Top 5 sewing hits and misses of 2016

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So, this is my second (and final) response to the #sewingtop5 prompt over on Crafting a Rainbow Even though I haven’t sewn that many garments in 2016 I decided I wanted to take part in the hits and misses anyway, because it’s a good exercise to reflect on the things I’ve made, particularly what works and what doesn’t. Here then, are my top 5 sewing hits of 2016:

Top 5 Hits:

Ladybird skirt

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I haven’t blogged this one because it seemed to simple to warrant it. It’s just a self drafted maxi skirt in a lovely viscose jersey, with a self-fabric waistband (no elastic). I never wear it out of the house as the fabric has pilled and just doesn’t look right, but it’s so wonderfully comfy I wear it pretty much every day as loungewear. Recently I even upgraded the waistband to one made out of a black lycra as it had much better recovery, and I took a couple of inches off the skirt at the same time to stop it dragging on the ground. It’s now better than ever!

Grey surplice dress

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This is a pretty recent make that hasn’t made it onto the blog yet, but I wear it regularly. In fact I’m wearing it right now 🙂 It’s a very simple design (part of the Craftsy Sewing with Knits class) and I made it in a lovely grey ponte knit. It’s exactly the sort of dress I love: super comfy and easy to dress up or down.

Gabriel’s sleepsuit

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Along with the ladybird skirt this is probably the most worn of all my 2016 makes. Gabriel has worn it pretty much every single night since I made it back in February. It does get washed, honest. It just gets dried that same day and is back on him by nightfall. It’s exactly what I wanted out of a sleepsuit but couldn’t find in the shops anywhere. I suspect he won’t fit it for much longer, though, so maybe I should get going on a larger version…

Kimono

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This was a surprise hit for me. Although I’ve always liked long cardies, I’ve always gone for ones with more waist shaping and front fastenings, and I’ve never been a big fan of the kimono sleeve. But I made it anyway because it looked like a quick and simple fix, and it turned out to be absolutely perfect for the summer. I’m now considering lots more cardies like this as the shape works really well over more closely-fitted clothing.

Osaka skirt

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While I made a major mistake while sewing this one up, and even though the cotton I used for the lining rides up a bit when wearing tights, I still love it! The shape is contemporary, I luurve that big button, and chocolate brown needlecord was always going to be a hit. It’s a supremely comfortable and easy-to-wear skirt.

Top 5 Misses:

Rainbow cord skirt

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I haven’t yet posted the full blog on this one, but I have very mixed feelings about it. It gets me loads of compliments whenever I wear it, but it’s so short! Also, I only really have one top that goes with it, so it’s almost a wardrobe orphan. I’ve decided to keep hold of it, but will probably only wear it occasionally to parties. This has taught me what length skirts I’m comfortable wearing without thick tights underneath!

Red mini skirt

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This mini skirt is my perfect colour and I’m pleased with my sewing, but I don’t think the pattern was well drafted and there are problems as a result. I still wear it occasionally, but not as much as I thought I would. This has taught me that good patterns are worth shelling out for!

Plantain tee

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I love the shape of this tee but the colour really isn’t me. I need deeper colours to bring out the best in my skin tone. This has taught me not to make impulsive fabric purchases just because they’re on sale.

Knot your Average dress

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While I really love the idea of this dress, I don’t think it fits well around the bust, and it’s now way too big for me anyway. This has taught me that even with knit patterns you need to make a toile to check fit!

Daisy’s school dress (first version)

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This was the original toile of a self-drafted summer school dress for Daisy. The collar just isn’t right– it ripples from excess fabric. I largely sorted this on the final two versions, but when the zip broke on this one (probably because I’d used one from my stash that wasn’t really long enough) I didn’t deem it worth replacing. This has taught me that wearable toiles need appropriate fastenings!

So there we go. I’ve learned loads from what I’ve made this year, and hopefully I’ll have a higher hit rate for 2017!

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