I recently did a huge closet cleanout. I posted some old ready to wear on poshmark, and my girlfriends and I planned a clothing swap. I brought literally bags and bags of clothes–handmade and ready to wear. While it was sad to part with some old friends, the presiding emotion was omg when did i make all of this stuff and why did i think i needed it all?! Two years ago, I was already thinking about the quantity of stuff I was producing, but came down on the side of still making about 50 things (one a week) but trying to use those items to increase my skill set. This year, I\’m making the opposite decision: I\’m going to try and make less stuff! When I mentioned this on instagram stories back in October so so many of y\’all responded that you were feeling the same. It\’s not just me!
The bad news is that I probably will not be posting new stuff once or twice a week, every week, like I have been trying to do for the past few years. I\’m okay with that since in a lot of ways, it feels like blogging has gone full circle: I used to blog just to keep a record of what I was making, the changes I made… basically for myself. Then blogging became a lot more social, and it was more outward-facing. Now, I feel like most people don\’t make it over to this blog from my instagram–everyone sees the pictures over there and only a few people come here for nitpicky details–so it sort of feels like this blog is for myself again! Instagram was once the supporting platform for the blog, and that has switched in my mind.
The good news is that I\’m hoping to make fewer things I like and more things I love. I have lots of things on my to-make list, and I\’m sure that more things will be added as new patterns and fabrics I have. to. have. are released, but I\’m going to be a little more conscientious of my projects. It\’s hard to change my mindset–I\’ve based my whole social media output structure on \”one new thing a week\” for years–but I\’m hoping that starting the year with a 31×31 challenge in January instead of a bunch of new makes will help me keep the sewing output down. (Who\’s in?!) To facilitate this, I also picked up this bamboo clothing rack (it\’s really simple but I thought surprising solid for the price) that I hope will provide a good way to visualize my wardrobe planning/collections and provide some inspiration. You should start seeing the difference in my blog immediately! Shown on the rack here is a little (nearly all handmade) 10 x 10 I threw together pretty quickly from stuff from my closet:
1. Nude Ogden cami
2. Black Ogden cami
3. White tee (traced from rtw)
4. Lilly Pulitzer cream cashmere cable knit sweater
5. Blue Granville Shirt
6. Black Rae skirt
7. Leopard Rae skirt
8. Pink Bamboo Coat (as yet unblogged)
9. Black ripped Ash jeans
In conclusion: this (and by this I mean my blog/insta/etc.) will always be about sewing for as long as it exists but I want to shift focus slightly, away from always sewing something new and towards appreciating the old garments I have made alongside the new projects I take on. I hope you\’ll follow along!
xoxo,
That was an interesting read! I've been thinking about doing more things on social media lately, but I wouldn't want it to replace my blog… But then again, I think that people who are really interested and care about the details, will visit your blog anyway!When I started my sewing blog, I also tried to sew a lot so I could feature a new garment every week. But I've moved more towards general posts about sewing, with tips and tricks or my musings about sewing. And it seems that my readers like to read those just as much (or even more, in the case of an article about cheap-but-decent sewing supplies 😉 ) as the posts about garments!
Instagram and the like will never replace blogs for me. Instagram is like the mindless scroll of Pinterest – it has it's place but personally it is anathema to productivity. Whereas a blog feels more \”real\” in that there is detail, opinion, reflection.
I love reading blogs to help plan my own sewing projects; so I appreciate the construction and design details that come with blog descriptions, not really an Instagram person. That being said, I don't think each blog post has to have a completed item- I appreciate hearing about the process; how you decided what to tackle next, how you adapted to mid-project design changes, or just updates on how sewn items end up working in your daily life. (I think everyone is super excited for the new thing they just finished, and the negative aspects don't really become clear until after you've tried wearing them.) Some of the most helpful things I like to read are those type of reflection posts. Would love to hear about some of these things from you!
I love the details not only the pictures here. Definitely you are not writing the blog only for yourself. I'm following it from Hungary and you are one of my favorite blogger. Being a regional HR Manager sewing is only my hobby and you give a lot of inspiration with your feminine garments. I would love to read more posts and certainly pictures about your projects.
I'll happily follow along with whichever direction you want to go in.