A rather late #SewingTop5 2019

If I don’t do this now it’s never going to happen. I know this because I never did blog last year’s #SewingTop5. Ah well. I guess I just have to begin the new decade as I mean to go on 🙂

SewingTop5 2019

Without further ado, here’s my rundown of last year’s sewing. Not much made it to the blog, but needle and thread did meet fabric. Yay!

Here’s a quick rundown of the 23 garments I made last year:

  • For me: top x 3, bodysuit x 1, jacket x 1, skirt x 1, jeggings x 1, dress x 4, jumpsuit x 1, swimsuit x 1
  • For Lauren: dress x 4, trousers x 1
  • For Gabriel: top x 2, shorts x 1
  • For Daisy: cardigan x 1
  • For Mum: dress x 1

That’s 13 for me and 10 for others. Hmmm… I think I might have to concentrate a little more on making for myself this year.

I’ve taken part in the SewingTop5 for a few years now and find it a great way to quickly sum up a year of sewing. Here’s the 2019 results:

Top 5 Hits:

SewingTop5 2019 Hits

  1. My Purple Cowl Neck Top (a Seamwork Neenah hack) is perfect for snuggling up in when the weather is cold, and I’ve been wearing it loads. I just love that colour!
  2. I absolutely loved my Closet Case Patterns Sallie Maxi Dress (not yet blogged) this summer and wore it at least twice a week. It works for parties and casual days out, and is super comfy. I’m really looking forward to getting it out again when the weather heats up.
  3. My black linen dress (Vogue 8903) is probably the best item of clothing I’ve ever made. It’s utterly “me” and I can so easily dress it down or up. It’s pretty much perfect for every occasion and I’ve worn it on a flight from cold October weather to Spanish heat, then out for drinks on the town that evening. Wonderful! Did I mention it’s incredibly comfortable too? Clearly I need more similar dresses in my life.
  4. My Jalie Eleonore “jeans” aren’t a perfect fit but I loved wearing them this summer and I feel like I learned lots about fitting my body. I’m looking forward to making some proper jeans at some point.
  5. I haven’t worn my Burda jacket (Burda Style 6847) all that much–probably because it’s not warm enough for winter, too warm for summer, and we didn’t seem to get all that much inbetweeny weather this year–but I absolutely love it and I’m really pleased with the pockets I added. I’m hoping I’ll wear it more often this next year.

Top 5 Misses:

SewingTop5 2019 Misses

  1. I think I wore my Daydream Patterns Sophia top once before deciding it really didn’t work on me. It just looks… awful. I’m going to repurpose the fabric as I love the pattern, and my fave RTW spotty skirt has finally worn out and needs replacing.
  2. I loved making my Butterick B6358 Zebra Swimming Costume, but sadly it isn’t a perfect fit (not long enough in the body) and is just a little uncomfortable to wear. I’m going to try it out again this summer as I’ve started running and intermittent fasting again so I expect I’ll have lost a few inches by then. If that helps it fit then great, but if not I might see if I can convert it into a bikini.
  3. I absolutely love the look of my Shimmer Stripe Boatneck top (not yet blogged), but sadly the fabric doesn’t have quite enough stretch and recovery to be a complete success. There are some funny drag lines but I still wear it under pinafore dresses. Maybe this will be another that might work better when I’m back to pre-baby size.
  4. My first go at the Ottobre Cosy Winter dress for Lauren looked really cute, but it wasn’t big enough. Babies grow so fast!
  5. The same goes for the heart-pocket pinafore dress I made Lauren (also Ottobre but not yet blogged). It was always on the short side and really only fit her as a dress for a couple of months. I loved the look, though, and will probably make her another version this year.

Top 5 Highlights: 

SewingTop5 2019 Highlights

  1. Andy and I had a fantastic three nights in Benidorm without the kids at the end of October. We were there for Halloween which the Spanish like to celebrate in style! We’ve been to Benidorm before with a bunch of friends who visit every year at the end of October, but this time we booked our own hotel in the Old Town. That was definitely the right decision as Benidorm Old Town is beautiful and full of life and character. I fell in love with Benidorm this time around. The glorious weather helped!
  2. We also had a wonderful family holiday in Brittany in the summer. We stayed in a friendly little campsite with a great pool and the beaches were fabulous. Also, the weather was warm and sunny for most of the week, and we had a lovely journey home with a luxury cabin on the ferry.
  3. Andy and I had a fun day out in London this autumn being tourists and visiting the Tate Modern and the Science Museum. We’ve been saying we’ll do it for years and finally got our act together. We’ll definitely be making another trip or two to the capital this coming year.
  4. Lauren started walking and talking this year, and it’s been so much fun seeing her turn from a baby into a cheeky little toddler. That girl is full of personality!
  5. I’ve finally overcome my feelings of overwhelm and got my house (mostly) in order. I have a regular cleaning routine that works for me (thanks to Clean Mama) and am making some headway through the clutter. Just the loft to sort through now…

Top 5 Reflections:

  1. Don’t take on sewing jobs for other people! I said I’d sew a pair of curtains for a friend and it was only a quick job, but it clogged up my sewing machine for almost a month and completely killed my sewjo. Clearly I’m not destined to make a living as a seamstress. Sewing suits me best as an indulgent hobby!
  2. Don’t be afraid to hack apart clothes to change them. I’ve often worried in the past that things would go wrong and I’d have wasted a perfectly good item of clothing that someone might have wanted if I took it to a charity shop. But hey, they’re my clothes and I can do what I want with them. Making mistakes is the only way to learn.
  3. I have a fairly cohesive wardrobe these days, thanks to a couple of years of really thinking about my style and what looks good on me. I’m really pleased about this and look forward to adding carefully planned pieces that fill holes in the future.
  4. I think my personal style has shifted since learning about the Kibbe system, and realising that I’m a Dramatic Classic. I’m now understanding why certain “rockabilly” looks work for me, but others don’t. I’m looking forward to experimenting more with necklines and have been taking some inspiration from watching Friends on Netflix, as Rachael’s wardrobe has some absolutely gorgeous styles. Watch this space!
  5. My stash is much better organised than it used to be, but it’s also far less accessible as it’s up in the loft. I need to think about how I’m going to get around that this year, and will hopefully get all the fabric and patterns onto some electronic catalogue (Evernote and Trello, I expect) so I can see what I’ve got without having to venture up there and brave the spiders.

Top 5 Goals:

  1. Get back into blogging and blog at least once a week. I’m planning to make Friday my regular blog day, but there might occasionally be extra blog posts on a Tuesday as I work my way through all my backlog of unblogged projects. I’ve decided I’ll post kids clothes on the occasional Tuesdays and keep Fridays as a regular spot for my clothes and any musings on sewing related topics (like this post here!)
  2. Sew every day. This is going pretty well so far and I’m scheduling it into my diary and to do lists to make sure it happens. I’ve also got better at keeping the dinner/bedtimes routine to time so there’s half an hour or so to sew in the evenings if I haven’t managed it earlier in the day.
  3. Start a sewing/textile crafts group. I’ve been meaning to do this for a couple of years now and I think it will actually happen this year as I have a venue provisionally booked. I just need to work out a few things like a name, pricing and so on. Watch this space!
  4. Make an underwired bra. I’ve had this on the list for so many years now and I think now I’ve finished breastfeeding it will finally happen in 2020. Fingers crossed!
  5. Work through my old stash fabric and patterns. In the interests of sustainability I want to make as much use of what I already have as I can. I’ve taken a step back from regular blogging with Minerva in order to work with what I have, although I’ll probably still do the occasional blog for them when a new fabric catches my eye.

So, those are my reflections on a great year. Here’s hoping you see a bit more of me in 2020. I’m keen to get back into the online sewing community and chatting more. I’ve realised I’m not great with Instagram and that maybe I should just make more effort to comment on blogs. I much prefer reading blog posts to scrolling through Instagram, so I want to encourage others who are sticking with the format. Longer posts FTW!

Anyone want to share their #SewingTop5? Feel free to add a link as I’d love to read more 🙂

Coming Next Week:

Head back over here on Tuesday to see a really old unblogged make from the summer of 2018! Yes, it’s a cute baby on a beach! And ruffles. Way too many ruffles.

What was I thinking?! I blame the baby brain.

What do you reckon? I'd love to hear from you!

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