#ayearofmaking

I’m honestly not sure what I did before I had crafting in my life. 

Last year, when I started feeling exhausted after work, coming home after either being in front of a computer or behind a camera all day, I felt like I needed to do something physically different. Yoga helped (and I need to get back into a regular practice again), and then I eventually landed on crochet and hardly put my yarn down for 8 months. There’s ample evidence for crafts like knitting, crochet, or sewing being beneficial as a mindfulness practice, and it was true for me - simultaneously calming and energizing me.

Now that I’ve started sewing, I wish I had started ages ago. Of course, I grew up occasionally using a sewing machine - I knew how they worked - but always had lackluster results. I was intimidated and just thought I would be rubbish at it.

And now, sewing a jacket or shirt feels like instant gratification compared to crocheting something! They say it only takes two weeks to build a new habit, and telling myself (and others) “I’m not buying clothes this year - I’m making my own,” already makes it feel more real and squashes any remaining desire I might’ve had to go shop.

And why would I go out and buy something that feels generic, when I can take the time to think about: what fabrics feel good on my skin? what cuts and silhouettes make me feel confident? Why buy a blazer that makes me feel frumpy, or a jacket that’s too tight in the shoulders, or too long in the arms?

Maybe it’s turning 30 and wanting to reinvent a little bit, or maybe it’s me regrouping after 4 years in the Middle East, trying to integrate and make sense of all those feelings and experiences and put them into a garment. I’ve never cared much about fashion - in DC, I fell prey to buying floral blouses at the Loft like every other young professional; in Jordan and Turkey, I was drawn to the breezy, drapey fabrics in modern modestwear (mostly I tried to draw as little attention to myself as possible), and lately I’m diggingd anything from blend-in-anywhere Scandinavian looks, to bright, graphic prints, to the boxy, simple lines of Japanese patterns.

Pattern: Cora Tote by Sotak Handmade Fabrics: Main exterior - heavy cotton upholstery remnant I got from Joann; Exterior contrast - cognac vegan leather; Lining - Wildwood Garden Party from Rifle Paper Company

Pattern: everyday dress by Peppermint Magazine

Fabric: cotton double gauze from Joann fabrics

Pattern: robe jacket from Peppermint Magazine by Common Stitch

Size: B

Fabric: spring reverie by Cloud 9 Fabrics

Fiber: rayon

This was a fun, quick make. In fact, I'm almost a little mad at how quickly I made this. Sewing really does feel like instant gratification compared to crochet. As much as I've loathed making the face masks, I think the repitition of it has made me faster and technically a little better at sewing.

This fabric, though. I'm obsessed. I saw it and had to have it. I don't go in for floral that much, but it has these earth tones that I like to wear, and I love that it looks modern and graphic at the same time with the floral element. And it's so soft and drapes just right for this pattern. The jacket has belt loops and a belt, but I imagine I'll be wearing it open most of the time - over tank tops, jumpsuits and dresses.

I had started wearing these kimono inspired jackets when I lived in the middle east A) because lots of women wore stuff like this and B) because I needed to stay covered even in the summer, but needed something more breathable than a sweater for when it was 95 F outside. But all the stuff I owned there was fast fashion from cheap outlet shops, and was often straight up the wrong size for me, so I'm very happy to have made this.

I love the inverted pleat in the back, and I opted to do French seams throughout since I don't have a serger, this isn't the tightest weave fabric, and I like clean looking guts. I also hemmed up the bottom a little more than the pattern called for.

Pattern: Haori by Wiksten (Medium length, XS size) Fabrics: Balboa Nautical Short Strokes (Robert Kaufman), Essex Yarn Dyed Flax Linen (both purchased from Fat Quarter Shop) Fiber: Linen/Cotton blend

This jacket came together incredibly quickly. I was bracing myself for it to be tough - the thought of making a lined jacket was daunting - but this was the easiest thing I’ve sewn so far, with the exception of attaching the collar, which gave me some problems. There’s one little corner that got kind of bunched up and I can’t decide if I should try to fix it or not. Whether I wear it with the blue or beige side facing, you won’t see that mistake since the collar folds over it... but I know it’s there.

I also finally found a good home for this little patch of Palestinian embroidery that I had. It came attached as a pocket on a t-shirt that I bought a few years ago in Jordan... but the shirt was too small and shrunk even more in the wash. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it, so I finally used a seam ripper and took the embroidery off the shirt, ditched the t-shirt, and rehomed it here. I’m not from the Middle East, but my husband’s heritage is Palestinian and it felt important to honor that part of our lives, even if we don’t live there anymore.

I’m a planner. I geek out over spreadsheets for everything from budgeting to trip planning. When I travel, I like to know where I’m going to sleep that night and exactly how I’m going to get there (I’ve even used Google maps street view to make sure rolling luggage wouldn’t be an obstacle on the sidewalks in an unfamiliar country/city). And I might have planned my 30th birthday shindig 4 months in advance.

I also don’t necessarily stick to those plans. My beautiful budgeting spreadsheet with financial outlays for the next two years went straight to hell in 2019. I’ve also been the one relaxed, balancing my backpack on my legs in the back of a tuk-tuk in Sri Lanka, with no hotel reserved, while my exhausted husband fretted about whether we were going the right way.

But anyway, at the start of a new project, it seems appropriate to have some sort of plan in mind, and here’s what I’m loosely sticking to:

The Plan is simple: make (sew or crochet) at least one new garment a month. I finished two sewing projects this weekend, so I’ll probably end up with much more than this.

The Rules:

I’ve read some fascinating pieces lately on stashing thoughtfully, slow fashion, and creating a handmade wardrobe; all things that are catnip to me at the best of times. If you’d like to take a trip down the rabbit hole, you could always start with the Stash Less series over at The Craft Sessions. I appreciate just how honest she is about what she finds difficult, and where she’s (for want of a better term) fallen down.

Some time back, I had started my own challenge here, to use up a certain amount of items from my various stashes. Problem is, it was a pretty nebulous thing; what counts as an item? And how would I account for the very differing work involved in using up one hank of 1200m of laceweight yarn versus a single focal bead, or a piece of cardstock? And so, it fell by the wayside.

However, there was another, larger reason that it didn’t come to pass. The challenge came about because I felt I was not making enough, somehow (what counts as enough?) and because I felt guilty about the size of my stash. Not out of joy or wanting to push myself to do something new, but out of guilt.

Funny thing, though. Once I let go of the "I have too much stuff" guilt surrounding my craft stash, I started making again in earnest. Once I took a little step back to consider how other people approached making and stashing, I was able to see what resonated with me, and act accordingly. Life is too damned short for guilt around a feckin’ hobby.

So, for the year ahead, there are three rules: 

- work from stash wherever possible (kinda the guiding principle of the year, truth be told)

- have some fun with it

- take the occasional risk; mistakes may be inevitable, but they’re also helpful