Quilting and Sewing Mindfully: Finding Peace One Stitch At a Time

We live in a busy, 24/7 world. There is always something to be done, something to think about, something to worry about. There’s also a tendency to look for the fastest way to do something. 

You can see this trend reflected in quilting and sewing, too. There has been a growing prevalence of fast quilt patterns that you can design, cut, and sew quickly so that you get to your finished product as fast as possible. Long-time designer Ellen Burns is known for this through her Quilt In a Day series. 

Before we go any further, I want to note that this need for speed isn’t always a bad thing! If you need to make a gift that’s for an event that’s coming up soon, then you need a pattern that will be easy to make with minimum stress. These quick patterns are also an amazing option when you are short on time just as a matter of everyday life. If you can only carve out a weekend afternoon to work on your quilting, a fast project might be exactly what you are looking for. 

But there’s another side to quilting that I think we can also tap into, and that’s the idea of stitching as a mindful practice. Focusing on a mindful quilting practice allows us to take a step back from the frantic pace of chain-pricing and batching processing blocks as fast as we can, and emphasizes enjoying the process one stitch at a time. Mindful quilting also allows us to connect more with our bodies, reminding us to breathe even as we hunch over our sewing machines and squint at the seam allowances. 

Four Ways to Quilt Mindfully

1. Give hand sewing a try. Focus on taking one stitch at a time without the need to rush. This could be either traditional hand piecing or English paper piecing. 
2. Do a body scan before you sit down at your sewing machine. Pay attention to your physical sensations and what you can perceive in your environment. Use the five senses as your guide: what do you see, hear, smell, touch, and even taste? 
3. Practice mindful journaling at the end of each sewing session. How do you feel after working on a project? Why do you think you feel that way?
4. Take a deep breath and focus on the sensation of that breath each time you begin sewing a new seam. How does the air feel entering and leaving your lungs? 

Quilting and sewing should be something we enjoy, but we sometimes need to pause and remind ourselves of this. Incorporating mindfulness into our sewing and quilting is one way that we can ensure we’re grounded and present each time we go to sew, instead of just rushing through the motions. 

Have you tried any of these mindful practices in your sewing room? Share your experience in the comments below!