musings on finding my style and crafting a custom wardrobe
Hi peeps! I’m back after a nasty virus, sharing my latest make over on the Minerva Craft Blogger Network. It’s a mash up of the Tilly and the Buttons Maternity Agnes (which I last made here in leopard print) with Seamwork’s Neenah cowl neckline variation (which I made here).
You can find out more over on Minerva’s site, but I’ll give you a spoiler: I love it! Continue reading “The Cowl Necked Maternity Dress live on the Minerva Blogger Network”
I meant to post this earlier in the month, but hey, there were all those year end round-ups and 2018 plans to share. Anyway, here’s the lowdown on what ended up being a pretty productive sewing month, all things considered. I think my Christmas decoration crafting and mince pie making suffered as a result, though!
L-R: Winter cords for Gabriel, The Party Animal Dress, The Cosy Cabled Cowl.
Those were the project posts, but I also blogged my SewingTop5 reflections and highlights, and my #2017MakeNine results. Phew, that’s a lot of blogging for me! Continue reading “December round-up and January’s sewing plans”
Phew, it’s time for my final #SewingTop5 post, and I’ve been looking forward to sharing this one: my sewing goals for 2018. In case you missed them, you can find the other posts here:
Now, on with those goals. I’m not doing SMART goals or anything like that as I prefer the more open kind I can reinterpret as I want (less likely to feel like I’ve failed that way!)
These are more… sewing themes for the coming year. Continue reading “My #SewingTop5 goals for 2018”
Hey everyone, I’m back with my penultimate #SewingTop5 post, and this time it’s my “top” five misses. In case you missed them, you can find the other posts here:
Righto, let’s delve into the bin of sewing fails, shall we? Continue reading “My #Sewing Top 5: when garments fail…”
This year I’m taking part in the #SewingTop5 challenge again, and you can find the first post (reflections on my sewing in 2017) here and the second (non-sewing highlights) here.
Today I’m diving in to the fun of my top five hits, and I’ll be following it up with some wardrobe stats and musings on what makes a hit. So, without further ado, my top makes of 2017 /drum roll/ are….
This Jalie Drop Pocket Cardigan is hands-down my my most worn me-made of 2017, clocking in an impressive 61 wears out and about according to my Stylebook app. And I know it really got worn way more than that as it’s been one of the lounging garments I throw on in the evening and first thing in the morning. It’s warm, breathable, goes with most things, super comfy, and best yet, has massive pockets. Yay! So good I made a second cardie in purple, which has also been worn lots since I made it.
This is definitely my favourite dress of the year (Seamwork’s Neenah). Partly because of the gorgeous ribbed knit fabric I bought in Madrid, but also for that cowl neckline, which I find really flattering. This was in third equal place for most worn me-mades (28 wears), and I’ve found it’s stretchy enough to still fit over my 22 week pregnant belly, so it’s still getting regular wear 🙂 BTW, I know there’s something seriously wrong with the sleeves at the upper arm, but I don’t care enough to unpick and redo!
I absolutely adore this blouse (Butterick B6217). Not the sort of fabric I usually go for, but I love the way it looks on and the soft cotton voile was a dream to sew with, and a dream to wear on hot, sticky days. A really flattering pattern I’ll be making again this summer.
So why is such a humble garment one of my top fives? Well, this was my second most worn me-made of the year, clocking in 35 wears, and it’s so wonderfully versatile. I thought at first it was too high under the arm but now I’m used to it I reckon it’s just about perfect. It’s plain, but the cute neckline makes it feel sassy and very “me”. It was also my first make from the Gertie Sews Vintage Casual book, which has become a bit of a style bible for me this year 🙂
Oh yeah, I made swimwear! This is the Reno/Dakota Seamwork bikini, and I absolutely loved making it, as well as wearing it. Not sure why, but sewing swimwear really makes me feel like a boss. And who’d have thought I’d ever have the courage to post a pic this undressed on my blog?!
These are the ones that nearly made the list, and it if was a top ten they definitely would have:
I’ve worn my Tilly and the Buttons Cleo dresses loads, and I can’t possibly choose a favourite! #sorrynotsorry I’m really looking forward to getting them out again once I can fit back into them. Here’s links to the original posts: aubergine corduroy, denim stars, ditsy floral corduroy.
This is such a comfy, versatile skirt. I had no idea how well such a bold striped garment would go with the rest of my wardrobe, but figuring out my style has encouraged me to go for bold, monochromatic prints I would have previously avoided. This was my fifth most worn me-made of 2017, and is another pattern from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual.
Another striped garment, and the return of a pattern that appeared in the top 5! I’ve loved styling this in different ways. The epitome of casual rockabilly, and you can find the pattern in Gertie Sews Vintage Casual.
And for more bold B&W print goodness, here’s my version of the Colette Wren dress in a lightweight viscose knit. I’ve loved wearing this dress, despite some neckline issues! And it appears the rest of you loved it too, as it appeared three times in my Instagram #2017BestNine!
They might not fit absolutely perfectly (I wanted a higher waist), but I’m so proud of all the work I put into fitting these. They’re definitely the most comfortable pair of trousers I’ve ever worn! And yes, another pattern from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual–probably my best sewing pattern spend ever 😀
Total left unblogged: 11
Two of those will be blogged this next month, and the rest were small and/or simple projects that didn’t seem to warrant a whole blog post, such as a couple of knit skirts for Daisy, a pair of underpants for Gabriel, some headbands and a couple of pairs of knickers for me.
Amount spent on sewing: £338.83
I don’t have details for January and February as I only started recording this data in March, but in the ten months since I’ve spent a grand total of £338.83 on fabric, patterns and haberdashery. That’s £34 a month, or £7.82 per week. Who says this has to be an expensive hobby?!
It helps that I’ve been sponsored by Minerva and have been using up my stash, and of the 44 garments I made, exactly half were stashbusting or scrap-busting projects. Woohoo!
After looking at my Stylebook app stats, in particular my list of number of times I’ve worn each garment and the cost per wear, I can see that my most worn makes tend to be cardigans, dresses and tops. I don’t have so many me-made bottoms this year which might be why they didn’t get worn so much. For the future I definitely need to concentrate on adding to my rather small cardigan and knit top selection, and to my everyday skirts and trousers when my figure has returned to normal again.
I can also see that for items that will get worn lots (versatile separates like tees and cardies in solids or simple patterns) it’s worth spending out a bit more on fabric, as the total cost per wear will still end up far less than a party dress or more specialised seasonal item like swimwear.
So, that was my top five sewing hits of 2017… okay, my top twelve, really! And I’ll be back tomorrow with my Top Five Misses, and what I’ve learnt from making them. See you then!
If you have a year-end round up post, please link it in the comments as I’d love to give it a read! And what did you learn about your style and wardrobe needs from your favourite me-mades this last year?
Happy New Year, everyone! And as it’s a new year, it must be time for my #2018MakeNine challenge post. Last year I went for categories of capsule wardrobe building patterns as I wanted a range of TNT patterns for staple garments. This year I’m taking a slightly different approach. Continue reading “My #2018MakeNine”