Early 2019 Sewing Challenges

Hello curvy sewists! It’s Meg from Cookin’ and Craftin’ and I’m here to share some fun sewing challenges and/or planning tools you may want to use to guide your sewing in early 2019…

Last year the Curvy Sewing Collective hosted the Curvy Year of Sewing (see all the posts here) with bi-monthly themes and featured patterns to help focus your sewing.  The CSC isn’t hosting this event again this year, but don’t count them out for some themed sewing later in 2019!

In lieu of the Curvy Year of Sewing, here are some fun sewing challenges, themes, or planning tools that you might want to consider participating in over the next few months! None are specific to curvy sewists, but all are open for a curvy sewists!

While you’re at it, check out this post over on the Sewcialists blog that delves into the pros and cons of each sewing challenge!

Speaking of Sewcialists, they are hosting a fun theme month in February… Menswear for Everyone. Menswear, menswear details and menswear fabrics aren’t just for men. Head over to their post for more details, but here’s how the Sewcialists describe the challenge, which can also be found on Instagram at the hashtag #SewMenswearforEveryone:

“For this theme month, we challenge you to make something inspired by traditional menswear, either for yourself or someone in your life! It could be casual or formal, historical or avant garde, with a feminine or masculine twist. Menswear for men! Menswear for women! Menswear for the gender fluid or non-binary!”

Next we’ve got the Make Nine Challenge, brought back again for 2019 by Rochelle of Lucky Lucille and Home Row Fiber Co. This annual mini-maker’s challenge, which primarily happens on Instagram using the hashtag #MakeNine, encourages makers to choose nine projects to focus their efforts for the year… here’s how Rochelle describes it:

This is a gentle challenge. It’s not one that you can fail. It’s meant to be flexible, a tool you can use to evaluate your motivations and needs for working towards specific things as the year goes on. This is meant to be a challenge focused on learning more about yourself and your making habits while achieving goals. Work at your own pace and join in at any time. – That’s it!

Ok, so this next challenge, which will run throughout January and February, is near and dear to my heart since it’s my brainchild… Sew Twists and Ties is a pretty casual and flexible sewing challenge focused on sewing up patterns that incorporates a twist, knot or tie of some sort, and sharing them with the sewing community using the Instagram hashtag #SewTwistsandTies. Any pattern you think fits the theme will work! Check out my post for more details, but here’s the background on the challenge:

I was looking at some of my recent pattern purchases and realizing that I had a real theme going… lots of patterns that have interesting twists, ties, or knots incorporated into the garment as an eye-catching design detail! I’ve really been drawn to these simple, but dramatic details, apparently. With this theme in mind, I decided, on a whim, to organize a little twist and tie focused sewing challenge!

Another flexible sewing challenge, this one focused on sewing pants/trousers! Sew Fancy Pants, a collaboration of between Nicole, Katie, Loni and Jennifer, has themed weeks throughout the month of January to guide you through sewing pants: pattern and fabric selection, fitting, finishing… and it all ends with a dance off, which is pretty fun! Check out the details on Merritts Makes, head over to Instagram to for pants-sewing inspiration via #sewfancypants and #sewfancypantsdance, and read the premise behind the challenge below:

…Sew Fancy Pants is a challenge easily tailored to fit your personal sewing goals. The mission of Sew Fancy Pants is to get members of the sewing community making pants that are their own definition of “fancy” and have a little fun while we’re at it. Everyone’s definition of fancy pants might be different, and that’s ok, we accept all forms of fancy pants.

I hope this gives you a few ideas to keep you occupied in early 2019!