The second week into February and I have not done a lot of sewing this month yet, let alone take account of what I made in the month of January. Saying that, I did launch a YouTube channel where I made a couple of videos showing off my makes in January (of which there were quite a few) so if you enjoy vlogs, please do consider subscribing to my channel. It’s much easier finding the time to create video content than it is to format a blog post so I dare say things will be more up to date over there than they are here but I do intend to keep both running concomitantly if I can.
My first make of the year was one of my tried and true patterns: the boatneck dress from Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses. The full details of this make are here as the fabric was gifted by Minerva.
From here, I turned my attention to a thing of necessity – recovering my ironing board. Honestly, it was in much need of a repair as the interfacing and slips of the scissors had left their marks.
I previously made a tutorial for this DIY project here on my blog.
I revisited one of my latest favourites, the ESP dress – twice. It is such a simple and satisfying sew and you get the vintage silhouette without too much fuss.
Next up was the Cashmerette Alcott dress which I fell in love with after making it for New Year’s Eve – I had this stretch velvet in my stash for well over a year which I bought from Fabric Godmother.
Having been newly converted to Cashmerette patterns, I dug out the Fuller Cardigan which I made in a waffle knit.
The pattern has a couple of lovely features which help with the fit for curvier figures; the bust dart helps to create that curve over the bust area rather than hanging straight; there is a pattern piece with a built-in full bicep adjustment so, for people like me, that takes away a fitting issue. It has two length variations – waist and hip – and a choice of ¾ or full-length sleeves. I went for the cropped length and sleeves as I tend to wear mostly fuller skirts / dresses and I loved the little cuff detail on the shorter sleeves.
I have decided to try and work more separates into my wardrobe – I’m 99% a dress person. I finally made the Stitch Witch Boleyn top in a bamboo jersey from Sew Me Sunshine and used the pattern pieces of the Stanwyck skirt to make a shorter, floatier version of the pattern.
Again, I finally sewed up a fabric – from Rainbow Fabrics – that had been in my stash for far too long (well over a year)!
Staying with the separates – and Rainbow Fabrics – I made another Peter Pan Bolero with a flocked polka dot ponte (even though I already have a black bolero). I decided a polka variation couldn’t hurt.
The cosiest make of the month was a Seawork Astoria sweater in a fleece back sweatshirting from Minerva. I have made 4 or 5 of these now. It is a real staple piece. It’s a really quick make, too; it takes less than an hour to cut and sew one of these – I tend to use the sewing machine for most of my knit garments (I just prefer it) but if I made it on the overlocker it would take even less time to sew up.
I also made another Moneta dress; if you come here regularly you will know it is one of my all time favourite dresses. Instead of the pattern’s gathered skirt, I added a full circle skirt instead. There’s something impactful about a full skirt that I can’t resist.
Another boatneck dress was sewn up in a cotton poplin from Felicity Fabrics and I think it would be perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Finally, and maybe my most surprising make to date, I made the first Charm Patreon pattern, the Joan Wiggle Dress. It’s almost a decade since I wore a wiggle dress but this dress has made me feel comfortable in what I thought I could only wear when I was a size 8/10. I will definitely make another – come back to see if I manage to make it this month.
Before I finish off, I have to show you the little hand stitching projects I was working on.
I finished my December Cotton and Twine Subscription Box just in time to pack it up with the Christmas decorations:
I really enjoyed my winter Craft Pod, too, which found me doing some applique, embroidery and stitching a scissor case with wool felt.
