Musings of a Casual Seamstress

I have wanted to sew my own clothing for years. At almost 5'10, finding inexpensive skirts and dresses that I deem appropriate gets more and more difficult as the length I consider appropriate and comfortable gets longer. I knew that sewing my own clothing would not necessarily be cheaper than buying in some cases, but considering the limited options of clothing that I liked I figured it could be worth it. Also, I enjoy sewing, so it's a productive hobby I can engage in.

That's all I want, a skirt that reaches my knees

There is one problem that I considered that is a bigger issue than I thought it would be: motivation. While creating an item of clothing might not take much time, getting started is difficult for me. I have the same problem with exercise: it's hard to get my butt off the couch, but once I get working I really enjoy it. Even though I know it will be worth it, I will enjoy myself and I will regret not doing it, Newton's first law seems to apply to me: An object at rest tends to stay at rest. So, I have come up with a few different ideas for getting myself off the couch and started with the activity I actually want to accomplish (sewing, cleaning, exercise, etc).

Man I'm sad I missed that episode

1. Turn off the television

Sometimes I think that getting cable was one of the worst decisions I've made in the last year. I love watching jeopardy every night with my husband (we are speeding up the growing old together process by acting old), catching sports games and PVRing movies, but sometimes I can sit in front of the TV catching flies for hours. By turning off the TV and throwing the remote across the room, I have one less thing anchoring me to the couch.

I've decided everything I buy for my house is going to be grey

2. Set small goals

Sewing an entire article of clothing, doing a 1-hour workout or cleaning the entire apartment can seem like daunting tasks. By telling myself that I'm only getting up to do one thing, I am less intimidated by what I intend to accomplish. For example, cutting the fabric for a skirt, changing the thread in my sewing machine, or setting up the ironing board are easy enough that I can fool myself into doing them. Once I'm off the couch and started, I am more likely to continue.

This is the first result from Google Images of "perfect housewife"

3. Don't sit down in the first place

As someone in the tech industry, I sit in front of a screen all day at work. While I come home from work tired, sitting the entire evening as well is not the best plan for me. Ideally, I would like to come home, tidy whatever needs tidying and start making a wonderfully healthy meal, get come exercise and spend some time sewing. I think I've done that once, ever. Between playing sports in the evening, hanging out with friends and being too tired to function, I rarely get one of those things done, let alone all of them (luckily playing sports ensures I still get the exercise a few times per week). Getting things started before I get sucked into the vortex which is the couch starts my evening off on the correct foot.

One day....

With a little bit of self-discipline, I'm hoping that putting these tips into practise will push me in the right direction for accomplishing as much sewing as I hope to.

Thanks for reading!

Amanda