Day: 11 January 2013

musings, sewing

2012 sewing wrap up

Yes, it’s the 11th of January.  My 2012 wrap-up is well and truly overdue!  I’ve trawled through my blog posts and flickr stream for the past year and have discovered the following:

I sewed 74 items for myself.  Gulp!

  • 5 bags/wristlets
  • 1 cape
  • 1 cardi/jacket
  • 8 crocheted garments
  • 21 dresses
  • 1 jacket
  • 5 pairs of pants
  • 1 pair of pyjamas
  • 7 skirts
  • 18 tops
  • 3 vests

Some of my favourite garment sews for myself were these:

2012 faves for me

I also made 24 items for Clare (one crocheted, the rest sewn) and 19 items for Stella.  There were five garments made for other people, and a variety of hats and gloves crocheted as gifts that didn’t make it to the blog or into this tally.  Oh my goodness!

Oliver + s and New Look were the big winners when it came to sewing for the girls.  I made 13 Oliver + s garments for Clare and 7 for Stella, and made 1 New Look garment for Clare but 4 for Stella.  Other patterns that I used for the girls’ garments were mostly Ottobre.

2012 favourites for the girls

And the pattern breakdown for my garments?

  • 9 StyleARC
  • 7 New Look
  • 6 Simplicity
  • 6 Nicole Mallalieu
  • 4 Vogue
  • 3 McCalls
  • 2 Butterick
  • 2 Tessuti
  • 2 Kwik Sew
  • 1 Colette
  • 1 Sewaholic – Made 6 times (Renfrew)
  • 1 Jalie
  • 1 self
  • 1 Crafty Mamas – Made 3 times (Cherish)
  • 1 Maker’s Journal

Some of these patterns were used multiple times.  The one Sewaholic pattern that I used was the Renfrew pattern – and I made it six times!  The one Crafty Mamas pattern was the Cherish dress, which I made four times (including one for Mum and one for Freya).  I used the StyleARC Elle pants pattern four times.  There were others used twice or three times, in different variations.

2012 Renfrews

And there were four quilt tops put together.  They’re still waiting to be quilted.

2012 quilt tops finished

But the sewing project I’m most proud of?

Ripe and Blooming - done!

adult's clothing, sewing

Cherish for Mum (and a Cherish Maxi for Freya)

The second last make of 2012 – a Cherish dress for my Mum.

Cherish dress for Mum - front

Sadly, I don’t have any modelled pictures of this one! It’s in a cotton jersey that Mum had been holding on to for many years, waiting for the right pattern to make a cool summer “house dress” (as she describes them). This fabric doesn’t have any lycra, and isn’t terribly stretchy, so I cut it out in an XL size (I’d use the L for my Mum normally if I were using a fabric with more stretch and recovery). I topstitched the neck and arm bands down with a small zig-zag to keep them more stable and add a little detail.

Cherish dress for Mum - front detail

I’m rather fond of the small zig-zag on knit fabrics at the moment! I stopped the stitching either side of the front gathers. The hem was also secured with a small zig-zag. Mum seemed pleased with the finished dress. I also made a maxi version of the Cherish dress for my cousin Freya earlier in the year, but don’t have any photos of it on her. You’ll have to make do with photos of it on me!

Cherish Dress for Freya

The fabric for this one came from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 per metre table. It’s a pixellated floral, a polyester/spandex blend, I suspect. It falls very nicely in a maxi length.

Cherish Dress for Freya

I’ve been wearing my Cherish dresses quite a lot in the warmer weather. So bra-friendly, and shaped but loose – does that make sense? Very comfortable. I find that poly/spandex knits only last a season or so, and am looking forward to replenishing my wardrobe again next year with more Cherish dresses once these ones wear out! Or maybe I could sneak one more in for this summer…

adult's clothing, crochet

Diana’s Dress

Although this dress is called Diana’s dress, that is actually the pattern name.  It’s not for anyone called Diana!  It’s for me!

Diana's Dress

And it’s a size too small. Well actually, I’ve put on weight and I’m a size too big at the moment. So the fit isn’t as I’d like it to be. I started crocheting this dress at the beginning of October, and finished it at the end of November. Finding an appropriate slip to wear underneath was a bit of a challenge. I thought that I’d have to sew one, but I came across one at mesop that blended beautifully. I didn’t really want a contrasting colour.

Diana Dress - crocheted by me

I used Cotton 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills, thinking that I had enough in my stash. I was wrong of course – played yarn chicken yet again! And yes, the colour, New Ochre, had been discontinued. But as usual, it was Ravelry to the rescue, and I was able to purchase another ball from a fellow Raveller. Yippee!

Diana Dress - crocheted by me

This dress was worked in the round. I really do enjoy that type of construction! It was fun watching the filet pattern evolve and seeing the diamond shapes appear. I look forward to wearing this dress once I’ve lost some weight. I’m just too conscious of the back and midriff bulges at the moment.

Diana's Dress