Inspiration to Sew
I find inspiration to sew
from many sources. I know some people
like to look through magazines and cut out pictures of clothing or other
articles that inspire them. They paste
the pictures in notebooks and use them to get ideas for articles they want to
sew. I have never done that. However, I do use magazines for
inspiration. I keep a supply of Threads
magazines on hand. When I need
inspiration for a new sewing project, I go through several old editions until I
find a project that inspires me. If that
project is an article of clothing, I don’t start it until I review what is in
my closet. Before I begin a new project,
I want to be sure it coordinates with at least two items and preferably three in
my closet. That is a lesson I learned
from making two color-coordinated wardrobes.
Another great source of
inspiration is other sewers. Watch what
your friends are sewing. It is easy to
get inspired by their projects. This is
just one reward of sewing with others or what I call, social sewing. Your local chapter of the American Sewing
Guild is a great resource for social sewing.
They have meetings, demonstrations, classes, neighborhood groups and
more to inspire you.
Sometimes a piece of fabric
in my stash will be my source of inspiration.
If I find a piece of fabric that shouts out to me, but I can’t remember
why I actually purchased it, I will put the fabric through the “closet
test”. If it looks good with two or three
items in my closet, then I will look for a pattern. If not, it is time to find a new home for
that piece of fabric!
Inspiration may come from
something as simple as a need. I recently
needed some new pants for my wardrobe, so I was inspired to sew pants. I searched my stash and found three pieces of
fabric I liked and cut out pants from them.
I always feel good when I use fabric from my stash. It makes me feel like I am making progress on
reducing the size of the stash. However,
I am not sure I am because I occasionally add a little to the stash!
Another thing that inspires
me to sew is to make a list of items I intend to make in the near future. It gives me a plan to follow. Once I see those items written on paper, it
inspires me to start sewing so I can cross them off the list!
I am beginning to think about
sewing for Spring and Summer. That helps
me get through Michigan’s winter. When I
am choosing Spring and Summer fabrics for garments, it makes it easier to
believe that winter will soon be gone and we will actually have warm weather
and green grass again! I guess you could
say the change of seasons helps inspire me.
I was recently inspired by a
piece of paisley print challis from my stash and it passed the closet
test. I thought it would make a nice gathered skirt, but the piece was too small for that. My next thought was to make a blouse but I
did not have a pattern that had already been fitted to me. I decided instead to use a shirt pattern I
had sewn before. I am not sure this will
work with the soft challis fabric, but I am going to try it. I have the shirt cut out and partially sewn
together. If it works, I will have a new
garment to wear. If it doesn’t, it will
go in the trash and I will have one less piece of fabric in my stash! Regardless of which way it goes, I will let
you know. A picture of the fabric is
shown below.
The new year is almost here and it is time to plan your 2020 sewing projects. What will inspire you to sew more this year?
Judy
