My pattern buying has gotten way out of hand. I can't seem to stop myself. I'm not really an impulse purchaser - I do typically hum and haa over them before buying, and I do a lot of Googling (oh hai Google images!) and blog reading before buying an indie one (because: £££) - but I still almost always seem to end up clicking the BUY button. Argh!
And it's getting expensive. I'm fairly fortunate in that I can buy most of the stuff I want, but I'm forced to ask myself: do I really need to be buying so damn much?? One of the things I like about sewing is that it has made me become a much more thoughtful consumer in terms of clothes (and other related bits and pieces). But if all I've done is just transfer that consumption to pattern buying, then the problem hasn't gone away.
There are, I think, a couple of reasons for the pattern buying. I have been searching for garments that I particularly want to wear. There are SO many gorgeous sewing 'makes' on Instagram everyday, and I get such inspiration from those (and occasional bouts of jealousy - will I ever sew as well as everyone else?!). But we all have our own aesthetic, and our own sartorial needs, and while I love love love what other people make, very often it's not what I would actually wear. My main clothing needs at the moment revolve around my working-from-home situation, so fitted bodice dresses in woven fabrics, or non-stretch trousers are lovely, but just not what I want to wear (I'll write another post about the dilemmas of sewing a decent-looking at-home wardrobe!)
It's also often easy to get swept along in a social media tide with certain patterns. Maybe a new one comes out and your news-feed is full of amazing versions, or you just notice loads of people making a particular garment. Even when I realistically know that it wouldn't suit my body shape or lifestyle, I still sometimes find myself sucked in and tempted to buy.
I think the other (perhaps more important?) reason I'm so tempted to buy patterns all the time is that I still feel like a newbie sewist without strong base-level skills. So it feels safer/easier for me to buy an existing pattern, and be instructed by someone more knowledgeable than me about how to make the garment. If I were more skilled, or perhaps just a bit more confident, I would be able to either hack the patterns I already have, or pattern cut from existing clothes. I need to learn to do this - it's time to take off the training wheels!!
And I definitely need to stop buying patterns.
So. This is my April pledge - in advance of next month's Me Made May:
Tune in next month to see how successful I've been (and what I've learnt!)!
And it's getting expensive. I'm fairly fortunate in that I can buy most of the stuff I want, but I'm forced to ask myself: do I really need to be buying so damn much?? One of the things I like about sewing is that it has made me become a much more thoughtful consumer in terms of clothes (and other related bits and pieces). But if all I've done is just transfer that consumption to pattern buying, then the problem hasn't gone away.
There are, I think, a couple of reasons for the pattern buying. I have been searching for garments that I particularly want to wear. There are SO many gorgeous sewing 'makes' on Instagram everyday, and I get such inspiration from those (and occasional bouts of jealousy - will I ever sew as well as everyone else?!). But we all have our own aesthetic, and our own sartorial needs, and while I love love love what other people make, very often it's not what I would actually wear. My main clothing needs at the moment revolve around my working-from-home situation, so fitted bodice dresses in woven fabrics, or non-stretch trousers are lovely, but just not what I want to wear (I'll write another post about the dilemmas of sewing a decent-looking at-home wardrobe!)
It's also often easy to get swept along in a social media tide with certain patterns. Maybe a new one comes out and your news-feed is full of amazing versions, or you just notice loads of people making a particular garment. Even when I realistically know that it wouldn't suit my body shape or lifestyle, I still sometimes find myself sucked in and tempted to buy.
I think the other (perhaps more important?) reason I'm so tempted to buy patterns all the time is that I still feel like a newbie sewist without strong base-level skills. So it feels safer/easier for me to buy an existing pattern, and be instructed by someone more knowledgeable than me about how to make the garment. If I were more skilled, or perhaps just a bit more confident, I would be able to either hack the patterns I already have, or pattern cut from existing clothes. I need to learn to do this - it's time to take off the training wheels!!
And I definitely need to stop buying patterns.
So. This is my April pledge - in advance of next month's Me Made May:
I pledge not to buy a single pattern in April. I will use what I already own, modifying if necessary, for any sewing that takes place this month.
Tune in next month to see how successful I've been (and what I've learnt!)!
This definitely strikes a chord with me. I've probably made less than half the patterns in my collection – I am planning to make them all; it's just that I seem to accumulate patterns faster than I can make them up. Patterns are so appealing because they promise so much, but the reality of altering, hacking and fitting swallows so much time that I crack and buy another pattern!
ReplyDeleteJanet - you've hit the nail on the head!! That's exactly my problem too. It's that potential of a new pattern (maybe this will finally be the perfect dress/jumper/trousers that I've been waiting for!), but really I think I need focus on the time consuming fit issues!
DeleteIt's a bit like buying recipe books, isn't it? You look through them and think, that sounds lovely, and then you just make spag bol and put the book back on the shelf!
It is EXACTLY like recipe books, you're right! (I think I have this problem too...)
ReplyDeleteGlad it's not just me!! 😉
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