How to Stay Motivated on a Single Project

Dressmaking Book in Disney's Cinderella
Dressmaking Book in Disney's Cinderella
Dressmaking Book in Disney’s Cinderella

A while back my friend Gina wanted to know how to stay motivated on one project before starting another one.

Goodness!
That’s like preparing the dinner menu while eating lunch. It can be done – by being focused on ONE idea at a time. (And you shouldn’t talk while eating anyway. Swallow first.)

We creative people all struggle with motivation.

Early in my historical sewing days (in the late 1990s) I didn’t realize how much TIME it actually took to complete a full historical gown. Oh! the last minute sewing and VERY late nights I’d put in before an event. And after each event was over and the costume was put away I’d vow not to kill myself like that again.

I set out, determined to overcome this lazy procrastination of letting the fabric sit untouched while I went strolling through my Drool Books – musing over that dream gown I’d make “someday”.

Over the years I’ve cut down on the Panic Sewing but it’s still not entirely gone. But my system has become much more streamlined.

To keep yourself out of the Lazy Sewer’s Box and energized on what you’re working on NOW is to make it your goal to NOT lose sleep over the project. At what point does it become Not Fun when you lose sleep and get stressed over some clothing? (And let’s not talk about the Perfectionism bug – the Procrastinator’s kissing cousin.)

Set your deadlines and make your lists. Focus on baby steps if you have to. Sooner than not you’ll have completed that project (DAYS before the event hopefully) and you’ll be ready to start the next one.

What if you simply get bored with the project??

Have you cried at the frustration that your man’s “must sew” waistcoat and pants are taking WAY too long and you’re dying to start cutting the pretty lavender that will become your delicate gown?…
Have you sewn enough seeds beads yet?…
Am I done with all this white undergarment fabric yet??…

My suggestion for boredom is to combat it with VARIETY. There’s no reason you can’t work on multiple projects at once. We all do it. (It’s when the Bustle bonnet needs trim tacked down, the drawers need a waistband and the 5 rows of ruffles are laying in a mess on the cutting table. And they’re all screaming at you to finish them.)

However, I must worn you about dual projects – they can drag you down to the point of being a Panic Seamstress. Don’t let this happen to you!

To avoid this, make detailed lists of steps you need to do to complete a project. Do this for the next two or three pieces you want or need to make. Then schedule your sewing time to accomplish items from one list. For your sewing sessions, focus on just one item or one step of a garment.

I rarely work on two projects in one day unless I have a large chunk of sewing time. Even then, I work one hour on the dress, then in the afternoon on the stays. And I’m not bored. If I don’t like cutting 325″ of bias for piping I’ll go hand sew eyelets. But I know bit by bit they’ll both get done. And when one is finished I’ll add in that third project (a matching reticule, perhaps?) to my to-do list.

What have you found to be your best motivation on a sewing project? (And yes, deadlines or event dates are time-tested, true motivators.)

5 thoughts on “How to Stay Motivated on a Single Project

  1. K. Winter says:

    Since I’ve done a fair bit of theatrical costuming, usually deadlines are my motivator. My castmates/friends and I sometimes have “sweatshop days” if we needed to get a lot of costuming done. Everyone brings their sewing machine and all their goodies to the home of the person with the most workspace, along with munchies, music, and endless litres of diet cola. We get crazy amounts of work done and turn what could be sheer drudgery into almost fun. Now I understand completely why quilting bees and stitch n’bitch sessions were so popular!

  2. Carol says:

    Watching period movies always helps my motivation! Though I do have to watch it doesn’t just lead me to “drool books” and web pages. 🙂

  3. Wanda says:

    I’ve tried the scheduling trick with my last dress and it worked like a charm. I’ve figured out how much time/attention span each step uses up. If I know I need 13 blocks of sewing time to compleat an outfit, I don’t start is a week before I need it (unless I am on vacation and don’t plan to do anything but sew!)

  4. Jennifer Rosbrugh says:

    Ooh, great idea on putting accessories with it! During my sewing I’ll frequently stop and slip on the sleeve or hold up the skirt front to see how it’s going to look. Sometimes it seems like I’m wasting time but I think it’s really internal motivation to get the project done.

  5. Chantal Filson says:

    I pin the pieces up on a dress form as I go along to see the garment coming together. It focuses my vision, and I can see what’s working and what’s not [saves wasted time], and sometimes come up with new ideas. If I really start to lag, I put on a movie of that era in the background– all of their gorgeous outfits motivate me to finish since I want to be in their world! Another final motivator is to take a break, put the pieces on the dress form– but take a moment to also really dress out the form– the jewelry, the hat, put the shoes in front by the skirt, etc. Then have a snack, relax for a moment, and review the outfit. You can see it coming together and how close you are to finishing and it helps me down the home stretch.

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