Whoop! It’s the beginning of a new year and a time for new beginnings. Let’s forget about everything that happened in 2021 and start afresh. Doesn’t that sound exciting?
Ooh yes! But where do you start? Is your mind already buzzing with so many different ideas? Maybe it is time to set some goals and plan the way forward. After all, as the well-known proverb says: ‘Failing to plan means planning to fail’.
Many years ago, I trained to be a Life Coach and the skills I learned are invaluable. I use them every single day. So, I thought I would share with you a simple four step technique that you can use to plan your sewing goals for 2022.
Get Ready to Plan
Prepare yourself by finding a nice comfortable spot where you won’t be interrupted and have a notebook and pen handy. I love to have my favourite music playing in the background.
Step 1 – What would you like to achieve?
Write down everything that comes to mind, even if it seems unachievable. Every idea will lead you on to new ones and you will rewrite your goal list at the end of this process. Sometimes I find that my thoughts are coming so quickly that I end up having a ‘brain dump’ and jotting down random words and phrases. Later I go back and put them into a more structured list.
If you need a bit of help working out your sewing goals, try answering some of the following questions: –
How much time would you ideally like to spend sewing each week, month, season?
Would you like a dedicated sewing space?
How would you like your sewing space to be?
What sewing tools and supplies are on your wish list?
Does your stash need to be sorted out?
How can you organise your fabric, patterns, and tools?
Do you need any storage units, shelves, or drawers?
What patterns would you like to make?
What essential garments are needed in your wardrobe?
What garments would you like to make for fun?
Do you have any special occasions coming up? Would you like to make gifts or outfits for any of them?
What sewing techniques would you like to master?
What sewing workshops would you like to attend?
Are there any social sewing events or retreats that you would like to attend?
Would you like to make some new sewing friends?
Could you meet up with your sewing friends for in person or online social sewing sessions?
Is there a friend or family member interested in sewing that you can teach to sew?
What online/social media challenges would you like to take part in, i.e., Me Made May, etc?
Would you like to improve your social media/online presence? If so, what would you like to achieve?
What should your sewing budget to be? Weekly? Monthly? Yearly?
Do you want to sell your makes?
These are just a few suggestions to get you started. It is important to write down everything that comes to mind.
Once you have finished, read through your notes and if it feels a bit jumbled, rewrite it.
Don’t worry if it all feels a bit unrealistic. This is your dream and later on you will narrow down the possibilities of what you can achieve in 2022.
Step 2 – What is your current situation?
Now it is time to go through your list and make a note of what things are like for you right now: –
How often do you get to sew?
What restricts your sewing time?
What stops you from sewing?
What is your current sewing space like?
What works and what doesn’t work for you?
What sewing tools do you have?
Are your sewing supplies easily accessible?
What is the state of your fabric stash?
How do you store your sewing supplies?
Do you plan what you make, or do you get caught in the spur of the moment?
What has been on your to-do list for a while?
What unfinished projects do you have?
Do you end up sewing under pressure at the last minute?
How do you learn new techniques?
What are your most used resources?
Do you meet up with sewing friends? Who? How? Where?
What sewing events do you like to attend?
How do you participate on social media?
How much disposable income do you have available to spend?
If you sell your makes, what channels to market do you use? How are they working for you?
Again, this is a sample of questions for you to ask yourself. Write down everything you can think of.
By now you should have a good idea about what is and what isn’t working for you.
Step 3 – What could you do?
So, let’s look at the options available to you. We are going to dream big here but stick with me. This process will help you work out what your priorities are. You may surprise yourself.
Jot down the answers to the following questions: –
What would you do if money was no object?
What would you do if you had unlimited space?
What would you do if you had all the time in the world?
What would you do if you didn’t have to answer to anyone?
What would you do if you had no responsibilities?
What would you do if you had no restrictions?
Run through your previous lists to check that you have covered all aspects of your dream.
Now you know what you would ultimately love your sewing reality to be, and it is time to decide what you are going to do to start making that dream a reality.
Step 4 – What are you going to do?
So, what is the way forward?
This is where you refine your list of goals and decide how your sewing plans will unfold.
Go through the notes you wrote previously and ask yourself what you are going to do regarding: –
Sewing time?
Your sewing space?
Your sewing tools?
Your stash?
Your unfinished projects?
New projects?
Sewing techniques?
Learning something new?
Meeting other sewists?
Social media/online presence?
Budget?
Selling your makes?
These are a just a few ideas and feel free to add any that are relevant to you.
Whew! You are almost finished and the last thing you need to ask yourself is when are you going to do each of them. Don’t try and do everything at once. Decide which one you will tackle first and write down your remaining goals in order of priority.
Put the list somewhere where it is easily accessible and read through it regularly.
It is very important to remember to be kind to yourself. If you don’t manage to stick to your list, it is OK. Life has a habit of messing with the best laid plans. The fact that you have set some goals means that you have a better chance of achieving what you want and that is hugely important here. Some people like to give themselves a little reward when a goal is reached. It is up to you.
It can be useful to review your list every few months and make some readjustments. And the best thing about doing that is putting a huge ‘DONE’ next to every goal you have achieved. Yay!
Congratulations! You’ve taken the first huge step and are well on your way to having a productive year of sewing. Its time to have a little celebration before getting started!!!
Wishing you all the best for a year of productive sewing. I would love to hear about how you got on.
Leanne
Leanne de Lima Araujo is the owner of Gather ‘N’ Sew, an independent sewing shop based in Bourne, Lincolnshire selling fabrics for dressmaking, patchwork and general crafts, as well haberdashery and other useful sewing supplies. She also runs popular sewing workshops.
This is the first blog post in a series titled ‘Musings of a Fabric Shop Owner’.