Setting Sewing Goals
Happy New Year!
The start of a new year always brings with it the feeling of being able to tackle new projects, learn new skills, and generally crush anything you put your mind to. For sewists, it’s also a great time for setting sewing goals, and planning out projects. Your goals might be geared toward specific projects (sew a handbag!), or specific techniques (learn how to make rolled hems!), or even learning to use specific tools (a serger or projector!). Whatever your goals are, we are here to help encourage and support you along your learning journey.
Today, I’ll be giving you some tips for success, examples of sewing related goals, and we even have some FREE printables for you! We’ve got some goal setting sheets, as well as planner sheets you can use for your projects. Let’s go!
Choosing Your Goals
When it comes to setting sewing goals, you may already have something in mind that you know you want to achieve. Or maybe you need some inspiration for where to begin. Here are three different ways you could plan out your sewing goals for the year: setting one big goal, setting monthly goals, or making a top ten goal list. For each category I am including examples, as well as a free printable you can use to write down your goals! Simply save the goal sheet image, then print at home!
Set One Big Goal
The first way you could set sewing goals would be to have one big goal for the year. It could be a single project, a skill that takes time to learn, or a process. Here are a few ideas for what one big goal might look like:
- Learn to use a new tool, such as a serger, coverstitch, or projector. Learning to use new equipment can feel daunting, but you can do it! If you’re interested in learning to use a projector for sewing, check out this handy guide for projector sewing.
- Complete one big project. Examples might be a handbag or backpack, a coat, etc.
- Learn to sew a new fabric base that you haven’t worked with before, like swim. Don’t just make one thing, make several, so that by the end of the year you feel confident in your new skill.
- Set a goal for your workspace. Clean, organize, rearrange, etc.; whatever will make your space work best for you!
- Be intentional in your fabric use. A popular goal for sewists is to sew from your stash. How many projects can you create using only the fabric you already own? Set your own parameters, like not buying fabric but buying notions. Or purchasing new fabric just once a month. Whatever makes sense for you!
Set Monthly Goals
Another way of setting sewing goals would be to break it down into one goal per month. Some ideas:
- Choose one skill each month to master! We have tons of tutorials and videos on our blog and YouTube channel to help with this. You might learn how to do binding, how to tie a perfect bow, how to gather knits using your serger, how to use horsehair braid in a hem, or how to sew a rolled hem.
- Sew one new pattern per month! You can shop all our beautiful patterns here.
- Choose one new pattern each month that you already own but have never made before! Did you know that in your Boo and Lu account you can filter/search your downloads? This amazing feature makes it so easy to find the pattern you’re looking for out of your list of downloads!
- Choose one project category for each month! A bag, accessory, romper, skirt, dress, shirt, something for the home, etc.
- Do you own a sewing related shop? Are most of your sews for customers? Or maybe you mostly sew for your children? Set a goal to sew something for YOURSELF once a month. Take time to enjoy the art of sewing and make something just for you.
Set a Top Ten Goal List
Rather than trying to achieve one huge goal, or one smaller goal per month, set a top ten goal list to slowly achieve over the course of the year. This can be a great way to mix big and small goals. You might:
- Choose one big goal like mastering your new serger, then choose a technique goal like learning to properly blend sizes, add two or three pattern specific goals like sewing a romper (try Seagrass!), or special occasion gown (try Poinsettia!), and a yearlong goal of sewing from your stash.
- Choose ten loved ones to sew for, then sew each of them a special gift. The Free Chestnut purse and Free Snack and Sandwich bags are both amazing gifts to sew! I also love having a go-to baby pattern or two even though my kids are older now. Baby Buttercup and Baby Alpine are two of my favorite baby patterns to give as gifts to friends and family with new babies.
- Make a list of ten fabric bases. Sew a project out of each one. French Terry, Rayon Challis, Silk, Nylon lycra, jersey, canvas, etc.!
Achieving Your Goals
You set your goals, but how do you achieve them? Mindset, and some planning!
When we think of achieving goals, we often think about dedication, determination, and discipline. And yes, you need those things. But I have found that a huge factor in my ability to achieve my goals is being able to let go of any expectation of perfection.
I have often said about my sewing, “I succeed because I am not afraid to fail.” What I mean is, I don’t hesitate to try new things and learn new skills out of a fear of it not being perfect. I have no expectation that when I try a pattern, technique, tool, etc., for the first time that it will look flawless right at the first go. Why should it? I’m just learning! But if each time I try, I learn something new, and get it a little better, then I consider it a success! And that lets me have the confidence to keep on working at it. Sewing is hard. It is a complicated skill set that takes years of practice, and if we expect things to be amazing the first time we try, we are discounting the skill that goes in to this art we love so much.
So give yourself some grace. Don’t stare at the serger in the box in the closet for months because the idea of threading it is too intimidating. Don’t hold back from learning how to do binding because it looks too tricky. Don’t leave that unsewn pattern in your downloads for months because you think you’ll mess it up. The best advice I can give you is to just go for it. You’ll learn something from each try, and before you know it, you’ll have mastered that skill too.
Planning
And that brings us to planning out those goals. We have a super special FREEBIE for you, to help you crush those goals and finish those projects:
The Boo and Lu Free Sewing Planner!
This downloadable planner includes-
- 1 project planner page
- 2 monthly planner pages
- 1 monthly project tracker
- 2 measurement trackers
- 1 sewing glossary page
- 4 cover page options
And with this planner being free to download and print, you can print as many pages as you want. I laminated my pages so that I can use them over and over with dry erase markers! Download here.
I hope this helped you with setting sewing goals! How will you use your goal sheets and planners? We can’t wait to hear all about your projects and plans. Head over to the Boo and Lu Patterns Sewing Group and tell us about your goals for the year. We are there to encourage and support you, answer questions, and cheer you on.
You’ve Got This!
