I had a bit of a slower week, but I’m not going to worry about it too much. While I want to keep up momentum on my challenge to sew every day, I don’t want it to feel like a chore, and I’m glad I did. I’m feeling refreshed and ready to start new projects!

Date: Monday, September 4

Time sewing: zero

What I did: It was labour day and we were traveling back from the in-laws. I did do some blogging, though.

Date: Tuesday, September 5

Time sewing: 20 minutes; 25 minutes; 5 minutes

What I did: I started cutting out and grading the patterns for my Archer. I’m doing both views A and B, so there was a lot to do. The shirt fronts are also not duplicates, so they are separate pieces. This took a lot longer than I thought, but, as I’ve said before, once I’ve cleared off my sewing table, I feel like I need to commit and finish the step I’m on. The baby was obviously fussing and needed me, so these 50 minutes were spread out over the morning and early afternoon.

Date: Wednesday, September 6

Time sewing: zero

What I did: I had an appointment across town and knew I needed to get supper prepped before I left, so I decided to prioritize that.

Date: Thursday, September 7

Time sewing: 20 minutes; 10 minutes

What I did: I pinned and cut out all the pieces for my muslin.

Date: Friday, September 8

Time sewing: 15 minutes

What I did: I pinned and sewed everything I could without taking out my iron. I sewed the sides of the sleeves, the pleat and the yolk to fronts.

Date: Saturday, September 9

Time sewing: 5 minutes

What I did: I pressed all of the seams I sewed yesterday and pressed the cuffs.

Date: Sunday, September 10

Time sewing: 35 minutes

What I did: I sewed the remaining side seams and yoke to shirt back, got the sleeves gathered to ease in and pressed everything, including the front button bands. I opted to not bother with collar or cuffs for my muslin as I don’t think they’re terribly important to the fit. I also spent some time reading through the instructions and checking out what View B looked like on other people. As I suspected, it’s super important to figure out exactly where to start the gathered panel as it can look weird if too low on your bum.

Total time sewing this week: 2 hours 15 minutes

What I learned:

• It’s okay to take a break. I feel ready to sew after a little pause. I sometimes like to finish a project and let it be finished for a bit before starting something new. It’s satisfying.
• Google and Instagram your next project to see how other people did it. I like to do this to see what kind of fabrics do or don’t work with a specific pattern. This can save the heartbreak of finishing something and putting it on to realize it doesn’t hang well.