Sewing Resolutions Recap, or, how well have I kept my promises?
In January I made a list of sewing related New Years Resolutions and since it’s nearly May I thought I’d take a look and see how well I’ve been keeping them.
The main goal was to create a closet catalogue to figure out what I wear most and what garments I need to make more or less of – basically sewing guidelines.
This isn’t to say that I am restricted to sewing within my self-imposed rules but I made them for a reason – to get the most out of my sewing and my wardrobe!
These guidelines include – sewing garments with sleeves (because I rarely wear sleeveless anything), with long sleeves (because I lacked them), solid color tops, tops that were nicer than plain t-shirts, casual dresses, “Church appropriate dresses” (because sometimes I need to look fancy but not like a skank), pants, blazers and coats. I also needed to stay away from sewing skirts (I have way too many) and sewing clothes that required other clothes (like tank tops underneath a see-through shirt).
There were some other things I was going for, too, like sewing things I can wear in summer, finding my personal style and trying new shapes and silhouettes.
Well now I’m going to assess my progress and analyze each project to see how well I’ve done.
Little Black Knit Dress
Date: April 26
Guidelines followed: It’s a casual dress with sleeves! Not too short that I need to wear tights with it and it’s a plain color. Check!
The “Summer Concert Tee”
Date: April 24
Guidelines followed or ignored: Well, it has sleeves, I can wear it in summer and it isn’t a plain old t-shirt but it’s not a solid color. Semi Check. **I made a few other versions of this shirt and they all fit under these same guidelines.
Orange Shorts
Date: April 1
Guidelines followed: Great for summer! Um, that’s about it. But I like them so I’m giving them a check!
Eva Dress Croquette Blouse
Date: March 19
Guidelines followed: Solid color, fancier than a t-shirt and has sleeves! Check!
Darling Ranges Redux
Date: March 14
Guidelines followed: Casual dress with sleeves! And I love this dress so it gets a double check!
Megan Nielsen Darling Ranges Dress #1
Date: March 9
Guidelines followed: Casual dress with sleeves and I don’t need to wear anything under it because it’s lined. Check!
Simplicity 3850 Muslin Pants
Date: Feb 26
Guidelines followed or ignored: Well, they’re pants, but they’re a little big and I only wear them around the house so I’m not giving them a check. Fail.
Victory Patterns Lola Dress
Date: Feb 17
Guidelines followed: A casual dress with sleeves (and semi-long sleeves) and bonus points for going out of my comfort zone and trying a silhouette without a defined waist. Double check!
50s Skirt Restyle
Date: Feb 10
Guidelines followed or ignored: It’s a skirt. And I plainly forbade myself from any more skirts because I’ve got way more skirts than anything else I own and I hardly ever wear them. Ok, maybe “forbade” is a harsh word but really, I’ve got to stop making skirts. I’ll let this one slide because it was an old project that I finally finished. Still, it’s a guidelines fail.
Vogue 1247 Shirt
Date: Feb 1
Guidelines followed: Solid color with sleeves and it’s not a plain t-shirt. Gotta give it a check!
Self Drafted Sweatshirt Jacket
Date: Jan 21
Guidelines followed: It’s a blazer and long sleeves and a neutral color. Should be good, right? Well, I only wore it a couple times and decided I didn’t like it as much as I first thought. I think because it’s a little bulky. Unfortunately, fail.
The “Jeans from Hell”
Date: Jan 10
Guidelines followed or ignored: They’re pants, but even when I first made them they started stretching out. Now that I’ve lost weight they are completely unwearable and after all the trouble they put me through I doubt I’ll be trying to fix them. Big fat fail.
Black and White Colette Jasmine
Date:Jan 9
Guidelines followed: Solid color, nice looking top with sleeves. Check!
Victory Patterns Anouk Dress
Date: Jan 1
Guidelines followed: Church appropriate dress with sleeves that’s still casual enough to wear out and about. Big fat check!
Did you make any sewing resolutions this year? Or do you have any general sewing goals you want to accomplish? Sewing work appropriate clothes? Better fitting clothes? More cake, less frosting perhaps?
Speaking of the cake v. frosting idea that Tasia at Sewaholic brought up. I’m definitely a cake person. I’ve learned that I like wearing what I sew more times than it sits in the closet so it’s cake for me but I don’t think that the cake has to be boring! Take my Anouk dress or my Darling Ranges dresses. For me they’re definitely cake – clothing I need and wear often but they’re also pretty dresses with fun prints and girly shapes. Even my shirts that I’ve made are useful, wearable and pleasing to look at. If I’m going to make cake I’m at least going to mix in some cookie crumbles or add a truffle center or something. Dang, now I’ve just gone and made myself hungry…
Congradulations! You’ve done an amazing job fullfilling your New Years resolution. All your clothes look wonderfull. I especilly love your 50’s skirt restyle, Its to cute to be a Fail. I also liked your closet cataloging idea and i wanted to know how you organize your patterns? I can’t wait to see what you do next.
Wow, good job on your resolutions! And quite a number of very cute garments, all in four months! My favs are the orange shorts, the first Darling Ranges dress and that cute black knit dress!