Plans for 2015

pinterest

Happy new year and all that, chaps. I don’t really like new year time to be honest, and I won’t be doing any sort of 2014 retrospective. But one thing I do like to do is look forward and plan some exciting sewing projects for 2015. I certainly did learn a lot in 2014 across technique, fitting and my personal style so I feel like this’ll be a great year for my stitching. Seemingly like a lot of others, my key plan is to make less, but make it all with increased thought and care.

Unfortunately, I think January and February will pretty much be a no-sew zone for me which isn’t a very good start. Over the next 6-8 weeks I’ve got: building work starting on my sewing room (to make it bigger! yay!); two demanding work contracts; ten days in Barbados; a weekend in Berlin, and my 30th birthday. Phew. So here’s what you might be seeing on here some time around March…

(nb if you can’t see the pins in a feed reader, click to view.)

Jacket (not)January

I was really hoping to crack on and get a Rigel bomber out during Jacket January, but due to the reasons above I don’t think it will get done in time for the sewcial sewalong – I hope it will be done in time for wearing in spring though. I also really want to make Marilla’s Freemantle coat in a black tweed.

Swimmies

I actually kind of need another swimsuit for Barbados, so that’s a high-priority sew. I’ve been tinkering even more with my self-drafted pattern and have got everything I need to give it a go. I may well still make it available for download too, don’t hold me to that though.

Jeans

I’ve got a pair of Ginger jeans in plum-coloured denim (with baby pink topstitching) half-constructed already, so they need finishing up and I’m excited to see how the fit compares to previous pairs. I’m going to back to basics, closely following Heather’s fantastic instructions and sewalong to try and pick up some tips and hopefully get my best results yet. Hopefully more will follow!

Tops

Confession: I have a bit of a weird vendetta against sewing tops. Basically if I have enough yardage of a fabric for a dress, I feel like it’s sort of a waste to make a top instead. Stupid, right? I need to change that way of thought as it’s really too cold for a lot of my dresses at the moment and it’s much easier to layer a top. I wear a few of my favourite me-made woven tops to death so need a few more in a similar vein.

Dungarees

After making the short Turia dungarees for my sister, I rather fancy a dress or long-trousered version for myself. Definitely in something very neutral like a plain black denim so I’m actually inclined to wear them. Oh alright, maybe tiny polka dots.

Bras

I’ve been wanting to try sewing bras for a while as I’m fussy with RTW ones and they look so fun to put together. Plus as Lauren mentioned, lingerie is a great way to get to sew obsessively without adding yet more garments to an already-full wardrobe. I think I’ll pick up a kit and pattern and see how it goes.

Self-drafting

I’d like to carry on with my self-designing and drafting experiments this year, I find it incredibly satisfying. First up I’m desperate to have a go at knocking off a dress similar to these two beauties, with the darts converted into concentric square pieces. Shouldn’t be too difficult a job and I can probably stash-bust some complementary fabrics.

I want to make use of some of the pretty trimmings I’ve collected so have been saving some fun placement ideas.

And I’m really interested to experiment more in making unique textiles for garments, whether that’s piecing/patchworking, printing or dyeing.

Quilting

I have two quilts for myself in the pipeline. One, for the bedroom, is half-done and is more abstract with muted shades and lots of linens mixed in – very inspired by the Season Evans one above. I’m also planning a more geometric ‘tumbling blocks’ one for the living room in solid grey and yellows.

Well, I think all of that will keep me busy for a bit :) What do your 2015 sewing plans look like?

26 thoughts on “Plans for 2015

  1. Florianne

    I also want to try quilting. It can be really modern and pretty. Before I was thinking that quilting was only for old ladies (what a stupidity) but after seeing a lot of pins about it on Pinterest, I’ve changed my mind. I can’t wait to see your creation !

    1. Katie Post author

      Absolutely! I’ve already made one modern quilt for a gift and it was really fun. I get inspired a lot by Pinterest too. Can’t wait to finish the ones for myself.

  2. Caroline Joynson

    Katie, those are exciting plans for 2015! Looking forward to seeing how everything turns out x
    I am hoping to do some quality sewing after I finish my own full house renovation which hopefully will be completed by February! I’ve still got my shirtdress and coat to finish which I have to finish before starting any new projects.

    1. Katie Post author

      The coat’s looking great, good luck. Can’t believe you get anything done with house reno in progress.

  3. Chloe

    These look like great projects – I’m really intrigued by your concentric square dress idea, I can see it working out really nicely. And thanks for the intro to that Season Evans quilt – gorgeous!
    I’ll be slowly starting the year, too, and also hope to try my hand at bra sewing, but no promises!

  4. EmSewCrazy

    Ooh I like your plans and I’m going to have to check out your Pinterest boards! It seems like this IS the year for us all to sew more thoughtfully and I’m excited to see what you come up with!

    1. EmSewCrazy

      PS. If you don’t have a pattern for the Tumbling Blocks quilt make sure you do a mini practice one first. I made my brother one for Christmas a couple years ago and thought I could do it off of free web info. I did it with strip piecing so there weren’t diamonds and those Y seams. It’s pretty slick but you have to cut mirror image of the pieces so the “tumbling block” goes together correctly.

      1. Katie Post author

        Oh, I will! I was thinking of strip piecing it all with isosceles triangles as I don’t fancy dealing with the Y seams either. Thanks for the tips.

  5. Karen

    These look like great plans! Funny, I also have a vendetta against sewing tops if I have enough yardage for a dress (I only have one me-made top/blouse in 2+ years of sewing) so to make more tops will be on my list too:-) Wish you a wonderful 2015 and with two trips and a birthday it sure sounds like an exciting start to it!

    1. Katie Post author

      Good point, I should switch to knitting while sewing isn’t an option. Might pick up my sad unfinished sweater! Sorry about the comment, maybe it’s because I was messing around with the blog layout.

      1. Marilla

        Love your sewing plans, especially the Madeleine vionnet inspiration (a favourite). Definitely consider knitting instead. You could join the sweater knit along on Instagram! I’m in a massive knitting zone at the moment!

  6. Sam

    I am so scared of sewing bras, although it sounds like a fantastic idea because buying my weird shaped bras is HARD. Small back and big cup size has me out of pocket £££ every damn time. Need to get my courage up!

    1. Katie Post author

      At least you can experiment a lot with not a lot of fabric wastage – it seems like everyone needs a few attempts to get the fit just right. We can do it!

  7. Sam

    I’m loving your plans Katie. My immediate plans are to finish the coat I started 6 weeks (or possibly even longer) ago, then master fitting trousers and to try the OkiStyle Salt jacket pattern.

  8. Carla

    Your plans sound great!! Can’t wait to see how they turn out. And yay on expanding your sewing space. I have to go and clean mine more, so that should be fun. I scribbled my 2015 sewing plans out for a later blog post, but it’s gonna be a lot of sewing to keep me busy.

  9. Stacey

    My sewing plan for 2015 is to make something for myself. In 2014 I made a few things for the kiddlets, but I’d really love to make wearable clothes for me! So far this year I’ve borrowed the overlocker. And threaded it! Yay me! Hoping that following all this great sewing blogs will keep me inspired :)

  10. Sophie-Lee

    Haha, I’m exactly the same as you (and others, obviously) when it comes to tops – I see a cute blouse pattern and think “2.2m of fabric?? I could make a dress out of that!”

    But, obviously it means I have very few things to wear with pants/skirts (which I also need more of). Huh.

  11. Alessa

    Ooh, those plans! Actually, some of mine run along similar lines, I’d love to make a Minoru Jacket and a bathing suit (I’ve got the Bombshell in my stash) and would seriously like to try the Ginger jeans. Yay for expanding your sewing and have fun in Barbados and Berlin! Actually, if you need any tips for Berlin or want to meet up for coffee, just drop me a line. :)

    1. Katie Post author

      Good plans! Unfortunately only in Berlin for one night with work this time, but another time definitely!

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