Seamwork Radio: Sewing and Creativity

Here's something you might not know about yourself: You're an editor.

When you sew your own clothes, you're always making editorial decisions, from pairing fabric to a pattern to styling a final outfit.

In this episode, Sarai and Haley cover why editing is so important in design, how to set constraints to make editing easier, and ideas for making tough choices a little bit easier. 

If you?ve ever logged into Pinterest and stared wide-eyed at the never ending scroll of inspiration, you?ve likely run into one of two problems. Too much inspiration or none at all.

In this episode, get 5 tips for finding exactly what you want on Pinterest. With these tips, you can build mood boards that truly help you with your sewing plans.

Trends are one of the most powerful forces that drive fashion. But they?re a little tricky.

On one hand, trends can be really fun to play with. They bring something new into your wardrobe. But on the other hand, you don't want a closet full of really trendy things that don't really feel like you. 

Sarai and Haley cover eight trends for spring 2024 and some ways you can incorporate them into your sewing. 

Having a real sense of your creative purpose can act as a North Star that guides you in your hobbies?or any creative part of your life.

But your purpose can shift as you grow and learn different things about yourself. Uncovering what matters to you is something you have to do repeatedly.

Here are 4 exercises to help you discover how you're changing and how your purpose might be changing, too. 

Did you get into sewing to help reduce textile waste? A lot of people do. And it's great to go to a fabric store and get that new, beautiful fabric. But sometimes it's nice to find an alternative and really flex your creativity in a new way and help to keep that waste down. 

In this episode, get give tips for using thrift shop finds to create your next sewing project.

Has your creativity ever felt a little low? Today, Sarai and Haley share ten things to do when you're just not feeling very creative. 

They cover things you can do to come up with new ideas that get you excited again, things you can do to prepare for when creativity does strike, and things you can do to get your hands moving. 

In this week?s episode, Sarai and Haley share 5 ideas to help you sew for cold weather. They cover how to make your winter sewing extra warm and cozy, and share practical tips and fabric ideas for a toasty, wearable winter wardrobe.

Listen to a recording of the patternmaker panel with 6 amazingly talented patternmakers here in Portland, moderated by Sarai. They chat about all the secrets your patternmaker wants you to know, the differences between ready-to-wear and sewing, and their favorite parts about making patterns.

In October, we hosted our very first in-person event at Seamwork HQ. Nearly 100 Seamworkers gathered for Stitchfest, and we all spent the day together later. There was a panel of local patternmakers, a sample sale, and a live recording of the Seamwork Radio podcast.

In the live recording, Sarai and our patternmaker, Robin, answer the 7 most common sewing questions we get asked here at Seamwork.

In October, we hosted our very first in-person event at Seamwork HQ. Nearly 100 Seamworkers gathered for Stitchfest, and we all spent the day together later. There was a panel of local patternmakers, a sample sale, and a live recording of the Seamwork Radio podcast.

In the live recording, Sarai and our patternmaker, Robin, answer the 7 most common sewing questions we get asked here at Seamwork.

This week, Sarai and Haley share their favorite things to make, and tips for making your handmade gifts feel extra special.

If you?re going to sew gifts over the holidays, listen to their comprehensive list of more than 50 project ideas.

We all make mistakes when we sew. It?s normal.

Almost every project you sew might have a few sewing bloopers, but the silly little mistakes you often make are pretty easily avoidable.

In this week?s episode, Sarai and Haley talk about some of the most common sewing bloopers and how to avoid them. 

Sewing and buying fabric are two different hobbies, and they're both equally enjoyable.

But it's important to marry the two hobbies so that your fabric buying habits and your sewing habits match up and you actually use all that fabric you're buying.

Today, Sarai and Haley are talking about your fabric stash. They?ll share five ideas to help you manage your stash. 

Do you ever wish your home sewing projects looked as polished as the clothes you buy in the store? Today, Sarai and Haley are discussing ways to make your projects more polished. They cover five different tips to help you get a professional-looking finish. 

Your sewing machine is one of the most important sewing tools you own, and it's likely one of the biggest investments you've made in your sewing.

But a lot of times when you buy one, you're just handed it, and you're expected to know what to do with it.

Just like a car, it does need regular care and maintenance. In today?s episode, Sarai and Haley share five tips to care for your sewing machine.

Sarai and Haley are hosting a quick-tip series on the podcast. For the next few weeks, they?re sharing quick episodes full of tips to answer your most burning sewing questions.

And today they?re talking about scrap busting, with five ideas to help you bust your scraps. 

Today on the podcast, Sarai and Haley are talking about how to overcome your fears around sewing?just in time for Halloween.

They cover the two types of fears you might have about sewing, how to decide which one you're facing, and a three-step process for overcoming any sewing fear. 

In this episode of the podcast, Sarai and Haley talk about a five-step process for tackling all your unfinished sewing projects.

They cover why UFOs feel like such a burden, what common barriers stop you from finishing a project, and the steps you can follow to have fewer unfinished projects taking up space both mentally and physically. 

In this week?s podcast episode, Sarai and Haley share ten hobbies besides sewing that you can incorporate into your creative practice.

They?ll cover how these sewing related hobbies can be a source of inspiration for your sewing, what their ten favorites hobbies are, and how each of them can enhance your future sewing projects in different ways. 

Sarai and Haley share five tips for keeping your closet organized with minimum fuss. They cover how a seasonal closet can be a key to a more organized wardrobe, some easy storage tips, and how to edit your wardrobe year-round, even if you're feeling really lazy about it.

This week, Sarai and Haley share the ten things they wish that they'd known as beginners?the most valuable lessons from their decades of sewing. Hopefully these lessons will be helpful to you, too, no matter where you are in your sewing journey. 

In this episode, Sarai and Haley cover some reasons you might experience burnout when it comes to sewing, how to head it off, and tips for maintaining a healthy relationship with your sewing practice.

Last week, Sarai and Haley chatted about how you can incorporate trends into your wardrobe while still feeling like yourself and making clothes you can wear for a long time. Today, they're talking about specific trends for fall and winter 2023, and how you can bring them into your sewing plans.

In this episode, Sarai and Haley chat about trends. They show you how you can incorporate trends into your wardrobe while still feeling like yourself and making clothesyou can wear for a long time.

They use designers and the design world as a lens so you can create a more focused wardrobe that really feels like you.

It?s the final week of Design Your Wardrobe! Sarai and Haley are doing DYW right now, too, and they?re sharing their experiences (and tons of tips) with each module in the course.

This week, they?re sharing the checklists they made that all of their plans must meet, some details about the outfits they put together, and some of the patterns they plan to make. 

In this special series, Sarai and Haley are going to show you exactly how they use Design Your Wardrobe to plan their sewing. They'll work through each step in the course, sharing their plans and tips along the way.

In this episode, they share the color palettes they put together this season along with what they found in their fabric stash and closet.

In this special series, Sarai and Haley are going to show you exactly how they use Design Your Wardrobe to plan their sewing. They'll work through each step in the course, sharing their plans and tips along the way.

In this episode, they share their tips for setting a goal and making a mood board.

In this special series, Sarai and Haley are going to show you exactly how they use Design Your Wardrobe to plan their sewing. They'll work through each step in the course, sharing their plans and tips along the way.

In this first episode, they share their tips and processes for gathering inspiration and avoiding inspiration overwhelm.

It's the last week of Summer Sewing Camp and the final week of the Style Workshop! In these final exercises, you?ll gather all the words you?ve come up with throughout the Style Workshop and distill them into 3-5 words to describe your core style.

Is there a subtle difference between the clothes you LOVE to wear and the ones you actually wear? In today's episode, Sarai and Haley share even more exercises from the new Style Workshop, to help you define your core style.

In part two of your exclusive look at the new Style Workshop, you'll learn about the first tool you need to define your core style: Investigate. In this episode, Sarai and Haley discuss why investigating your identity in four key areas: history, values, culture, and body, is such an important part of this workshop.

It?s the first part of Style Camp! Over the next 4 weeks, you?re going to get an exclusive look at our new Style Workshop.

Haley and Sarai will share exercises from the workshop and talk about why this course is so powerful for helping you with one of the hardest parts of sewing your own clothes ? knowing what to make!

In the final part of Space Camp, Sarai and Haley help you organize everything in your sewing space. They'll share how they organize fabric and give you tips for maintaining an organized, clean space.

We're refreshing our sewing spaces! Are you using all of the stuff in your sewing room? In part 3 of this series, Sarai and Haley help you audit your sewing space and decide what to keep, donate, and trash. 

Need to refresh your sewing space? In part 2 of this series, Sarai and Haley help you set a strategy for your budget and the time you have to refresh your space. They'll also share tips for managing your tools and storage methods.

Sarai and Haley are your camp leaders for Seamwork Radio Summer Sewing Camp 2023! Follow along with this series to upgrade your sewing space and define your core style.

In this episode, you'll explore your sewing space to note what you want to change and what you want to keep.

Be sure to download the free Sewing Camp Toolkit (the link is in the episode).

Have you been curious about participating in a sewing community, but you aren't sure where to start? In this episode, Sarai and Haley discuss three pillars of community building: listen, appreciate, and share, along with tips for how to break the ice and make new connections with people who love to sew as much as you do.

Do you often feel like you?re rushing through life, just trying to get as much of your to-do list done as possible each day?

In today?s podcast, Sarai and Haley explore the moments to look for in your sewing that will help you to slow down and develop pride in your skills. They also share some specific projects to can help.

Having a bunch of choices gives you the illusion of liberty?look at all your options! However, when you have many options, have you ever felt really restricted instead of free to decide? It?s the paradox of choice.

In this episode of the podcast, Sarai and Haley explore why having more options can lead to less action, what causes indecision in sewing, and tips for making choices a lot easier and clearer for yourself.

When you look at a project you?ve finished, what stands out more, the mistakes or the successes?

If you?re so busy looking at the flaws that you can?t feel truly satisfied with what you created, Sarai and Haley have 8 tips that will help you reframe your failures.

Do you remember when you were brand new to sewing? There?s power in being a beginner. Beginners are alive to all the opportunities in front of them. They see things with fresh eyes. They see creative possibilities, whereas an expert might take a more pragmatic view. In this episode, Sarai and Haley explore the benefits of being a beginner, and how to tap into that mindset if you could use a little sparkle in your sewing.

Everyone makes these sorts of mistakes, even those who have been sewing for decades. But the big difference between people who stick with sewing and find joy in it and those who get frustrated and give up isn?t about the mistakes ? it?s about how you treat yourself when they happen.

In this episode, Sarai and Haley share 9 ways you can find self-compassion in sewing. 

Is your sewing starting to feel like a chore? Sarai and Haley share 6 totally approachable tips for what to do when your sewing (or any other creative hobby) starts to feel like work. 

In this episode, Sarai and Haley talk about why you should sew challenging projects, what to do if you need help getting started, and how to motivate yourself to finish.

Your favorite sewing teachers chat about imposter syndrome, RuPal, the hardest parts of their jobs, and where Seamwork is going in five years.

Creativity isn't efficient, but is that a bad thing? Sarai and Haley explore three reasons why creativity is not efficient and share tips for ways you can lean into those creative moments rather than taking the quick and easy route.

You might have learned to sew from grandparents or parents, but some of us didn't have sewing elders. In this episode, Sarai and Haley share invaluable lessons and reflections from Seamworkers who have been sewing for more than 20 years.

In this episode, Sarai and Haley cover some of the benefits of setting up a ritual for your sewing. Then they show you how to create a creative ritual that fits your mood and attention each time you sew. 

Making stuff is brings up issues around confidence because it?s a constant process of learning, and learning will always challenge you. In this episode, Sarai and Haley share 5 moments in your sewing practice that will boost your self-confidence.

73% of you said that your sewing space stops you from sewing. In this episode, Sarai and Haley help you figure out the issues that bother you the most about your sewing space, Then they share concrete ideas to fix each of those issues.