How to Actually Finish Your Sewing Projects
Are you the kind of person who has a ton of unfinished projects lying around and you can’t bring yourself to finish anything? I was on Instagram recently and there was a reel of a woman holding up a crochet afghan she had just finished that was absolutely beautiful. She said she’d started it when her son was born … her son is now 36. WHAT??
Maybe it’s my nomadic/military/always moving lifestyle, but I have never been the type to hang on to projects for even months, much less years. I don’t always have the space, I don’t want to move them around a bunch of times, but mostly, it affects me mentally and almost gives me a feeling of guilt and/or anxiety whenever I realize they’re there, waiting for me to do something with them.
SO, let’s chat today about how to be a finisher!
If you prefer to watch rather than read these tips, no problem, just watch the video below instead. Otherwise, skip right past and keep reading.
You don’t have to finish everything
First, let’s talk about the projects hanging around that you don’t really like any more and don’t want to finish. You can decide to NOT finish something if it’s not something that you actually want to continue making. Even if you spent a lot of time and money on it, you still do not have to finish something that you no longer like.
This might be hard to hear because it’s hard not to see it as a waste of both time and money, so here’s how to reframe that a little. First, nothing is a waste of time that we learn from, or that we enjoyed. Every moment sewing was a skill building moment. Maybe you listened to some great podcasts while you made that, or maybe you relished in some alone time while working on it. So even if you don’t care for the outcome, the time spent was not wasted.
The wasted money thing can be a little bit harder. When I make a mistake financially, like when I forget to cancel a subscription before the trial period is over, or when I didn’t understand which products cannot be flushed down out septic system and we had to call a plumber (eek!), my husband calls it a learning tax. The less polite term is stupid tax, but he lightens my guilt by calling it a learning tax instead. (I know, I have a very forgiving and understanding husband, which I do not take for granted!) Yes, the money was wasted, but the lessons were learned and we can move on with confidence that we will be more careful in the future. The same goes for your sewing projects.
That said, I entreat you not to simply throw that WIP into the trash. You have a few options on what to do with WIPS that you don’t intend to finish.
Give it to someone else
First, you can give it to someone else, who does like it and will finish it. Don’t dump it on your friend just to assuage your own guilt over it, of course, but just ask without any pressure if anyone would like it. You can also ask people in sewing groups on Facebook, or local quilt guilds if it’s a project anyone would like to have.
If you do this, release them from the expectation to finish it as you would have. If they want to cut it up and do something different, just be glad that it’s being salvaged.
Reimagine the project
Which brings me to the next option, which is to cut it up and do something different. If your project does not delight you, can you think of a way to remake it, or reuse the fabric to make something you do like? An example of this is to go ahead and quilt that quilt top in the closet, and make a coat out of it, or cut it up into zipper pouches for gifts this Christmas. Do you have a stack of quick blocks that you no longer have the drive to turn into a quilt? Make a pot holder out of each block instead. Another idea is to get the ill fitting dress you stashed in the mending basket, cut it apart and put the fabric back into your drawer to be used for something else. Can you reimagine the languishing project into something that excites you again?
I realized I would probably never make enough of the below hand sewn crazy quilt blocks to make a whole quilt, but I loved them individually, so I turned them into journal covers instead!
Salvage the fabric
If there’s a project you decide not to finish, but you still like the fabric, cut the project apart into usable yardage and reintroduce it to your stash. If you’re not in love with the fabric, do the same thing, but donate it to the thrift store, along with other fabrics you need to purge.
Finish it for someone else
Another option for these kinds of projects is to finish them for someone else. Maybe you started something that isn’t really your style anymore, but you can think of a loved one who would absolutely love it. Or even if you finish it to donate to a cause can give you that push of motivation you need. If you get creative, you may be able to sew a lot of gifts for Christmas this year with the things you’ve already started!
How to Finish Languishing Sewing Projects
Next, let’s talk about projects you DO want to finish, but can’t seem to push yourself to sew those last few, un-fun steps. A LOT of quilters get stuck at the quilt sandwich stage, and have a closet of beautiful quilt tops that are begging to be quilted! Many garments sewing stop at the zipper or hemming stage, when that’s all that’s needed to have a finished project. Don’t let this be you. Put some rules in place for yourself if you’re a person who has a hard time finishing things because you want to start something new.
Make rules for yourself
I have certain rules for my sewing room, and in my life, honestly, that keep me finishing projects. One is that I finish projects before starting new ones. In sewing, in house projects, in reading books, and all kinds of other categories, I try to stick to this rule. The feeling of finishing things is so, so, so rewarding.
If you struggle with finishing things because you want to start new things, creating a rule for yourself to finish one thing before starting something new can be very beneficial.
Another rule could be that you have ONE place for unfinished projects and once it’s full, you have to go through it and make decisions on what to finish and what to let go of. I have a basket of mending/to-be-finished projects and when it’s full, I have to go through it and make decisions. I do not add more space for those things!
Or maybe your rule for yourself is that you can’t buy any new fabric until you finish one (or two, or three) projects that you already have going. If you need to, tell your spouse or close friend about your rule so that you feel like you have some accountability!
Find what motivates you
But these rules are all about the reward you get for your effort, and that reward needs to be big enough to motivate you. If your reward (a finished product) is appealing enough to you, and you’re able to keep it in mind and look very forward to it, you won’t need much outward help to stick to your rules. If you really can’t wait to have this new quilt in your home, or you are so excited to wear this garment, or gift this bag to your friend, then you’ll be able to buckle down, get past the hurdle of whatever step you got stuck one, and finish it. If that end reward doesn’t appeal very much to you and find yourself thinking you just want this to be done and you don’t care how it looks, that’s a good sign that it should go in the do-not-finish category.
Envision the finished project
To keep myself motivated, I envision the finished product. Currently, I’m working on a record player shelf area for our mid-century house. We are big vinyl people, and we planned this area specifically to hold our vinyl collection and our record player. We normally put records on all the time, but currently, while I’m working on it, I can’t, and I really miss it! I have a clear vision in my head of what this will look like, so I’m very excited to have it done. This vision keeps me plugging away, one coat of drywall mud at a time.
All that to say, keeping the end product in mind can be very motivating. After all, quilt tops always look pretty dull until you start quilting them! Am I the only one who thinks their quilts are just so-so, but then when I start quilting them and finally finish, I LOVE how they look?
Another helpful exercise is thinking through the reasons why you haven’t finished something. Maybe you have a quilt ready to be quilted, but the barrier is that you need to clear off your floor to lay it out on. Or maybe you have a pair of shorts ready to be made, but you need to read that article your mom gave you about pants fitting and once you do that, you can start sewing (true story of my recent project).
Identify the barriers
Knowing what the barriers are can help you start to eliminate them. Clean your space, order the proper thread color real quick, read the fitting article, watch a video on the technique you got stuck on. Do the thing that is standing between you and a finished product. Almost always, these steps don’t time as much time as we think they will.
Action precedes motivation
Okay, but sometimes we really have to finish things, right? We promised someone something, or we committed and have a deadline, or we do want that thing, but are stuck on some step that we don’t want to sew. Here’s what I do: I make a list, listing the projects in order of urgency, or just whichever ones I need off my plate for my sanity.
We’re renovating our midcentury house right now, like I said, and my husband had several projects going at once because one project would get to the end or to a tedious part and he’d get excited about a different one. Then we’d both get overwhelmed. So we started a one-wall-at-a-time approach and started completely finishing projects one at a time. This was very effective and we felt like we were actually making progress, rather than just making more messes.
Next, I think up a reward for myself, even if it’s just ice cream after dinner, or an hour to read if I get said project done.
Breaking it down into steps can be helpful too, as does spending 30 minutes per day on it until the project is done — this is exactly how I’m finishing my record player shelves, and guess what? I’m almost done!
Now that I’m close to the finish line, I’m so excited to have them done and usable, that I’m spending extra time so I can finish it.
And when all else fails, I put on some good music or a distracting podcast and sit down and just do it. It rarely takes as long as I think it will, and it’s a relief to have it out of my head!
So, that’s the end of my tips and I think these tips are helpful for lots of categories in life, not just sewing. I think one of the biggest takeaways I’d like to offer you with all of this is to release yourself from the self-imposed pressure of having to finish things if you don’t want to. Liberating yourself from piles of unfinished projects will be so very freeing. It will be like a weight lifted off of you!
And second, learn to be a finisher by learning to parcel out what barriers are standing in your way, and by learning what motivates you.
Then, just get in there and finish something so you can feel that sense of accomplishment and joy in your work!
Happy Sewing :)
Love, Nikki