Sewing Lifelong Favorites

In writing my year-end review this year, I was struck by just how much I produce in a given year. This year I made over 25 garments for myself, which I realize is quite a lot. Some might even say excessive. So I was curious to see how my past sewing has held up over time. I took a little walk down memory lane way back to 2011 when I started sewing regularly and blogging my projects. I was curious to see how my garments have held up over time.

I noticed that, while I usually blog excitedly about a project once it is finished, sometimes that excitement can fade over time. A poor fit, a style that wasn't really "me," or the wrong fabric can really erode the utility of a piece. On the other hand, sometimes a quick idea I had or an interesting project can become a lifelong favorite. To see what works for me, I took a look back at my blog to see what garments have stood the test of time, and what percentage of everything that I made that year made the cut.




Looking back to the beginning, 2011 was a frenetic year of sewing for me. It was my first full year out of undergrad and a bit of a tumultuous one as I figured out the "real world." I took up sewing in earnest during that time. Of the forty garments I made for myself that year, five still remain in my wardrobe. This includes some well-loved t-shirt dresses, a beautiful but quirky wool dress, and a dress that I shortened to a top and still wear on the regular. As for the ones that didn't make the cut - some have worn out, but a good deal were poorly made or just not my style. It was quite the learning experience!

In 2012 I started a new job and only got around to making about 15 things for myself along with a handful of gifts. Three still remain, including a classic wool coat, a drape drape dress, and a wool dress. In 2013 I made over 40 things again, including a whole slew of bra muslins that didn't work out (but were a great learning experience) and some gifts for others. Of the 27 things that I made for myself, I still have and wear five of them (including my all-time favorite swing jacket and this amazing pair of floral pants). That was also the year I really got into pants making and I haven't let up since. I also moved in with the Mr. and started making some more meanswear, four of which are still in rotation today. While not a lot of things survive from these years, I made a few that were long-time favorites and started to figure out my personal style.

Accordingly, 2014 was the year of practical clothes. I made about fifty projects for myself and others. My Bonnie top and Ginger jeans still get worn regularly, and there's a handful of things that just went out of rotation this year after lots of use, like my first Hudson pants and some well-loved tops (I think I am finally learning to choose more high-quality fabrics). So even though there aren't a ton of things up there for 2014, there were quite a few more that were loved to death since then.

My practical sewing continued in 2015, with some tops and two more pairs of Ginger jeans that I still wear. That was also the year I made my Marilla Walker Freemantle coat and wool blazer, both of which get worn a ton and receive many compliments. From 2016 I would say I still have about a quarter of what I've made, though they are mostly basics.

I purposely didn't include 2017 and 2018 in there yet, as it is still too early to tell how things have held up. But for 2017 I have 20 of the 22 things that I made for myself remaining, and I would say there weren't too many duds in 2018, either. I am cautiously optimistic.

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Looking back, there are a few trends. To answer my original question, I have sewn a lot over the years. Probably more than 200 garments for myself. And I no longer own a good number of them. Adding the pieces above to my 2017 and 2018 projects, I probably have about 50 handmade garments in my wardrobe. It is a bit underwhelming to see that only about 1 in 4 of my projects sticks around. However, I am improving over time, learning my personal style and what I like to sew and wear. It has taken a lot of practice to develop the skill and knowledge to get to where I am today and I'm glad I've had that opportunity to learn and experiment.

As for what works for me, I also noticed form the above that I get a lot of wear out of my knit tops and, interestingly, my wool pieces. That last bit surprised me. I think that is because these are special but durable items like coats and certain dresses that have stood the test of time. I will have to make a note of that for this coming year. Slim fit pants are also a favorite and I do wear the heck out of the ones that fit well.

My sewing success rate is about 25%. What's yours?

7 comments:

  1. you tend to make things that are useful for your everyday wardrobe like the tops and jeans, which is so admirable! I find I could make only summer dresses or coats as I love sewing both of those - but neither of those makes a full wardrobe:)

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    1. Now I'm envisioning someone wearing nothing but summer dresses with a coat over them!

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  2. This is something I used to be better about tracking...I think I went the other way a bit, I don't really count the garments from my first 1-2 years of sewing. ALTHOUGH, I wear the heck out of this Burda coat I made in 2014, the year after I learned to sew, and I'm tickled every time because it is just NOT well made :) But it's still pretty awesome!

    I'd venture a guess that I'm at around 25-30%. Every year I make so many tops and every year my "failure" rate has been 25-45%. I have 10 things from my first 2 years of sewing and I probably sewed 200 things :)

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    1. Maybe 25% + is a good rate? Go us! And you're right, the first few years can be a total crapshoot. I made so many poorly-sewn party dresses!

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  3. I would include the items that have worn out as successes. If you wore them so often that they expired, that's a win in my book! Some everyday items (for me blue jeans, khakis, knit tops) are not going to last more than a few years no matter how nice the fabric. They just get worn and washed too often- and often worn working in the yard and garden. Also, the fact that the success rate is highest in the last two years reported implies that you are now sewing patterns and fabrics that really suit you. That's great!

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    1. That is such a good point - I probably should have counted the worn out ones well. I love that you wear your handmades out gardening and everything!

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  4. This is really interesting and inspires me to go back and look at my "historical" projects with an eye to what I'm still wearing. I agree with you that in the beginning, there is just a learning curve - a learning curve in sewing, a learning curve in fabric sourcing, a learning curve in figuring out what you like to wear vs. what you like to sew (at least, this is what it was like for me). Great post!

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