My 2020 Sewing Intentions
Now that I’ve got a few weeks of the new year under my belt, I wanted to share how I’m approaching New Years Goals for my sewing work in 2020.
I’ve always been told that for a goal to be accomplished, it must be quantifiable. An easy example is exercise—a goal like “exercise more” is hard to measure, but “exercise three times a week” is clear and countable. Basically, one should be able to answer “yes” or “no” to “did you do the thing?”. This is how I’ve usually constructed my goals for the year. So in 2019, my sewing goals looked like: sew a garment with hong kong seams, double my instagram followers, make an underwire bra that fits, sew a silk garment, etc.
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At the beginning of the month I read the book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, which I recommend with two caveats. Number one, you have to be undistracted by the F-word (its frequency decreases as the book goes on, though), and two, you have to read the whole book. If you quit after the first chapter or two you’ll think the author is a supreme buzzkill. Trust me, there are some really interesting principles in there if you read the whole thing.
One of those interesting principles is that life is just a series of evolving struggles, and often our happiness comes not from attaining a goal, but in solving problems—or in more cliche terms, the joy is in the journey. And sometimes when we set really specific goals (buy a house, lose 50lbs, or more relevant to this conversation maybe something like, sew a blazer) we don’t actually feel that fulfilled and happy when we reach them because we spent a lot of time and energy sitting in a space where we’re dwelling on how much happier/accomplished/talented/important we’ll be once we attain the goal and inadvertently drawing our attention to the fact that we don’t have that thing right now. We more easily forget to enjoy the problem solving and struggling that got us to the goal. The solution, the author says, is to give less F’s. Worry less about rewards and attainment and more about picking “good problems” and enjoying the struggles inherently a part of anything worth having in life.
As a bit of a self-improvement junkie and someone who is always trying to figure out the “right” way to do pretty much everything in life (more on this later), this idea was particularly interesting to me, and very different from what most modern happiness and lifestyle gurus teach. And as I reflected on my last year of work I realized when I reached a goal or completed a project, I didn’t feel as much happiness or excitement as I thought I would. It became a check in the box, and then I moved on to the next box that needed checking.
I decided that in 2020, I needed to move away from the idea that more specific goals would make me happy and improve who I am, and focus more generally on how I want to feel and the creative environment I want to be in.
Because I’m not setting quantifiable metrics for these efforts I decided not to call them goals, but instead am setting three intentions that I want to guide my sewing practice this year:
Slow it down
Make what I like
Don’t worry about “right”
Slow it Down
At the end of 2019 I tallied up all of my makes for the year: 140. And I was completely surprised that instead of feeling immense accomplishment, I felt disappointment and even a little shame. I had made sooo much (and what’s shocking is that in 2018 and 2017 I had even made more each year)! Some of these things were gifts for others or commissioned jobs, but still, there was a lot of output. And while I am ok with having more clothes than I “need” because sewing is my mode of artistic expression (it just so happens to produce something that is simultaneously utilitarian), that final number just felt so….excessive. On top of feeling like I had excess, I also was aware that that kind of output came at a cost. The last few months of 2019 were pretty overwhelming. I had more jobs than I had anticipated and was drowning in work I owed other people, things I wanted to make for my own enjoyment, and normal life stuff. I was missing deadlines (which I normally never do) and wasn’t enjoying my craft nearly as much as I wanted to.
So for 2020 my first intention is to slow it down. I’m being more selective about which proposals I accept so that I don’t end up with a zillion things due on top of each other. I’m leaving more room in my monthly plans for sewing things that are just for fun. I’m leaving room for inspiration and time to act on it.
Make What I Like
As an artist, I’ve always been a very visual person. Colors, patterns, and designs are so enticing and I fall in love with colors and prints easily. I also really love statement clothing—and, I think, the confidence that usually accompanies wearing statement pieces. The problem is, in my day to day life I still reach for the same casual neutrals, stripes, jeans, and some pinks here and there. And even though I love the experience of making more unique items and exploring new types of fabric or pattern silhouettes, its discouraging to look in my closet and realize those things just aren’t me.
In 2020, I want to focus more on what I like. I don’t want to worry so much about whether or not the fabric or pattern or combination thereof would be grabby on social media, especially if its not something that deep down I’m not loving. If I want to make another striped tee and some jeans then thats totally fine! I also really love pink. And if all I want to make is pink stuff, that’s cool too. I’m a grown up! I don’t have to have variety if I don’t want to! I’ve started to spend more time thinking about what makes me feel happy, comfortable, and confident, and I am more deliberate in asking myself if the project I’m considering is in line with those things.
Don’t Worry About “Right”
As I mentioned earlier, I worry often about doing things “right”. I struggle with making decisions and whether or not I’m doing things the optimal way, or the way someone else (especially someone I admire) would do them, or if its the correct way. I want to do things the right way because the right way is good and any other way is bad. With sewing, I’ve wasted time and energy worrying if I’m using the right fabric, sewing in the right order, making the right fitting adjustment….and on and on and on. I think I also go easily to this headspace because I share my work publicly and its all too easy for anyone to comment on what they think of my fabric choices or how I fit my pants or whatever else they feel entitled to critique. Its exhausting, folks, and certainly not doing anything helpful.
This year I really want to create an environment of learning and freedom to create the way I want to create. Not every choice in life has moral consequences and I don’t need to look at everything in terms of right and wrong. Some things just are. And with sewing, there are usually a few ways to accomplish the same task. I don’t need to worry so much about how everyone else is doing things, I just need to trust what I’ve learned and what I like to make, and go from there. And hey, if it doesn’t pan out, thats ok, because we’re all allowed to make mistakes. Biffing it doesn’t mean I did something bad, it just means I need to do a little problem solving—which is what makes us happier anyways!
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I’m not setting any quantifiable goals by which to measure these intentions. I’ve written them down in my sewing journal so I can see them from time to time and check in with how I feel about the creative atmosphere I’m cultivating, but beyond that I’m not committing to any specifics (though I do have a short list of ideas that I’m really excited about that I’ve recorded as “goals: makes”, just so they don’t get lost in the shuffle of ideas). I wanted these to be concepts I can reflect on as I move through the weeks and months, adjusting behaviors and thoughts as needed to recenter on those intentions. I’m a month in and I’m already feeling more…peace, about my relationship with my creative practice, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how things evolve over the course of the year.
Thank you so much for reading—I’m really excited about how I’m approaching another year of making, and I’m grateful I’ve been able to share my thoughts with you.
What are your plans for 2020? Do you like to make specific goals, or do you set a feeling or intention to guide your year? Let me know in the comments!
