Yes, Virginia, I sewed this year: Sort-of self drafted turtleneck tops

Nothing like the end of year for some slapdash posting about the garments I made in 2020. To be honest, I didn’t sew or knit that much: between my concussion, other family member’s debilitating health concerns, a massive relapse and living in a society with people who value their desire for a monthly holiday over Disabled people’s right to live, my brain and body were in no state for any kind of demanding motor/mental task.

Please enjoy my truly atrocious COVID self-haircut.

Anyway, I made a few things, including these tops. Like many others, this project was born of a need for a specific garment in my wardrobe: a long sleeved turtleneck top, semi-fitted, with the collar close enough to keep me warm, but loose enough to allow room to breathe. Particular, I know! I looked and looked for patterns but didn’t find any that fit the bill, so turned to a TNT (tried ‘n’ true) t shirt pattern for a base.

Style Arc Dotty Blouse, Gillian Anderson style

Have you ever had one of those projects which hibernates in a pile somewhere because you just can’t bring yourself to start it? That was this project.

I received this beautiful mascarpone satin from The Remnant Warehouse as a gift many years ago, and instantly knew it was destined to become a Style Arc Dotty Blouse. However, I let it linger as I didn’t trust myself to work with tricksy polyester satin (after a particularly bad experience with some nasty Spotlight satin), and I wasn’t sure I could convert the pattern to work with one-sided fabric.

 

Sewcialists Mini Challenge – Sew Your Birth Year

Recently, the Sewcialists announced a mini sewing challenge – Sew Your Birth Year. I didn’t have the time nor energy to sew a whole outfit in a week, but as I love dressing up and I especially love the 90s, I was all in for a dress up session!

Top 5 Reflections of 2019, or, a Year in Review

2019 was a hard year in many, many ways. My sewing and knitting production slowed down significantly – I made 11 garments compared to 29 the year before, and probably more the year before that. This was largely due to health reasons.

Top 5 Misses (and Unsures) of 2019

Last week I shared my Top 5 Hits of 2019, here’s my Top 5 Misses and Unsures! (The reason I categorised them as such was because I only made 11 garments this year, so it was easier to just rate them all rather than do a Top 5 Hits & Misses and leave 1 out. Plus I don’t have enough Misses!)

Top 5 Hits of 2019

2019 was a funny year – I only blogged 11 creations, so doing a Top 5 Hits and Top 5 Misses like I usually do would seem a little forced. With so few makes, I think I can probably just sort them into categories of “Hits”, “Misses” and “Unsure”. Without further adieu:

Yet another Burda shirt, and RIP Burdastyle dot com

Note: I’m still catching up on my creations from 2019 – so bear with me, I think this is the last one!

What’s there to say about a pattern you’ve made over and over again? Well, about 1000 words, judging by this blog post! I’ve been sewing less lately, but in a more focused manner – creating those garments I’ll get a lot of wear out of, instead of one off fantasy items (Regency Gown and bonnet excluded!). This means button up shirts!

How to make a Regency bonnet

When I shared my Pride & Prejudice inspired Regency gown project, I said I’d go over making my bonnet in more detail. I can’t claim to have come up with the idea myself – I directly followed the instructions from Stephanie Johanesen’s YouTube tutorial, and the accompanying blog post from Better Dresses Vintage who also followed the video.

A Regency gown fit for Lizzy Bennet

Happy new year! Let’s cast our minds back to October and my much preferred holiday, Halloween. My friends and I planned to have a quiet morning tea* wearing costumes, which naturally I wanted to make myself. I was quite pleased with the end result, so prepare for lots of pictures!

Spoiler alert: this is what I made.

The humble knitted dishcloth; and a hand injury update

Log Cabin Dishcloth

It’s been 5 long months since I knitted last, and I really, truly, deeply, miss it. Knitting had been a constant in my life since I was a teen, and to not be able to keep my hands busy with needle and yarn has been a trying time. Knitting occupied my mind when I was anxious and soothed my through my trauma. It gave me something to do when I couldn’t do anything else but sit there. Now, I just have to sit and do nothing.