My Year in Sewing – 2019

01.09.20

Handmade

It still sort of stuns me that I have become a person who sews my own clothing, because this was never a goal I set out to accomplish or one that I thought might actually be attainable. Now here I am a few years into a sewing habit that has officially hooked me and I couldn’t be more excited about how far I have come and where I’m going. New Year’s resolutions have never been my thing, but I have decided to do a #makenine goal for garment sewing which I will share very soon! I thought it would also be fun to review how my sewing practice grew in 2019 and what my goals are for growth in 2020.

Lessons Learned and Major Growth Points from 2019

Slowing down – I suppose this was technically a lesson I learned at the end of 2018, when I hurriedly sewed what should have been a simple sewing project. While it was quick, I did rush and in doing so, made some minor errors that really annoyed me. Even though no one else would have noticed them, they made me never want to wear the garment. Ever since then, I have been much more intentional and slow with my technique and finishing, and it has resulted in garments I love so much more.

Prep and planning pay off big time – This isn’t a revolutionary concept, but in line with my efforts to slow down my sewing, I put more planning and prep into projects than before. Honestly, I think the prep and planning probably ends up consuming more time than the actual sewing process because all that work up front leads to a streamlined production experience. This includes careful fabric choice, reviewing hashtags to read up on other makers’ experiences with a pattern, gathering all my supplies, practicing new techniques, etc. I really enjoy the planning aspect of my sewing practice and hope I only continue to flourish in this way.

Muslins are important! – It was really hard to get on board with making muslins (basically a practice garment, for those unfamiliar.) I never wanted to make them because my sewing time is already so limited, who wants to make a practice version before the real thing?! Well, just like me learning the lesson about rushing the hard way, I realized that making a garment with good fabric and only discovering after you had used said fabric that the garment didn’t fit or for some reason didn’t work…well, it’s the worst feeling. Also, my body has changed quite a bit over the past few years and a practice run always helps ensure a better fit. Fitting is definitely a constant learning process, but I am glad to have seen the light on the importance of muslins.

Wardrobe vision is possible, and extremely helpful – It is really common for new-ish sewists to hop from project to project making whatever sparks your fancy but not really thinking about how that might fit into your overall wardrobe. I definitely experienced that myself, but now I am realizing that wardrobe planning and vision is a crucial component to making handmade clothes I actually want to wear and wear often. I started the Seamwork Design Your Wardrobe program and while my work and travel schedule ended up derailing my ability to complete the program, the initial steps of gathering inspiration, defining an aesthetic, figuring out color palette, sketching ideas, etc. have made a lasting impact on my choices about what projects to make next.

Becoming comfortable with my serger – I bought my serger in 2018 and it worked for about 0.9 projects before something went wonky with the tension knobs and the stitching looked CAH-RAZY. I rethreaded it and tried all sorts of tutorials but never figured out the issue, so I had the machine serviced. That worked and it has been working smoothly ever since. I have learned (mostly) about how to adjust the tension and other settings for the best looking finish depending on what fabric I am sewing. This has really been a huge game changer for me, and massively speeds up the sewing process (in a good way, not a rushed way.)

Machine upgrade – This wasn’t exactly a lesson learned, but I was able to upgrade to a MUCH nicer machine over the summer and dudes, I am never looking back. My starter machine was fine for a while, but my new machine is so much more consistent and just yields fantastic results. I also really love its automatic thread cutting function, which saves so much time.

I can do so much in multiple short sessions – My schedule is extremely busy, far busier than I would like, but that’s just where my life is right now at this stage in my career and parenthood. This is even more reason why it is crucial for me to make time for my hobbies. While I do have some times when I am able to sew for an hour or more, I often just set a time for 20 or 30 minutes and do whatever I can in that session. It’s amazing how much can be done in these times. I personally am a morning person and I love to use any early morning time before the kids are up to squeeze in some sewing before the day gets crazy.

Favorite Makes of 2019

After a very slow start to the year (I don’t think I sewed a complete garment until May due to previously mentioned serger issues), I ended up completing many finished projects. This felt like the year when I truly transitioned to preferring homemade over anything store-bought, and whenever I see ready to wear clothing instead of thinking “I want that!” I think “I could make that, but do ____ to make it even more perfect for me.” Here are a handful of my very favorite makes from 2019.

01/07

Orchid Midi Dress/Chalk and Notch

This dress was such an accomplishment for me. It was the first thing I muslined because I knew fitting of the top would be tricky given my muscular arms and shoulders, and very full bust. The preparation paid off and I absolutely adore this dress. I do think I probably should have added a broad shoulder adjustment to make it even more comfortable but overall it fits well and I am so proud of it!

Another Orchid Dress/Chalk and Notch

I love the orchid dress pattern so much that I pretty much immediately cut out a second version using a remnant of this deadstock fabric that I had in my stash. I was rather cavalier in my cutting process and realized at the end that the orientation of the stripes wasn’t consistent across the garment as a whole. However, I don’t think it’s very noticeable, I still love and wear the dress often, and it was a good learning experience. I used the flutter sleeve view for this version and also shortened the skirt quite a bit to make it a fun summery dress. I just love it!

Suki Robe/Helen's Closet

This gorgeous fabric had been in my stash for months just waiting to be made into a robe. I’m so glad I finally made it happen because I love love the final product and wear it often. While I do not have a lifestyle that necessitates multiple robes, I would like to make this pattern again. Maybe as a gift next time! You can get more details about my project in the blog post I wrote about it.

Dress 47/Cali Faye

This photo really doesn’t do justice to this cute tie front dress at all, but I haven’t taken many photos in it because I’m usually too busy wearing it and having fun. This is another one that I muslined but thankfully didn’t really need any changes beyond slightly shortening the skirt. It’s also a very quick project and I will definitely make more in the future. I LOVE this pattern!

Olive Jumpsuit/Untitled Thoughts

Hudson Pants/True Bias

I never would have thought that I would be so thrilled about making sweatpants but honestly, these are probably my favorite make of the year because I wear them constantly at home, they are so cute and comfortable – I just adore them. In fact, I love the Hudson pant pattern so much that I made a total of NINE pairs spanning September-December. This set here, an extra pair for Caroline, some for each of the kids as part of their Halloween jammies, and then four pairs for our family matching holiday jammies. And I have fabric in my stash planned for even more! Maybe soon I’ll write up a tribute post with photos of all these versions.

Nikko Dress/True Bias

I don’t wear a lot of turtlenecks, but I saw a sleeveless black version of the Nikko dress on social media and knew I had to recreate something similar. I love how versatile this dress has been. I can wear it casually with some sporty black sneakers, dress it up a bit with black ankle boots, or go full glam with my black strappy heels and a red lip. After this version, I ended up loving it so much that I made a second version with the body con modification and sleeves. I love that too, and I see more Nikko dresses (and maybe tops) in my future as I find fabric colors that pair perfectly.

View as a List

Orchid Midi Dress/Chalk and Notch
This dress was such an accomplishment for me. It was the first thing I muslined because I knew fitting of the top would be tricky given my muscular arms and shoulders, and very full bust. The preparation paid off and I absolutely adore this dress. I do think I probably should have added a broad shoulder adjustment to make it even more comfortable but overall it fits well and I am so proud of it!
Another Orchid Dress/Chalk and Notch
I love the orchid dress pattern so much that I pretty much immediately cut out a second version using a remnant of this deadstock fabric that I had in my stash. I was rather cavalier in my cutting process and realized at the end that the orientation of the stripes wasn’t consistent across the garment as a whole. However, I don’t think it’s very noticeable, I still love and wear the dress often, and it was a good learning experience. I used the flutter sleeve view for this version and also shortened the skirt quite a bit to make it a fun summery dress. I just love it!
Suki Robe/Helen's Closet
This gorgeous fabric had been in my stash for months just waiting to be made into a robe. I’m so glad I finally made it happen because I love love the final product and wear it often. While I do not have a lifestyle that necessitates multiple robes, I would like to make this pattern again. Maybe as a gift next time! You can get more details about my project in the blog post I wrote about it.
Dress 47/Cali Faye
This photo really doesn’t do justice to this cute tie front dress at all, but I haven’t taken many photos in it because I’m usually too busy wearing it and having fun. This is another one that I muslined but thankfully didn’t really need any changes beyond slightly shortening the skirt. It’s also a very quick project and I will definitely make more in the future. I LOVE this pattern!
Olive Jumpsuit/Untitled Thoughts
Hudson Pants/True Bias
I never would have thought that I would be so thrilled about making sweatpants but honestly, these are probably my favorite make of the year because I wear them constantly at home, they are so cute and comfortable – I just adore them. In fact, I love the Hudson pant pattern so much that I made a total of NINE pairs spanning September-December. This set here, an extra pair for Caroline, some for each of the kids as part of their Halloween jammies, and then four pairs for our family matching holiday jammies. And I have fabric in my stash planned for even more! Maybe soon I’ll write up a tribute post with photos of all these versions.
Nikko Dress/True Bias
I don’t wear a lot of turtlenecks, but I saw a sleeveless black version of the Nikko dress on social media and knew I had to recreate something similar. I love how versatile this dress has been. I can wear it casually with some sporty black sneakers, dress it up a bit with black ankle boots, or go full glam with my black strappy heels and a red lip. After this version, I ended up loving it so much that I made a second version with the body con modification and sleeves. I love that too, and I see more Nikko dresses (and maybe tops) in my future as I find fabric colors that pair perfectly.

View as a Slideshow

While the focus of this post is personal sewing, I also managed to make several things for Caroline because there are way more cute patterns kids would actually want to wear for girls than for boys. (If you have good tried and true patterns that would fit a tween boy, I’m all ears.) Of all my favorite makes for other people, these matching geranium dresses for Caroline and my amazing niece Luisa are by far my favorite. The strawberry printed double gauze fabric is so soft and floaty. I could look at the photos I took of them forever! What a special memory from our family vacation.

Looking at the year ahead, here are my sewing goals for 2020:

Hack patterns more often – I’m still growing into my confidence in regards to going off course and hacking patterns, but so far my attempts have been successful. I am excited to play around more with hacking in 2020.

Make jeans! – Oh man, I’m pretty nervous about making jeans but also absolutely dying to make some! I already have partners and fabric and hardware, and one of these days I will hopefully get up the nerve to actually make them!

Make more bras – So far I’ve only made one bra, but I really like it and am excited to grow my skills in bra and underwear making. My breasts have gotten larger as I have gained weight and I have very few bras that fit well. It’s time to change that! I have a few bra kits and really hope to make progress in this area of my sewing practice.

Include care labels with my clothes – I already put Everyday Annie labels in most of the garments I make, but I would like to include some care labels as well, especially for the things I gift. I am in the process of having some custom labels made for this purpose and have been refining which labels I would need most often. I also have considered adding size labels but I have conflicted feelings about this overall. I’ll keep mulling it over.

Mend and refashion more – I tried my hand at visible mending for the first time last year and loved it. I really want to continue mending and improving my skills in extending the life of garments and other household items.

Buy less and work mostly from my stash – I buy a decent amount of fabric, though I think I make careful choices to add to my collection. Still, I would like to focus on mostly using what I already own and be even more intentional in my purchasing of materials.

Find a system for storing remnants – I am not a hoarder but I also don’t like waste, so fabric remnants befuddle me sometimes. I save them as much as possible in case I can find a use for them instead of wasting them, but I also don’t currently have a good system for making them easily accessible/useable. I am converting my former workout room to a sewing room so I am hopeful I can find a good approach with my larger space.

Let's hear your making goals for 2020!

If you made it through that long post, thank you for sticking with me! If you are already a maker or want to become one, I would really love to hear about your own goals for the coming year. Happy making!