Craft Goals for 2022

Hi, everyone! I’m back with some craft goals for 2022. I look forward to sharing the projects I was working on in December with you soon, but it seems appropriate to start off the year with a post about goals.

I don’t usually make New Year’s Resolutions. I’m not for or against them, I just don’t usually make them. I did like the idea of setting some goals in my creative practice for this year, though. Maybe they won’t all happen, but I’m going to see what I can do.

While sewing my own clothing is my main hobby, I enjoy knitting, sewing non-clothing items once in awhile, and dipping my toe into other crafts as well. Because of that, I wanted to set craft goals, rather than just sewing goals for the year. So, here’s what I’ve got!

#1: Make shoes

Yes, shoes. No, I’m not kidding.

Over the last few years, I have seen more and more people in the sewing community try this out, and I really want to make some shoes of my own. I own a lot of sewing and knitting tools, and I’m not looking for a new hobby with a thousand new tools, but I want to at least dip my toe in. I would love to try leather sandals, tennis shoes from a kit, or clog sandals at some point, because they all sound doable without investing in too many new tools or materials. To help me on my quest, my in-laws got me the book The Sandalmaking Workshop by Rachel Corry.

I think I would like to try combining a few of the styles unless I see or imagine a style I like even more.

Alternatively, the Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts has tennis shoe/sneaker kits, and I have seen wooden clog bases on various websites like Etsy. Just think–if I could make my own shoes, I would have the power to create an entire outfit if I wanted to! I love the idea that I could make an entire outfit.

#2: Knit colorwork mittens

Since coming back to knitting, I have discovered that colorwork/stranded knitting is my (current) favorite kind of knitting. I LOVE color! And I love having multiple colors in a given piece of clothing. While I have some excellent lined mittens, I really want to make some colorwork mittens, at least once. When hunting around for patterns, I found the Northman Mittens by David Schulz, which are lined, and look super warm. Once it gets cold out, I either need two pairs of handknit mittens to wear one on top of the other, or a pair of lined mittens. These should fit the bill. However, my impatience being what it is, I thought it best to start with something faster. That’s why I would like to begin with the Speedy Selbu Mittens by Skeindeer Knits, which should work when it’s not bitterly cold.

Since these mittens are knit from a worsted weight yarn, which is thicker and quicker to knit than thinner yarns, these seemed like a good way to try this style of mitten out and see if I like it enough to go on to the Northman Mittens or something else that will take a bit longer. Once I finish the socks I’m working on, I hope to start…if I don’t get distracted by something else. Haha–the lure of the new and shiny is real!

#3: Make a Western style shirt

I have had this on my to-make list for so long! I just need to do it! Whenever I want to make a pattern that I think will be complicated, or that I will have to change a lot, I tend to procrastinate. The pattern I have chosen, McCall’s 6262 from 1992 looks great, but has normal cuffs.

I really wanted those decorative shotgun cuffs, but knew I would have to change the pattern up in order to get them. I found a great article called “Updating the Cowboy Shirt” by David Page Coffin in Threads magazine #67 (October/November 1996) that details how to do this, but the extra time and energy required to figure it all out put me off.

At this point, I think it’s more important to try the general style than it is to have every bell and whistle, so my current thought is that I should make the pattern as is, and if I like it, expand from there with future shirts.

#4: Make a leather bag of some sort

This is yet another project I have wanted to do for some time, but haven’t gotten around to. It’s not that I haven’t ever made anything with leather. I made my friends some clutches several years ago. It’s more that I would like to sew with leather a little bit more often, and it’s been long enough that I need to break the ice again. I made this goal vague enough that I can make something super basic like a little envelope clutch or zipper pouch, or slightly larger, like a cross-body bag. I have had the book containing these projects for a little while now, and just need to dive in.

I don’t know much about leather types and thicknesses, but doing a project will help me learn.

#5: Sew a humpback whale stuffed animal

Haha–this is oddly specific, right? I know. I got this cute Humbpack Whale pattern by Crafty Kooka from one of my kids for Christmas, and I put it on this list because I want to make sure I make it!

We got our first ever new couch this past year, and I think it needs a cute whale to live on it! OK, the truth is, I just want an excuse to make a whale. I don’t know if it will really live on the couch or not. I just want to make one. While I have made simple stuffed animals in the past, this pattern has some new-to-me techniques, and I’m excited to try using safety eyes for the first time.

Now we get to the “maybes” on my list of goals. I haven’t decided if I am committed to these last two, mainly because they don’t sound like quite as much fun to me as the previous ones, but here they are, nonetheless.

Possible goal #6: Make more undergarments

Because I don’t share these on the blog or really anywhere, and because some bras can require more precise fitting, I don’t find these quite as much fun to make. The undergarments I have made for myself have been, for the most part, superior to those I buy in the store, even when I don’t get the fit perfect, but I have a harder time motivating myself to sew them. That being said, it would make a big difference to my wardrobe if I could really get the fit down on a few patterns. I’m close, but like I said, motivation is a little lacking… Do I try to push through, or stick to the things that are more fun? I’m still trying to decide.

Possible goal #7: Learn one or more new serger techniques

I have had my Juki MO-654DE serger for over a year now, and I absolutely love it. Have I learned to do anything other than thread it and push the power pedal? Nope! This potential goal is much like the one above in that it’s not a “fun” goal in my mind. It means I need to slow down on a project and learn something that will take more time, and I’m sorry to admit that I don’t always like to do that. Once I have prepped and traced my pattern and cut out my project, I want to follow the directions and finish the project as quickly as possible so I can GET IT ON MY BODY! Despite this, I know that learning even a few more aspects of my machine would give me more options. Luckily, I also got Serger 101 by Katrina Walker as a Christmas gift. This book looks like it has a lot of great information laid out in a clear, easy-to-follow format. Now I just need to use it!

So that’s what I’m thinking! In order to actually remember and accomplish these goals, I’ll have to make sure I put them where I can see them and check them off when I finish each one. If I don’t, that lure of the new and shiny I mentioned will go into effect, and I’ll forget them as new seasons and project ideas roll in. If I focus on completing them, though, I’ll learn new things and push forward into areas I have been wanting to explore. Making something new that maybe five years ago you had no idea you even could make at home brings with it a feeling like no other. Being able to say, “I MADE this!” is amazing. And we can make a lot of things! It’s so cool!

What about you? Do you have craft goals for this year? Share below! I love to hear about what other people are planning.

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The Stellan Tee in Organic Cotton Knit

Today’s project is an example of a great pairing of pattern and fabric. I just love it so much! The garments that have staying power and remain in my wardrobe for a long time are the ones that are a good fabric and pattern match. So let’s talk about the Stellan Tee and some sweet, sweet, organic cotton knit.

For over four years I worked at Pintuck & Purl, a fabric and yarn store in southeastern New Hampshire. It was a great experience because, among other things, I got to try out many fabrics I hadn’t tried before. One of those fabrics was this organic cotton knit from Birch Organic Fabrics (collection: Saltwater; designer: Emily Winfield Martin). Every time I tried organic cotton, there was a clear difference in feel and quality.

I had my eye on this cute nautical print for several years, but it was both narrow for a knit and quite expensive because it was organic cotton. Finally, though, it had sat in the store for so long that it had to be put on sale. And that was when I finally bought some for my very own. This fabric is beefy and soft–much like interlock knit t-shirts used to be, and I turned over a lot of different ideas in my mind, trying to decide what I wanted to make with it. I finally settled on the The Stellan Tee, a free pattern from French Navy Patterns that I really wanted to try.

Free patterns are such a great way to try out a company’s style and quality, and although I used to think it wasn’t worth it to sew t-shirts, I now think otherwise. T-shirts are a quick and easy project for those times when you need something quick and easy, and each pattern is just a little bit different. They’re so satisfying to make. Luckily, this pattern didn’t disappoint. It’s filled with clear instructions and illustrations, and you can choose to use a serger and a regular sewing machine, or a regular sewing machine only. I made it in a size XXL.

Sometimes things get a little silly when my family helps me with pictures.

This shirt looks good cuffed or uncuffed…and with or without silly facial expressions.

Just a little while before making this, my husband bought me my very own JUKI serger (the MO-654DE), replacing the cute vintage model I had that wasn’t working. This was the first project I tried with it.

My new serger, just taken out of the box.

The fabric sewed like a dream. I used the stripe as my main fabric. I had also bought a little bit of the anchor print for details like a pocket and the back neck reinforcement. The pocket wasn’t a part of the pattern–I used the pocket from the Union Street Tee pattern by Hey June Handmade in order to have a place to showcase that anchor print on the outside of the shirt.

I really love the back neck reinforcement detail–it made the shirt look so professional. That was included in the pattern.

I got a little confused as I sewed it on about where to stitch my first seam (Through the seam allowance only, or also through the back of the shirt? I chose seam allowance only.), but I figured it out in the end. I also chose to topstitch around the neck opening to hold the seam allowance down and because it looks nice. And I used a zig zag stitch at the hem instead of a twin needle because my twin needle stitching often comes undone over time. I didn’t change the fit or substance of the pattern, however. I really like the Stellan Tee and wouldn’t hesitate to try another French Navy pattern after this. I love the style of this shirt with its curved hemline and loose, boxy cut.

It pairs perfectly with this midweight fabric.

And even though I am new to serging, everything went great with using both my regular machine and my serger. The Stellan Tee was a good beginner project for trying out the serger. I think I’m really going to like this machine.

It’s getting a little cold to wear this shirt now, but I wore it a lot while it was still warm and look forward to wearing it next summer. I would definitely make this pattern again…and use this fabric again in another project…and definitely use my serger again…this was a good project.