Finding time to sew. The best 15 tips from seamstresses.

Finding time to sew when you have a full day of responsabilities and chores might be hard. But not impossible!

Sewing has been proved to benefit our bodies and minds in a lot of ways. So, why wouldn’t we make an effort to have more time for it?

Imagine this.

A clean and lonely house, no responsibility all day long, and all the time in the world to sew. 

All your pending projects. Maybe even throw some new ones too. Why not? 

You have all the time in the world… 

It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, this is not the reality for most of us.

Even for those who don’t have a full-time job, taking care of other responsibilities takes away their sewing time.

Because let’s face it. We live in a time in which we have to do it all. 

It’s not only the house, or the kiddos. We also have jobs and other responsibilities and goals too. 

It’s hard. I get it. 

Modern Superwomen. NO MORE

For me, it is like… I am doing my best to stretch it out and be a superwoman. 

But still trying to not forget about myself and my “me-time”. 

The thing is… That more times than none, things don’t go like I would like to. 

Only yesterday, I realized before I went to bed that I had missed a meal. 

I had too much work and I just forgot to eat! 

And many times this can demotivate us to continue a sewing project to start a new one.

I, as a full-time worker fully understand this.

And my job is literally to sew stuff! 

But I rarely find the time to sew things for myself or just random sewing projects I would love to try. 

Also, I love to learn new techniques. But I often feel like the day doesn’t have enough hours.

That is why I went on and asked everyone in My Golden Thimble Sewing Club what they do to find more time to sew. 

Even if it seems impossible, it’s totally doable. 

We just need a little strategy and organization. 

Then, we will be able to have more time in our day for our favorite hobby.

Finding time to sew on a busy schedule

1. Identify your dead-time 

Even if it seems that our days are completely busy, they all have some downtime.

The most common one being or phones. Really! Just think about it.

How much time of your day do you spend scrolling down that screen?

Maybe, you could use that time instead to plan sewing projects, save inspiration pictures, or other useful things for your hobby. 

But besides our phones, our days usually have some downtime that we could invest in doing or advancing a few of our sewing projects.

Identify what those moments are and how you can use them to your benefit.

2. Set goals for a determined number of projects to-do a month. 

When you don’t have the time to just sit down and start a random sewing project on a whim, you have to plan ahead.

Think of the season to come and what do you want to make.

Choose one or two projects and gather the things that you need to sew them. 

If you have unfinished projects you can choose to finish one of those in that month.

The thing that works the best for me, is to grab everything I need for the “x” sewing project and put it in a bag. That way is ready for when I am.

3. Set realistic times.

Super important.

In writing, everything seems possible. 

We can write that we want to make 6 tops and 5 bottoms… But honestly… Do you see that happening?

Think about how much time have you need in the past to finish your garments or projects. 

Based on that you can estimate a realistic goal for your month or week. 

The end game is not to stress us more! 

On the contrary. We will need to take it to step by step and enjoy the process.

4. Add sewing tasks and projects to your schedule. 

Plan, plan, and more planning. Once you write it down to your to-do list, you will find that it becomes real. 

That way you can even plan around that sewing time for your other errands.

But the thing is that you have to respect that it is “you-time”. 

It really doesn’t matter if you finish the entire project or just a bit. But you already started. 

And that is what it matters.

A thing that can really help you to plan your projects is to think about how much time you will need to finish them. 

With that in mind spread that time into your schedule. You can even use a sewing planner to keep you organized.

5. Cut yourself some slack on the housework. 

I’m not saying you give up your housework completely.

But a few dirty dishes may wait until tomorrow. No one will die. I promise.

If we would intend to do everything that it is to do in our homes we will never finish.

It’s literally a never-ending job.

So, why should we worry if some of it is not done to perfection?

Give yourself the chance to not be the superwoman you are for one day. And instead, enjoy some selfish sewing time.

6. Try to maintain an organized sewing space.

Have you seen that meme that says “Sewing is 10% sewing and 90% looking for the tools you just had in your hand a minute ago”??

Having a cluttered sewing space can take away a lot of time from the actual sewing part. 

That means that having an organized and well-distributed sewing space will actually help you find more time to sew.

You won’t be wasting time looking for your supplies or fabrics. 

If everything has a place in your sewing room you just need to roll on your chair and grab them at once.

7. Have a dedicated sewing workspace.

The latest point brings me to this one. Having a special space for your sewing work.

If you don’t have a special sewing room, you might be sewing around every place in your home. 

Doing this not only will give you more work and clutter but also it won’t allow you to work fluidly. 

The 2020 chaos force a lot of people to work from home. And one of the best tips out there was to dedicate one single space for that purpose.

Think of it the same way.

Choose a corner of your home and arrange everything there so it becomes your space, and your space only.

8. Put your phone to sleep.

This probably should have been the number one tip of this list. 

Phones and social media suck so much of our daily lives. Just think about how many HOURS a day do you spend scrolling down your apps.

Seriously.

They have made it so easy for us to lose ourselves in there. And it is so addictive that you actually feel the need to check it every certain time.

So, when you sit down to sew, put your phone in emergency calls only or airplane mode. Change your WhatsApp status so people know they can reach you by phone call if they need.

And then put your phone down away from your hand reach. 

That way you won’t be tempted to use it between sewing tasks.

9. Take it to work.

There are a lot of things you might advance in your lunchtime, or break hours at work. Even on the commute if you use it to go to work that way.

You can baste stitch your pattern pieces. Maybe assemble or cut some paper patterns.

Another thing you can do is pin pieces together so they are ready to sew when you get home.

10. Keep unfinished projects at sight

This was one of my favorite tips from the girls in the Sewing Club. 

If you have your unfinished projects hidden in your closet, there is a pretty good chance you will forget about them and never finish them. 

So one great tip is to put them out there.

On a place where they don’t make clutter, but where you can see them every time you step into your sewing room.

11. Find a sewing buddy. 

The best thing that can happen to you is to have a sewing buddy. I have one. My college friend Melissa. In school, we will always team up to make our assignments.

And honestly is the best companion I could ask for. We are always sharing projects, tips, and techniques to help us grow together. 

It’s a magnificent journey. You can agree to make one project together and help each other out when you get stuck. 

Besides finding more time to sew, because you make a compromise, you get to have double the fun!

Find someone who has the same interests and goals as you. You are set.

What is better than a friend?? A sewist friend!!

12. Sign up for sew-along challenges.

There are a lot of brands out there that make sew-along of their patterns. 

People sign up and sew together at the same time for one specific project. 

This way they can help each other out. Share tips, and even ask questions to the creator of the pattern.

It’s the perfect way to not make excuses because you will be sewing along with the group.

13. Wake up earlier to take advantage of the day.

Research made by BBC shows that waking up earlier is actually linked to success. 

Mornings are perfect to boost your creativity and serotonin. This can be achieved by doing what you love in a calm and quiet space. 

Raise before everyone else so you know you won’t be disturbed. It can be half an hour or an hour. Your choice.

You will find that having started the day by doing what you love can do for your body.

14. Take an hour every day after dinner or after work.

It’s your time. Respect it.

Once you know how to organize your projects and time you will be able to distribute your work.

Use that hour to advance a little every day. Sooner than you think you would have finished that project.

15. Do small tasks each day

Break down the whole project into small tasks you can do each day. 

Don’t try to finish the entire sewing project in one day. 

“Yes me, I am talking to myself”

It won’t happen. Or it could happen but you would have neglected other important things for you.

Instead, divide the project into tasks such as cutting the pattern, basting, attaching sleeves…. And so on.

This will help you to continue and finish your sewing project without the stress of having to finish it all in one day.

I hope this post gave you some useful ideas on finding time to sew. If you have other advice that can help others to do this, please let me know in the comments.