This has been a crazy year, and I have apparently made an insane amount of things. In January, I’ll be breaking down what I sewed this year so I can better decide what to work on in 2018, but for now I’m reviewing my biggest hits and missed of this year. Enjoy!

Top 5 hits:

1. The Kelly Anorak with a babywearing insert. This should almost take up the two top spots on this list. On its own, I love this jacket. It’s the perfect jacket for the windy, wet hovering-around-zero jacket. I’m so happy with how it turned out and it makes me so ridiculously happy to wear it. The babywearing/maternity insert is also fantastic because I can cart baby around and not worry about her getting too cold. I’m actually kind of looking forward to being pregnant again so I can wear the panel for maternity. Not actually, but it will suck less having a stylish, warm and well-fitting jacket. I also want to give a shout out to my knit accessories that are warm and coordinated without being too matchy. This year, I definitely learned that it is worth it to sew outwear because coats go from something you need to wear to something you get to wear.
2. The red plaid Archer Button Up. This was my first Archer and I didn’t expect to love it as much as I do. Plaid isn’t generally my style, but this is always the first thing I wear after doing laundry. Like, I don’t think that this top has actually made it to hanging up in my closet more than a handful of times. I think it’s the softness of the fabric and the fit. I made this top looser than I normally do button downs which made it so very cozy.
3. The red and grey Linden Sweatshirt. This was my first Linden. and like the Archer above, I didn’t expect to love it. After the plaid Archer, this is my go-to top. I’m realizing that I have a tendency to over-tailor things that shouldn’t be. After this Linden, I made many, many more, but I think for my next, I will revert back to the sizing on this one because it’s just so darn comfy.
4. The black Kate Spade Bow Maternity sweater. It feels so weird to be writing about maternity clothes because it feels like an eternity since I was pregnant. This top made me feel like myself again when I was doing my best beached whale impression. It was the one item I was actually sad to pack away after the baby was born. I could made a hundred bow sweatshirts and never get tired of them.
5. The copy/paste undies.These are possibly the most boring and practical on my list. These undies are fast, easy, comfy and cheap. It doesn’t get much better than that. I think I’m pretty much ruined now from buying panties.

Top 5 misses:

1. The yellow dress. It looks gorgeous on the hanger, but awful on me. It’s disappointing because I’d waited for so long to make this dress and took my time with nice finishes. My biggest mistake here was over-hacking the pattern and using a style of dress that just wasn’t suitable for the stiffer fabric.
   

   

   
2. All of the tunics. Each of these had its own unique problem. The grey striped tunic shrank when I dried it (duh. I have no idea why I didn’t pre-wash it. I’ll blame newly acquired mommy-brain and lack of sleep). The pink and white stripe actually got some good use until the neck opening stretched out and it wouldn’t stay on my shoulders anymore. The blue one was just all wrong. I don’t feel too terribly as most of these projects were reincarnated. The grey stripe was tossed, but I have enough fabric left to make an entirely new top in the summer. The blue became a cropped Linden and the pink and white now live in my top drawer as my favourite undies.
3. The polka dot maternity blouse. This was thrown in the garbage as soon as my daughter was born. And I tossed the pattern. The biggest issues with this top were actually all fabric related – unraveling seams, fraying ruffles and bad buttons. Ah well.
4. The Bicycle Linden Sweatshirt. It doesn’t seem totally fair to lump this top into this category, but I feel it must be talked about. I waited so long to use this fabric, yet this sweatshirt only makes it out of the closet once my other, more favourite, ones are dirty. The bicycle knit just doesn’t stretch enough and clings a little. It’s okay, but it’s not the go-to I expected.
5. The Sleeveless Chambray Archer. This might be better put into an “undecided” category. I love this top in theory, but something about it still isn’t right. I changed the fit slightly, added a cool contrast pocket, but I still don’t love wearing this top. I’m considering shortening it by an inch or two. I just don’t know what it is.

So there you have it. Of the 30 things I made this year, those are the best and worst of them. Stay tuned for my detailed analysis of my 2017 sewing (there are stats involved!) and plans for 2018 makes.