2016 Sewing Plans & Goals

2016 Sewing Plans & Goals: my plans for 2016 sewing include some over-arching goals, which will be the main focus versus the individual plans.

Goal #1: sew for CREATIVITY

Basically this means that I find time to sew fun things, be creative with ideas, trim, make accessories, change up current outfits and more, by focusing on being creative whenever possible, vs. fast sewing for events. I did this a good bit in 2015, and I am so happy with the results: I love sewing under creative inspiration.

Goal #2: sew more MEN'S garments

I need to sew some more clothes for my honey, including an early 19th century jacket and probably another late 18th century one, as well as finish up a lot of buttons & buttonholes. I want my honey to have some great outfits.

Goal #3: work on my LONG-term sewing plans

I really want to get going on some other eras besides the main two that I focus on, late 18th century and early 19th century. While I've sewn some things outside of these, I need to get working on undergarments or corsets for these other eras, so that I can eventually get these other gowns made! This includes Victorian (1870's-1880's) and 1830's up first, plus the fact that it's getting time to make new late 18th and early 19th century stays to replace my current ones. Also I want to delve into things I've planned for years but never have made, including a Robe a la Francaise and a Regency sari dress.

Other goals besides the main three include:

Having plenty of HAND-sewing projects ready to go at a moment's notice: I love, love, love to hand sew, and I find I get the most sewing done when I have something I can work on with some good hand sewing waiting for me. If it requires thought, muslins, reading patterns and such, it takes me that much longer to work on it, so I need to prep some projects for hand sewing, which is what I can mainly get done as work takes so much out of me each day/week.

Sew for events in advance: Francaise Dinner is in March, and Costume College in July, I'll definitely be making some new things! I'd love a new dress for Pumpkin Tea this year. Also an overseas costuming trip in future, and I need 1 or 2 new Regency dresses and my husband needs quite a few things to wear. Also lots of other future events that I want to attend, both local and far. So I want to plan for these things by sewing things far enough in advance to have enough time and also to enjoy the process, as well as allow myself time for Creativity along the way.

Sew from the STASH whenever possible: I did good on stash sewing in 2015, and I need to continue this trend in 2016. This doesn't mean I won't buy more fabric (I don't want to pass up on good deals on silk and I need to add more linen & cotton to the stash), but it does mean I need to focus on making things I've been planning with fabric on hand, or using fabric on hand for other purposes to continue to use stash.

If I have time, another goal is finish up some UFO's if I can. I have a bin of UFO's that I need to either finish, make plans to finish, re-purpose or discard. It's not a primary goal but it's something I want to keep in mind as the year goes on.

PLANNED for 2016:
-Robe a la Francaise including new petticoat & shoes
-Late 18th century men's jacket for HB
-Early 19th century men's jacket for HB
-Regency sari dress
-Early 19th century Regency bee spencer
-Napoleonic bee gown  & shoes
-Corsets/Stays - Victorian and/or start working on new late 18th or early 19th century ones
-Tiffany blue marabou robe/lounging gown
-Creative fun & colorful costume to wear to CC
-Something 1920's-1940's
-More outerwear - what can I say, it's really fun to make & wear!
-A muff I've had in my mind for a looooooong time: time to make it!
-Some form of 18th century dress or jacket with a hood - just because
-And more things covered in marabou. And fur. Because yeah.

UFO's I could finish in 2016:
-Revamp my early 19th century yellow Regency cross over gown bodice & add more black trim
-Finish my Regency rose cotton velvet spencer
-Finish my 1780's cream silk jacket
-Modern yellow & black 'bee' hat - progress but not done
-Light green cotton Regency