2015 catch up

Here we are, almost halfway through February, and I still have not posted about all the things I made in the tail end of 2015.  Let’s take care of that now before 2016 comes to a close and I am in the same spot again.  In the last two months of 2015 I used 40.5 yards of fabric for my own projects.  This total doesn’t include the fabric I used from the Bristol Opera House to make costumes for one of their productions.  Those 40.5 yards made up 15 new garments for myself and others, none of which have been blogged about.

What did I make?

I made another version of McCall’s 6744 back in August. This time I made view C, the short faux wrap version out of a purple floral ITY I got at a fabric sale we had at work over the summer.  This version and the first version both remain unphotographed as I am never going to wear them in public as dresses. The amount of ease in the pattern makes them so incredibly unflattering on my body. This is one of the three baggy fitting dresses I made in 2015.   I will wear them as swimsuit cover ups for when we next go to Dale Hollow Lake, but that is it.  It is just not something I can wear and feel confident in.

I made a couple of Halloween costumes in October for Eric and my niece.  My niece requested a Wonder Woman costume way back in March, so of course I put it off until October.  I used a Jalie 2792 to make it.  I am going to write a  tutorial for October about converting this pattern because it is so versatile.  What Wonder Woman costume wouldn’t be complete without a cape?  I drafted a simple cape to go with her Leotard.  I also made Eric a costume for our annual Halloween party.  We went with a carnival theme this year and he was the carnival barker.  That meant he needed a great tail jacket.  I had some iridescent red/black shantung that had been languishing in my stash for ages.  I used McCall’s 6143, which I have used before, and it turned out perfectly.  Between both costumes I used a bunch of scraps and 3 yards of stashed fabrics.   I tried to take some pics but they turned out pretty bad, too dark, kinda blurry, just all around not great on my part.  So I do not have anything that I am willing to share for these.  Although you can see the Wonder Woman leotard in my Instagram feed.

I started November off by making another Dixie DIY’s Summer Concert Tee. This is my fifth version of this tee.  Goodness, I love this pattern and for good reason!  It is such a quick easy make with only three pattern pieces, four if you use the sleeve bands.  The pattern hack options are virtually endless too.   It is super flattering when worn belted at the midsection too.  For this version I used two yards of a super soft jersey knit from one of the Girl Charlee Knitfix bags.  I call this tee secret pajamas because it is so incredibly soft and comfy.  You can check out a few of my previous versions here and here.

Between the end of November and December I made nine pairs of pajama pants, one of which is not pictured above. Four of the pairs are for myself, two are for Eric and three are for gifts.  I used 12 yards of stash flannel and 10.5 yards of new flannel that I purchased on Black Friday from Jo-Ann Fabrics.  One of the pairs I made for myself is even sewing themed!  I love making pajama pants because they are quick, easy and a great stashbuster.  I am wearing the pink fox print pair right now and they are super comfy.

I even squeezed in two new vests for Eric, but have not managed to photograph either one. One is a brown plaid with a little bit of orange in it.  The other is a gray and black plaid.  These have been on my to do list for at least a year now since he has been asking for a brown vest after I made the very first one.  I am glad I finally got around to making them.  I, of course, used my TNT vest pattern, Simplicity’s Project Runway 2870. This pattern is sadly now out of print, but if you have it in your stash I recommend it.  I have lost count of how many versions of this pattern I have made.  They are definitely a staple in Eric’s work wardrobe.  Most of the fabrics for these came from the stash, since they have been on the to do list for awhile.   Between the two vests I used up 3 more yards of stash fabric.  I only had to purchase 1.5 yards of lining for one of them, which I used all of.

I did end 2015 with six UFO’s!  I am not pleased about having any UFO’s, but six isn’t too bad when I look at the total of what I did complete.  Sadly, one of the UFO’s just needs a rolled hem and it is done.  A couple of them are undergarments for my next renaissance costume, so those are definitely going to get done this year.  The others are summer garments that I hope to get too in the spring.  I am not feeling motivated to sew the swimsuit muslin and subsequently the actual suit when there is snow on the ground and icicles hanging from my gutters.  To be fair though, I am also not motivated to sew the winter coat I want to make either since it has been a much milder winter.  What can I say, I am a fickle sewist!

For now it is back to February sewing and stashbusting.  How is your 2016 going so far?