How many unfinished craft projects do you have?
Updated: Sep 28
Be honest.
How many unfinished craft projects are hiding in your sewing room, craft cupboard, spare room, baskets, boxes and those mysterious bags you haven't opened for a while?
I love buying fabric. I love planning garments and quilts. And I definitely love starting something new.
Finishing everything I start?
Well… that's another story.
Sometimes I wonder if I have a finishing problem.
But the more I've thought about my unfinished projects, the more I've realised that having unfinished projects isn't really the problem.
The problem is not knowing what you have — or what you're going to do with it.
The lure of the bright, shiny new project
There is only so much crafting time available.
And when I finally have time to sew, it's very difficult to work on the slightly boring project I started six months ago when a lovely new piece of fabric is sitting there whispering:
"Pick me."
You know how it goes.
A new pattern appears.
You find the perfect fabric.
Someone posts something fabulous online.
Suddenly, the sensible project you were planning to finish has been abandoned for the bright, shiny new thing.
Meanwhile, the unfinished projects quietly accumulate.
In my case, they're not even organised enough to constitute an official UFO pile.
They're more of a UFO scattering.
Some are mixed in with fabric.
Some are sitting with wishlist projects.
And some have migrated into what could probably be called my:
"I'm not sure I even like this anymore" pile.
I decided to find out what was actually hiding in one of my tubs of projects
Recently, I tackled one of tubs containing unfinished sewing projects.
The first discovery was that at some point the cat had apparently been sleeping in the tub.
Excellent.
In the tub was an interesting collection of forgotten plans, abandoned projects and fabric.
I found:
● Two tablecloths I'd planned to upcycle.
● A tea towel I apparently had plans for.
● A small piece of rayon intended to increase the sleeve width of a dress — although I now need to locate the dress.
● A large piece of crepe fabric.
● A toile for a pair of trousers.
● A six-panel skirt already cut out in red metallic fabric.
● A pink vintage dress waiting to be upcycled.
● Blue poplin.
● A random pattern piece that needs to be reunited with the rest of its pattern.
● Three metres of silver fabric.
● Blue fabric and a pattern destined for my wishlist.
● Navy sateen.
● Several pieces of brightly coloured lawn.
And then there were the projects that made me wonder:
Why am I keeping this?
Not every unfinished project needs to be finished
This was probably the biggest realisation.
Finishing something simply because you started it isn't necessarily a good use of your crafting time.
I found three dresses already cut out in fabric I no longer like, using patterns that probably don't suit my shape.
Realistically, am I ever going to be excited about sewing those dresses?
No.
Yet they'd been taking up physical space in my sewing room — and a tiny bit of mental space every time I encountered them.
So they're going.
The same applies to the large piece of crepe I found.
I really hate sewing with crepe.
There is absolutely no reason for me to keep it simply because at some point in the past I thought I might use it.
Destash.
And it feels surprisingly good.
The goal isn't to finish everything
This is where I've changed my thinking about UFOs — unfinished objects.
I don't think having unfinished projects is something we need to feel guilty about.
Crafting is supposed to be enjoyable.
Our interests change. Our skills change. Our bodies change. Our tastes change.
A project that seemed exciting two years ago may hold absolutely no interest for you today.
That's okay.
What matters is making a conscious decision about it.
For every unfinished project, I want to know three things:
What is it?
Why is it unfinished?
What am I going to do with it next?
That final answer doesn't have to be finish it.
It might be:
Finish it.
Modify it.
Put it back into active rotation.
Wait until I have more time.
Find the missing supplies.
Destash it.
Donate it.
Repurpose it.
Or simply admit that I'm never going to finish it and let it go.
Once you've made that decision, the project stops being a vague piece of clutter and becomes something you actually have a plan for.
Start with one tub, box or cupboard
If you've accumulated years of craft projects, the idea of finding and assessing every UFO can be overwhelming.
So don't start with the entire craft room.
Start with one container.
One tub.
One drawer.
One shelf.
One cupboard.
Pull everything out and look at each item individually.
Ask yourself:
Do I still want to make this?
Not:
"Should I finish it because I've already spent money on it?"
Not:
"Would throwing this away be wasteful?"
And definitely not:
"Surely I'll get around to it someday?"
Do you actually want to spend some of your finite crafting time working on this project?
That question makes the decision much easier.
Keep track of the projects that survive
One of the projects I rediscovered was the cut-out red metallic six-panel skirt.
I'd completely forgotten about it.
Unlike some of the other things in the tub, though, I still want to make it.
So rather than putting it back into the tub where I can forget about it for another couple of years, it's going into my Unfinished Project Tracker.
That's exactly why I created the tracker.
I wanted one place where I could see my unfinished projects, understand why they'd stalled, decide which ones still deserved my time and work out what needed to happen next.
Because once you start uncovering UFOs, relying on your memory isn't particularly effective.
Especially when apparently you've been storing them underneath a cat.
Your unfinished projects aren't a to-do list
Perhaps that's the most important thing I've learned from doing this.
Finding 20 unfinished projects doesn't mean you've suddenly acquired a 20-project to-do list.
You're allowed to decide that some projects have reached the end of their lives.
The objective isn't:
Finish all the things.
It's:
Know what you have. Decide what matters. Make space for the things you actually want to create.
That might mean finishing something.
It might mean rediscovering a project you'd completely forgotten about.
And sometimes it might mean putting three abandoned dresses in the discard pile and wondering why on earth you kept them for so long.
Either way, you've made a decision.
And that feels considerably better than another mystery tub sitting in the corner of the sewing room.
Want to get your own UFOs under control?
If your unfinished projects are currently scattered through boxes, bags, cupboards and corners of your craft room, my Unfinished Project Tracker can help you bring them together in one place.
It's designed to help you record what you've got, identify why a project has stalled, decide what you actually want to keep and work out the next step — without turning your hobby into another giant to-do list.
Because you don't need to finish everything.
You just need to decide what's still worth your time.
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