Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: 5 Ways to Get Your Sewjo Back

It happens to all of us.  We are eager to sew, sit down to go over our project and get it started.  At some point though you just can’t get yourself to finish.  You get frustrated or stuck and your project gets put to the side.  When you come back it just doesn’t excite you anymore.  Why does this happen?! A lot of things could cause it.  I totally lost my Sewjo on this project. While I’m happy with how it came out it was not easy to finish.  You can get your Sewjo back though!!  

Here are 5 ideas on how to do that. 

1. Clean Your Sewing Space

I know! No one wants to talk about cleaning.  And in a lot of sewing community forums people always joke about sewing first and cleaning or cooking later.  I have done it too.  But a cluttered space can contribute to a cluttered mind, especially when trying to wrap your head around a new project.  For me I like to clean my whole sewing room.  I put all scraps away, vacuum the floors to get rid of all the thread.  When it ends up all over the house and in the laundry I know I need to vacuum it all up.  And I definitely cleaning off my sewing table.  You got to have room to work and see your project.  Cleaning helps me feel more organized.

Closet Core Patterns Fiona Sundress

2. Take a Break and Get Inspiration 

Sometimes you actually really need a break from sewing, especially if you sew a lot.  Get outside and try another activity.  I like going for a walk. I think of other things while walking or how to execute the project I’m working on.  Sometimes  I will go out and walk around one of the little beach towns here and get new ideas.  I see what is trending in the stores and how I can recreate it in a fabric I would like.  Just seeing what other people are wearing or even decorating ideas can help motivate me to get back to sewing. 

3. Take a Class

Taking a class can help you meet like minded people.  You can bounce ideas off other people or get inspiration from them.  Fabric Mart has virtual classes too that you can take to help you get new ideas or learn new things. Having a guided course can help you finish a project and sometimes seeing a finished project to motivate you to getting sewing old projects again.

4. Work on a Small Easy Project

Sometimes you do need to put your current project aside and work on something different.  I really like making garments but I do get tired of having to fit myself every single time I work on something.  So what I do is I make a project that doesn’t require fitting.  I make bags or home decor.  Or I make a tried and true favorite pattern that has already been fit adjusted. I love Noodlehead patterns for bag making and Fabric Mart carries Noodlehead plus a lot of other bag patterns.  It’s a great way to sew without the stress of getting it just right for your body.

5. Learn one new skill

Try to learn something new on a project.  It is ok to challenge yourself.  Having a hard time sewing zippers? Cut a swatch of fabric and practice sewing it in.  Learn how to do it BEFORE you start on your current project.  Practice sewing buttonholes. Or practice sewing curves or whatever you are finding is holding you back.  There are so many free resources on YouTube or TikTok now. You can find help with anything!

You can get your Sewjo back.  It might take time.  Try these tips to help you in the future, before you know it you will be inspired be sewing again! Happy sewing!

HANNAH   @modistrasews


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following category DENIM.
You can also shop our collection of Closet Core Patterns HERE.

Comments

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Liberty Snow Day

Hi everyone! While we’ve been blanketed with snow out here in Southeastern PA, I decided to conquer my fear of button holes and make NewLook pattern N6749. I was able to snag a few yards of the Jess + Jean print Liberty of London Tana Lawn for it. It’s always exciting when Fabric Mart is able to get Liberty fabrics in! I always make sure to grab some.  Cutting into a beautiful piece of tana lawn is scary every time. The fabric is such good quality, I’m afraid to mess it up! I had to be extra careful as this is also the first directional pattern I’ve worked with. But one of my assistants made sure all of my pieces were laid correctly. Something I wanted to try out with this dress was finishing the inside seams using the overlock stitch on my domestic machine. Normally I would french seam, but it was nice to not have to worry about cutting seam allowance in half, sewing, trimming, flipping, and sewing again. Next time I would cut the seam allowance back before overlocking, but I thin...

Made By A Fabricista: Embracing Winter in Wool Boucle

As winter drags on, the cold weather is such a bummer to me and feeling uncomfortable and cold so often is rough. Meanwhile, I listened to a podcast all about how people in very northern countries deal better with the onset of dark, freezing winter with a radically different mindset of embracing the inevitable season by reframing the chill as refreshing and the opportunity to spend most time indoors as cozy. I can do that!  I found a gorgeous, quintessential wool boucle suiting in black and white to make myself a luxurious outer layer while I’m outside attempting to embrace the sting of dry winter air… It’s kind of working. So classic, so chic! Wearing boucle is always an uptown move and I certainly do feel sophisticated in it. This black and white houndstooth combination feels especially Old Hollywood, and what a treat to make something with this!  I sewed the Daphne Jacket from Vivian Shao Chen. There are no closures, and the shape is boxy and very easy to wear over multipl...

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing + Running

It’s not every day that I get to mix two of my favorite hobbies. Especially when one hobby is sewing and the other is running. You can’t sew and run at the same time, but, you can go running in something that you sewed! With this realization, I embarked on my first hobby-merging adventure.  We’ve had some frigid temperatures in Pennsylvania this winter. Since I’m an outside, stroller-pushing runner, I bundle up my son and myself before I hit the road. The temperature feels 20 degrees warmer for outside runners than the outside air. For the children being pushed in the stroller though, it feels about 20 degrees colder.  With these differences in temperature for each of us, layering is the only thing that ensures that we both stay perfectly warm. My running wardrobe has been lacking a warm top layer. My son’s wardrobe would also benefit from having another warm layer, so I knew pullovers were what I should make.  Inspired by a name-brand ¼ button-down fleece pullover I saw,...