As much as we would like to think our sewing UFOs ( Un-Finished Objects) are really Works in Progress (WIP), it may be time to reassess.

There are perhaps many reasons sewing UFO’s arise - lost passion (translate to - mistakenly thought that bound buttonholes or invisible zipper insertion was doable), missing an important or desired notion to complete (more fabric needed or acquiring an even feed presser foot once thought necessary sewing plaids or stripes), time long gone (the toddler the project was designed for is now in college), or now of dubious function (not sure what it was to eventually become).

These long-forgotten sewing projects can cloud the once confident sewing mind when we come upon them stashed seemingly forever at the bottom of a fabric storage bin or carefully wrapped (still pinned to paper tissue pattern cutouts) and stored at the back of a closet in the branded logo plastic bag indicating where purchased. Sigh.

Sewing UFO’s weigh heavily and often dismally on a sewer. All sewers of whatever skill level eventually have one or many more of them. They may be too precious to discard (fabric may be a treasured heirloom) and like a walk down memory lane we hold tight to fond remembrances. What to do if anything of those sewing UFO’s?

The challenge is not to overthink this, however some possibilities come to mind.

Finish the project to attain closure is one way, perhaps most obvious but not necessarily most desirable.

Acquire the necessary skills needed to finish the UFO. Yes, a challenge for sure. Today’s social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Google, individual content blogs, etc.) offer many hundreds of free How-To tutorials.

Borrow or buy the helpful needed sewing notion to finish the waiting UFO. That desired even feed presser foot, special sized quilting ruler, double-sided iron-on fusible hem tape, DIY bias tape maker, lighted magnifier seam ripper, bright natural daylight mimicking sewing/crafting/reading lights are just a few supplies that can help get us started and help to keep us going as we tackle the UFO once and for all.

Even the long-forgotten toddler project is doable to finish and give away (now that said toddler is a college student!) to a harried mom who might like a new homemade outfit for their toddler. Even the not-so-sure-what-it-was-meant-to-be UFO can be cut up and made into any of thousands of scrap project ideas easy to find online. Time to try a patchwork quilt. Maybe.

So, all UFO’s are not really lost or forgotten or a drudge effort when they are reassessed, reconfigured, rethought, remade or even just made into what they surely were meant to be. Finishing a sewing UFO can set the sewing mind free to explore other inventive creative sewing projects yet to be.

Sew happy, sew inspired.