Budgeting sewing - do you?

If you've read my blog, you know that earlier this year I blogged about FPFW (here and here) and that I was trying to give it a go. 

Well, it's a work in progress.

The whole idea behind "Five piece French wardrobe" is to consume less "fast fashion" and invest more in items that stand the test of time. And trough all that spend less. 

I did a rather unusual thing and kept track of how much money I was spending in fabric and haberdashery stores for 6 months. I also kept all the recipes to see on what I was spending a rather substantial amount of money monthly. 

Emotional buys.

About 75% of all the fabric I bought was purchased on a whim, with no particular garment in mind. You might say I like to hoard fabric. I could also come up with some stupid excuses, like "oh it was so unusual and I it would make a great pair of leggings..." and FYI - I don't wear leggings daily. Just to dance classes. 

My intention with the "Hand-made FPFW" was to make more clothes that fit into my lifestyle, that would get a lot of use and wear; would be made out of quality materials... so when I looked at that Excel spread sheet with my monthly sewing expenses, I felt that I've failed. Sure, I've been sewing less garments, but I have not been able to stop myself from buying fabric that is not needed.

For a while I tried "a monthly set budget" for my sewing stuff. But that did not work for me. So, I came up with a new plan. Project based budget.

I keep a running list of garments that I want to add to my wardrobe for fall/winter 2016/17. I keep adding things and taking some off the list all the time, but I am sure the closer we get to the season the clearer my ideas become. 

And now I've added a new column to that list with expected costs per garment. I hope it will help me keep track of things from now on. Fingers crossed :)

How about you? Do you budget your sewing? If so, any experiences and/or tips to share?