fun to really dig into all of that and make it exactly the way I wanted and try all these different techniques on it to make it. And I love the jacket. I still have it. So I think that's my biggest project.

But there have been a lot that have little details to them. Or like this Aims blouse I'm making now that has the hand embroidery. It's definitely not the biggest project I've ever done, but just in terms of the time I'm putting into it, it's quite a bit. So I always feel whenever I do projects like that, I always feel so accomplished and proud. Not necessarily just of the result, but that I took the time with it and really made it the way I wanted to make it.

Sarai
I think there's nothing like that feeling. It's just like it's one of the coolest parts of sewing, for sure. What about you? What's the biggest project you've ever taken on?

Haley
Mine would also probably be a jacket. I made a men's tailored suit jacket once with all of the hand sewn padding and five different kinds of interfacing and just all of the very traditional techniques that ready-to-wear jackets anymore don't really have.

And I was so scared. I was really scared to sew it. And when I did it, I remember the moment when I bagged the lining and I turned everything right side out. It wasn't totally finished yet, but I got to put it on a dress form and see what it looked like. And I wanted to cry because I was like, oh, my gosh, I did it. I thought it was going to be the whole time I was like, down on myself. I'm like, I don't know. I do not know if this is going to turn out, because a lot of times when you're sewing something like that, the inside kind of looks a little junky. So you're like, oh, God, I'm ruining it. I'm ruining everything. And I turned it right side out, and it just, like, exceeded my expectations. I felt really proud of myself. I think that was the first time I think I had sewn that when I had been sewing for about, like, five years or so.

And it was like one of the first times where I was like, “I can sew anything.”

Sarai
That's so cool. It's funny what you said about things looking junkie on the inside, because I think we're so used to modern, ready-to-wear, where everything is surged and looks like really clean on the inside. But if you were to take apart a beautiful vintage coat and look at the inside between the lining and the shell, you'd see that there's a lot of weird stuff going on in there.

Haley
Yeah, totally. And it still looks good, still looks good on the outside. And that's what counts with sewing lined things, at least.

So I'm curious, what do bigger projects offer you that the smaller projects just do not?

Sarai
Well, I think bigger projects offer that sense of increasing mastery and really getting better at your craft, which I think is really, for me, it's really vital to keep me interested. So I think that's something—and the pride that I mentioned, I think just having pride in your own skills.

Doing things you didn't think you could do, like your story just now, I think is a really big motivator for me. I mean, I think your story illustrated it perfectly. Weren't sure if you could do it, and then you did it and you felt like you could do anything after that. So, I mean, where else can you get that kind of confidence boost? It's hard to find.

So I feel like those are all things that bigger projects offer, as opposed to the smaller projects, which I think offer motivation and a quick result, and you get to actually use things that you made and have maybe more pieces in your wardrobe that you get to wear, which I think has its own motivation. So I think they're both for me, they're both important. But the bigger projects are really, I think, kind of the meat of the meat and potatoes.

Haley
feel like the bigger projects remind me, like, “oh, yeah, I'm pretty cool. I know what I'm doing.”

I sound so cocky. I think I'm at a point where I know that even if I haven't done something before, that I could figure it out. There's like a certain level of confidence that I have, but that's built on the backs of all of those projects I didn't think I could do. And I did. And so sometimes I know all of that to be true, and sometimes you just need a little reminder.

Sarai
Yeah. You know what? I think another thing about bigger projects is for me, I don't have an expectation that they're going to be done really quickly, and so I do tend to take more time with them. And if I mess something up, I'll redo it because I want it to be, if I'm going to invest a lot of time in something, I want it to be the way I want it.

I think just by having that expectation going in that I'm going to spend time on this. It's not going to be done in a day or a couple of days. It's going to take me a while. I think that leads to a different level of craftsmanship than I would otherwise put into it.

Haley
Yeah, I totally agree. I feel like my tolerance for small mistakes is a lot greater on those little projects.

Sarai
Yeah, because it's like, well, I'll still wear it. It's fine.

Haley
Well, we're going to dig into some of the tips on how to get into these big projects, because I know that they can be really kind of intimidating for some people. Even I go through phases where I'm like, I don't know. I don't have time for that.

So here's some tips and some motivation for all of those.

I think the number one thing that's the hardest about big projects is just getting started. I think that's the hardest thing in a lot of things in life. So here are some of my tips related to getting started.

The first tip is to give yourself a limit on the project planning mode. I feel like with the big projects, it's really easy to stall out in the planning phase. You can give yourself a start-by date or set a number of hours that you're willing to spend in the planning phase, but give yourself some kind of limit so that you don’t—I feel like when you spend too much time on this, you start overthinking and, oh, I'll never be able to find the perfect buttons or something. And you just need to kind of, like, get over it and get started.

Get all of your fabric, all of your notions up front so you don't hit a roadblock midway and feel like you have one more excuse to not finish the project.

And then my last tip on the subject of getting started is Sarai wrote a really good article called Five Ways to Just Get Started. So my tip is to read the article full of tips, and we're going to link that in the show notes because it has some really good juicy tidbits on how to get started if that's something that you struggle with.

The next tip I have is to create a tactical sewing plan. So what I mean by this is that I encourage you to read the instructions from cover to cover so that each step is not a surprise. I think just acquainting yourself with the entirety of the sewing process is going to make you feel a lot more confident when you're in the thick of it.

Also it is going to help you to identify the places that you are going to need some additional support so you can hunt down all of those resources that you may need to be successful and practice new techniques in advance.

Another benefit of reading through all the instructions is that you may find that, oh, there's a tool that's really going to be helpful for me. And you can make sure that when you go and get all of your notions and your fabric, you also have all of the tools that are going to set you up for success.

Sarai
Those are some really good tips. I was thinking about the whole idea of having a start-by date I think is really interesting. That's something that I've found in the projects that I'm making right now because I'm filming them for YouTube. I'm filming the sewing process for each of them. And although we don't have hard deadlines for these YouTube videos because we kind of keep it loose with what we're producing and want to get them out there. So I have a hard schedule, but I have kind of like I want an idea in my mind of what week I'm going to sew what. And that has really helped me to get started on things that I think I would otherwise tend to put off a little bit more.

Haley
I think it's like so often we focus on deadlines and I like the idea of a start-by date. It just feels a little bit like gives a little bit of structure, but it's I don't know, not as scary.

Sarai
What do you think about the idea of having multiple projects going on at the same time? Because I could see that being helpful for some people too. Like having a harder project and then some easier projects you can do depending on your mood. I feel like that could be really helpful.

Haley
Totally. I think that kind of depends on the person. There are people who can read multiple books at the same time.

Sarai
That's me.

Haley
Yeah, I'm not one of those people. Actually, I can. But I can't read multiple books for pleasure at the same time. I can read like a self-help or a business book and have my novel I read at night or whatever. And I've only recently become a multiple projects person. I'm trying it on for size.

Sarai
I'm doing it a little bit right now. A little bit. I read a lot of books at once, but different genres so that I can pick and choose according to my mood. And so I kind of feel like you could do the same thing with your other creative endeavors besides sewing too. And sewing itself obviously have different projects going so that you can kind of dip in and out depending on where you are at the moment. I think that's a kind of a cool idea.

I'm going to share some more tips. I think a really important one that I touched on earlier is not rushing, I think really taking the time to make the muslin do the hand sewing if it needs it. Those kinds of things can really make the whole project feel a lot more enjoyable and kind of set that expectation in your own mind of how much time you're going to devote to this and I think it just makes it feel a lot better. So if it helps, you can break everything into small chunks. That's what I like to do unless I get addicted like I did with my embroidery project.

But breaking things into little chunks can be really, really helpful. And I think also it has the benefit of not so much task switching. So if you're just doing the zipper fly on something, for example, it kind of gives it a very definitive start and end, which can be helpful, I think, for your brain, too.

And then a few weeks ago we recorded an episode about creating sewing rituals. So that's episode 133. I think that could be really helpful to get ideas for just making your sewing feel good and make the whole process feel a lot more enjoyable and not so frantic, if that's a problem for you. So not trying to rush, I think is a huge, huge one.

The next one. This is something that I have found personally, it seems small, but it is really helpful to me, which is to store your project intentionally. I used to be really bad about this and have my pieces all over the place and leave things out all the time and it just made me feel very chaotic, which is something that I struggle with.

So when you pack up for the day, you can store your project in a place where you can see it. So it's a visual reminder of what your goal is. And I think that can be really helpful and it just makes it a lot more accessible also to sew little bits on it at a time.

So, for example, if you just want a sleeve in, you could do that. At the same time, I do like to keep things really organized. So what I've done is just have like a project bag I can put things in but leave it out so that everything is tidy and set into a little envelope. It's actually a really nice envelope. Kenn bought me a sweater from Cezanne for Christmas and it came in this really cool, big, like, three-dimensional envelope with a ribbon tie on the top. It's really pretty. So I've been using that as a project bag and it's been really helpful to me because I can just shove everything in there when it's not done and it can sit out. I can see it, but at the same time everything is tucked away yet accessible.

You could also make a project bag, obviously, or you just get a big envelope or even like one of those big portfolio, artist portfolios if you wanted. There are a lot of ways you could do it, but I do find that surprisingly helpful. Another thing you can do is hang your project on a hanger or on a dress form and just keep all your pattern pieces nice and organized. I think that's another way that you can keep things in sight, but feel like everything is kind of tucked away at the same time.

I can't emphasize how much that has helped me as someone who is prone to chaos but does not thrive in it.

Next thing that I wanted to share is another thing I think is really helpful, which is to share your progress as you go. I think accountability buddies can be really helpful. They can really help you to keep the momentum going on something. So if you're prone to starting things and then putting them down and forgetting about them, that can be really helpful.

It could be a friend that you communicate with about it, or it could be posting it on our community and sharing your progress, sharing a goal around it. There's a lot of different ways you could do this. You could share it on social media if that's your thing. There's a lot of things you could do, but I do think that that really helps.

I have an accountability buddy for something completely unrelated right now that's been really helpful. We just text each other every Friday about this. The thing we're trying to do is dedicate time a few times a week for thinking and writing out ideas. And so he and I text each other on Fridays and ask how it went. Did you do it this week? What was the result, that kind of thing. And it's just knowing that somebody else is paying attention to what you're doing is really, really helpful. And even if they're not really paying that much attention, I think just the notion that there's somebody else out there who knows something about what you're doing is helpful.

And then at the end, you can celebrate your progress and you can celebrate the entire process of making it and not just the end product, which is just so rewarding, I think. So that was a lot of really good tips. I think if this is something you struggle with, I hope you found something in here that's useful for you. So I'm just going to recap them really quick for you.

So we talked about a number of things you can do, both in terms of getting started and also keeping that momentum going.

So the first one is just getting started. And for that, my favorite tip that you shared, Haley, was having a start-by date on a project. I think that's really helpful in getting everything kind of together for you to get started, like everything up front, I think that's really helpful.

Create a tactical sewing plan, including going through the instructions and finding any other resources you need. I think those are both really super helpful on the front end.

And then as you're making it, don't rush, take your time. Make sure that you are giving it the attention that it deserves, and it's going to feel a lot better that way.

To store your project intentionally. This one is a big one for me. It might be for you, too. Make sure that you have a way to store your project that's accessible, but if you need it, is still within sight and tucks things away. And it's not total chaos like my rooms tend to become if I let them.

To share your progress, whether through an accountability buddy or just sharing your progress on the Seamwork community or social media or wherever you like to do that.

So I think those are all really excellent tips for working on big projects. What's your biggest takeaway from today's episode?

Haley
I would say that my biggest takeaway, really. Not anything really new, but just more of a reminder of the excitement and energizing nature of bigger projects. I just finished sewing a jacket, but now I'm like, maybe I want to go straight into something a little spicier. What about you? What's your takeaway?

Sarai
I think mine is really, for me, the importance of my physical environment and what a big difference that makes, because I think I do tend to put things off when I know they're going to cause a lot of disorder. I think knowing that I have a system for keeping things organized and making sure I come back to it, the two tips that resonated the most with me was having the start-by date and having a place to store in-progress projects, which is something that I've been doing lately that has been really, really helpful.

So I feel like those are the two big tips for me that help me. And then I think it's supposed to be one big takeaway, like three big takeaways. I just think the joy of making something that is challenging is really important and that that can feel intimidating. But it is also one of the most important things about sewing.

I think it's why a lot of people enjoy sewing is because it does have that challenge to it. Obviously it's a lot easier to buy ready-to-wear clothing. In a lot of cases. It's cheaper, too.

You can definitely get something at H&M for cheaper than you can make it most of the time. I think for a lot of us, it's not about the end product necessarily. It's also about making something that's truly your own in the way that you want to make it. And I think that's one of the great things about these challenging projects is that you're really taking your time to make it your own.

So maybe that's my biggest takeaway out of all of them. Well, if you want to learn more about this, Haley mentioned the article Five Ways to Just Get Started, so we'll link to that in the show notes.

I also wanted to mention our Fit Journal. So fitting is something that I mentioned, the Chelsea jeans that I'm going to make, and that fitting is going to be a part of that process and part of what makes it a little bit more challenging, and I think having a Fit Journal can really help with that whole process. So it helps you focus on the tactical part of it. So the Fit Journal walks you through this simple fitting process. It really helps to demystify getting the fit that you want.

So it has worksheets for taking and comparing your measurements, choosing your size, and for making adjustments. And the cool thing is that when you use it over time, it really helps you to find your fit.

So it's available for free at seamwork.com/go/fitjournal.

And if you liked this episode, we'd love it if you would leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Wherever you're listening to this right now, here's a review from Lori in Minnesota, and she says, I think it's supposed to say, “So appreciative.” She wrote sew appreciative. I think that was probably just autocorrect. She says, “thank you for all the work you do to always present a podcast that is organized, educational, and interesting. You put a lot of work into your podcast, and it shows. It helps that you both seem so kind, fun, and approachable." Oh, thank you. “I'm a quilter, and you talk of many things that I can relate to in my quilting, but even when you're specifically speaking of garment making, I still find what you say interesting. I enjoy listening to your podcast, a sincere thank you from me, and I really enjoy the icebreakers, too."

Oh, good. I'm glad you do, Lori. Well, that's cool. It's great to hear from a quilter and that she finds everything relevant to her.

Haley
Yeah, go tell all your quilting friends.

Sarai
Yeah, we love quilters, and I like making quilts, too, once in a while, so maybe we can have a little crossover there.

So you can also follow us on YouTube at Seamwork video. You can follow us on Instagram at Seamwork. And if you'd like to join Seamwork and become part of our private community, plus get access to hundreds of sewing patterns and dozens of sew along classes, our podcast listeners get a 50% off lifetime discount when you join at seamwork.com/go/podcast50. Hopefully we'll see you in the Seamwork community, which is a very fun place to be. All right, well, that does it for us this week. I'm Sarai.

Haley
And I'm Haley.

Sarai
And this is Seamwork Radio.