My Top 5 for 2015

When I looked through my makes for this year I've had quite a few successes. Go me! Of course not of all the fails ended up on the blog - most of them ended up in the bin actually - but they are firmly etched in my memory!

So here we go, my top 5 for 2015

Lady Skater Skirts 

For something so simple, these skirts would easily have to be my current favourite make.  Since finishing these I've worn two of them to death (they even came on a mini-break to Brisbane with me).  One I don't love so much (the one on the right here) as the elastic is not my preferred "comfy elastic" and another I scarified as I wanted the elastic from it to make the skirt on the left. Whilst the bodice of the Lady Skater Dress is still a bit iffy on me - the bottom half of the pattern makes a GREAT skirt. More please!

Grey Linden Sweater 

I've made four Linden Sweaters thus far as this one is my favourite to date. I'm not sure why I love it so much -- I haven't even worn it yet, but it's a combination of the fabric and finally getting the length right on the sleeves and the jumper. It's coming with me to Japan and hopefully I'll get a lot of wear out of it.

I'm not sure if I'll pack my Butterfly Ponti Linden (too long) - but it should get an Honourable Mention for having such a pretty front panel.

Frocktails Gabby Dress

I've made a few Gabby Dresses this year and most of them have worked out quite well - I've had great success with installing neckbands which is a bit sewing win for me (the only ones that didn't work was when I tried to forgo the neckbands and just turn the neck under). I finally realised it's OK to go down a size and actually make a dress that fits properly rather than just sewing ginormous seams. This is a very simple dress but I think the patterned ponti, jewelry and cute shoes made it a winner for me for Frocktails.  Comfy/fancy = winning.

Sydney Jacket 

I feel very proud of this make, but also very mad at myself for trying to skrink it in a hot wash and sort of f**king up the fabric. Derp. The Sydney Jacket really is quite simple but I thought I've had oodles of trouble - there's pockets, overlapping seams and all kids of funny business going on, but I conquered this and feel quite stylish when I wear it. I have another one in mind for next winter using some fabric from Le Stash.

Mabel Skirts

I've made so many of these skirts now that I've lost count, but (despite the last Mabel fail) it's one of my most used patterns. I LOVE the leopard print skirt on the right -- it gets worn VERY often!

Mandy Boat Tee  

This is actually Item #6 (or #7 if you also count the Butterfly Linden), but I'm going to give an Honourable Mention to this mandy boat tee that I made it a thicker fabric and have worn as a jumper. I'm not 100% sure that I love it as my faffing with the neckline on the pattern has resulted in it being a bit of a funny shape in this area and the sleeves are a bit snug as the fabric is not THAT stretchy, but I love the cuffs and the length and it was worn A LOT this winter. Sadly I think I shrunk this in the dryer by mistake so I'm not sure if it'll still be around in 2016.

And that my friends is the end xox

2013 Hits + Misses

As New Years Eve approaches it is a time of reflection. Many of the sewing blogs I read are participating in a round-up of their 5 top sewing hits and misses for 2013 - hosted by Crafting a Rainbow.

Well, I haven't sewn ten things in 2013, but I've sure had some misses...and a few (non-wearable) hits so I thought I'd round them up here.

THE MISSES: may as well start with the bad news first and work our way up to the (two) things that worked.

DixieDIY t-shirt dress: I attended two classes on sewing with knits and walked away both times with an unfinished dress that didn't fit me. I loved this t-shirt dress pattern but it just didn't love me.

Part of the problem was that I've jumped right in to wanting to sew with knits, as that is what I mostly wear. Sewing with knits is darn HARD, especially for a newbie.  The fabric is stretchy and slinky, it curls and won't stay in place when ironed. My second problem is that this pattern is too small for my hip/tummy measurements and attempts in class to adjust the pattern ended up making it TOO big *face palm*.

Both of these dresses ended up in the charity bag - banished forever from my life.

JoCole Easy Swing Skirt:  Because I'm not a small person if I find a pattern to fit my size 18 body I jump at it, as was the case with this "easy swing skirt" I found on ETSY.  I liked the style, it's something I'd wear and although it was a knit I thought I had a good chance with it. My sewing machine thought otherwise and I didn't even get to start sewing this as my machine just "ate" all the test pieces I played around with. Next...

Goldfinch and Eagle Sirkel Skirt:  It's obvious I need to move away from wanting to sew with knits...at this early stage anyway...and try my hand at wovens.

I liked the idea of a circle skirt in chambray but I just could not get my head around the maths of drafting my own (despite all the online tutorials) so I was pretty happy to find this pattern on ETSY that had a waist measurement equal to my own.  I'm half way through this skirt and it's pretty obvious it's not going to fit. Honestly...things are just getting ridiculous now and I'm starting to really lose my motivation to keep sewing. Finding to sewing patterns to fit me is just as difficult as shopping for ready-to-wear clothes. Not happy Jan!

THE HITS: I've had ONE hit during 2013, and one "kinda sorta" hit.

Cushion Cover:   The first thing I sewed in 2013 was this cute little cushion cover at a sewing class at Sew Make Create. Everything went really smoothly and the teacher was REALLY encouraging. I felt so confident when I walked away from the class and was ready to start making my very own handmade wardrobe. Wrong.

Coin Purse: After a series of mega-misses in the sew-my-own-clothes stakes I decided to make something non-wearable, enter the coin purse. This is a bit messy, and not perfect - but I finished it and it serves its purpose so that counts as a WIN from me.

What about you - did you have so many misses when you were first learning to sew? I really feel like the world's worst sewist. THE WORST!

In 2014 my aim is to sew a dress that fits and that I love. Just one - small dreams means that they should be achievable. I'm currently working on a Laurel and so far things are going well. Wish me luck!