The Art of Slow Sewing: 10 Tips to Enjoy the Process

Podcast Transcript

Sarai

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, I'm talking about the art of slow sewing. So this is a topic that comes up in our community all the time. And I know that there are many of us who are looking for ways to take time and enjoy the whole process. I know that I definitely am. So I'm going to be sharing 10 quick tips on how you can slow down, enjoy the process more, and really connect with the garments that you create. All right, let's get into it. So in this fast-paced world that we live in, I think it's really easy to feel like we need to rush through absolutely everything and even the things that bring us joy. And I don't know about you, but for me, that often can suck the actual joy out of those things. If I feel rushed, my head is in a totally different space. Actually, it feels almost like being on a drug when you feel rushed. It's just a completely different mindset. If you can slow down and take the rush out of things, you just tend to enjoy them more, at least I do.

I want to offer a gentle reminder that sewing doesn't have to be like that. It doesn't have to be something that you rush through, and it doesn't have to be all about the end result. Sewing is really... It's like an art, and like any art, it can be savored. The creative process can really be savored and enjoyed. For me, sewing is about more than just the clothes that I make. It's really about the journey that I'm taking to create them and the memories that are even created along the way as I'm making the thing that I'm going to wear. That's what sewing is about for me. Let's talk about some creative ways that we can enjoy all the little parts of sewing our own clothes and not just the end result.

We're going to talk about 10 actual things that you can do that are going to help you to slow down. Sometimes you might not want to slow down. Sometimes you might just want to finish the thing, and that's what makes you feel good. Maybe being productive is something that's important to you at that moment, or you just want to get done with a certain project, or you want to finish something that's been on the back burner for a long time so you can move on. There are lots of reasons why you might want to just focus on efficiency when you're sewing, but sometimes it's really just about enjoying the process. That's what we're going to be talking about today.

Let's start with these 10 quick tips.

The first tip, and I think this is really helpful is to start with a detailed plan. When you approach a new sewing project with a detailed plan, you give yourself the opportunity to really slow down and think through each step. I think of this as setting the frame before you even begin. If you actually take some time in the design phase, the design process, before you get into the actual making, I find that that helps to slow down the rest of the process as well because you've really thought through things so carefully. This includes everything from really selecting your fabric and notions very carefully to planning out any little alterations or any pattern hacks you might want to try, maybe some details you want to add. If you really think about all of these things before you even begin, not only will you be more satisfied with your result a lot of the time, but you'll actually feel better throughout the process of making it, or at least I do.

I just find that having a clear roadmap means that I'm less likely to rush through the entire process. You'll also feel a lot more prepared, especially if any unexpected roadblocks come up. I also find that when I have things planned out, when those roadblocks do appear, I'm more likely to stop and take the time to fix them than just to rush through because I've invested so much time in that initial design process. That's one thing that really, really helps me. For example, recently I was sewing a Lisa cardigan, which is... It's actually a free pattern right now for fall. If you're interested in that, you can go to our website and sign up for our Snippets newsletter and you can get it. We can put a link in the show notes as well. But I was sewing this cardigan. Before I began, I really did a lot of thinking about what I wanted out of this cardigan and the features that I wanted and what was important to me. That really helped me to understand exactly what I wanted, but it also helped me to slow down throughout the process of making it and really enjoy the process of making it.

And the end result, the cardigan that I made was pretty much exactly what I wanted. And that made the entire experience of making it so much more enjoyable to me. I actually did a whole video about that cardigan. So if you want to see, it was based on a cardigan that I already had in my closet that I really like, that was just a ready to wear cardigan, and seeing what features of that I really wanted to incorporate in the one I was making, and then which ones I wanted to improve upon. It was a really fun video to make, so you can find that on our YouTube channel. If it's not there already, it will be soon. That's the first tip, is to start with a detailed plan.

The second tip is to sew for the seasons. This tip, it helps you make sewing plans as part of your regular sewing practice. Tuning into the natural rhythm of the seasons can really help you to slow down and just enjoy your sewing more. I really like to plan things seasonally. If you do plan things seasonally, you always feel in the moment and thinking about, what matters to me right now? What do I want to make for myself right now? Rather than rushing to sew garments for every trend or everything you're seeing on social media or whatever new patterns are coming out or whatever fabric you just happen to see. You create pieces that really reflect that time of year, and not just that time of year, but how you're feeling at that time of year. And I feel that it really helps to integrate sewing into your life a little bit more. In the fall, for example, you might focus on cozy layers, and in spring, you might want to work with light and airy fabrics.

Just thinking those things through can really be a way to connect with what's going on around you in the world around you. So sewing with the seasons is something that gives you a really natural pace to follow that's naturally a little bit slower. This is just my favorite way to sew and my favorite way to plan. You can use our Design Your Wardrobe program to help out with this. If you want. We host it every single season, and you can find out more about that at seamwork.com/wardrobe and just learn a little bit about it.

You can do it on your own. You can also do it with a group. We run the program in a cohort every season, four times a year, so you can join us for that. It's a really fun thing to do. I personally plan my little mini wardrobe and make a sewing queue out of it using this method every single season, and I absolutely love it. It's a way for me to not just connect with the seasons, to slow down, to plan out my projects a little bit more, to integrate them into my wardrobe a little bit more. It does all of those things, but I also just find it really, really inspiring, and it helps me to make decisions. I tend to take on too much and overload myself with projects. Having a process to fight indecision and to actually make some concrete decisions and prioritize what I actually want to spend my sewing time on is really helpful to me and does help me to slow down and not try to do everything all at once all the time. That's my second tip is to sew for the seasons.

My third tip is to focus on one project at a time. Raise your hand if you're guilty of juggling multiple projects all at once and getting a little bit overwhelmed. I have been there, and I frequently feel overwhelmed by all the projects that I have going on, both sewing-wise and outside of sewing, other creative projects, other fun projects. Right now, I am trying to learn a little bit more about surface pattern design. I want to print some fabrics using Spoonflower or something like that to incorporate into my sewing. I'm trying to learn a little bit more about that and how to use different digital tools to do it. I'm also trying to sew some things, and I'm also doing a lot of other hobbies and gardening and trying to incorporate it all. It can be overwhelming to me. One of the best ways to practice slow sewing for me is to focus on just one project at a time. When you're working with one garment at a time, you really give yourself permission to dive really deep into the process rather than rushing through and just trying to get to the next thing. It's a more focused, more intentional way to sew, and can really help you to appreciate the time and the effort that you're putting into each and every piece.

So one thing that I like to do, I've mentioned this before, but I like to batch certain things. So I like to batch my cutting, for example. So I might cut out two or three projects in a day and focus on cutting. But then once those are cut out, that's when I start focusing on one project at a time. So when it comes to the actual putting things together and sewing, I like to do one at a time. I don't like to do multiple projects all at the same time. So I'll take those other projects that have been cut out, and I will put them away. I'll put them. I have a little hanging basket that I use. I put them in there. They'll be ready to go when I want to sew them. But in the meantime, they're out of sight, out of mind, and I can really focus on this one piece that I'm working on and making it exactly the way I want, making it special, and really putting the time and effort into that one thing rather than thinking about the next thing and the next thing that I to make.

I do like having a sewing queue. I do like having some things prepped and ready to go. But mentally, I like to put the focus on one thing at a time.

Tip number four is to enjoy the quiet moments. Sometimes, sewing can be really wonderfully quiet, and it can be a way for you to experience a little bit of silence, a little bit of alone time, a little bit of quiet time that you may not get in your normal life, especially if you have a busy household, you have a large family, you have small children, you have a lot of pets like I do. It can be a little bit chaotic sometimes. And sewing can be a sanctuary, a place to go where you just get some quiet. Personally, I do like listening to things while I sew. I like listening to music. I like listening to podcasts. But there are times when I just want peace and quiet. You can just listen to the sounds that you make while you're sewing, the sound of your scissors cutting through the fabric, the hum of your machine. You can really just tune in to what's happening around you, even if it's just for a few minutes.

Maybe you get bored if you're doing this for an hour or more, but maybe you can spend 5 minutes, 10 minutes just in quiet listening to the sounds around you while you're sewing. That can help you to embrace embrace these little quiet moments to get away from a lot of the things that distract us day to day and almost retrain your brain to focus on what's around you, what's actually happening, the project you're working on, what your body is doing, what your hands are doing, what you're seeing, rather than the more distracting world of TV or podcasts or whatever else might take your attention away. When you do that, sewing can almost act like a little form of meditation, even if it's just for a few minutes. I think it can be a fantastic way to even just open a sewing session with a little bit of pure quiet time.

Tip number 5 is to embrace hand sewing. This might be a little bit controversial for some of you because you might be used to the speed of your sewing machine, but there can be something really meditative about hand sewing as well. Basting, hemming, even adding a hand-finished touch to your seams can really force you to slow down. You can bring projects that you're working on out of your sewing room if you're working by hand. You can sit outside, you can move to the couch, you can lounge in bed, you could even organize a little sewing circle with your friends, you could bring it to a coffee shop. Whatever would make you feel good, you can do that. When you're working by hand, you don't need to cart around your machine. So next time you sew, consider incorporating more handwork. It might take a little bit longer, but you might develop a deeper connection with the garment that you're making.

The other thing I like about working by hand is you have so much control over what you're doing. It just gives you so much control over what the fabric is doing. Especially if you are basting something before you sew it, it can really make sure that that seam or that finish is absolutely perfect. It's a great way to really pay attention and to put that extra effort into making something exactly the way you want it. That's one thing that I do really, really like about hand sewing. I know it can be frustrating if you really feel like you want to finish something and hand sewing is the last thing you need to do. A lot of times it's sewing on buttons or finishing a hem by hand. It's really the last step in the project and you want to just be done. You just want to finish it. But if you can reframe it for yourself and think about this as a way to just put those beautiful final finishing touches on whatever you're making, it can actually be something that feels good instead of feels like something that is just slowing you down from what you want to accomplish. I personally have a love-hate relationship with hand sewing. I think a lot of us do. But reframing it like this for myself really helps and makes it feel like something special rather than something that's it's just a hindrance.

Tip number 6 is one of my favorites, which is to take breaks and to stretch. I think it's really easy to find yourself just sitting hunched over your machine for hours at a time, and then you stand up and you just feel really stiff. Taking regular breaks is a great way to slow your sewing down and just check in with your body. Maybe after an hour or so, you can pause your project, you can stand up, I you can stretch, you can go for a short walk, get some fresh air, maybe do a little yoga.

I know for me, I am trying to stretch as much as possible. It can be a little bit tricky to fit that into my day with everything else that's going on. So I schedule little breaks for myself throughout my day, throughout my workday, that I can just stop. And even if it's just for one minute, just do a little stretch, because I think with stretching in particular, it's something that really pays off, even if it's in small chunks, if you do it frequently. I've been trying to do that, and I think that's something that we can incorporate into our sewing as well, because it is something that can lead to a lot of stiffness and even pain if we're not taking care of our bodies, just because of the amount of sitting and hunching that you might find yourself doing, even unintentionally. I think that's really important, especially as you approach the end of your project. It's really tempting to rush to the finish line and to want to just be done. I'm not going to take any more breaks until I'm absolutely done with this. Then you think it's going to be only a half an hour more, and then it ends up being an hour, two hours more.

That happens to me all the time, and I haven't taken a break for hours, and I feel terrible, and hungry, and sore, and tired. That's not a good way to finish your project. You want to feel good at the end of your project. You want to feel like it's something that made you feel great throughout because a lot of times the way you feel at the end of a process colors your whole perception of how the whole process went. I like to finish strong and happy. Taking breaks throughout is a great way to do that.

That leads me into the next tip, which is to use a sewing timer. You can actually use a timer to schedule those breaks for your sewing. But here's another unconventional tip, which is to set a timer for your entire sewing session. Instead of sewing for hours on end, you could commit to a shorter and more focused amount of time, like 30 minutes or 60 minutes. This creates a really natural stopping point for you, and it allows you to reflect on what you've accomplished as well. I know I mentioned in previous episodes, but I'm trying to do this more block method of creativity, where I fit in these small blocks of working on projects. So I'm not always waiting until I have 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, an entire day to work on something. I often found myself not even starting, not even picking up a project just because I didn't have that huge chunk of time that I thought I needed. But if you break it down and you even just work for 30 minutes at a time, there's a lot that you can accomplish in those little chunks.

Getting a timer and just setting a timer and working for 30 minutes, just Set the t imer for 25, 30 minutes. I use the Pomodoro method, so if you're not familiar with that, it's a productivity method that's very simple. It just involves setting a timer for usually 25 minutes, and then you have a five-minute break, and that helps you to break projects into chunks like that. Then if you want to work beyond that time, you can. You can keep working if you want to, but it helps me to just get started when I don't have necessarily a ton of time, if I only have a little bit of time, or even if I'm not feeling really motivated to do something, it can be a way to get myself in the mood and start a project so that I can keep going.

That's really helpful to me. I really like to break projects down into these smaller, manageable chunks, and I just find that it helps me enjoy the process and avoid burnout. I like to use a visual timer, so something that I can actually see and see it counting down. There's one, I think the one I use is called a time timer. It's just a little visual timer where you spin the dial and it shows you very clearly the time that you have left. I really, really like that. It comes in some cute colors, so you can find that online. It's not very expensive. I use that for work. I can use it for sewing. I use it for my creative projects, and it's really, really helpful. Very, very simple tool that can make things a little bit easier for you.

Speaking of tools, the next tip is to invest in quality tools. Having high-quality scissors, needles, pins, it can make such a difference in your experience. They don't have to be the most expensive, but tools that really feel good in your hands just make sewing a lot more enjoyable. These tools, they might speed up your sewing, but if you aren't fighting with your tools while you sew, I think you can just allow yourself to slow it down and really savor each step along the way.

I like to use a really nice pair of shears while I'm sewing. I like to use fresh pins, very sharp pins. I always put in a new needle with every new project. Those little things might seem like maybe they're a little bit of an extra hassle or they might feel a little bit unnecessary, especially if you just want to dive in. But it really helps to make the entire experience a lot more enjoyable. Tip number nine is to take time to fix mistakes and to learn from them. Mistakes are natural. Mistakes are always going to happen when it comes to sewing. It's just a part of the process. So it always pays to stop, unpick those stitches if you need to, and fix it. So whatever it is, it can be really... I know it can be super frustrating when you make a mistake, and it can lead to, for me, a lot of negative self-talk about the mistake I made. I shouldn't have made that mistake. What was I thinking? Why wasn't I paying more attention? Those kinds of thoughts. If you can set those aside and realize that mistakes are just part of it. They happen. There's nobody who is free from mistakes. So instead of feeling frustrated, just use them as opportunities to slow down and to learn, and maybe you'll find a better way to do it next time.

Sometimes it can even help to write down those lessons learned. When something goes wrong, just make a note, either a mental note about the mistake and how you fixed it, or you can write it down. I think keeping a little logbook, a little journal of things you've learned while sewing can be so, so helpful and can help you to not repeat those same mistakes or make things a little bit easier on yourself next time. Just slowing down during those tough moments makes them really good learning opportunities instead of just moments of frustration. Also, if you do get frustrated, that's okay, too. We all get frustrated from time to time. That doesn't mean you're not learning. You can be frustrated and still learn from it. You could have that initial moment of frustration or anger at yourself, and you can still turn it around, reframe it, say, Okay, I'm not feeling so great right now, but what can I learn from this? How can I make this a little bit better next time? Use it as a signal that you are in a space to learn something.

Then finally, celebrate your progress, not just the final project. I think it's really important to celebrate each step along the way and not just when you're done. We often just focus so much on the finished garment that we forget to appreciate all the little wins along the way. The first time you fit a tricky sleeve, for example, or the moment you finish that last button hole. I'm working on a dress right now that we have, as I'm recording this, we have Stitch Fest coming up soon, which is our annual event here in Portland, and that we put on here at Seamwork, and I'm making a dress for it. I only had an hour to work on it the other day. So I went into my sewing shed, and I took everything out, and I started working on it for an hour. I got to a good stopping point, and I looked at it and I thought, this is great. This is a moment in itself to celebrate. I finished the bodice of it. I still need to do the skirt. I still have a lot of other things to do. But just feeling that moment of accomplishment, even just from that one hour of sewing, made the whole thing feel a lot better to me than thinking about all the things I had left to do. So celebrating your progress can help you to see sewing as more of a journey and more of something that you can enjoy all along the way instead of just a means to an end.

I think sometimes we can get so focused on what we're trying to create, our initial vision of what we were trying to create, or having the thing, having that final product in your wardrobe, that it becomes almost like a substitute for shopping, like a materialistic need for more stuff rather than really an opportunity to be creative, an opportunity to have fun and to enjoy all the steps in making something yourself, which I think is really why we're sewing in the first place. Because if we just wanted the stuff, really, I mean, yeah, there are some things that you can only make for yourself or you can only make them to fit you if you make it yourself.

But a lot of times, if you want a certain piece of clothing, you can just go out and buy it. Why sew it yourself? I think it's really about the process and the creativity and the enjoyment and the pride of making that thing and not just having the thing in the end. Why not slow down and enjoy all of those steps along the way so you get what you really want out of sewing and not just the garment. Those are my tips.

I'm going to recap them for you before we're done today. To recap the 10 tips that I just shared with you, the first tip is to start with a detailed plan. The second tip is to sew with the seasons. Tip three is to only work on one project at a time. Tip four is to enjoy the quiet moments. Tip five is to embrace hand sewing. Tip six is to take breaks and stretch. Tip seven is to use a sewing timer for smaller sewing sessions. Tip eight is to invest in quality tools. Tip nine is to fix mistakes and learn from them. And tip 10 is to celebrate each step along the way.

So my big takeaway from this episode today, and the thing that I would like you to take away from this episode today, is that sewing is really an opportunity to enjoy life more. It is an opportunity to slow down, to be creative, to have a certain period of time, a moment of time, where you get to make something with your hands and just enjoy that process. And for me, that can bring so much more enjoyment to life. That's something that's really important to me. If it's something that's important to you, why not slow down and allow yourself to enjoy it? Because I think the thing that sometimes hinders us from getting that enjoyment out of our sewing is in our own heads and just telling ourselves stories like, I need to finish this. I need to move on to the next thing. This is taking too long. I wasn't expecting this to take so long. I wasn't expecting these mistakes. Why aren't I faster or better? All of those kinds of negative thoughts that can make sewing into something that it doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be another thing that adds stress to your life. It can be something that takes stress away from your life.

Hopefully, you can take that away from the episode today and find some really concrete ways to slow down and enjoy. A few of the tips that I shared mentioned planning out your projects in advance. If that's something that's of interest to you, you might want to download download our free sewing planner. Our free sewing planner is a printable tool to help you design and plan your sewing projects. It includes pages for sketching looks, for planning out individual projects with sketches and swatches, and you can print as many pages as you need. It's available for free at seamwork.com/go/planner.

If you like this episode, we would love it if you could leave us a review review. We love to hear from you guys and hear what you think of the show. You can leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or wherever you happen to be listening to this right now. We love reading those reviews, and those five-star reviews really help other people to find the show as well and enjoy it for themselves. We really appreciate that, and we read every single review that comes in.

You can also follow us on YouTube at Seamwork Video. I post lots of videos there all about either projects I'm sewing or tips and tricks, things that will enhance your sewing, guides for important things. We just put out one about sewing button holes, everything you need to know about sewing button holes. There's tons of great videos on there, and you can find that at Seamwork Video on YouTube. We'd love to see you over there. You can also follow us on Instagram at Seamwork. We also put out lots of short videos there that can help improve your sewing and help you to learn in a really quick way. 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.

And that does it for us this week. I'm Sarai, and this is Seamwork Radio.