You know how it is. One minute – all guns blazing, knocking out capsule wardrobes like they’re going out of fashion, the next – it’s all gone. Just like that. At the drop of a hat. You know – that thing that’s sent to try us – our sewjo!
So how DO we kick start the enthusiasm that was? Read on for some inspirational ideas to get those feed dogs chomping at the bit and hungry for more!
1. RTW window shopping
Have a wander round some local high street fashion stores and remind yourself why handmade and slow-fashion refashions are a far better way forward. Dodgy hems; crap fabric; poor fit; not forgetting the ethical issues… need I go on? But do take what IS on offer: Clock the styles you like, the colours and the closures, note the shapes, the trims, the sleeves, and burn them to your memory or better still, take a cheeky picture of two and store for future reference 😉
2. Pinterest
It’s an old fashioned concept in a digital format and it’s used by millions. Just search for inspiration and there’ll be a board ‘with your name on it’. I made a board called #inspirational fashion to post every thing I’d love to make, or be able to make! Make your own mood boards to pin or repin your favourite fashion finds, tutorials or sewing tips. And have a nosey on other peoples boards. But do be warned. This activity is highly addictive!
3. Movie Makes
Chill out! Where’s the fire? Remember it’s a hobby and the only deadlines imposed are callously created by you. So relax. Watch a movie. One with a prominent wardrobe! I personally like the oldies. As aforementioned, Shirley Maclaine in The Yellow Rolls Royce; Pick an Audrey Hepburn movie, Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s in fact any one you like or Marilyn if she’s your thing: Some Like it Hot and The Seven Year Itch are my faves. And Madmen is always flavour of the month. There’s a reason my Joan dress came about! The Devil Wears Prada, Sex and the City, Titanic…. there’s an endless supply and Netflix is mostly your best friend.
4. Glossy Mags
What do we look for first in a glossy mag? The fashion, of course. I confess that I rarely part with hard cash for a hard copy but a sesh at my hairdressers or any other waiting room becomes such a treat when theres a pile of them for your personal perusal. Vogue, Elle, Grazia, Marie Claire, all those high-end, sharp-edged glossies don’t scrimp when it comes to drool-worthy styling and photography. Dior, Chanel, McCartney and McQueen… they’ve got a top-paying ad after every article to fund fund them so no expense is spared. Re-snap those shots, Instagram them, Pin them, take notes in Evernote. You will feel the fire burning in your belly with every click! (I will have this dress!)
5. Meet up for real
Plan a meet up with sewing blogger pals in real life. It is so good for the soul and infinitely good for your sewjo. (I feel it prudent to warn about online safety issues but I’m assuming we are all grown ups) Like-minded sewing people understand. Friends and partners and children do their best. That’s the difference. Last Wednesday I spent the most pleasurable lunch hour with the wonderful Jax Black aka Mrs Bee Vintage. We talked without breathing, about a gazillion things sewing-related and I went home a far happier and inspired bunny. Most recommended – I swear by it!
6. Rummage and marriage
When was the last time you had a proper rummage in that fabric stash of yours? I mean a proper one, whereby you take every last piece out of every single box – one by one – spread it, stroke it, love it, admire it with a tilty head, ponder for a while, fold it up, and put it back again? Try simultaneously matching pieces with patterns in your collection and see if you can marry them together. I guarantee there’ll be a match made in heaven, you’ll see.
7. What’s on in your area?
Check out any exhibitions or fashion exhibits at local museums. Any period, any style, it really doesn’t matter. Better in fact to make a small departure from your usual comfort zone to trigger something afresh. And just take the time to study, properly. Close up and personal. I am so priviledged to have the V&A, The Fashion and Textile Museum at my beck and call. Handmade Jane and I spent a wonderful afternoon at the Fashion and Textile Museum, there in our white gloves inspecting the guts of such beautiful designer dresses as Chanel and Dior and Balenciaga. The workshop was Couture Inside Out –1950s Paris and London. Art galleries too: National Portrait and Tate galleries for instance. There is just as much fashion inspiration in a renaissance painting as there is on a glossy centre spread. (Just Google ‘renaissance paintings’, o ye of little faith.!) I love the silence of such places, the calm and the space. And more importantly how you get stripped of all niggling distractions the minute you walk through the door. It is proper therapy, I’m telling ya! And you will return to your machine, renewed and inspired.
8. Read all about it!
There’s a world of inspirational reading out there. Finding it is sometimes tricky. But when you do and it lights that spark that was struggling to flicker, the feeling is priceless. I have a few titles I’d like to mention: The Pink Suit by Nicole Mary Kelby as recommended by Didyoumakethat; Vivienne Westwood by Vivienne Westwood, totally recommended by me; The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham (very soon to be screened in the UK) and Mrs Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico as recommended by Dolly Clackett. Outside of the autobiographies and stories, you may want to seek inspiration from some of our favourite household bloggers: Tilly’s Love at First Stitch: Demystifying Dressmaking, Gerties Gertie’s Ultimate Dress Book: A Modern Guide to Sewing Fabulous Vintage Styles, Lisa Comfort’s Sew Over It Vintage. And when theres no ‘Bee’ on the telly, Claire Louise Hardy’s The Great British Sewing Bee: Fashion with Fabric feeds us some great challenges instead. I confess it’s been a shamefully long time since I set foot in my local library but the craft section is usually a cosy corner worth visiting and you get all that eye candy for free! But if finding time to read is tricky as it often is for me then Audible is definitely the way forward. This wonderful app has made it possible to me to listen to a book on the tube, at work, whilst jogging, in bed, in fact whereever and whenever you bleedin’ like!
9. Podcasts
A podcast is effectively an independently made radio show. And I always forget how good these are. My first intro to podcasts was Threadcult. Christine Cyr Clisset of Daughter Fish has such a natural interviewing technique and her content is varied and always inspiring. Tilly recommends Modern Sewciety. I love hearing how others got started, what fires them up and how far they’ve come. Seamwork Radio is a relatively new one but Sarai is a natural! Just like Audio books, you can listen on the go.
10. Join the club!
My first and my best and still my most favourite go-to sewing community is Burdastyle. I tentatively posted my first project on there before I knew anyone or very much about sewing. And I never looked back. The support and inspiration you get from such a world is amazing. Free patterns, great inspiration from other sewing people of every sewing level, the ability to interact and get feedback –and for FREE – is worth every minute invested. Other groups that spring to mind are Sewing Pattern Review, which does exactly what it says on the tin. A great place to check out a project before you get stuck in to your own; WeSewRetro which is my favourite resource for vintage and retro submissions and more recently The Foldline, a new, exciting and rapidly growing community of which I have recently signed up to. Join me here!
11. Fabric heaven
Take a trip to your local fabric store(s). No online store substitutes the therapy induced by real-life feeling and stroking and stretching (only in secret) and sniffing of fabrics. What? You don’t do that? Only me then! Allow yourself time. Wander slowly. Looking up, down, left and right AND behind the counter. AND move the front rolls to get to the back rolls. That all important fabric is waiting just for you. For that all important garment that you know nothing about just yet. But when it happens, its going to be jaw-dropping, show-stopping, envy-inducing. All you have to do is browse and let your imagination do it’s stuff.
12. Old news is good news
Who throws old copies of sewing/crafting magazines away? Not me! And I’ll take a wild guess at not you either! Put the kettle on, slip into your favourite jammies, blow off the dust and pile them at your feet. A cuppa and a browse of a Burda Style mag or two is guaranteed to inspire an idea or ten. If you are one of those less hoardie types I’m sure you don’t need a nod, but there are a gazillion great mags on the shelves of Smiths lately. Sew, Love Sewing, Sewing World, and Threads to name a few UK titles. Sign up and look forward to that monthly thud on your doormat. And then you can have piles like mine!
13. List lovers
Keep a running list of projects you’d love to make. Either digitally or the old-fashioned pen and ink way. Even if looks like you’ll never get a minute to yourself to follow through. You just never know when that moment will happen and when it does you will be prepared to seize the day with an inspired to-do list. Keep it on your person for when you are perusing the aisles of your favourite fabric store. It’s a penny-dropping moment in the making! If you’re bored of seeing the same old, same old on your list then rub it out and add something new!
14. Fashionary fashion
This is a fabulous little thing that I just love to have in my handbag at all times. It’s effectively a book full of naked croquis (body outlines) for you to create your own designs. Bring it out in your lunch hour; Have a go on the tube; whenever inspiration strikes sketch a garment on a pre drawn croqui. After all, that’s the hardest part, isn’t it? Drawing the croqui, that is. I got mine from the V&A shop. Amazon stocks a slightly different version too. Or if you’d rather spend your money on fabric you could draw and photocopy your own croqui by tracing a photo of yourself, preferably in your undies so that you have a true representation of your silhouette. You could then photocopy multiple pages to form your own very personalised Fashionary-style book!
15. Party time!
Do you have an exciting event coming up? A birthday party, perhaps; a wedding; anniversary or just a blow out with a mate next month? Then picture yourself making your entrance in that amazing outfit you’ve been making in your head for months. The reception is raptuous and your pride is bursting at the seams. So do it. You can. And you will have that dress. And boy it will feel good.
16. Up the Tube
You Tube is a fabulous source for tutorials. My go-to for sure. If your sewjo is ever stuck in a rut because you can’t solve a problem, there’s a wealth of knowledge and selfless help out there just for you. And it’s mostly visual – no reading – which is always a win for me. I’m forever grateful that someone, somewhere in the world has hit upon the same issue and has the answer, a visual one. One I can pause and watch again and again, till it totally sinks in! You can subscribe to your favourite channels and keep up to date with your favourite teachers. And its all FREE!
17. Sign up
Join a class. Improve your skills. Learn a new technique. Meet some like-minded sewing people and make new friends. Have a look at your local authority adult-education classes, they’ll be the cheapest, or Google some private classes in your area. There’s plenty of classes in London but feel free to add any from your local area in the comments below. My London suggestions are: Thrifty Stitcher, Sew Over It, London Fashion and textile Museum, Morley College, Badger and Earl, Tilly and the Buttons… If the going out bit is the issue there are plenty of brilliant online courses on offer too: Try Craftsy, Burdastyle Academy, or Angela Kane for starters.
18. Bloggers delight
I know this sounds blindingly obvious but actively follow the posts other sewing bloggers. Read about their experiences. Ask them appropriate questions. Tap into their enthusiasm and build yours. It’s what we’re here for!
19. Better to give…
If you are stuck for something to make for yourself, make someone else’s day! I’m all for selfish-sewing but once in a while it’s a great fix to make for a small child or a rellie or a neighbour instead. And it doesn’t have to be a garment. Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries… there’s always an occasion for a quick fix crafting project. Or just rustle up some stand-by pressies for the hellovit! A quick Google gets you any amount of free patterns. Bags, ties, toys, aprons, napkins, headphone cases, purses, hats… I could go on!
20. Never let go
Be your own inspiration. Remind yourself of how far you’ve come, why you sew and what you do it for. Was it the fit? The relaxation that ensued? The social side? Or the endless possibilities for the most amazing wardrobe of garments ever?! Just take a moment to reflect on the best thing you ever made. How did it make you feel? What more did you want to achieve then? Just do it, why don’t ya? Or take a break. You can do that too. Because as scratchy as we get, we’ve come so far there’s actually not much chance of going back. Sewing just gets hold of us by the short and curlies… and never lets go!
I do hope this post has been a helpful nudge in the right direction. Please share any of your other ideas by commenting below and by reposting or Tweeting to any fellow sewing people who’s sewjo may be in need of a boost.
What are your favourite movies, your best books or your most recommended courses? Where do you go to get your fashion fixes? We’d all love to know please!
Happy sewing my lovelies! x
So gorgeous! I concur with the meeting up with the Like Minded. I had an emergency run to a fabric shop just this afternoon for red stretch stuff and faux stretch leather (don’t ask) and I took along a fellow costumier and boylesque performer who was after black and white stripes for a setof prisoner costumes (don’t ask), 😉
ANYWAY it was SO nice to have someone interested in sewing to squeal with over the amazing things they had that I couldn’t buy because of all the equally amazing things in my stash. It did inspire me to haul out my summer weights and think about possible additions to this summer’s wardrobe. But not until all y end of year costuming is complete. Hence the red and black…
Nothing beats a tour of the fabric shops with a like-minded, squealing chum, nothing! And hey! Black and red, all the way! x
Wonderful article Janine! I’m so excited to delve into the podcasts, movies and groups that you suggested. I was recently inspired by the series, “The Time in Between” It takes place in Spain and Morocco during the war in the 40s. The main character is a seamstress who becomes a spy. It has subtitles, but I love the sound of the Spanish language and the fashion makes it totally worth it!
Another movie to inspire your “Sewjo” is “Ring of Fire”. It’s about Johnny Cash’s wife June Carter Cash. Her wardrobe is AH-MAZ-ING!!!!
Thanks for being a sewing inspiration yourself. I always look forward to reading your articles and seeing what you’ve been up to. I don’t always have the time to comment, but know that I read and love all of your posts. (I especially loved your Faux Fur Dr. Zhivago hat you made a while back!!!)
Have a wonderful week!
Beth
Beth Thank you so much, not only for your wonderful comments and your totally inspirational blog but also for the mention of The Time in Between. A quick Google and I found a trailer. Shivers down my head I tell ya! It’s completely up my street and I need to get a hands on a copy of that DVD or find anywhere where I can stream it asap! The dresses alone… OMG! Way way better than our Downton Abbey which is very ‘brown’ in comparison! If I don’t find a copy I’m going to have to watch the trailer on YouTube over and over again! Lots of lovely wishes back to you, Janene x
Oops, I just realized I spelled your name with an i instead of an e. My apologies. 🙂
Beth
No worries at all! x
Great list of ideas! I think we all go through these phases. It’s either wanting to make EVERYTHING or being meh about making anything… keeping steadily chugging along with projects is a skill 😉
It certainly is, Rebecca. Especially when everyday work, children, chores, and general life keeps interrupting the flow! 😉
I love sewing. I love all the different ways people embrace it. Your 20 points are great! I think you covered everything. Recently I lost a really good friend, but it was she who had pointed out to me that a career or hobby such as sewing is something you could lose yourself in, little did she know how right she was? As much as anything else I find it so therapeutic!
So sorry to hear about your friend, Linda. Her words will no doubt stay with you forever. The best inspiration and motivation anyone could ask for I would say. A proper gift <3
Had to stop by because I loved this post! I’m trying to sew again after 15 years’ absence, and it’s hard to keep the sewjo until I build up some successes!
So glad you did, Cherie. And thank you for your lovely comment. I hope that confidence springs back soon. What would you like to make?
A great post, thank you for taking the time to compile such a comprehensive list. After a couple of dressmaking ‘fails’ I’ve lost my sewjo a bit but I know it will come back eventually, probably after Christmas now, and I’m concentrating on other hand made projects and some knitting which I always go back to once autumn arrives.
Watching a season of Project Runway can be inspiring!
These are great tips! I find browsing vintage patterns on Etsy and of course, reading what other bloggers are up to, the best for inspiration 🙂 Those old pattern sleeves usually have some amazing artwork.
I am a bit weird when it comes to fabric shopping, though. I get overwhelmed and freeze up. I end up coming home with some measly amount of cloth, and spend the next week kicking my self for not buying more 🙂
What a brilliant article – thank you for the time and effort it must have taken. Really looking forward to reading some of the books you have recommended – definitely going to save this post for future lulls!
Reading your post would bring it to 21. Thank you so much for this post. I couldn’t stop giggling after reading “rummage and marriage”. Special thanks for that one!
Great post, am lacking sewjo at the moment so its good to be reminded!
Thanks lovely 🙂
Hi, I came here after seeing some of your creations on Burdastyle. This article is just what I needed; my sewjo has wilted badly over the last couple of months.
So, I’m gonna get my backlog of projects on Burdastyle; feedback from others is nice, but it also shows me how much I’ve improved over the last couple of years (I need to enlist a friend with a camera first, tho). I’m getting my scissors sharpened, because there’s nothing like having sharp scissors, and I love the sound they make. I’m going to try those podcasts you recommned. Thanks for taking the time to put this together, it’s given me a real lift.
On the film front, have you seen Carol, with Cate Blanchett in the lead role? So many glamorous outfits, and there’s is a red, shawl collared swing coat to die for …