Year End Summary

Today I decided that I would take a look back at what I worked on this year, which has been a busy sewing year, busier than last year...which I find surprising!

In 2010, I sewed 85 items overall. 62 items were garments for me, but I also made a number of gifts. 12 of the items were tea wallets that I made for a valentines day exchange, and 11 were garments made as gifts for my nephew Darrell, my brother Darrell (no Larry jokes, we've heard them, I promise!!) and garments that I assisted my niece with while she learns to sew (or, perhaps more accurately, garments that she sews the long, straight seams on and I do the rest while she watches...and then she later takes all the credit for it).

This is significantly more than 2009, in which I made 49 items for me. I also sewed 16 projects made with my niece and nephew, Sadie and Darrell. I also made 14 gifts.

The year broke down as follows:

January was the most prolific month, in which I sewed 18 items. However, 12 of those items were the tea wallets for the Valentines Day exchange. Otherwise, I sewed 6 items, which is about average for me. The most prolific garment sewing month was October. In October, I sewed 11 items, and that was the month I started my SWAP. The least prolific months were July, August, September, but these were also the months I made the most complex garments, like my trench coat.

In the end, I averaged 7 items per month, better than one a week...so the next time I feel like I never get anything done, I will read this!

The source of my patterns has changed significantly. I used to sew almost exclusively "Big 4," but this year I sewed a lot more from independents (Jalie and Hot Patterns) and also from magazines. For the garments that I sewed for myself, the breakdown is as follows:

• 18 garments from Burda patterns (I include downloads, envelope, magazine)
• 16 garments from Hot Patterns
• 7 garments from Butterick patterns
• 6 garments from Vogue
• 6 garments from McCalls
• 3 garments from Jalie
• 2 garments from Simplicity
• 2 garments from New Look
• 2 garments that were self-drafted

When I first started sewing, I made almost exclusively dresses...which is interesting, because I never really wore dresses before I started sewing. So, I re-evaluated and tried to sew more separates this year. The garments I made were:

• 27 shirts (either blouses or pullovers)
• 11 pairs of pants
• 11 dresses
• 7 jackets
• 4 skirts
• 1 coat

In 2009, the item that I made most were pants....24 pairs, 4 of which were unwearable...in my quest for good pants fit. I increased my shirt sewing from 8 to 27.

Of the garments I made, they ranged from the most simple tees, to the most complex garments that I have made. The quickest and easiest were a number turtlenecks from a Burda magazine patterns, tees from my TNT New Look pattern, and the Hot Patterns Uptown Downtown Dress. The turtleneck takes as much time to cut out as it does to sew!

The most complex garments that I made included a fully-lined McCalls Trenchcoat, and a Hot Patterns Coat Dress in silk with organza underlining and hong kong seam binding. I also made an embroidered western-style shirt for Jeremy, my husband.

As for the expense of my hobby, I added up all my fabric, notion, and pattern expenditures and found that I spent a total of $1800.00 over the course of the year. If you divide this by the 72 items that were actual garments, I averaged a total expenditure of $26.00 per garment. However, some garments were very complex, and a comparable garment would have been cost-prohibitive to purchase a RTW version. Knowing my purchasing preferences, what I WOULD have spent breaks down like this:

• 27 shirts (either blouses or pullovers) x an average of $20.00 = $540.00
  
• 11 pairs of pants x $40 = $440.00
  
• 11 dresses x $75 = $825.00
  
• 7 jackets x $50 = $350.00
  
• 4 skirts x $40 = $160.00
  
• 1 coat x $200 = $200.00
  

This adds up to a total of $2515.00 that I would have spent (assuming I could have caught everything on sale. I'm not even going to pretend that I haven't spent $120.00 on a pair of suit pants). But, I use the lower cost given that I actually end up with more clothes than I would have purchased when I make them. So, ultimately I spent moderately less then I would have had I purchased the items in the stores, but this also does not take into account my time. I even wrote a whole blog about how sewing saves me absolutely nothing, or a huge amount depending on whether my goal is to merely cover my nakedness (I could purchase t-shirts and jeans at Old Navy, Target and other discount stores for considerably less ) or to knock off designer duds (in which case I can save a significant amount, even if I add in my time).

My accomplishments this year include:

• Became competent with the serger
• Began sewing with better quality fabrics like wool and silk
• I made my first attempt at welt pockets, which previously scared the bejesus out of me
  
• I got better at drafting/morphing patterns
• Conquered more complex constructions like underlining garments, coats, jeans
• I also became less reliant on instructions, so I could take advantage of patterns like Burda magazine patterns, and Hot Patterns (which is definitely reflected in my pattern usage this year!)
  

My goals for next year are not incredibly extensive...I have tackled a lot of techniques, so my main goal is to just refine my sewing. Besides overall refining of technique, I would also like to begin to learn pattern drafting or draping. I would also like to finish a wool coat, and have considered taking on a blazer for my husband (IF I could find a good pattern).

Here are some photos this year's projects. Here are all my boys wearing shirts made by me:


Here is my simplest project of the year, the Burda turtleneck (worn with redrafted Jalie jeans):


And my most complex project of the year, my McCalls trench coat:


My most creative project of the year, an embroidered shirt for my husband:


My favorite project of the year, my Hot Patterns Coat Dress:


Most worn, my Hot Patterns Uptown Downtown Dress:

Sadie loves hers, too!


In all, this has been a good year...a year in which I have become a better sewer, as well as a better PLANNER, which has made for a better year in terms of production. In fact, only two complete wadders this year, and no new UFOs. THIS is an accomplishment!!