Well I’m later than most but I had a lot to think about. I’ve now got some plans gathered for my 2022 sewing and making. I really ummed and ahhed over creating a Make 9 this year as much like New Year’s resolutions it can be a bit demoralising when I don’t complete them.

I didn’t do Make 9 last year or in 2020 because I failed so miserably (IMO) the last few times. I didn’t see the benefits of making a plan while almost certain I wouldn’t achieve it.

However, someone on IG reminded me that I actually like planning. Confession time: when I was a teacher, occasionally, prepping activities was more fun than actually delivering them (shhh), it was certainly preferable to the marking it generated.🤪 Thinking back to how much optimism is involved in preparation made me want to try again this year. In addition, there is a lot I want to do this year so planning might help me complete my goals.

So what do I want to accomplish this year?

Sew more clothes – obviously – with more attention to techniques, fitting and finishing

Knit more items – again widening my repertoire of techniques

Draft a set of blocks and design at least one item using them

Manage and reduce my UFO’s

Organise my stash

Work on my online profile – focus on blogging

I got into a negative frame of mind thinking that I wasn’t doing my #makenine because I was being lazy but that’s not true, I finished more than 30 items last year. I think one of my problems with #makenine lists is that they are really just wishlists. Which is great if that’s what you want them for. I’m pretty fluid as far as what I want to make can change a lot. I like this fluidity and ideally, I should be able to say “Oh not doing you anymore” and move on, but once I have something on my mind I can’t let it go so I end up with UFOs and a looooong “To make” list. I need something to actually help me get stuff done rather than just having #sewingdreams, so I need to go a bit more formal. In business, there is a planning mantra, SMART which is used to set effective plans. The T stands for Timely. I definitely need clearer time frames.

My use of make nine will be slightly different. I’m going to identify groups of nines as I know there are a few more than 9 items I want to make this year. The nines will address the goals I listed above. They will still be flexible, this is not a job after all; but less open-ended than before, by that I mean I will be assigning finish dates to my projects and commit to meeting them as far as possible. I may not complete everything this year but usually, once I have an idea, I don’t find myself not wanting the item, it’s just that something else becomes more pressing. Barring a drastic change of heart on any item they all will be done eventually. I think my make nine may become a #nextnine – determining a sequence may also help me achieve more finished items.

I have a trip coming up and I want to avoid my usual pre-holiday sewing frenzy by getting my ideas sorted in advance. Most of the items are things that have been on my ‘to-do list in my head’ and will fulfil either UFO busting or stash busting.

So my official #makenine or #nextnine for 2022 is a wardrobe capsule as follows:

• Pale blue Jogging suit In sweatshirt fabric – fabric ready
• Blue corduroy jeans jacket (UFO)
• Lightweight coat in a faux suede shearling fabric that I recently bought
• Slim fit trousers in black/brown ponte – need to get fabric
• Heavy jersey sweaters in three colours – fabric ready
• Black skinny fit jeans (Yes, I still like skinnies, don’t judge me) based on Pattern lab block- fabric ready
• Berry faux suede bomber jacket (UFO)
• A pair of button front trousers this time in heavy khaki twill – fabric ready
• Red cupro dress from Classic Burda magazine- fabric ready

(Standing on the edge screaming ‘Pick me please’ is the blue Tencel jumpsuit from Lekala)

I’m super chuffed that I have the fabric ready for all but one of these.

In addition, I have identified further UFOs which I want to either complete or consign to scrap.

• The dusty pink jacket by Carmelo Pomodoro
• The yellow and black Donna Karan dress
• The Anzu skirt view b
• Self drafted Ponte pencil skirt
• The faux suede A-line skirt
• Sports chic jacket and skirt
• Faux leather biker jacket
• Montana moto jacket
• Ford knitted coatigan

Finally, in things I plan on sewing I decided to allot 9 fabrics that I intend to use or destash.

• Green teal cupro blouse fabric
• Black white abstract pattern coat fabric
• Large abstract print acetate
• Blue hemp linen
• Red washed linen
• Black and white sheer leaf print fabric
• Pin striped gabardine

Oh yeah and then there’s the knitting. Knitting obviously takes much longer than sewing and therefore I’m not committing to so many knits. I completed 5 last year. I’ve got some UFOs/WIPs that I want to be wearing and some in my Projects list that I’d like to get going on so I’m declaring a #nextthree to help me get those done.

Mending is also something I want to address. I still have a fair bit of old Ready To Wear which I need to manage. A lot of it is old workwear which I must assess whether I will use again. I also have several favourites which either need mending, like the rubbed out thighs in my otherwise good as new skinny jeans or that don’t fit but are still good and mainly need letting out. In addition, I’ve got a couple of 2nd hand /sale items which also need adjusting.

• Skinny jeans
• Denim dress
• Black ‘donkey’ jacket
• Cherry jumpsuit (not RTW but needs some work).

There are a little over 30 projects here if I don’t count the fabric as separate projects, which is about on par with my last 2 years’ output.

So is my plan SMART?

Specific	I’ve been clear about what I intend to do
Measurable	These goals can be measured by whether they are completed
Achievable	This generates a similar number of projects to what I have produced in the last 2 years so I believe it is achievable
Relevant	These tasks will meet my goals *some models use Realistic here, but I found as did my students that this was unclear and felt the same as achievable
Time-bound	Targets dates will be applied to add the time frame required

So these are my plans and ideas that I will be working towards as I get into 2022. I hope I will be a bit more organised as I work at these but as you know anything can happen in the next 12 months. I’m not ruling out changes in plans or queue jumpers but this is at least a coherent plan that seems feasible and I’m actually excited about getting going.

How are your 2022 plans looking

Thanks for dropping by,