I love taking time in December to reflect on my year of sewing. It reminds me how much I’ve learned and what I still want to try. Without further ado:

Tied for Best of 2019:

The Charlie Caftan by Closet Case Patterns

This dress made me feel like I was winning pregnancy and life. White linen is the coolest (literally) in the hot Ottawa summers and I protected my poor shoulders from getting too much sun (a very, very real problem I have). This dress made me feel chic and casual and worked for pretty much every occasion. I’m super excited to pull this one out, even out the rounded-hem and wear it all summer.

The Fulton Sweater Blazer by Alina Design Co

This was easily my most complimented make this year, both on- and off-line. I think this is one of those magic makes that is the accidentally perfect marriage of fabric and pattern and I don’t even know if I want to attempt it again, lest I get it wrong (JK! I want to make a thousand of these). This jacket is the comfiest, most wearable blazer ever. Casual workplaces will never be the same.

Worst of 2019:

The awful Seamwork leggings.

I still don’t know what happened here, but these were the most unwearable leggings ever. Like, how do you screw up leggings? It’s a mystery.

Close second:

The Estuary skirt by Sew Liberated

This one was my fault as I tried to hack too much to make up for not having enough fabric AND trying to make something out of a woven like a week after giving birth. I still love the look of this pattern, so I’m definitely making it again in the spring.

Biggest lessons of 2019

This year, I started thinking about my scraps. I’ve been bringing cuttings to H & M to (maybe) be recycled for a while, but this year I started buying fabrics I just couldn’t bear to part with when I had a quarter metre left. I started using these little bits to make my daughter (and her baby doll) clothes and have found it so satisfying. This is definitely something I’m going to continue and actually have a scrap bag that I stuff with chunks I intend to use for the kids’ clothes. I also kept about a year’s worth of scraps to stuff my pouf and it felt really good. I’m all about the scrap busting now!