2018 Sewing Goals and January Recap

Happy Monday folks! I realized after I started writing again in this space that I never wrote out my goals for 2018. I have them in a super cute little sewing notebook, but if I actually put them here, it might be some additional motivation to stay the course.

Love this vintage pattern cover notebook - perfect for all of my sewing lists for 2018

My biggest goal for this year was to join the 2018 Ready To Wear Fast that is hosted by Goodbye Valentino.

What is the Ready To Wear Fast? Great question! I, along with hundreds of others have pledged to not purchase any clothing for 2018 - if I want or need it, I need to make it myself. Kind of crazy, right?! Exceptions include undergarments, shoes, bags, jewelry. The reality is that the second half of 2017 was already trending in this direction for me anyways, but this is a great challenge to really stretch my sewing skills and examine my shopping habits. We're almost 1.5 months in and while I haven't been tempted, I have learned a lot about myself already. More on that later.

In addition to the 2018 RTW Fast, I am also participating in the 2018 Make Nine Challenge. Basically, choose 9 garments/sewing projects you'd like to complete in 2018. I keep lists throughout the year for my sewing, so it was kind of weird to just choose 9 things I really wanted to make, so I tried to stretch myself a bit for these. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Bathing suit 
2. Men's Raglan
3. Men's Basic t-shirt
4. Casual pants for my boys
5. Jeans
6. M4M Darcey Cardigan
7. Woven shorts
8. Woven blouse
9. Workout leggings

This list was influenced heavily by the RTW Fast Challenge - we have a couple of trips on the schedule that will require shorts and a swimsuit and I would like to at least try to make myself a pair of jeans since I won't be buying any this year. Eeeeek! I have already tackled 2 of the above with some success and will cover them more in the next couple of weeks.

I'd also like to try at least 1 new to me pattern per month. I LOVE sewing TNT patterns because they are my closet workhorses and always give me a great fit, but if I don't continually try new things, I won't find other patterns that I love.

January 2018 Recap
I had a really strong start to the beginning of the year! Not only do I sew garments for myself, but I also tend to sew quite a bit for my sons and also a fair number of gifts throughout the year. The number of garments I create each month are fairly high and I realized within a couple of weeks of restarting this blog that there is no way I can photograph and blog every single thing I make. Instead, I'll do monthly recaps and individual blog posts for the most interesting garments, pattern tests or the things that have a good story attached to them. Even that will be a challenge, but at least it will narrow down what I feel compelled to share in detail here in this space. Also, I'll post pics of new garments on Instagram (see my feed on the right) as much as possible, even if they don't have a blog post attached to them.


Now let's talk numbers. I made 20 (!) garments in January. A good chunk of that was what I consider utility sewing - basics for me and for my boys that sew up incredibly quickly and are closet staples. They break down as such:

• Gifts - 2: a workout tank (P4P Essential Tank afflink) and cardigan (P4P Cocoon Cardigan afflink) for my friend and fitness mentor (the white top was actually sewn and counted at the end of 2017)

• Husband -2: yes, I finally sewed my first garments for my husband!! only took 8 years, but here we are. More on this in a separate post.
• Boys - 5: all long sleeve t-shirts (P4P Jolly Roger Raglan and P4P YoHo Henley afflinks) that they needed to make it through the rest of winter and into spring.

•  Me - 11: One pair of casual wear joggers, 3 hoodies, 3 tops for a pattern test and 4 basic tops 

I also tried 2 new to me patterns - a pattern test (George + Ginger RuLo Top and Dress) and a pattern that I had purchased last year for my husband (Cole's Creations Jerry's Raglan).

Needless to say, it was a good month and a great start to 2018. What are your goals for this month or for 2018? Drop me a line and let me know what you're working on!