2015: A Year of Making

I always tell myself that I'm not going to do one of those year-end round up posts, but then I always end up doing one anyway.  I really love reading other bloggers (particularly sewing bloggers) who do this, so I guess I might as well!  Last year my year-end post included everything I made, and a little blurb about the fate of each piece.  I made so much stuff this year that I am overwhelmed just thinking about that!  So instead, I'm going to list my top seven makes.

1. Green Geometry Dress

I wore this dress a ton in the spring and summer.  I loved how the dress fit, I loved the trim detail, the buttons, the fabric, everything.  I got compliments from random people on the street every time I wore it.  I'm a little suspicious that it is going to be too big for me this year, given my big weight loss, and I'm debating whether to take it in.  I just tried on a bunch of stuff I made last spring, just to get an idea of what I needed to plan to make for my 2016 spring rotation, and almost nothing fits from last year--it is all huge on me and the bodices are all too long.  (The two blouses I made that were snug are a good fit now!)  Even though I really loved it last year, I've had some subtle style shifts this year, and I'm not sure that dress suits me any longer.  I'll try it on again in February and see where I'm at. 

2.  Chambray Dress

This dress is, hands down, my most worn dress.  It goes with everything, works for all seasons, layers up well, and does well in the heat.  I've made some small modifications to it since I originally made it, and like it even better now.  I will make another one when this one wears out or gets too big to look nice.

3.  Zwei Leben Skirt

This is my best skirt to date, and my most worn skirt currently.  I feel great when I wear it, and it goes with everything.  I'm planning a lighter weight chambray version for the spring and summer.

4. Tokyo Train Ride dress

I loved this dress when I first made it, and I wore it almost as much as the Green Geometry dress in the late winter and early spring.  I put it away for the summer and fall and was very eager to wear it again this winter.  I've worn it twice this month, and I'm sort of out of love with it.  I still really love the print on the fabric, but the fit is kind of weird.  It is too big, and I don't really love the square neckline so much any more.  It is also much longer than I'm currently making my dresses.  I realize the hemline is an easy fix, but the rest would require taking the whole dress apart and taking it in, and I'm uncertain I want to.  It has a center back zip, which I don't do any more with my dresses, and the bodice is a bit long.  I suppose I could take the whole dress apart, sew up the back seam, take in the bodice and skirt, shorten the bodice, shorten the skirt, make the neckline more round, but at a certain point, I wonder whether I'd be better off starting fresh.  I did have to piece the bodice on that dress, so I'd like to remake it without that issue.  I'm realizing that some dresses are good for a season or two, and that is okay.

5. Green Cookie Book dress/Feedsack dress

This is a two-fer, and I mention them not because they were such favorites, but because they are good examples of the sort of fit I was trying to achieve with my frankenpattern, and I'm very happy with the finished product on these dresses.  I wore the green one a lot this fall, and plan to put it into my spring rotation.  The feedsack dress came into my fall rotation kind of late, so I only wore it a few times before the weather changed, but I'm eager to wear it again in the spring.  

6: 1922 Embroidered Linen Dress

I put this dress on the list because I really enjoyed the process of making this dress, and it was my first attempt at working with linen, but I didn't really end up wanting to wear the finished product.  I thought it would be great for my fall rotation, but I fell out of love with the style by the fall.  It was also too big for me by the fall.  I passed it along to a friend who I hope will enjoy the style more than I currently do!  I was also chuffed to find out that The Dreamstress had listed this dress as one of her favorite Historical Sew Monthly Makes for June!  

7. Rust Cord Skirt/Autumn Flowers blouse/Green Ramona Cardigan

I like all of these pieces individually, but I also really liked that my whole outfit was me-made.  I wore that skirt a lot this fall, and it made it into my winter rotation as well.  I was happy to have a heavier-weight cardigan that worked with so much of my fall rotation.  I wished I had started knitting it sooner, as I didn't get to wear it as much as I would have liked.  (Although, it must be said: it is a weird weather year this year) This blouse remains one of my favorite fabrics and the Portrait style is so unfussy and lovely to wear.  I still have the original blouse I made from it, as I can't quite bear to give it up, even though it no longer suits my style.

***

I made a lot of changes to my frankenpattern this year, and I'm pretty happy with where it is right now in terms of fit and comfort.  I learned a lot about fitting, and am pretty satisfied with the fit of the last few skirts I've made.  I realized that style is a mutable thing; mine is changing as I'm getting a bit older.  I prefer straight skirts to full, and am even moving away from a-line skirts.  I prefer my skirts and dresses to hit at the bottom of my kneecap, and I currently like a certain granny-chic style of layering.  I bought the dottie angel simplicity 1080 pattern to make some dresses in that style for this spring--it is very similar to my current frankpattern.  I'm making a wearable muslin in January to check the fit before I start making too many plans in that direction.  

I'm still working on knitting things I really want to wear--I had several busts this year, and while I really like the Ramona cardigan and enjoy wearing it, there are a few things I wish I had done differently on it; I may pull out the cuff ribbing and change that at some point.  Or not.

I also am realizing that I don't knit particularly fast, and I need to build in smaller projects that will work for each rotation.  I do wear my knitted cowls, gauntlets and fingerless gloves all the time, and those are fast and easy projects. I make a couple of caps for the girls to wear to church every winter.  

I just can't count on finishing 3 sweaters in the fall to wear for winter.  I was a bit overambitious in my sweater plans this year, and had to buy a few ready-to-wear pullovers just to make sure I had enough warm stuff to wear this winter!  I'm okay with that.  I knit more for the therapeutic and creative nature of having needles in my hands than for a totally useful finished product or a 100% me-made wardrobe.  I'm always going to have some ready-to-wear in my closet.  I should probably work on blankets instead, but sweaters just call my name.  I'm determined to find a pattern I really love the fit of.  I have another Brown Stitch cardigan pattern I'm hoping to make up sometime in 2016--it really suits my current sartorial mood.

And just what is my sartorial mood?  Well, I'd describe it as: Swedish-librarian-granny-chic. I figure if Lucky Lucille can go with Post-Apocalyptic Woodland Fairy, I can go with mine.

I've decided that I don't really want to wear synthetic fibers, and I'm not going to buy them (in yarn or fabric form) if I can help it (coats/parkas are the exception to this rule).  My style has gotten very basic this year, and I have moved away from the interesting details that used to characterize my projects.  Decorative buttons and belts annoy me, and my kids fiddle a lot with my brooches, so I don't wear them much these days.  I have a handful of earrings that I wear a lot, and a few sturdy neutral necklaces.  I'm wearing Heidi braids in my hair a lot.  I've learned a lot about how to fit clothing to my body, both in sewing and ready-to-wear, but I still have a lot to learn, particularly as my body is changing a lot again with all this weight loss.  I still have about 15 pounds to lose, so I'm trying to steer toward projects that are less fitted and still flattering to my shape.

Here's to 10,000 hours in 2016!