That’s more and less, not more or less, and this is how I’ll do it.

In 2013, I wanted to dedicate at least 1000 hours to sewing “activities”. For what else I was planning to do during the year and what I wanted to get done, I figured the amount of time was manageable. Sewing “activities” included anything related to sewing that had to be done, so actual sewing for sure, but also shopping for fabrics and notions (travel time to shop, class and other sewing events not included). Designs and modifications I usually think of during runs or elsewhere so they didn’t count for much aside from the occasional time I had to stop sewing to think about things. I hardly made sketches, so it was pretty much all the regular sewing related activities you might think of aside from pattern drafting which many sewists don’t do, taking patterns from bought packages and maybe altering them a bit. I did some but rarely used patterns in 2013, just on some women’s garment I made for my own learning. Clean up time also does not count. That’s just housekeeping.

With 4 days to spare in 2013, I surpassed 1200 hours of sewing “activities”. Quite sadly, I had relatively little to show for it because there were about 50 muslins I had made which I have recycled to give away to people who could use the fabric. That’s a lot of garments you’ll never see on me, even if not finished to the degree I would for real garments. What I got out hardly indicated the massive amount of time I spent sewing and probably sounded like I talked like I sewed a lot. I don’t have a final tally but it’s between 20-30, not all worn (pillow cases) and not all for me (dresses). I’m sure that makes me the most inefficient sewist you know at a full-time work week a garment! I also spent time to help people with their sewing, which counted towards the hours but not garments, though that was only about 3% of total time.

Well, that’s all going to change in 2014!

I have some fittings ready and I am better at fitting now for future attempts to eliminate a massive block of time spent this year! I will be able to spend most of my sewing activities time in 2014 to actually sew garments to be finished and worn! I also have a pledge to end up with less fabric by the end of 2014 than I have now, and significantly less that I don’t have to do anything to know for certain. That means a lot less shopping time, which wasn’t a huge amount of time spent, but time nonetheless.

So for 2014, I am doing my sewing pledge the opposite way as 2013, to accommodate some other activities I plan for 2014 that I did not do in 2013.

I pledge to spend NO MORE THAN 1000 hours on sewing related activities, with AT LEAST 60 garments made.

So I’ll be sewing less time, but sewing more garments, in 2014 than in 2013.