2014 Top 5 Hits and Misses (sort of)

Another sewing blogger, Gillian from Crafting a Rainbow, hosts a “Top 5 of the year” blog series at the end of every year. The idea is to post a roundup of your top 5 hits and misses from the year, as well as other highlights from the year. I thought it would be fun (and maybe educational) to join in and take a look back at my sewing successes and failures this year.

The first thing I noticed as I scrolled back through my 2014 blog posts is that I didn’t make that many things this year (11 garments blogged, plus 2 that weren’t), and for a while I felt bad about that (especially while reading all the “year in review” posts from other people with truly incredible numbers of finished garments for the year…). But after thinking about it for a while, I’ve decided I’m actually happy with that number of makes. I don’t need or want to make dozens and dozens of new garments every year–I don’t have room for that in my closet anyway! A few well thought out, well executed projects is actually ideal for me, and I think I achieved that. Nearly everything I sewed this year gets worn frequently and makes me happy, and for me, that’s success.

So, let’s get to the hits and misses, shall we? (Clicking on the pictures should take you back to the original post about each project.)

Top 5 Hits:

1. Black Scout Tee

This was the 3rd Scout Tee I’ve made, and I perfect it a little more with each iteration, so this one is pretty darn good! The silhouette works well for me, black goes with everything, and it’s easy to dress this top up or down. I’ve worn it a ton, and I love it.

2. Archers #1 and #2

I’m cheating a little and counting these as one. I freaking love my archers! I wear them all the time! They are the perfect balance of casual-yet-put-together, and they work well both for work and leisure. I’d still like to make more of these.

3. Portrait Blouse

This was kind of an unexpected hit — I sewed it up more or less on a whim, unsure it the shape would work for me. But it does work, brilliantly, especially for tucking into slacks for a slightly dressy look. The print and colors are perfect for me, too. I wore it to a job interview few weeks ago, and I felt great in it. (The interview, incidentally, went really well — must have been the blouse, don’t you think?)

4. Pumpkin Renfrew

Not much to say about this one, except that I LOVE the color. It just makes me happy to put this on in the morning. I’m wearing it right now, actually! Plus it’s super soft and cozy, and the fit is pretty good (although I think on my next Renfrew I’ll shorten the body by 1″ or so).

5. Floral Flora Dress

I’ve only worn this once (to a wedding), but it’s still qualifies as a hit because I felt great in it on that one day. Besides, when I made this I didn’t expect to get to wear it super often. I knew if would be a special occasion dress; that was the point.

Top 2 Misses:

I wouldn’t say that anything I made in 2014 was a complete miss, which makes me feel pretty good! Here are the two makes that I’m least satisfied with, though:

1. Sandpoint Top

This make seemed great at first, but I eventually realized I just didn’t feel good wearing it. (The difficulty I had getting pictures of me wearing it that I liked enough to use in that blog entry really should have been a clue…) Part of it is the hem–it feels too long right now, and the hem hits me at an awkward place. I need to either take the hem band off and hem it normally, or take the hem band off, shorten it, and then put the hem band back on. Blah. In addition to that, the style just isn’t practical for my everyday life. The cowl back makes it not work appropriate (for me, at least), and you can’t really cover the back by wearing a cardigan over it because the cowl gets all bunched up. So it’s weekend wear only. But most of my weekends are spent either lounging around at home or traipsing around outdoors, and this doesn’t really lend itself to either of those activities either. So mainly it sits in my closet, unworn. Once I get the hem fixed, though, it will be fun to wear this occasionally!

2. Shirt For The Boyfriend

This definitely isn’t a complete miss, as it gets worn frequently (hooray!). But it does have some issues. The sleeves are too wide/puffy where they meet the cuff–I really need to adjust the pattern to take out some width there. I also don’t really like the shape of the collar–it turned out too big, I think. The Boyfriend looks best in shirts with pretty narrow collars. Need to adjust the pattern for that, too. Still, considering that this is only the second incarnation of a completely self-drafted pattern, I’d say it’s pretty good! Hopefully the next version, with those changes, will be even better (whenever I get around to it…).

Another Highlight — The Wardrobe Architect Project:

The other sewing-related highlight of my year was participating in the Wardrobe Architect Project. It definitely helped me figure out what kinds of garments to focus on making/acquiring, and my wardrobe has certainly benefitted. I think the fact that I frequently wear nearly everything I sewed this year is largely thanks to this project. Huge thanks to Sarai for designing and leading it! I learned a lot, but I think the single most helpful thing I figured out is that I look/feel the best in warm autumn colors (olive green, dark red, burnt orange, warm purple, mustard, teal, etc.). Although I don’t intend to always confine myself to this palette (obviously, judging from the things I made this year), having this in the back of my mind has been hugely helpful when I’m fabric shopping (or just shopping for ready-to-wear clothes).

That’s it from me for today. I’m off to make another Scout Tee (this will be #4). #SoManyScouts #NeverEnoughScouts

Wardrobe Architect (weeks 5 & 6)

I bet you thought I’d forgotten about the Wardrobe Architect project, huh? Okay, you probably didn’t–I don’t think anyone except me thinks about my blog enough to notice that I’ve fallen behind, which in this case is convenient! (If you want to read my previous Wardrobe Architect posts, you can do that here.)

Weeks 5 & 6 were all about color. The exercise for week 5 was simply to create a palette of colors that you like and feel good wearing.

This was actually a really useful exercise for me because it forced me to think critically about what colors I think look good on me (as opposed to just what colors I like), something I admit I had never put a lot of thought into before. I found this series of posts (part 1, part 2, part 3) from the blog Into Mind (which I recommend, by the way) really helpful and interesting while I was thinking about this. Apparently, according to the “color seasons” idea, I am a “warm autumn,” or possibly a “warm spring.” Now, I don’t subscribe to the idea that one should feel obligated to cling slavishly to the colors one is “supposed” wear, but figuring out which type you are is an interesting starting place for figuring out which colors you might like to wear.

Figuring out which “type” I am was pretty illuminating for me, actually. I had never really considered before that I tend to look best in warm colors, but now that I have thought about it, I can see it’s totally true. My favorite garments are warm colors, and I can even think of specific cool-toned garments that I don’t wear very often because I don’t think the colors flatter me.

The exercise for week 6 was to organize your color palette into three categories: neutrals (black, cream, etc.), near neutrals (colors you’re comfortable wearing as neutrals, that go with almost anything), and statement colors. So, without further ado, here is mine:

This is a combination of colors I already wear and like, and colors that I’d like to wear more often. I really enjoyed putting it together, and it’s definitely been useful to think about while fabric shopping.

Up next in Wardrobe Architect: prints vs. solids! Also, I just finished a Scout Tee today (and I love it!), so you’ll be seeing that up here as soon as I have a chance to photograph it. :)

#WardrobeArchitect (weeks 3 & 4)

More Wardrobe Architect talk today! Week 3 was devoted to thinking about the shapes of individual garments, and week 4 was all about outfit silhouettes.

In week 3 we filled out a questionnaire to get us thinking about which garment shapes we gravitate towards. (Mini, midi, or maxi skirts? Full, A-line, or fitted?) Then, for week four, we used those preferences to come up with outfit silhouettes that fit those preferences. In this case “silhouette” means a formula for an outfit: skinny jeans, a button up shirt, and boots, for instance (which just happens to be one of my go-to silhouettes).

Silhouette 1 by umbellulariadesigns

Coming up with a collection of the silhouettes you tend to use over and over again can help you zero in on the kinds of garments you’re likely to get a lot of use from, and decide how to spend your precious sewing time! I came up with nine silhouettes that I wear often. I’ll only post a few of them here, but you can check out the rest on Polyvore if you’re interested. (Pay no attention to the colors or patterns of the clothes in these–the point was to focus on shape!)

Silhouette 3 by umbellulariadesigns

This was actually quite a useful exercise for me. It confirmed that I should really make myself some Archer button-up shirts, if nothing else! More loose, casual tops would be good too (Scout tee-shirts, perhaps?!). And more Renfrews, and maybe a few more versions of my self-drafted batwing top pattern…

Silhouette 5 by umbellulariadesigns

That’s all for now. The button-up shirt for The Boyfriend is coming along! Hopefully I’ll have a post about that up here soon. :)

#WardrobeArchitect (Weeks 1 & 2)

I have no finished garment to show you today. (Sorry–I’m working on it! Next up is another button-down shirt for The Boyfriend.) Instead, I have something a bit different!

I’m following along with the Wardrobe Architect project, led by Sarai over at the Coletterie blog. (Here is the very first post in the series, explaining what the project is all about. You can check out all the posts about the project so far here.)

The point of this project is to think critically about what we wear and why we wear it, so as to be able to sew (and buy) garments that we will actually use and be happy to wear, rather than garments that end up perpetually hanging in the back of the closet, unworn and unloved. What kinds of clothes make us feel good about ourselves or our bodies, and why? What kinds of clothes make us feel uncomfortable? What garments do we like in theory (or on other people), but never seem to actually wear? What shaped these preferences? How does one define a core personal style, or aesthetic?

Sarai has posted some great prompts and worksheets to help us get started thinking about these things (one prompt per week is the plan). The last item on the worksheet for week two was to select five words that define your personal style, and then to collect 15-20 images that reflect those words. My words were casual, modern, subdued-yet-cheerful, practical, and simple. (I know I kind of cheated on the middle one, just roll with it.) I collected my images on a Pinterest board–feel free to peruse it, if you so desire.

I’m not going to share the rest of my answers to the worksheet questions here (too long, too boring, too personal), but here are a few of the more useful thoughts that came to me as I was filling them out:

I want my clothes to help me look like a competent adult. For whatever reason, when people first meet me (and have nothing but my appearance to go on), they often assume I’m several years younger than I actually am. While this isn’t the end of the world (people are forever telling me I’ll be grateful for it eventually!), I would like my appearance to better reflect the reality of the situation.

I’d like to look “effortlessly put-together.” I want it to look like I put some thought into what I’m wearing, but not like I obsessed about it. Plus, although I like looking good as much as the next person, I know that I’m way more likely to wear things that are “easy to wear.” If it requires a lot of maintenance, special undergarments, a special hair-do, impractical shoes, or what-have-you, it probably won’t be on heavy rotation in my everyday wardrobe.

Unique details are good; super quirky and weird usually isn’t (for me, right now). When I was younger I was way more into looking purposefully quirky/weird, and steadfastly not following trends. These days, I don’t mind fitting in a little bit more.

Although I like vintage looks on other people, I (mostly) don’t feel comfortable sporting that look myself. Wearing things that are so far outside my usual “skinny jeans and a nice top” uniform in my everyday life usually just makes me feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. (For special occasions, though, all bets are off.)

I need my everyday clothes to be comfortable and practical. If I can’t comfortably walk moderate distances, bend over, and sit cross-legged on the ground in it, then I probably won’t wear it super often. (Again, though, this does not apply to special occasions!)

Clean lines and simple designs tend to appeal to me. I should really try to embrace this more in the garments I sew.

I feel the most attractive and comfortable in subdued-but-cheerful colors. No neons, not all black. Colors like cranberry red, peacock blue, olive green, burnt orange, dusty pink, dark lavender, and mustard yellow. (I guess most of these are “autumn” colors.) I think they look good on me, too. My favorite garments in my closet at the moment are almost all in this color pallet. I’m also kind of getting into gray as a neutral these days–it’s less harsh than black.

That’s it for today. I recommend playing along, if you’re interested in thinking a little bit more deeply than usual about your fashion preferences and choices. But even if you aren’t, go and read Sarai’s posts and skim the comments–lots of great inspiration and food for thought!

P.S. If you made it all the way through that wall of text, thanks for reading. :)