A year of sewing in review

sewxmas

Happy Christmas kids, hope you all had a good one. I was very spoiled like usual, and especially got treated to lots of lovely sewing goodies: a few books and a big box full of Merchant and Mills goodies from my sister. My handmade gifts for my mum and Josh also went down very well, so I’ll try to get some photos and share them soon.

As the year draws to a close, I thought it would be interesting to look back on my first year of sewing and review what I actually wear the most from all my makes – and what didn’t get worn at all – and see how it can help me shape what garments I make going forward. I’ve enjoyed seeing ‘top 5’ lists on other sewing blogs, but thought I’d discuss all my varying degrees of success in a bit more depth.

Most worn

coats

Coats: I wear both of my coats regularly, especially my biker coat. Hurrah for my most expensive and time-consuming garments being my biggest win!

tops

Tops: The reversible raglan is definitely my most-worn garment: I wear it as soon as it comes out of the laundry and send it back there again! The fabric and construction have both held up really well and I love the shoulder detailing. I also wear my silk tulip Scout often, even in the cold layered with a cardigan.

dresses

Dresses: The feather tunic is my most-worn dress, I just love the colours and it’s so comfy. I wore it on Christmas Day, as you can spy in the photo up top. Likewise I’ve worn my Lola twice already and I’ve only had it a week, ha ha.

dresses2

I wore my Simplicity 1800 a lot in the summer, and it’s transitioned well into cold weather. Unfortunately the poor quality fabric and construction mean it’s looking a bit ropey these days. I also wore the black and tan dress and Salme grey pussybow dress a lot, but again I’m not happy with my workmanship. It shows how far my skills have come since I made these, and I’d like to make them all again in nicer fabrics.

Worn a bit

pants

Trousers: I wear my Papercut pants occasionally: I still struggle to put an outfit together around them, but because they’re wool they’re so warm and cosy so I want to persevere with them. I wore my Burda deco pants a bit a few months ago, but they don’t really work for winter. I’ll dig them out again in the spring.

smocks

Dresses: I’ve worn my storm smock once or twice, but the slightly off fit makes me not reach for it more often. Likewise my other smock is a bit off fit-wise too, I need to take them back to the machine to fix up.

tops2

Tops: I wear my two woven Scouts occasionally, but have found I tend to prefer either stretch knits or drapier/lighter woven fabrics for tops.

Not worn

dresses3

A riot of prints, ha ha. I really love my midcentury mashup dress but haven’t found the right occasion yet: it’s a bit formal for a day dress and a bit cleavage-y for family gatherings. I have the same issue with my pansy dress too. I haven’t worn my staggy Belladone yet either; I think I got too entranced by the cute fabric but it’s a bit too much of a statement piece for everyday and also not cold weather appropriate. Ditto my Simplicity 1651 space dress: I wore it to a ‘Heaven and Hell’ costume party but I don’t think that counts!

notworn

Conversely, I haven’t worn my first Dixie ballet dress either, which is surprising as it has the hallmarks of something I should live in (grey, knit, empire line). I think it’s just a bit too plain and dull. I don’t wear my Kelly skirt as it’s just not really my style and it’s too big. I’d like to take it back to the machine and change it up a bit (shorter, different buttons), and perhaps dye it black.

Dead and/or gone

I truly loved my black and white Salme pussy bow dress and wore it a few times in the summer, but the poor quality fabric and construction meant it literally fell apart at the seams and became unsalvageable. I need to find a similar print in a nicer fabric as I always found myself reaching for it in my wardrobe. I gave my vintage playsuit to the charity shop. I had lots of fun making it but I was never realistically going to ever wear it. I wore my Victoria blazer once or twice but I’m not happy with the quality of my construction, so it’s gone to the charity shop too.

Deductions

What can I learn from this exercise? Plenty, I think:

Invest in quality fabrics and construction:
The items I wear the most are the ones where I feel confident in the fit, my workmanship, and in the fabric’s durability. Easy care in terms of laundry is a big bonus, too.

Know what silhouettes work:
Sewing has made me know my body so much better, and I have a pretty good grip now on what shapes and fabrics I feel comfortable wearing. I won’t wear anything too stiff or structured; I don’t like excess volume in pleats or ruffles; I don’t like showing much cleavage but do like a snug fit around the waist. I wear knits way more than wovens, especially on the top half, so I definitely want to make more interesting knit tops next year.

Not novelty but not boring:
I haven’t worn any of my more outlandish printed pieces much at all, but don’t wear very plain pieces either. I should stick to graphical prints in muted colours or monochrome, and make more colourblocked pieces with solid fabrics.

Think about occasion:
Don’t make garments that only work in a specific season or don’t really have an event that they’re suitable for. Consider how separates will coordinate with other items and how ‘dressy’ dresses are. Given my work at home lifestyle I don’t need many smart dresses or trousers, so making more practical, comfortable garments is what I should aim for.

It’s been amazing learning more about sewing garments this year, and it really excites me that I’ve stuck with it so long (I tend to be a bit of an ADD hobby magpie, ahem). I feel like I’m in a good place now where my skills are improved and I have a better idea about the kind of garments I like to make and that suit me. There is always so much more to learn – I’d especially love to dig into drafting my own patterns – and I already have a long to-sew list for 2014 (including jeans, oh yes). Bring it on.

5 thoughts on “A year of sewing in review

  1. Michelle

    Can’t believe you took that playsuit to the charity shop – I’d have paid good money for that! A great sewing year, I’m starting he year by finishing all my half finished pieces!

  2. karen

    great post and I think you made really nice clothes in 2013. Looking forward to seeing more of your creations in 2014! I like your new webpage design too

  3. MaciNic

    Thanks for a lovely review, and analysis of why you found you preferred some makes & where 2014 may take you – I think I’m at a similar stage, and really appreciate reading your thoughts and review.

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