Tips for planning a crafty girls trips

A couple of weeks ago I shared a vlog of my sewing staycation with my sister on my youtube channel. So many of you loved the idea of going on a crafty vacation, so I thought I’d pull together my tips for planning your own!

Focus on one craft. We opted for a sewing staycation because we both wanted to sew pants we learned to make in a class locally, plus a few other easier projects. You need a lot of things for sewing so we opted for staycation at the most dreamy cabin on Lake Superior about a 3 hour drive from our homes. While we brought our knitting, books and film cameras, the main focus of the trip was sewing projects. It was nice to have a our knitting to work on in the evening when we watch a movie.

Plan and prep out your projects. We both knew we wanted to make hard pants together since we had both taken classes and could help each other through the steps if we got stuck. We made different patterns, but the overall concepts were the same so it was really fun to work side-by-side on these projects. I recommend picking the specific patterns, fabric you’ll use, and have all the pieces cut out and ready to go. We were able to get right into our projects and just enjoy our time together.

Don’t make too many things. We stayed three nights and each made two garments. We each had a “big” project and a simpler, quick project. We started with our bigger more complex project and spent two days on that. Then, at the end we made the quick projects. It was nice to front load the harder project and then have less pressure at the end of the trip of a simple project. We also didn’t put much pressure on finishing everything. The easy project was there if we wanted to make it. This wasn’t about making as many things as possible, it was just about enjoying the process and spending time together.

Plan non-crafty activities. You don’t have to fill up your itinerary, but it was nice to break up our day with hiking and lunch at a nearby cafe. We had a morning sewing session, midday activity break and then afternoon/evening sewing session. This helped our bodies and brains. You can only sew nonstop for so long.

Bring a portable speaker and extension cord stripe. These were essential. Music helped up keep the energy flowing and our sewing mojo going. We bounced between chill playlists and throwback hits from our high school and college days. The extension cord was key for our sewing machine setup on the dining table all together as our work station.

Double check on amenities. At first I wasn’t going to bring an iron and ironing board, just assuming they’d have one at our home rental. I’m very glad I decided to double check with the host who kindly informed us they didn’t have that at the cottage. Would’ve really put a wrench in things if we hadn’t double checked!

Overpack. This is really for a sewing vacation and wouldn’t apply so much for a knitting vacation where I’d actually want to under pack so I could bring back some yarn (if we were going somewhere with yarn shops nearby). For sewing you want extra thread, needles, fabric, etc if you make a mistake so you don’t hit a standstill with your project during your vacation. I packed all my extra fabric even though I cut out the pieces beforehand and a couple random yards of fabric for no other reason, but just incase. I was glad I did because my sister ended up needed my random fabric to recut out her pockets for her trousers.

Next crafty trip with my sister, I want to visit Copenhagen for yarn shopping with lots of knitting at cute cafes and parks. Definitely on my bucket list! I’d love to know if you’ve gone on a crafty vacation or staycation. Tell me all the details of where you went and what you did! I need to add to my crafty vacation bucket list!