7 tips on crafting for yourself this holiday season
Personally, I’m going the “not crafting for other people this year” route, but I know that’s not always an option. And if you’re crafting for other people during the holidays, it can be hard finding time to craft for yourself. So I’ve put together some tips on how to craft for yourself, while crafting for other people, while making it through the holidays.
These are primarily knitting related tips, but they can translate into other crafts.
Tip 1: only craft for people who are really and truly craft worthy. Not everyone appreciates handmade, and that’s ok. Just save handmade for people who “get it.”
Tip 2: put the intricate lace shawl aside. I love my lace, but it does not make for good holiday knitting. If you’re making big & complex things for other people you probably should’ve started in July, and if the project is for you, I say put it away till January.
Tip 3: simple projects. Projects that you can work on while being around people, and projects that you can pick up and put down easily are the way to go. Simple knitting & crochet projects are excellent for this.
Tip 4: carve out time for yourself. Even if it’s just 20 minutes to work on a personal project.
Tip 5: split your crafting time into “time you’re crafting around other people” and “time you’re crafting alone.” This is kind of a combination/variation on Tips 3 & 4. You can designate your “crafting time around people” as personal crafting time, and then work on other people’s gifts during the time you’re alone – this works especially well if you’re trying to keep the projects a secret. OR you can designate the “time you’re crafting around other people” as “time to work on simple projects” and the “time you’re crafting alone” as “time to work on complicated projects.” Which ever works for you.
Tip 6: only craft for yourself. Don’t try crafting for people and jump straight to getting gifts made by other people. This is a sure-fire way of having time to craft for yourself & gives you an opportunity to support independent makers, and small businesses.
Tip 7: decide to make gifts at the very last minute. Every year I say I’m not going to make gifts, and then every year, a week or so before Christmas I change my mind. This means that the week leading up to Christmas is kind of a crafting nightmare, but the weeks leading up to the week before Christmas are all about crafting for me.
This year, the plan is (again) to not craft for Christmas, and instead to focus my crafting time on the self-made wardrobe, (and not being cold.)
But of course, that’s what I always say. So we’ll see what happens.
Hibernating all winter seems like an appealing option – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 16
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels.
DAY 106 – NOVEMBER 14th
Winter Coat
Moonstruck Cardigan
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Grey Tights
Black Flats
Princess Necklace
Various Rings
I love how the collar of the sweater looks pulled out over the outside of the coat, and it’s making me want to create a whole bunch of collars and cowls so I can have some variety this winter. (We’ll see if I ever get around to it.)
DAY 107 – NOVEMBER 15th
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Basic Black Tank
Cascading Flowers Skirt
Nude Heels
Various Rings
I really love how giant and cozy this sweater is, and I have a feeling I’ll be wearing it a lot this winter.
I did wear my coat over all of this, but I figure from now on I’ll just show you what was underneath, and do a post all about the finished coat – when it’s finally finished…
DAY 108 – NOVEMBER 16th
Boring Black Sweater
Basic Black Tank
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Grey Tights
Black Flats
My boring black sweater really is the perfect layer underneath my winter coat especially for those weird days that are kind of between freezing-cold, and not-quite-as-freezing-cold. Although most of the days have been of the freezing-cold-and-windy variety, so hibernating all winter seems like an appealing option.
DAY 109 – NOVEMBER 17th
Blue Kimono
Basic Black Tank
Cascading Flowers Skirt
Various Rings
I spent the day hiding from the cold, and not leaving the apartment, so I pulled my lovely blue kimono back out – the one I basically lived in all summer.
DAY 110 – NOVEMBER 18th
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Basic Black Tank
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Bicycle Necklace
Various Rings
I love how easy this outfit looks, and how easy it is to actually wear.
A cozy sweater + a skirt I absolutely adore = yes please!
DAY 111 – NOVEMBER 19th
Moonstruck Cardigan
Colorful Knit Sweater Dress
White Underskirt
Grey Tights
Brown Boots
Various Rings
It was cold enough on Day 111, that I wanted another layer under the sweater, so I wore my super colorful sweater dress, and doubled up on the tights.
DAY 112 – NOVEMBER 20th
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Basic Black Tank
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Black Heels
Pocket Watch Necklace
Various Rings
The problem with easy outfits is that they quickly become all I want to wear. This is not the first time I’m repeating an outfit, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
PS. I’m fighting off some sort of winter-cold-thing, and my head is all fuzzy, so I’m sorry if this post feels a touch disjointed.
It’s cold, so I’m knitting some sweaters.
Each Wednesday, I post little snippets about what’s happening, and what I’m working on.
I’ve been wearing my winter coat quite successfully. It still needs a zipper, and some pockets, and a lining. Though it’s proving to be rather windproof (especially when I’m wearing layers), so at the moment the zipper is more of a priority than the lining.
Speaking of layers…
I started a new sweater. It’s another allover slipped stitch pattern. This sweater is a top down raglan pullover, using 5 different colors of yarn, which makes for a very hard to photograph project.
And the purple sweater I started last week is progressing. It’s knit from the top down, and I’m through the decreases to the waist, so I’m hoping to start the increases for the hips soon. Then it’s on to sleeve island.
I pre-washed and ironed the fabric for my first “Archer” button up shirt, and planned to cut the pieces last weekend, but that didn’t happen – hopefully this weekend.
And because I need a project that has nothing to do with the self-made wardrobe, my spindling kick continues.
Also!
Speaking of The Self-Made Wardrobe Project, I posted the 3rd Month Wrap Up over on selfmadewardrobe.com, you can read the post here.
