2018 Hits and Misses

I've been busy over the last couple of weeks making Christmas presents, so while they still need to be kept secret I thought I'd share a quick round-up of some of my favourite projects from this year, as well as a couple of things that weren't quite so successful. Let's start with the hits...

My Vogue 8577 dress is probably my favourite dress that I sewed this year. I think a major part of the reason it was so successful is the combination of the pattern and the fabric - the cotton sateen that I used has a good weight and drape to it, which makes the skirt hang really nicely and swish pleasingly as I walk in the dress. I'd definitely like to make another version of this dress in the future - I'm keeping my eye out for the right fabric!

The Sew Over It Carrie trousers that I made this summer were a bit of a surprise hit for someone who usually lives in dresses and skirts! I really enjoyed wearing them, and it was nice to try something a bit outside of my usual comfort zone. I'm planning on trying out some other trouser patterns in the future.

Time for some knitting now! With the amount of work that went into my "Lovely" cardigan (I always feel the need to emphasise the fact that "Lovely" is the name of the pattern and not just an adjective I'm using to describe the cardigan!), it definitely deserved to be included in my top projects of the year. I'm really happy with the fit of the cardigan, and it's proving to be delightfully cosy to wear now that the weather is colder.

Next up we have my Carolyn pyjamas. In some ways you might think that all pyjamas are fairly standard, but the trousers and shorts that I made from the Carolyn pattern are by far and away the nicest fitting pyjama bottoms that I can remember owning. They're the perfect combination of having just a touch of shape to them to make them fit nicely, whilst still being baggy enough to have the comfort that you want from PJs. I'm hoping to make some more soon.

And the last of my hits is a fairly recent addition to my collection - my Pippi pinafore. I love wearing pinafores at this time of year, so it was always a fairly safe bet that this was going to be a success. It's lovely to wear and the pink denim that I used is a great cheery colour for brightening up dull days. What more could you want?!

Now, let's turn to projects that weren't quite so successful. I'll preface this by saying that I didn't have any complete disasters this year (I've got a fairly good idea of what suits me, and I make toiles so I can spot any fitting issues early on) and all of the projects I'm about to share definitely have their plus points too. For one reason or another though, these haven't got as much love as some of this year's other creations.

First up is my foray into sewing lingerie. My Watson bra is perfectly fine and I do wear it occasionally, but the insides just look a bit messy (totally due to my lack of experience of working with all the different elastics rather than any fault of the pattern) and I stick by the assessment that I made at the time that this is one occasion where it might just be better to buy something than make it. As for the Acacia knickers - after wearing them a few times I was forced to admit that the elastic is just a bit too loose. I've been meaning to go back and try to fix it, but fixing things is always at the bottom of my list of things to do so I never get round to it! I do still want to try making more knickers to use up jersey scraps though.

My McCalls 7714 dress is a bit of a sad tale - I really liked the dress and happily wore it. Unfortunately, when I washed it some of the red from the background of the fabric bled onto some of the white flowers making them a wishy washy pink. I'm not sure why this happened to the finished dress when it didn't happen to the fabric when I prewashed it, but there we go! It's still wearable, but it does look a bit odd.

Lastly, we have my Sew Over It Clara blouse. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this project - I enjoyed sewing the pattern, I like the fabric, and it fits nicely. I struggle to know what to wear it with other than this red skirt though, so it just hasn't been worn that much. I'm including it in my list of "misses" at least partly to try to remind myself to try to find other ways to wear it!

So there we go, a fairly successful year of sewing/knitting all in all! I'm now starting to look forward to the new year and planning what projects I want to make in 2019. Have you come up with any plans yet? And what was your favourite thing that you made this year?

Closet Case Patterns Ebony Dress

The dress I have to share with you today is a bit of a different one for me. Generally I'm a fan of fitted bodices/tops, waist shaping and full skirts. The Closet Case Patterns Ebony dress doesn't exactly fit that description! It's a modern swingy dress (also with cropped top and raglan sleeved tunic options), with plenty of the fullness that I like in skirts but absolutely zero shaping other than the shoulders being nicely fitted.

Closet Case Patterns Ebony dress - I'm wearing it with RTW leggings and a roll neck top here

So what made me want to try making an Ebony when it's really not my usual silhouette? Basically, the fabric that I've used. I bought it around this time last year hoping to make a dress for my mum for Christmas. The shop that I bought this from didn't offer swatches so I'd gambled on it because from the description and pictures, it looked like just what I wanted.

It was described as a medium weight ponte roma, but when it turned up it definitely wasn't like any other ponte roma I've ever seen/used. It's lightweight and very drapey, and you can see straight through it if you hold it up to the light. Annoyingly, not long after it arrived, I saw what looked like exactly the same fabric on another site, where it was described as a lightweight jersey and was significantly cheaper. I'm not mentioning the name of the shop where I bought it because I can't 100% remember which one it was now, and I wouldn't like to be critical of the wrong place!

Anyway, in addition to not offering swatches, the shop also didn't offer refunds/returns on fabric so I put the jersey away knowing that I'd find a use for it sometime. Much though it's not what I wanted for the project I had in mind at the time, it's a lovely quality fabric in itself.

A slightly blurry photo, but it shows the volume well!

At various points during the year, I got it out to think of what to make, and the Ebony dress seemed like the right project. Yes, it's not exactly my normal style but it does have plenty of swish/twirl factor (which is always good in my book!), and I knew that it would definitely be very comfy if nothing else. And I thought I might as well give it a try given that I had perfect fabric already - I'm firmly of the opinion that it's better to use fabric than leave it sitting on a shelf.

Making the Ebony dress was a breeze. There were only four pattern pieces (front, back, sleeves and neckband), so it was a fairly speedy project to sew, and the instructions were very clear and thorough so there was no risk of getting things wrong.

I made a straight size 12 based on my bust measurement as instructed in the pattern, and that worked out nicely. The shoulders and sleeves fit me well, and they're the only part of the Ebony dress that really need to fit. I did lengthen the dress by 1.5 inches (fairy standard for me), and if I make it again I'd probably lengthen the sleeves just a touch as well but they're fine as they are for this version.

So what's the verdict on the finished dress? Pretty positive! In terms of the Ebony pattern itself, I've got no criticisms. It's definitely a good one if you're looking to make a dress/top/tunic of this style. As for the dress on me, I'm surprised by how much I like it, especially with a roll neck top underneath it like I'm wearing in these photos. It's fair to say that it's not the most conventionally "flattering" dress on me (i.e. it definitely isn't particularly slimming), and I probably wouldn't want a whole wardrobe of them. As expected though, it is extremely comfortable and quite cosy when layered up so I'll definitely be wearing it this winter. Plus the red colour and general roominess will make it perfect to wear at Christmas! All in all, a successful experiment - wouldn't you say?