2021 Sewing in Review
So it’s beyond time for that final review of my sewing projects in 2021! I'm finally summing up my 2021 sewing accomplishments two weeks into the new year 😅. Here’s a list of everything I wanted to make last year, with everything that I actually made crossed out, and the bolded items are ones I’ve made significant progress on:
Bedgown/Adrienne - pattern TBD → All Well Cardigan
Shift - self-drafted
All Well Cardigan → Seamwork Bo Cardigan
Seamwork Kenzie Skirt: altered to work like an 18th C. petticoat → self-drafted petticoat
Seamwork Willis Shirt
Long-Sleeve Band Collar Shirt - pattern TBD
Seamwork Nolan Pants
Thimble and Plume Wulsthaube to go under my current headwraps
Bum Pad - self-drafted
1780s or 1790s stays - pattern TBD
Easter/Pentecost Special Occasion Outfit
Seamwork Akita Top in peach linen
Midi Skirt in peach linen
Pride Special Occasion Outfit
Christmas Special Occasion Outfit
Dark Green poly cotton smock dress
Z & M Wedding Quilt
Ivy Wedding Quilt
Kwanzaa Mini Quilt
Christmas Gifts
2 Children’s Aprons
7/17 is not exactly where I wanted to be, but I’m also not mad?
For more details on previous makes, see this post. I could tell by the middle of the year that between the return to in-person work and other service work I was doing, I wouldn’t have time for all the sewing I wanted, but I’m still proud of the items I was able to accomplish. It’s more than I’ve ever sewn before and I could see my progress as I went along!
The pink linen shift and peach linen robe are the pride and joy of my 2021 makes. My goal was to make luxurious 18th century loungewear and I succeeded! I love this robe that is reminiscent of both an adrienne and banyan and is so warm and dramatic and lovely to wear, I even sleep in it sometimes. I’m going to make another shift because I did not add gores to the side seams, so the skirt is a little restricting, but it is truly my favorite nightgown and I need like 3 more. Also, I love wearing the shift and the robe and the matching gathered midi skirt I made all together. It is (almost) everything I dreamed of when it comes to 18th century loungewear. I can't wait to add linen stays (or maybe quilted linen jumps?); I think those and a bum pad will really complete the outfit.
For the bolded items in the list, I haven’t finished them yet, but I’ve made great progress and look forward to finishing them in the 1st quarter of 2022.
I’mma be honest and just say that the Christmas dress I made was an unmitigated disaster and I'm not putting up a picture for it. I based the bodice on the Seamwork Akita top since I’d already made 2 Akita tops that turned out great. And the bodice was fine but gathering the thick dark green poly cotton to make a skirt was not working. Gathering by hand didn’t work, trying to do cartridge pleats didn’t work, it was a nightmare and then I forgot to add notches adnd mark the sewing line on the bodice. I need to detach the skirt, mark a level line to sew it to on the wrong side of the bodice, and I think I’m going to pleat the skirt instead of gather it, since that worked really well on a different project I’m working on (this gold Zero Waste gather dress).
The Z&M wedding quilt took on a new life in the middle of the year. As I finished sewing the half-rectangle triangle blocks, I couldn’t stand the idea of just arranging them in straight lines. Changing the block orientation reinvigorated the project for me. I need to finish sewing the quilt top and still need to decide how I’m going to do the quilt backing (and binding, lol, yeah I have a lot to do) but I’m excited about what’s to come and can’t wait to hand this gift off to my friends.
In addition, there were some items that I didn’t plan that I’m so glad to have made:
1 House dress where I tested making a super simplified version of the Watteau pleats I used on the back of the peach linen banyan
2 stuffed bunnies for a baptism and 1st birthday gifts (sadly no pics for these)
1 Bible Cover
1 journal cover
1 pencil pouch
1 sewing pouch
My Kwanzaa mat, also known as the Mkeka
And I dyed 3 yards of linen a beautiful mottled raspberry pink!
What have I learned about my creative process in 2021?
Making a mockup even semi-wearable greatly increases my chance of making mockup at all
Reviewing and (re)writing all the steps beforehand makes mid-creation changes far easier. I got this suggestion from this video by Evelyn Wood.
Clearing my sewing table regularly greatly enhances my ability to create
Tying a project to an event to wear it at gives me a hard deadline and keeps me on track.
And finally, focusing on making whole outfits rather than unrelated items is the best way to make my “To Make” list doable and satisfying.
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