With 2016 rapidly drawing to a close, I just wanted to take a moment and look back at my sewing output for this year. You might remember that in December last year, I set myself some sewing resolutions to complete throughout 2016 - you can find them here. Well, thanks to a combination of university and the appeal of other sewing projects, I haven't completed any of them! That's alright though, I'll get round to them at my own pace. For now, I'm just glad that I still enjoy stitching fabric into clothes I love to wear.
I've decided not to set myself any sewing resolutions at all for 2017. I'm in my third year of university, it's a busy time and I want to put my effort into studying. I will still try to make time for sewing whenever I can, I just want to be able to choose projects based on how I'm feeling at the time, not on what resolutions I made at the start of the year. Hopefully this will mean I continue to create a wardrobe which works for my everyday style, rather than one off pieces which don't fit in with the rest of my garments!
So, now for a look back on my sewing in 2016, what worked and what didn't. I've blogged 13 items of clothing this year, and completed 5 more whilst I've been back home for Christmas. This is definitely down on previous years - in 2015 I made 28 garments and 34 in 2014! However, I put the decrease down to an increased workload at university.
My top three favourite makes of this year are as follows:
Geneva Raglan Top
Megan Dress
Backless Emery Dress
All three are worn regularly and the dresses in particular fit into my signature navy floral style. However, not everything I've made this year have made it into my regular wardrobe rotation. Here are a couple of garments that haven't seen any wear this year and why:
Flora Dress
The By Hand Flora Dress is a gorgeous pattern and I really want to make it up in a different fabric - the (rather ugly!) fabric I used to make this dress was some cheap cotton I found in the bottom of a box at my university's craft club. Perfect for practising sewing a pattern I'd never used before, not perfect for day to day wear.
Renfrew Dress
Yes, navy is my colour, but without a pattern like flowers or polka dots, I will very rarely reach for a dress. This is a really comfy garment, but it's seen virtually no wear because it's just too plain for my usual style, and as a general rule I wear woven dresses far more often than knits. Lesson learnt!
Overall, I've grown really comfortable with my style. I know what I love to wear and sew, so even with the decreased sewing output I suspect coming up in 2017, hopefully I'll have a greater chance of sewing garments I wear on a regular basis. Navy floral fabric is more or less a must for me to reach for a dress in the morning, as is a heavily gathered skirt. I'm going to keep this is mind when planning future makes, and am looking forward to getting started on adding to my wardrobe in 2017!
To all of you out there, I wish you a wonderful, happy, healthy and creative year, and thank you as always for reading,
Beth x
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