Wearable Handmade

I did a quick count of how many clothing items I have in my closet that I’ve sewn myself. Not including minor restyle or alterations I counted 34.

And how many of those 34 have I actually worn out of the house more than once or twice? 16. That’s less than half of the total!

Well, not exactly. This doesn’t include what is in the dirty clothes pile or in drawers. If it’s dirty that’s a good guarantee that I wear it on a regular basis. And in my drawers I mostly have knits and I started sewing knits when I had more experience so I wear nearly all of those.

But it is interesting to look at why I don’t wear so many things that I’ve made.

Most of these unwearables are from my early days of clothes sewing. The main issue I think is that I used to always pick the wrong fabric for projects – too stiff or too slippery.

The second issue is fit. At the start of my sewing adventure I never knew what size to cut.

The third problem I have is style, like a skirt or dress just isn’t something I’d usually wear. Or it’s too fancy and I have no place special to go. I just need to admit to myself that I have no reason to be sewing cocktail style dresses.

The last thing is probably the need for special undergarments. I hate having to wear a slip or a special bra for something. Things like that end up never worn.

How much of your handmade wardrobe is wearable? Do you keep your clothes that don’t work just because you made them or do you donate those pieces? Or do you remake them into something else?