resolutions

Every year since I was sixteen I've made ten resolutions every January, then come back to them at the end of the year to see how I did. It's such an ingrained tradition now that I forget that literally nobody else in the world does this. I've made my resolutions as usual, but I feel like before I take a blogging break for Christmas it would be nice to make another ten here, relating to my new area of interest, split 50/50 between sewing and style:

Sewing

1. I will learn to fit properly.

Since one of the major advantages of making stuff yourself is that you can fit it correctly, I want to learn how to do that properly. Mostly any 'fitting' I've done when not in the presence of expert tuition is of the "pull seam in a bit more here, sew it up" variety, which is fine but still leaves a lot of fit issues in my clothes and adjustments I could do with learning. I'd like to get a better understanding of my body's individual shape and fit requirements and how best to serve them.

2. I will plan my projects two months at a time.

I was surprised at how useful my Unnecessary October Dress Pattern Haul was. I bought five patterns at once, which is not unusual, but then I posted about them and began thinking of them as a set, which gave me a lot more incentive to actually work through them. I ran into problems with not having appropriate fabric at hand though, and I need to work on getting these two lined up a bit better. I'll probably end up writing myself a set of guidelines or something equally dorky to make sure that I get through some of the stuff I actually have instead of buying endless new stuff.

3. I will be more creative.

Because I'm just a beginner, what I do right now is: buy pattern, cut out as instructed, sew up as instructed. What I'd love to be able to do is understand patterns well enough to be able to mess about with them, change necklines and sleeves and shapes and turn a tank top pattern into a wedding dress or whatever the hell it is other people seem to be able to do. I'd also like to be able to turn inspiration into wearable clothes, and I have acquired myself some croquis with the intention of attempting this every month or two.

4. I will work out what the hell to do with my scraps pile.

At the moment, I have two bins and two bags full of pieces of material that aren't big enough to go in my fabric cupboard but aren't small enough to be thrown away without guilt, and I need a good way to reduce this to at least a quarter of the size and keep it there. I think using pieces to try out bodice fitting is probably not a bad idea to start off with, as is reminding myself that whilst random sewing bloggers are perfectly entitled to write appalled posts about how they would never throw out a scrap of anything, they aren't actually the governor of my life choices and I can throw stuff away if I want.

5. I will become a more disciplined fabric buyer.

My fabric buying policy so far has been "buy as much as you can as cheaply as you can", which I think is a large part of the reason my cupboard is so full of stuff I don't seem to be able to pair with a pattern. I will still buy cheap fabric for my first attempt at something, but I would like to keep at a similar level of spending and acquire smaller volumes of better fabric that's more compatible with my pattern queue.

Style

6. I will get a grip on my shoe situation.

It's only fairly recently that I realised how much better I feel in a good pair of shoes, and to be fair I have recently started taking steps to sort that out. But next year I want to build up a small collection of comfortable and pretty shoes that I can wear on a day to day basis without hurting my feet. The chances are that I'm going to have to get more of a grip on shoe shopping (which I hate because I have weird-shaped feet and it's so difficult to find comfy shoes), and also spend more money on each pair of shoes (which I also hate because even shoes that feel comfy in the shop often start hurting after I've paid money for them). But I will feel better for it, and I know that.

7. I will elevate my everyday casual wear.

I don't really want this to be anything drastic, I just want to have a slightly more polished baseline than jeans and a top, i.e. jeans + random top isn't an outfit, but jeans + specific top + specific jacket is. At the moment a lot of my handmade stuff goes unworn because it's too far above my baseline casual - I go out in a dress and it's such a noticeable shift in my style level that people ask me what I'm dressing up for. I'd like to be able to wear dresses on a day-to-day basis and not have people look at me funny, is all.

8. I will maintain a haircut.

This is weirdly fundamental to the success of my previous resolution. I find it almost impossible to dress in a put-together way if my hair isn't behaving itself, and my hair has spent most of this year not behaving itself. Having now got my hair cut into a proper style, I need to commit to getting it cut every couple of months and not letting it grow back into a mop.

9. I will shop more carefully and more ethically.

I haven't done a ridiculous Primark shopping spree in a while, but I think at this point I'm going to put a conscious end to them. I have done so many cheap-ass shopping sprees and thrown out so many of the things after one, two or no wears (I do have one Primark jumper that is amazing and is still alive and I love it and it was £9, but that was years ago and it's literally never happened again). No more buying disposable shit from places with dubious labour practices. I want a wardrobe that makes sense, which means not just chucking random stuff into it because I saw something purple that maybe doesn't exactly fit or go with anything but look, purple (genuine thought process I have had). I can afford to put a little more thought into this stuff.

10. I will find out what 'me' clothes look like.

This is the intended outcome of my "attempts to develop style" series, and it's something I want to work on next year because I think it'll make everything a hell of a lot less confusing. I want to have a very clear picture of what's 'me' and what's 'not me' while still leaving room for me to try shit that may not be exactly me but is fabulous.

I'm now going to take a couple of weeks' break. I'm at home with my family for Christmas, and next week my boyfriend and I are flying out to spend New Year in Sicily (yes, we suck, I know). But I shall be back in January with sewing plans of all kinds. Merry holiday time to everyone!