2013: Some Numbers and Favorites

I've really enjoyed reading all of the 2012 review posts around sewing blogland.  I particularly enjoyed Liza Jane's fancy excel charts and Ginger Makes' Top 5 Posts (and I know these ladies got the ideas from elsewhere, but I found the ideas because of them).  I'm still a bit exhausted from my end of the year sewing marathon, so this is just a half-a**ed version of what these ladies have done in full.

A pie chart!

I completed a grand total of 145 sewing projects this year.  This includes

• 89 garments (22 for myself, 8 as gifts, and 59 for clients)
• 24 handbags and wallets (2 for me, the rest for clients/Etsy shop)
• 20 random projects (scarves, flower pins, softies - I think I kept two of these)
• 10 alterations or refashions (2 for me, rest for clients)
• 2 things for the home (mine all mine!)

I have no idea how many hours that is, but I since I usually sew around 20-25 hours a week, I think it's a lot of time spent with fabric, needle, and thread.

When I think about my favorites, they usually involve learning something new.

1) Corsetted Pencil Skirt - I based this design on an Ann Taylor skirt and it was fun figuring out how to do it.  I also wear my personal skirt A LOT.

2) Flower Button Coat - my first coat, and while I know it has problems, I'll always love it because it was my first.

3) Gertie pencil skirt - I made four of these this fall, two with boning and two without (I still need to take pictures of one of the skirts and write about my experience with the pattern).

4) Beginning to sew with jersey/knit fabric - I love it and look forward to improving this year

5) Camp Runway - I loved this week and can't wait to work with more young sewists this summer!

I've got some specific things I really want to make in 2013, but mostly I just look forward to more time with fabric, needle, and thread, more teaching, and reading about all the lovely things that my fellow sewing bloggers create!

What's Up: New Dress for Jen, Finished Skirt, VintageModern Coat

UPDATE:  You can vote for my Flower Button Coat in the VintageModern Design Challenge through Thursday, March 22.  You can only vote once and you must register at the BurdaStyle website in order to do so.  You can find my entry here.  I'm project #11.  Thanks!!!!


For the moment, I feel like a powerhouse when it comes to completing projects.  This probably won't last long, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can!

The big project of the week was making my coat for the VintageModern Design Challenge hosted by Indygo Junction (patterns), BurdaStyle, Coats & Clark, and Singer.  This was big because it involved sewing a coat for the first time, and making style changes to the original pattern (collar, pockets & flaps, flower buttons, piping).  You can read about this project in more detail on my BurdaStyle page, but here's the completed coat:

I learned a lot from this project and I'm already planning what I'm going to do differently the next time I make it, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  Now keep your fingers crossed that I win the challenge!  I'll keep you posted on how I do.

My second completed project was a dress for Jen, who hosted the last skirt party.  I used Kay Whitt's Flirty Dress from Sew Serendipity.  I made the under bust band a bit wider (2.5 inches) than her pattern and added a tie to the back.  I love the fabric Jen chose - Joel Dewberry's Heirloom Tile Flourish in Green - and the dress looks great on her.  I'll try to get a photo with her in it when I drop it off later in the week, but here it is on a hanger:

And then I finally finished Melissa's bias trim denim skirt.  I had to re-do the waistband because I just didn't think the straight waistband was working.  A rectangular/straight waistband is theoretically supposed to work when the skirt sits at the high waist, but I haven't found this to be the case.  Or I should say, it works for my 4-year-old but not for anyone with a womanly shape.  So, ta-da, here it is!

I love the button Melissa's picked out from my collection.  It gives a masculine touch to an otherwise very pretty skirt.

That's it for last week (she says while flexing her sewing muscles).  This week will be a bit less exciting.  I need to finish a few odds and ends and I offered to help a local Irish Dance school finish off six skirts for their St Patrick's Day show.  I bartered with them so now Cora will get to take some Irish dance lessons!

Have a great week!

Sneak Peek: Indygo Junction VintageModern Design Challenge Entry

**UPDATE**  Please excuse the typo.  It should be "Sneak Peek" - I blame the 1am sewing!!

My Monday "What's Up" post will be delayed this week because I am finishing up my entry into the Indygo Junction VintageModern Design Challenge.  I had to work until 1am the last two nights to get it finished and I think I'm pretty happy with it.  I've got a friend coming later today for a photography session so I'll post more photos tomorrow, but here's a sneak peek at what I've created:

More to come on this coat and my other completed projects for the week tomorrow!

What's Up: Corsetted Skirt (done!), Coat Muslin, Fabric Surprise

What a satisfying week.  It's much more fun when I have actual finished projects to admire at the end of the week, instead of pattern pieces and cut fabric!  This week I finished Diane's two denim skirts, the corsetted pencil skirt and a regular pencil skirt with funky material.  I'm very pleased with how the corsetted pencil skirt turned out, which is a good thing because I had to work hard to get it right:

I want to make myself a version of this, and I think I'll use a thread with more color contrast on the topstitching to really make the corsetted seams stand out (Diane wanted something more subtle).  I also hope to get a tutorial in the next week or two for those of you who want to try it yourself (I need the tutorial myself so I don't forget what I did!).

The fabric for Diane's second denim skirt is a heathered grey denim.  I don't think the photos do it justice (they didn't on the website where I first saw it).  The fabric has a lovely sheen and feel, and looks almost metallic when it moves.  The heathering creates interesting vertical streaks and is very slimming.  I found it at MoodFabrics.com and last I checked they still have some here.

I also finished my coat muslin this weekend, thanks to a visit from Grandma Polderman (she spent hours and hours playing with the girls.  I now feel that I have a chance of finishing the real coat on time for the competition (the deadline is next Monday at midnight).  I'm so glad I did a muslin for this.  It gave me practice with the in-seam pockets and pocket flaps (not in the original pattern, so I had to figure this out and draft the pieces), it showed me where the coat needed to be altered for a better fit (hips), and I now know what changes I want to make to my additions (collar, pocket flaps).  I don't usually do a muslin for skirts unless I'm making something unusual (like the corsetted skirt); instead, I follow the guidance of a costume-maker friend of mine who suggests making the skirt with a 1 inch seam allowance so that it is easy to make adjustments.  I always do a muslin for dresses, or at least for the bodice, and now, for jackets/coats.  Here's a sneak preview, although I didn't finish the sleeves, hem, or add the buttons (not needed for the muslin):

The fun surprise of the week was receiving a box of (free!) fabric and a dress from my husband's Aunt Wendy.  She has a friend returning to Malaysia who is downsizing her goods and Wendy told her she could find a home for the fabric.  I received YARDS of beautiful silk.  Some lightweight, like these:

I think they'll make lovely scarves or flowing summer dresses.  And then there were a couple heavier brocades:

I love the grey/purple brocade with dragons and I'm already dreaming up what I can make with it.  Also in the box was a Chinese-style red dress.  Wendy wasn't sure it would fit, but here it is (and here's me, vamping it up with Cora):

This week I'll be finishing Melissa's skirt and then working on Jen's dress.  And I also hope to finally get my finished bags up on Etsy.  And then I'll rub my tummy and pat my head.