Thursday, February 23, 2012

Perfectionism

One of my biggest problems is perfectionism. I want something to be perfect before I show it to anyone (or even before I allow myself to finish it), which is a problem as a beginning sewer because it means I often don't finish anything. I honestly couldn't tell you how many UFOs I have in my sewing space right now. I've spent around 12 hours on the Colette Jasmine blouse. It's a simple design and should go together beautifully, but my perfectionism means that I was so dissatisfied with the wonky seams on my collar that I ripped the whole thing off and decided to cut new pieces for it and start the collar over again. Erm... Let's be honest here. SWAP is so not happening this year. :) I think it's time for some more modest goals, and possibly time for me to put some effort into letting go of perfect a little bit. Because really. No one would have noticed that collar but me. I'm going to really focus on just finishing the blouse this week, and after it's done, I'm going to go through my UFOS and make them into FOs.

Are there any other procrastinators out there? UFO hoarders? Do you have the same problem I do, with wanting it to be perfect and knowing it won't be, or do you have another problem altogether? Those of you who manage to finish multitudes of garments every year, how do you do it?! Are you speedy sewers? Fearless in the face of failure? Do you have mad time management skills? Please, spill your deepest sewing secrets!

9 comments:

  1. My perfectionistic tendencies rise up when I spend too much time comparing what I can sew to what others sew. There are some experts out there who graciously share their work and while I love looking at it, I sometimes find myself a little depressed afterwards. "Comparison is the thief of joy" author unknown

    ReplyDelete
  2. No, I'm a perfectionist too. I think everyone is when they have a hobby they are passionate about. Also you want to make sure you'll wear the clothes you make. I constantly adjust things that I make after it's been photographed, and something re-photograph them again just for posterity's sake.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have the same problem. I want everything to look like ready-to-wear, and when it doesn't, I either don't finish or I don't wear it. My sewing teacher said that when she was growing up, they didn't compare to ready-to-wear because most clothing was sewn. So, she understands why I struggle. I'm trying to lower my expectations, but it's difficult.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don't get too hung up on making it perfect. I don't have a perfectionist bone in my body, although I am a hopeless over-achiever. I think my non-perfectionism is really helpful in keeping me going-- keeping me sewing things. And I agree with not comparing too much even though it's only natural. I take a break from the computer for a while and just enjoy sewing for what is whenever I start to feel a little down about my skills.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Taking a break from blog surfing is a really good idea. I hadn't even thought about that, but I can see how it could really help ward off the obsessive perfectionism.

      Delete
  5. I am perfectionist too. I used to have pile of UFO's (and still do) but in time I have learned to hold myself down and actually finish most of the stuff I make. The problem that I had was that I wasn't happy about how my creations fit on me or they didn't look like I imagined so they never got finished. But now I have learned so much more and as a professional seamstress I'm able to finish most of them. And I keep finishing bit by bit the UFO-pile aswell. I have to admit, some of the items may not be ideal for me anymore since they have been in the pile so long. Those I try to finish and sell forward. And sometimes I feel that I'm not good enough to make something and never even start the project... :D That is the life of perfectionist!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Perfectionism isn't one of my talents, even though sometimes I think it might be nice. I also have atrocious time management skills, and spend hours trolling the internet, reading blogs and other stuff instead of doing anything productive... I sew in bursts, though. When I'm on a roll, I might actually get something finished in a day or three. *g*

    I actually enjoy reading progress reports, seeing what everybody is up to, so I'd love to hear more about your UFOs. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure I spend an absurd amount of time reading other people's blogs and "looking for inspiration" online, when the fact is that I have more inspiration than I can legitimately do anything with. I'll have to take some photos of my UFOs and write a post (or posts) about them. I had no idea what was in my pile would be of interest to anyone else. :)

      Delete
  7. I had no idea this topic would strike such a chord with so many of you! Thank you all so much for your thoughts! It's nice to know I'm not the only one, and it's also fun to see how other seamstresses work.

    ReplyDelete