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Procrastinating sewing clothes for me

When I got back into sewing after my son was born, I always wanted to sew clothes for myself. I like clothes that are fitted (particularly around the waist) but, like a lot of people, I struggle to find ready-to-wear clothes that fit well. Making my own clothes would solve those fit problems – long torso, wide hips, small waist.

But I always seem to procrastinate sewing clothes for myself. At the moment, I desperately need new pants. The only pants I own that fit well, are comfortable and are practical for my life with two small kids are my jeans. But I’m so sick of wearing that Mum uniform all the time.

Sewing Pants for Me (2)

If I don’t feel like wearing jeans, I wear an old pair of maternity pants that have pain splatters all over them. Not a good look!

It’s taken me forever to get started, but last weekend, it was time to bite the bullet, and make it happen.

So I start pottering away on my pants, but it’s a slow-motion kind of sewing (well, I haven’t really started the sewing). I’m scared things are going to turn out horribly wrong. When I finally cut out my pattern and did a quick fit with trace and toile, it actually looked reasonably good. Not perfect but only small adjustments required.

Sewing Pants for Me (3)

I should just dive right in and cut my fabric, right? But I’m feeling stuck. I know I should just do it, but something’s holding me back. The fear it’s going to be a disaster and that I will have wasted my precious time (a bigger fear than having wasted fabric). But this procrastinating and dawdling is wasting my time too. If it’s a disaster, it’s also a learning opportunity. A chance for me to work out where things went wrong and learn to do it better next time. I’m not going to learn and improve if I don’t try.

If I can make a decent fitting pair of pants, a whole world of sewing fun will be waiting for me. If I have nice pants, I won’t feel like such a lazy, “given up on herself” kind of Mum. I’ll feel like a stylish and yet comfortable woman. Will I? Am I reading a little too much into making a pair of pants?

Well, the only answer is to make the pants and see what happens. And hope it’s not a total disaster – by why would it be? I’m a much better sewer than I used to be. I’ve done a basic fit check and I’m sure the pattern is the right size. If I give myself plenty of seam allowance, it won’t be a complete disaster. I just need to try (and stop over-analysing).

Sewing Pants for Me (1)

So here I sit, days later. I’ve  cut out the fabric (a remnant I bought years ago), but I’m still procrastinating the sewing. This is ridiculous. Just sew it! Can someone give me a kick up the butt?

Do you struggle to get started sewing for yourself? How do you convince yourself to just get on with it?

3 Comments

  1. It’s funny because I’ve got a pair of pants sitting waiting to be sewn too! I should have known not to cut them out at the time because I didn’t have time to make them straight away. So tomorrow is the day – get in and sew yours too!

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