Wrapping up 2016

Another year in the books!!! I think I had a good sewing year and did okay on my goals.

1) Patterns

I have still purchased a ton. Mid year I was planning to fast for the rest of 2016. Big, giant, mega FAIL! :)

I catalog all of my patterns on Pattern Review and looks like I've bought 62 patterns since July 1. Oops.  A total of 102 patterns for the year. In 2015 I purchased a total of 140 patterns. Hey, that's improvement!

2) Fabric

I have purchased WAY less fabric in 2016. According to Fabric Mart, I spent $1,017 over 21 orders in 2015. That number hurts. OUCH! But 2015 was stressful and I'm not surprised. There had to be some SR Harris visits (but not many) and plenty of Hancock visits in there too.

In 2016 that number is $680 over 12 orders. I had one order each in February, March, April, May, June, July, September, December. And I had 2 in August and 2 in October. That is a fantastic improvement!! I had very few visits to SR Harris and lost Hancock this year. I am also good for 1-2 orders from Fashion Fabrics Club so we'll consider that about even from last year to this year.

3) Budget

I didn't end up setting an overall budget but I spent less on patterns and fabric and with Hancock leaving and hating JoAnn, I've been going to Wawak. I don't spend a ton at once but the prices are so much cheaper that they blow JA out of the water on almost everything; even with 50-60% off notions sales. And zippers! I have 19 zippers in my cart right now for a total of around $5.50 (I need serger thread too and with 8 spools I'm at $23 total).

4) Skills

a.) Floaty fabric; crepe has become my friend. Other floaty fabrics can go to hell. LOL!

b.) Sew a blazer; I had planned to give it a shot over break but the fabric I have is much thicker than I think it should be. I had lost 10 yards of lining fabric, found it when I moved, but can't locate it again. Soon. Very soon.

c.) Sew at least 6 Burdas. I've sewn 11 and do plan to sew from December!

There were no actual "fails". I am just uncertain about the length of the black/white top from October and I have the pants marked in my "maybe these won't stick around" pile. We'll see how they fare in the spring when ankle length pants are an option again.

January, April and July's dresses are some of my favorite garments EVER from the year. 

d.) Sew DDs prom dress - did that and used the pattern again to make a gorgeous gown for her concerts!

e.) Sew pajamas - As mentioned mid-year I made a couple of nightgowns and will be sewing PJs from the December Burda. And while I could never actually sleep in full PJs, I want to make a pair with piping and the whole jazz. I just think they're so cute. You know I'm not a "try to do everything with an Indie" type of sewer so B6296 will be the target pattern and I will not be paying oodles of dough for the CCF Carolyn.

f.) Sew a summer wardrobe. I feel like I added cute things but still felt kind of meh this summer. Summer just isn't my season. I think I need to just have all the dresses and live in them.


So, what did I sew?

I didn't keep great records like last year.  I just went through my wrap-ups and PR reviews and I already know some things are missing but that's okay...

Including the month of December, I've sewn a total of 82 items, 75 for myself:

19 Dresses
22 Tops
10 Pants (7 pants, 2 shorts, 1 jean)
11 Skirts
9 Toppers (4 jackets, 4 cardigans, 1 vest)
4 Others (2 sleepwear, 1 activewear, 1 jumpsuit)
7 Items for others (6 for my daughter and 1 for a friend)

I did not slow down from last year as expected. In 2015 I sewed 88 items for myself.

There are a total of 12 items that are no longer in my wardrobe; 1 because I lost all of my sweaters. (I may start crying again at the realization of all that's missing!!). And there are 3 items that are in the naughty box and may not stick around. Of the 15 items, there are:

2 dresses, 7 tops, 3 pants, 1 skirt, 1 jacket, 1 vest

In my ongoing problem category, tops, I've done WAY better!!! Last year I had a 60% success rate. Excluding the lost sweater, I have a 71% success rate on tops this year!

Favorites:

Dresses:

I love everything about this 4/2016 Burda! I should make another one!!!

This Burda from 6/2016 is high on the list too. And it was a FUN project!

Jackets:

New Look 6481 is a WIN. I love this jacket so much!

Butterick 6244 I absolutely adore. What a great save on that fabric. It was in stash for quite a while.

Tops:

Simplicity 8214; you can't be shocked! :)

Skirts:

WAIT until you see this camel Butterick 5760. It is perfect. It is well sewn (if I do say so myself). I just cannot wait to wear it!!!

The blue boucle version is a close runner up:

The biggest disappointment for me from this year was the casual suit. The fabric was a disappointment and the Kwik Sew jacket pattern was as well. I want to keep them because of the idea of it, but they just do not work well. The fabric is a cotton blend and bags out when worn. The jacket is ill fitting and while I knew that when I finished, it's so much worse every time I try to wear it.

I will post in early January a "goals" post. I will for one be continuing my Burda challenge, amending it a bit. I know I want to continue buying less fabric and fewer patterns, etc. I'll have to think all that through.