#SEWINGTOP5 Reflections and Goals

 

Well, 2020 is nearly over. How do we reflect on such a year? I don't really feel like looking back at some of it, but there were lessons and high points even in such a long and stressful year. I feel like there were things to learn, and so I've tried to reflect on those elements. And I've also looked at the goals I set around this time last year, and tried to decide what any future goals should be. 

Reflections

Looking back at my favourite makes and my highlights of the year, I realize that continuing to try new things and maintaining a sewing community are really important to me. This year that took place in new ways, but finding a way to continue rather than just dropping all connections was super valuable. 

I also found that doing meaningful things with my sewing, like working with Amnesty International and even starting a Boomerang Bags group to help reduce textile waste and plastic use, was satisfying in a concrete way, so will be looking for more ways to do things like this. 

Taking care of myself physically to increase energy and enjoyment of life was a key discovery this year. Exercise was a stress relief and sanity saver for me, alongside my sewing -- I made 47 items this year, a fair bit more than I usually make. I think being at home for a few months and having the materials and time to sew made a big difference there. And, I still really love colour and print, and prefer more natural fabrics -- so I'll be continuing to sew with things that make me happy.

Goals

Somewhat surprisingly, on looking back at my 2020 goals, I seem to have met most of them at least in some small way! 

I had set a goal to sew from stash -- I ended up sewing 51 more metres than I brought in. Joining the 50 Yard Dash challenge on PR really helped me track this. Of course, having fabric and thrift stores closed for so long likely reduced my consumption automatically as well. But I also planned to Slow Down my sewing; with lockdown I sewed more than ever before, making 47 items this year. Only three of those are wadders though, so it works out overall. 

I'd also set the goal again, like I do so often, of sewing some menswear. But this year I actually did it! I sewed my husband a pair of summer shorts to replace his aging ones, and he likes them, and wears them -- a success. Plus I made him a fancy cravat just for fun, and a matching mask or two. 

I also planned to go through all my Craftsy classes -- well, with the Bluprint implosion this year I ended up speed watching all my pattern drafting courses before things settled somewhat and we were told that Craftsy was rising again and we'd still have access to our classes. I still haven't gone back to do all the work in those classes though. 

My last goal for 2020 was to draft a pattern for myself. Well, I did draft a very basic pattern, and am now tweaking it to get it just right. I've made a prototype and am planning on a couple more to get it perfect. Then I'll see what I want to do with it! 

So what about 2021? What are my goals? I've really been pondering this. After this last year, I'm not in the mood to set as many big goals -- who knows what life will be like? But I do need some goals to work toward and guide me, and like always, I don't feel bound by these goals, they're just suggestions to help me stay on track. With that said, I did come up with a few things I want to do in 2021. 

1. Stash Management

I was able to sew up 51 m. from my own stash this year, and in doing so I really explored what I have in my house. I have too much for my own comfort, and lots of it is from so long ago I don't really want it anymore (ie: quite a bit of poly blend fabric). So my 2021 goal is not only to sew from stash, but to really clear it out and organize it, so that what I have in my house is fabric that I really want to use. 

2. Pattern Drafting

This is really two goals in one: 

a. Work on my current simple pattern and get it finished to my liking

b. Do the work with my Suzy Furrer Craftsy classes and the Sara Alm flat pattern making book I bought, and learn what I need to learn. 

3. Embroidery

I've designed a number of simple embroidery patterns, which I really enjoy doing. I'd like to get them digitized this year so I can share them/sell them. 

4. Social Action

This year I really enjoyed participating in opportunities to highlight social causes, using my sewing. So I'd like to search out more opportunities for the same in 2021 and use sewing/embroidery/crafting to work together with others to make change. To alter the social fabric, so to speak. 

I think that after the year we've had, some reasonable, concrete goals are where I'm at. So that's my plan, and let's hope that all our plans for next year aren't derailed by any other unpleasant surprises. Wishing all the best in looking back and looking ahead for all of you as well.

#SEWINGTOP5 Highlights of 2020

 

Today's theme for the Sewcialists' Top Five roundup is "Highlights". This is usually sewing adjacent and/or unrelated-to-sewing highlights of the year. Of course, 2020 is a tough year to note highlights for! 

Thinking over this topic has made me glad that I have a page in my bullet journal for the wins of the year -- sometimes, especially in a hard year, you forget the things you've done that worked, or that brought joy and excitement. Well, at least I do. So it was good to look that over and think about what actually went well this year. And so, here are my Top Five Highlights of 2020.

1. BurdaStyle Academy classes

My word of the year for 2020 was "Complete". So I decided this fall that I should finally take the BurdaStyle Academy Teacher Certification Course that I've been looking at for a few years now. I've finished the first course and am now about halfway through the Advanced Course. Aiming to be mostly done by end of year! I've really enjoyed these classes and am glad I finally went for it.

2. Stratford Garment Guild

Although our local Guild had to cease meeting before even a full first year had occurred, I'm so glad we were able to pivot and start meeting online quickly. And that members have stuck with us for our Zoom based schedule this year -- and I'm also quite pleased that we were able to host the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in November. Definitely a memorable guest speaker! 

3. Art Show

Way back at the beginning of 2020, before everything turned upside down, I had an exhibit of my photographs of Kyiv at my library. Of course, I am the Community Art coordinator so it wasn't too unexpected ;) But I really enjoyed going through the process of selecting the images and getting them all printed up and framed, and seeing them hanging together as a collection. You can see some of the photos in the backgrounds of my posts about the Laundry Day Tee and the La Brea woven tee. 

4. Amnesty + Craftivism

I had the chance to work with our local Amnesty International group this year, creating a large banner to highlight Berta Caceres, a Honduran water defender. Reading about her life and her work, and developing the design with some other local artists was really meaningful, and powerful. Unfortunately we couldn't display it as planned in April and May, but it is ready for use when able. 

5. Exercise

I never thought I'd ever say that I enjoyed exercising. But early this year, during the lockdown and then while being laid off, I took to exercising to manage the stress levels. I only have a mini rebounder and some 2 lb hand weights, no other equipment at all, but I found some great exercise channels on youtube and have been regularly working out since April. I find it very helpful for stress management, and have toned up -- I can even fit into some of my older fave me-mades again. 

I love the dance cardio channel Up to the BEat Fit, and GymRa for their rebounder workouts. I've also just found Naomi Joy Fitness, whose beginner rebounder workouts are kicking my butt! If you have any fave youtube channels to share in this area, I'd be glad to hear about them. 

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Thanks to the Sewcialists for giving me the nudge to do this post -- I hadn't really remembered all the meaningful, enjoyable moments or newfound joys of the year in the overwhelming feelings of all the miserable parts. It was really great to think about it and realize that there were still some high points of the year despite everything. 

#SEWINGTOP5 Hits & Misses

 

It's already that time of year again...the time to look back with the Sewcialists and share your own series of Top 5s of the year! 

I love to start with the highlights -- so here are my five favourite items of the year. It was very tough to limit myself to five this year, I had so many things I made that I loved, especially the whole raft of dresses I made in early spring. 

However, looking at what I really loved and what I actually wore often, I was able to come up with five things to highlight. Links are to the original posts.

Laundry Day Tee by Love Notions

I tested out this free pattern with one of the fabrics I put onto my MakeNine list, a houndstooth knit. I love the fit, the amazing cowl neck, and this fabric is both beautiful and comfortable to wear. I think this is probably the item I've worn most this year. 

Vogue 1671

I made this dress as part of the Fabricville blog network, and chose this rayon fabric as soon as I saw it. I *love* this dress. The fabric is so, so lovely, both the print and the feel of it. And the pattern was challenging but doable, with a great result. I did make some changes to the lining steps, for a better interior finish, as detailed in my original post. But I love this one! 

Burda 105-09-2019

This cozy dress has a relaxed silhouette and is easy to wear. I also just love the fabric, a fun glen plaid style flocked print. I also enjoyed making a matching belt for it, though the search for a buckle took a little longer than I'd expected! 

Style Arc's Lacey Dress

This is the second version I've made, and it just slightly nudges ahead of the whole batch of delightful dresses I made around the same time since not only is the fit great, but the fabric is wonderful -- both as a print and because it belonged to a lovely lady who passed on last year, and each time I wear it I think about her. Makes it extra special. 

Jalie's Florence Top

I have to count this one in because it surprised me by how much I loved it immediately upon finishing it. The elements came together as more than the sum of the parts, which were each great in the first place. I don't usually make simple tops like this when there is a dress view -- I default to dresses. But in a year in which I made a whack of fabulous dresses, this top took me by surprise. I absolutely love the fit, the fabric and the overall 80s aesthetic of it. And you know I'm going to make a dress version in 2021!

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And then there are the misses....I didn't have too many this year, and most of them were just the wrong fabric choice, although there were some big fitting issues too! Here are my 2020 flops. 

Owyn Pants by Lotta Jansdotter

I like the pattern and the concept, but my pants fitting skills are pathetic, and these don't fit at all. As Esme says on the Great British Sewing Bee, they were "a little hungry in the bum". I've now read a ton of fitting books and might try another muslin to see if I can get it right. Maybe. 

La Brea Tee by Halfmoon Atelier 

I love the woven La Brea Tee I made, but when I tried the knit version, I both made it too large and used the wrong fabric choice for the binding. It's a wavy, sloppy mess, really -- but it's great for exercising in, so there's that! 

Dionne Duster by SewAlteredStyle

I haven't blogged this one yet, but I used a thin poly knit that didn't want to behave, plus I had some issues with the pattern markings and, well, this attempt at a long vest didn't work out. At all. 

There were a couple of other items I wasn't entirely happy with, but that I wouldn't consider real misses -- just ones I haven't worn much because I just don't know why I don't really like them. I think I'll have to move those on to someone else who might like them. 

photo via Unsplash

How was your sewing year? I'm so glad I had too many Hits to easily pick five, and so few Misses that I couldn't even find five. In a tough year, my sewing really came through!

Shirt No. 1, a Boxy Basic

Two things, well three really, came together into today's project. First, the Sewcialists are hosting a mini-challenge right now focusing on easy tees, the #SewcialistsTNTee. Second, I checked out CreativeBug via a local library, and found that the 100 Acts of Sewing Shirt No. 1 was a featured class and pattern. Lastly, I had a small piece of wool blend suiting that I thrifted ages ago that jumped out at me as the perfect fit for this pattern -- I've been wanting to use it for ages but could never find the right small yardage pattern, until now.

This is a simple boxy top, but I've always liked the way it fits on the versions I've seen people make, so when I saw it on CreativeBug I knew I'd have to give it a try. I traced off size M, grading to L at the hips. It is just one piece, the same for front and back. I laid it out on my small 1 metre of fabric, and then second guessed myself and took 1/2" wedge out of the centre front and back as I often do with wide necklines. This had the advantage of giving me the literal extra 1/2" I needed at the sleeve edges so that I could fit this into my fabric. 

It's a quick and clear sewing process; sew up the shoulder seams and side seams, press and hem the sleeve edges and bottom edge. I gave mine a 1/2" hem at both spots. Then I finished the neckline with some prepackaged black bias tape. I am a slow sewer but this only took me just over 2 hours to make from cutting out to wearing. .For me that is a quick project! I did have to take a bit of extra time in the cutting stage, to try to line up the red stripe in my limited yardage, but I think I got pretty close. 

Because this is a wool blend I planned to wear this as a layering piece, and I'm so glad it worked out over my turtleneck and fave Lindy Petal skirt. It also works with my fabulous thrifted necklace, which makes me happy :) 

Next time I think I'll cut large all around to give it more boxiness, and also, instead of taking that centre wedge from the neckline, I'll leave the width and just cut the shoulder seams further in so there is no bra strap viewing. And I may lower the front neckline a bit. 

I do like the shape and fit of this, however, and it's such an easy project that it's worth it. There are also a couple of variations in the pattern, for a button front version and a bias cut bottom section version. I can see trying a wide range of adaptations in this one.

I'm pleased with my fall/winter version of Shirt No. 1, and think I'll be making other summery ones too.

That 70s Thing: Butterick 5149

The Sewcialists held a sewing mini-challenge recently: Sew Your Birth Year! It was pretty lax, allowing you to take inspiration loosely from your birth year, or even someone else's if it was important to you, and interpreting it in any way you saw fit.

I was stuck with the 70s, and so did a little research into some inspiration, using blogs and catalogues to get some ideas of average wear in the early 70s. Here's what I settled on as inspiration.

My sudden interest in jumpers and pinafores this year is right on target with the early 70s. Hmmm! 

I sorted through my jumper patterns and found a button front version, Butterick 5149, that I thought would do the trick. And I looked through my fabric stash and found the perfect mustardy marigold cotton for a 70s inspired make. It was actually a sheet but just right for this. 

Because it is a heavier cotton, I knew I'd have to line it in order to wear it. Fortunately I had some cream bemberg left over in my stash, and since this pattern only required 1.5 m. I had enough. I also found some shiny contrast buttons in the stash and had enough of those too! So I forged ahead with this amusing challenge.

What do you think? Does the 70s influence come through? 

Despite this being quite a strong yellow, I had a number of things in my closet that matched with it. Along with the Liberty of London blouse that I thrifted (seen above), a classic black turtleneck goes well. 

My bright floral Drop Sleeve Top by the Avid Seamstress (a free pattern) has streaks of marigold in it so goes in another way. 

And my Egyptian Art Deco print Burda tee is, I think, my favourite combo so far. 

Looking at this photos I am planning on shortening it by another inch to make it a little less 70s and a little more chic. And I may take it in a pinch across the bust/high waist. 

I used my new favourite patch pocket technique (thanks Burda) and lined them and turned them before topstitching them on. And in my last jumper, the way I attached my lining as an afterthought under the bindings was so easy and attractive that I repeated that here. I just cut the lining as a second jumper and basted it to the cotton before sewing on the bias facing at neck and arm. I also basted it under the front facings before top stitching and then sewing on the buttons and making buttonholes. To complete it I turned up the hem, covering the lining and stitched it down over both layers. 

It is bright, cheery, and a bit retro. I had fun making this up out of my stash, and trying different outfit combos. While the Sewcialists mini-challenge was my inspiration for this make, I also found a fun challenge via the Sew and Tell podcast, Sew Your Roll. You could roll 3 numbers and get an 'assignment' from their lists. I rolled and received "Yellow / Neutral / Buttons" as my theme. Which also fit this project perfectly! Since I was just about to begin this project when I rolled I counted it as good fortune. 

 I prefer 80s fashion to 70s, but that's probably because of teenage nostalgia. Would you sew from your birth year? What would you make? 

#SewingTopFive Reflections & Goals

Reflections

Making up my list of hits and misses, looking at my various highlights, and thinking about the goals I set myself last year at this time all helped me to see how my sewing rolled out this year.

My hits were mostly things that were of a little higher quality, whether cottons, linens and knits -- both new and thrifted. They also fit my body well -- while most of my misses were made of poly or there was a poor fabric/pattern match so that the fit was off.

So one reflection is definitely that I need to stick with better fabrics, and greatly reduce the amount of poly in my stash. This is both for sustainability purposes and for better wearability too.

And I need to think a little harder about the silhouettes I'm choosing. Maybe it's time to do a Wardrobe Architect kind of project, to narrow down what I most like wearing.

But one more reflection is that I really enjoy bright colours and fun prints. And I'm going to continue using them because they really make me happy!

My highlights show that getting together with other sewists is something I really enjoy, and making is definitely my favourite thing to do. Easy to continue focusing on that for 2020.

And looking at last year's goals...well, I haven't really met them all. I hit my targets for sewing more from stash and blogging more, but not sewing menswear, working through my Craftsy classes, or creating more textile art. I only entered one textile art call this year, not the four I was looking at. But there is always next year :)



Goals

1. Sew from stash

I joined the "50 Yard Dash" sewalong on PatternReview this year, and just having that goal really inspired me to sew up some of those long held pieces of fabric. It didn't stop me from buying more new fabric, sadly... so I am going to be trying to hit that goal of sewing at least 50 metres more than I buy this year. That is really only about 4.5m. a month, so it is doable!

2. Menswear

This is always my goal but I never seem to get around to it! I *will* make something for my husband this year.

3. Craftsy Classes

I bought the whole series by Suzy Furrer on Craftsy before it became Bluprint. I am planning to work my way through them all this year and really up my sewing game.

4. Draft my own pattern -- at least one!

This is tied to my previous goal! If I can do the pattern making classes on Bluprint, I will work along and hopefully come up with something I can create, from design to drafting to wearing.

5. Slow Down

This is counterintuitive -- but I hope to take more time with my projects and consider them from fabric to finishing, and try some new, more complex techniques in 2020. Also to think about the fabric more, right from the beginning, and choose better quality. This is tied to my desire to be more sustainable overall in my life.

That's what my 2019 looked like, and what 2020 is shaping up to be. I hope you feel as excited about what you can accomplish in the next 12 months as I do!

#SewingTop5 Sewing Misses

Into every sewing life some misses must come...and here are my five most disastrous pieces of the year! Well, perhaps not that dramatic, but they are the five pieces that I feel were least successful of anything I've made over 2019.

New Look 6164 skirt

First on my Miss List is this houndstooth skirt. While I love it in theory -- the shape, the print -- in practice I cursed the static every time I wore it, and could not figure out a way to reduce it. Darn polyester! So I think I will pass it on to someone who won't mind so much. If I can find someone like that!

Mandy Boat Tee

I like this pattern but haven't worn this one too much -- I'm pretty sure it's because the sleeve is uncomfortably tight. My goal is to remove the lower sleeve and replace it with a larger one, and then see how I like it! Fortunately I have quite a bit of this fabric leftover. 

Spotted Sorbetto

Although another Sorbetto made it to my tops list, I haven't worn this version at all. I think it's fabric choice here -- it doesn't fit right, and the neckline is a little stretched out too. I have a friend who might like it so I think it will be leaving my closet soon.

New Look 6519

I took a lot of trouble over this muslin, so much that I lost interest in actually making a real version! I had to make a ton of adjustments to this simple pattern, and the prison garb print didn't help to inspire me either. Argh to this one.

McCalls 6510, unblogged

My final Miss was so bad I didn't even blog it. I took a photo as evidence and then I gave the pattern away too. LOL! This style is NOT suited for me. Lesson learned!

#SewingTop5 NonSewing Highlights

Community Art Program

Something at work that is tangentially connected to sewing is the Community Art Project that I started last year. It's been running for a year now, and is so much fun to organize! At my library we feature local artists who want to share their work in an open public setting. I have featured pieces from my local quilt club, as well as paintings, photos and more over this year. I have big plans for 2020, too! I've even been able to share some of my own textile work :)

Sewcialists Wordpress Ad

How exciting was this? I got to attend the filming of a Wordpress ad featuring the Sewcialists, as part of their campaign highlighting how Wordpress can facilitate community online. It was a really fun night catching up with sewing friends and being able to help out :)




Winning a PR Contest

I have entered quite a lot of contests over at PatternReview over the years -- it is usually fun and entertaining to have a 'brief' of sorts to sew to. But this year I actually won a contest! I won the Match Your Shoes contest for this outfit. Prize of more patterns, the best ;)

Stratford Garment Guild

The Stratford Garment Guild is a new thing I started this year, along with four other local sewists. It's been a fantastic group!! We've just started meeting in September but already have a large group of regulars. We feature special speakers, social events, and are planning to start hosting sew-ins and/or classes in 2020. It's just so great to get together with other sewists who love to talk sewing! I'm really enjoying the planning and the social nature of this group so far. We can only grow from here.

#SewingTop5 Sewing Hits

I always enjoy participating in the year-end Top Five roundup that Gillian at Crafting a Rainbow has been hosting for the last few years. This year she's moving it over to the Sewcialists blog so there will hopefully be even more participation! I'm still joining in :)

I believe in starting on a high note -- so here are my Top 5 Sewing Hits. It was really hard to narrow these down this year; I made so many things that I've loved wearing. But I've managed to filter out a few that I think are my most successful, most loved, or most worn things.

McCalls 7834 Purple Polka Dot Shirtdress

I love this one for its print -- typeface and dots! -- and the colour too. Also, it fits so well and is super comfortable to wear. Good pattern, quality fabric and a nice fit make this a real winner for me, one that got worn a lot.

Style Arc Adeline

I finally made an Adeline this year, and used an upcycled linen blend tablecloth in pickle green to do so. I love the silhouette, and the colour is so fabulous. I always feel cheery in this!

Embroidered Sorbetto

This top took some work: I added an embroidery pattern to the front pleat of the Sorbetto pattern, and made it up in a favourite grey linen/cotton blend. It took some time but was worth it. I appreciate this top even more for all the work I put into it.

Burda Swing Top

I loved this top, intended as a test garment but turning out to be a fave! It matches the skirt and I love this outfit!  In fact, I liked it so much, I made it again -- I'm sort of cheating here with two wonderful makes of the same pattern, by including my second floral version as well!)

Terrace Dress

Another Two-For-One, I first made the Terrace in a summer print and won a PR Contest for it, too! I loved the quick process, the thrifted fabric, and the fit. All so great! I liked the pattern so much that I used it again for my Literary Sewing Circle fall project, the Sushi Cat Dress! 

There were many more successes for me this year, but these are a few that have really stood out for me, in terms of fabric, fit and multiple wearings. I hope I can create as many hits in 2020!

Thrilled to Announce: the Stratford Garment Guild!

I'm thrilled to announce the creation of the new Stratford Garment Guild! Inspired by the Ottawa Garment Guild (and guided by them with some set-up information, thanks guys!) and by the Atlantic Sewing Guild, I decided that our community also needed an in-person garment sewing group.

With a handful of other local enthusiasts I went ahead and held a planning meeting and we are now pleased to announce that the Stratford Garment Guild is live and will be meeting regularly starting in September of 2019, in Stratford. More information to come as we add content to our social media accounts and website.

But for now, if you are in the Stratford, Ontario area and want to keep up on what's happening, follow us on Instagram or on Facebook.

See you in September!

Stitched Sorbetto in Grey & Yellow

I've now finished my second Sorbetto that I began back in November. But with this version, I spent a lot more time over it :)

Two things came together for this project: my love of hand embroidery and the new DMC colours, and the front pleat in the Sorbetto pattern, which is extremely ideal for hand stitching additions. In the process of making the pleat, there is a seam all the way down the pleat extension, and then the pleat is fastened down in the neck binding and hem. So there is no way any underside of stitching or stabilizer will show (or get caught on anything) once construction is complete. Perfect.

I was inspired to make this Sorbetto as one of the possible versions for the PR One Pattern, Many Looks contest in Nov/Dec; actually it was the original idea I had for it. But as I mentioned in my last Sorbetto post, contests never get far with me ;) I gave up on the contest idea, but I kept working away at this project, stitching sporadically and sometimes in the evening while watching tv, as you might be able to tell by some of my not so perfect stitching in the petals as I was getting tired! But I wasn't going to tear anything much out -- it's good enough -- it's for a top, not an exhibition piece, and besides, if someone is looking at my stitching in close up on the front of the blouse when I'm wearing it, there are bigger issues than uneven stitches that I'll be worrying about ;)

I made this Vogue 1247 skirt ages ago (in 2014), and as I was cleaning, reorganizing, shuffling (whatever) my stash around in the fall I realized I had quite a large piece of the grey cotton-linen fabric left over. It felt like really nice fabric for stitching, and I considered hooping some up for a decorative piece, but then this idea hit me and I just couldn't do anything else with it. It has a lovely hand and was dreamy to stitch on.

I found a free border floral design at Mary Corbet's embroidery site and adapted it to the size I needed but ended up free styling a bit as transferring the design to this rougher surfaced dark fabric was time consuming. I semi-traced it and semi added in lines with a chalk pencil. I stitched the leaves in my favourite fly stitch, outline/stem stitch for the stems and rough satin stitch for the petals. I enjoyed my time doing it! I used DMC floss #18 for the petals, which I remember because I had such a hard time finding it, and I can't remember the colours of the cream and green, they were just in my stash.

For such a simple project, I feel very pleased with how this turned out. I used my original pre-altered Sorbetto again for the body of this version, but I used the sleeves from the new version of the Sorbetto pattern. I tried to adjust them accordingly -- I took out a fair amount of length between shoulder and bust from the original design, but I couldn't recall exactly (it was about 5 years ago that I first traced the Sorbetto, after all). So there was a bit too much sleeve, but when I gathered the sleeve cap it turned out to look like they were pleated and slightly puffed and I love it so much I left them that way.

Long story for such a simple free pattern (both shirt and embroidery design) but it does get just a little longer. This is the project I had just prepped as some hand work when I was invited to be a part of a super secret project, which is now, this week, no longer secret -- the Sewcialists' Wordpress commercial! It was such fun to be able to help out in a tiny way with this, and the 60 second commercial is full of happy sewing thoughts. Take a look if you haven't watched it already.