5 Ways to Embrace Seasonal Changes Through Sewing

Podcast Transcript

Sarai

I'm Sarai.

Haley

And I'm Haley.

Sarai

And this is Seamwork Radio.

Welcome back to Seamwork Radio, where we share practical ideas for building a creative process so you can sew with intention and joy. Today, we're talking about how to embrace seasonal changes through sewing. We're going to cover five ways that you can plan ahead for the upcoming season, but also stay present and honor the season that you're in right right now.

All right, our icebreaker for today, Haley, is what's your favorite season to sew for and why?

Haley

It's such an easy answer. It's fall. I think that this is for a couple of reasons. I like fall fashion. I'm always really excited to wear and make fall things. But also fall's just a good season to get back into sewing. In the summertime, I'm out and about, living my fancy free life. When September rolls around and it starts to cool off, at least where we live, I'm totally ready to retreat inward and spend a little bit more time alone in my sewing space, be a little more introspective. It's just like a cozy time of year. I'm ready to be cozy and sew.

Sarai

Yeah. I think one of the things about fall and why people get really excited about fall fashion is that it's such a dramatic change.

Haley

It is.

Sarai

I feel like other times of year, it's a more gradual change, but it seems like the transition between summer and fall is very dramatic, at least where we live.

Haley

Yeah, really night and day. So what's your favorite season to sew for?

Sarai

I would also say fall for those same reasons. It's just such a fun season to sew far. All the layers, all the textures, all the colors. I love it. But I would say a close second would definitely be summer for me.

Haley

You always have the best summer sewing plans. I'm always envious because my sewing plans always fall off a bit in the summertime.

Sarai

Well, I don't know. We both grew up in Southern California, but I feel like I just grew up wearing a lot of summery clothes, so it feels good to me. And I like sewing for summer. I think it's another season where it's very dramatic, the change. Summer just is very different here in the Pacific Northwest than the rest of the year. The rest of the year tends to be very cool and rainy, a little muddy, a little gray. And then in summer, we have the most beautiful summers. So it's just fun. It's like a different character you get to play.

Haley

Yeah, maybe it's because I'm summer-sewinged out. I spent my first part of my sewing life and career making Southern California clothes, just cotton year round. And now I'm like, Ooh, wool.

Sarai

It is different.

Haley

What a novelty.

Sarai

Yeah, that's very true. Well, it was a great icebreaker to lead us into the topic for today. If you have an icebreaker for us, let us know. We'll use it on a future episode. If you're a member, you can leave it at seamwork.com/go/icebreakers. That'll take you to a thread on our community where you can leave your idea.

All right, so let's talk about the issue for today. With sewing, you're always thinking a few steps ahead about what's coming up in your life, the next season, what you need. I think when you're in that mindset, it can be hard to be present in the season that you're in currently. So how do you strike the balance of planning ahead while honoring the season you're in? And that's what we're going to be talking about today. So for you, Haley, what season are you sewing for right now?

Haley

Right now, as we're recording this, it's early October. I just started my fall sewing a little bit on the later side than I usually do. And I haven't even gotten into the winter mindset yet. But I'm taking a little different approach this year. I'm just going to sew one or two meatier projects in the fall that also could transition really well into the winter. So I guess it's kind of fall winter, but it's cheating a little bit. What about you? What are you sewing for?

Sarai

I'm finishing up my fall sewing right now, and I'm going to be moving into my winter sewing real soon. I've been working on my winter sewing plans and bought some fabric, so I'm really excited about the things I have planned out for winter. I have a couple projects for fall that are already cut out, just some knit tops that I need to put together, and then I'm going to move on to winter, so at the tail end of fall.

Haley

Do you find that there's a season that you struggle with sewing for the most?

Sarai

Definitely winter. I do find that I struggle with winter, followed by spring, because spring is just all over the place in terms of weather. But I think winter is the one I struggle with the most just because I just feel a little bit bleh in winter a lot of the time. I find myself just wearing the same things constantly in order to be comfortable, like wearing a lot of leggings. I have a really nice warm parka, but I wear it every day because it's so comfortable. I just want comfort in the winter rather than trying to be fashionable all the time.

Haley

Yeah, I feel that.

Sarai

So that makes it a little bit hard to get excited about sewing. So that's one of the things I'm trying to change this year and try to make it a little bit more cozy and fun.

Haley

I would say winter is one I struggle with as well, but to be different. I will also say summer because I tend to not do as good of a job of planning my summer sewing. I just get really caught up in the moment of summer and doing all of the fun summer things. And I garden a lot, so that part of my free time is taken up a lot more by my gardening. So I tend to just fly by the seat of my pants in the summertime and like, sew whatever strikes my fancy. But I would love to. My summer wardrobe is so sad. I feel like I just repeat the same four outfits, which is—there's totally nothing wrong with that. I personally desire slightly more variety in my wardrobe. So maybe 2025 will be the year of Hayley's summer wardrobe. Who knows?

Sarai

That's interesting because it's one of my favorites and that's the one you struggle with.

Haley

Yeah, you always have the best sewing plans. And I think it's the same with what you were saying about winter, is that in the summertime, I need really practical clothes. But in my mind, I'm like, I want to wear slip dresses and frolic, but I'm not frolicing. I'm like going to the river with children and digging in the mud. So my summer fantasy doesn't align with the reality.

Sarai

Sounds like you need more frolicing in your life.

Haley

I do need more frolicing. Thank you for acknowledging this lack of frolic.

Sarai

Well, going to the river and digging in mud with children is just a different form of frolicing, I think.

Haley

That's true. That's true. Good perspective.

So you said that you're sewing for winter right now. How far in advance do you start sewing for a new season typically?

Sarai

I usually start, not this early. This is early for me. I usually start towards the tail end of the previous season rather than in the beginning of the fall, really. I would say we're in the middle of fall right now. So this is a little bit earlier than I usually plan. What about you?

Haley

I would say, yeah, tail end. So in August, I'll start thinking about fall, and maybe we'll begin selecting things, more in the planning stages. And then that way, when the season strikes, which for fall, I'm like, after Labor Day, fall is in full swing, in my book anyway. So I'll start sewing things around that point. And it follows that three-month cycle throughout the year, I would say.

Sarai

Yeah. I think one of the hard things for me is that I get so excited about fall clothing that I tend to plan too much for the fall. So that's one thing I tried to avoid this year, which allowed me to start a little bit earlier on my winter plans, which the reason is that I feel like I really wanted to try and plan out my winter projects really well so that I would be more motivated to sew in the winter in those gloomier months. So I had to think ahead for that one. Make sure that I wasn't taking on too much for fall because I get so excited about fall.

Haley

Yeah, I do tend to just sew in the winter, like all of my fall leftovers.

Sarai

Yeah, which is fine. They usually transition pretty well.

Haley

Yeah, it's fine.

Well, this leads us in to our first tip very conveniently, almost like we planned it that way. So tip number one is to decide when to shift gears from season to season. This is going to be super personal. The soonest to shift gears I would recommend is a month before the season begins like we were talking about. So for example, start fall sewing in August or sew for winter starting in November. I feel like this is a really fine line because you want to be able to enjoy and be present in the moment and the season that you're in while also setting yourself up for success for your future sewing plans. I find that month before is a really great time to start winding down, sewing for the season that you're in while examining your cue and deciding what's going to make it, figuring out what pieces might transition really well, what pieces you're going to be able to wear still. And so it's that hybrid month, your little transitional month, winding down the previous season while conceptualizing the next season.

Sarai

Yeah, it's a good time, like you said, to look at what you had planned to sew and if there's anything that could be maybe reimagined a little bit for the next season, or is it going to work for the next season? Are there different ways that you'd be able to wear it in the next season, or do you want to save it for next year?

Haley

Yeah, it's a good time to be cutthroat, I would say.

Sarai

Yeah, this is one thing that I did. I was planning to sew a pair of jeans. I might still squeak it in before my winter sewing begins, but I was going to do a pair of jeans for fall, and now I'm thinking maybe I'll save them for spring. I'm not quite sure yet, but it's good to strategize on those things. If there are projects you really want to make, but you don't feel like you have enough time in the current season.

The next tip we have is to review your closet for the upcoming season. This is definitely something that I like to do as I'm doing my planning. When I'm going through the design your wardrobe process and I'm planning out what I want to sew for the next season, I like to go through my closet and see what I have there. You might discover some seasonal treasure that maybe didn't get a lot of play time in your wardrobe in the previous season, and that can be fun. I'm rediscovering things in my closet all the time, especially when there's a really dramatic change in the weather, then you haven't been wearing certain things for quite a while. You find jackets and coats and things that you haven't been wearing in the fall, for example. I find that really helpful because you start to think about different ways to wear things.

It also helps you to avoid making repeats. If you already have something that will serve the same purpose in your closet already, you might not want to wear it again, or you might want to replace it with something that you like a little bit better, that feels better. It's a really good time to do a little bit of purging and to start making space for new things in your closet. So last night, I actually... Ken was out of the house last night, so I had just bought some organizing stuff and decided to reorganize my entire closet last night. For some reason, I thought this was going to be... I was going to just do my shoes. I was just going to clean out my shoes, but then I got on a roll and I couldn't stop myself.

Haley

When the mood strikes, you have to really run with it.

Sarai

I know. It was great. It was just me and some iced tea and all the animals gathered around, causing chaos. It was a fun time. It was a party. My cat, Rusty, is really obsessed with shoes, so had all the shoes out so I could put them away into boxes. He was going nuts. He found this ballet flat, and he was just like, rabbit kicking it and wrestling with it and biting it. I was like, I should probably stop him, but this is really cute.

Haley

As long as it's not leather, you know? I like this picture of Sarai and her menagerie of pets.

Sarai

It was pretty fun. You know, they see you on the floor and it's like, no holds barred. As soon as you sit down on on the floor. It's on.

Haley

Yeah, I get that. My children are the same. They're like, Cool. Playtime. Let's go.

Well, the next tip is related to cleaning out your closet. It's going through your stash. You can also use this as a time to purge a little bit if the mood strikes. But I find going through my stash to be really helpful so that I can start pulling out fabrics and patterns that I might want to sew with in the upcoming season. It ccan be nice to create a little stack that represents the season, almost treating it like a little bit of a mood board. As a bonus, it keeps it nice and accessible so that you have your fabrics right there to help keep you focused. You can also use the things that you find to create an actual mood board. So cut out some swatches and add that to your mood board, doing things with the things you already have to keep you feeling really excited and hopefully maybe a little bit on budget, too, as a bonus.

Sarai

Yeah. I do both of those things, personally. I made a video about five ways to organize your sewing room, little hacks. You might want to check that on our YouTube channel because I have a little organizing tip for my queue of fabrics for the season. I used to have them just stacked up on a shelf, but I started to keep those a little bit more contained and organized, and it's been really helpful. But I also put them up on my mood board, put little swatches up on my mood board to remind me. It helps me to use up what I have.

Haley

Yeah, I'm a mood board girl, and my mood boards just never feel complete without a color palette and some swatches on it. It's the finishing touch for me.

Sarai

Yeah, I really like to have some physical things on my mood board as well as just pictures, just to have some texture and some three dimensions to it.

The next tip is when in doubt, to sew transitional pieces. For example, for August and September, it's nice to sew, for example, blouses because you can wear them now and you can layer them in cooler months. That's really helpful. That's something that I tried to do and try to think about as I'm planning out each season, too, what's going to be wearable for more than one season. Denim is also a really good transitional fabric. I feel like denim is something that you can wear pretty much year round, depending on the temperatures where you live. Summer might be a little hard for jeans, but the rest of the year, I think denim is something that really never gets tired. There's always a way to wear denim. So it's a good transitional project for you.

Haley

Our last tip is to plan a day to get you in the mood for the season. This isn't necessarily a sewing tip, but just a life tip. So for fall, you can go to the pumpkin patch or go apple picking, go for a walk, and take in all the beautiful fall colors, and just get really ready for the season. If you are ready to start transitioning into winter as this episode airs, you can do some wintery things. Like light a fire in your fireplace, hopefully—don't light other thing s on fire. Drink hot cocoa. You can pull out a festive decoration. It can be like some string lights or something like that. Or a wreath. It depends on what your feelings are on decorating too early.

Sarai

Personally, I pull them out as early as possible. I'm not like Robin, our patternmaker, who, as soon as... I think she does it in early November, she starts decorating for Christmas or something.

Haley

I think maybe last year it was even, it might have been before Halloween. It was pretty early. But I start pulling out like non-Christmas-specific decorations in early November, but the tree doesn't go up until the day after Thanksgiving.

Sarai

Yeah. Ken has a rule about that. We can't have a tree before Thanksgiving. I think December first is actually his rule.

Haley

Yeah, I do think that is his rule. I've heard it before. This is something that I like to do with my daughter that I find really fun and helps me get into the seasonal mood as we make a little bucket list for the season of the things that we want to do. We want to make cookies, and we want to have a pajama party and hot cocoa, and just little things that get me excited and looking forward to the season. I feel like that could also be fun and help you to conceptualize what your life is going to look like in the upcoming months ahead and might be inspiring for your sewing plans.

Sarai

That's very true. I do something similar. I also have a Pinterest board that has areas for each season where if I see an idea that looks fun that I want to remind myself about later, then I will just pin that photo to that board.

Haley

Oh, cute.

Sarai

Yeah, and it's fun. It gives me a lot of ideas. So when it's the start of the season, I look through it and think, Oh, that'd be fun. That would be fun. Going apple picking or taking a drive or whatever it is. Like you said, it helps me to visualize the coming season.

Haley

Yeah, like a little seasonal menu of fun things to do.

Sarai

Yeah. I'm a big advocate of injecting joy into your life in all ways whenever possible.

All right. Well, let me recap our tips. We shared five tips today for embracing seasonal changes, and I'm going to recap them for you. The first is to decide when you're going to shift gears from season to season. Tip two is to review your closet for the upcoming season. Tip three is to go through your stash and pull out the fabrics and patterns you want to sew with for the upcoming season. If you're in doubt, tip four is to sew some transitional pieces, and tip five is to plan a day to get you in the mood for the upcoming season.

What's your big takeaway from the episode, Haley?

Haley

I think that my big takeaway has to do with what we were just talking about, about injecting joy into things. I think that being present in the season or in the moment that you're in and making it a point to make every day feel really special is highly motivating in all areas of your life. I think that when you make it an intentional thing to practice, that not only will your life feel better and more fun, but also it makes all of the other aspects, like sewing and your family life and home life, just feel lighter. I think we can all use a little extra levity.

Sarai

I agree. I think my big takeaway is actually, it's similar, but it's more about looking forward to things. I think that is an underrated way to also inject a little bit more joy into your life, is to have things to look forward to. It doesn't mean living in the future all the time. But I think this is something I've undervalued in the past because you always hear you have to be present, you have to be present, you have to be present, and if you want to be happy. I do think that's true. It is hard to be present, and so the more you can do that the better off you might be. But I also think it's good to have things that you can look forward to and be happy about in the future and to focus on some of those good things as well, because I think our brains are so naturally wired to think about bad things that might happen that it's nice to have some stuff to look forward to. I think that's my big takeaway for today.

All right, well, if you want to get in the mood for a new season of sewing, maybe some fabric shopping can help you out, or if you're planning out your next season of sewing, you may need a little bit more fabric, remember that Seamwork members get discounts at some of our favorite indie fabric stores. You can save anywhere from 10 to 20% off your purchases as a Seamwork member. A lot of people say that these discounts alone pay for their entire membership. You can see a list of participating fabric stores at seamwork.com/deals.

If you like this episode, please consider leaving us a five-star review. We'd super appreciate it and helps other people to find the podcast. We read every review, and we are always so happy to hear from you. If you have an idea for a future episode, you could also leave it there. We're always looking for new ideas and to hear what kinds of issues that you would like to have solved on the podcast. You can also follow us on YouTube at Seamwork Video. You can follow us on Instagram at Seamwork. 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, podcast listeners get a 50% off lifetime discount when you join at seamwork.com/go/podcast50.

All right, that's it this week. I'm Sarai.

Haley

And I'm Haley.

Sarai

And this is Seamwork Radio.