If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably heard me refer to Power Sewing at least once. This is in no way a real term but 100 per cent something I made up. Basically, power sewing is what I do when I’m on a tight deadline and need to get things done fast. I do not recommend power sewing as an every day strategy to sew more, but something that you pull out temporarily when you’ve got to get something done fast.
Here’s how to power sew:
- Set your deadline. This can be real or self-imposed, but figure out when you need your project done.
- Look at your calendar and figure out how many sewing sessions you can fit in before your deadline.
- Read through the instructions and chunk out the tasks involved. Figure out how much you need to get done per day/sewing session.
- Utilize downtime. Use every spare minute to move forward on your project. It’s surprising how often what you think will be a 30-second lag will actually result in ten minutes of free time. Don’t get 9 minutes in before you realize you had a decent chunk of time to do something.
- Set an alarm. When you sit down to sew, choose a task, set a timer, and only allow yourself that much time to get it done. I promise it works.
- Don’t check Instagram or watch a show. Do what you need to in order to hyper-focus on sewing. Take progress photos if you need, but don’t post them until after your focused sewing time is over.
- Reserve power sewing for dire circumstances. If you operate like this all the time, you will burn out and hate sewing. Only pull out power sewing when you really come really need it.
If you want more, I’ve got a handful of older posts about sewing more efficiently:
couturious.org 
I’m working on a dress I’m oping to finish for my son’s birthday next week. I *think* I have time to finish it without power sewing, but I’ll definitely use these tips if I get to crunch time!