2018 In Review: Wardrobe & Sewing Outcomes

Yesterday's post related to the financial and organisational aspects of my plan for 2018, and how they worked out for me. Today I'm going to cover my wardrobe and sewing in 2018.

My Wardrobe in Numbers

I finished this year, unintentionally, with exactly the same number of garments as I started the year, though there was some redistribution among categories.

I made 37 finished items this year. Of these, two were rescued from being wadders because I was able to recut the fabric and made a (successful) alternative garment. I made 3 pieces of outerwear, 7 cardigans/jumpers, 16 tops and tunics inc both knit and woven, 1 pair knit trousers, 3 skirts, 2 dresses and 5 pairs of PJ shorts/trousers. You can see most things here (I don't have photos of the knit trousers or 2 of the pairs of PJs, because they were too boring to photograph).

I bought 20 items in total, including: 1 fleece jacket, 5 jumpers and hoodies, 4 pairs trousers/jeans, 9 basic t-shirts and 1 woven shirt.

I discarded 57 items, including 23 items I made myself.  This was my lowest number of discards per year since I started recording what I got rid of a couple of years back.

Of the 57, I sold 4 items. I also did a very long overdue overhaul of my activewear wardrobe, which I hadn't touched at all in years due to illness. I looked through it all when I started to exercise again a couple of months ago and got rid of 11 items, many of which were 10+ years old. I don't intend to replace any of those items as they were all just dead weight.

As a reminder: as I did last year, I'm going to talk about the "30 wears" test for longevity. This is based on a campaign that was intended to encourage people to behave in a more sustainable way by asking them to question whether each new item they buy is something they will wear 30 times. Thirty is a totally arbitrary number, of course, and it's not like I get 30 wears from something and then go oh well, that's done, and throw it away. However, my experience over the last few years has been that it's a actually a pretty useful and realistic guideline. I like to think of it as a minimum standard. If something I discard falls short of 30 wears, I ask myself why it didn't last at least that long and whether there is anything I could do differently to avoid similar little-worn discards.

Of the remaining 42 items I discarded, they fell broadly into 3 categories:

1. Things that wore out: 25 items (60%) of which 13 were hand made. On average I'd worn everything that wasn't a t-shirt around 36 times, and the t-shirts around 23 times each. That is pretty typical on the t-shirt side of things: getting 30 wears out of a t-shirt has proved difficult whether I make or buy them. Of the 13 things I'd made that wore out, 10 had good longevity (a range of 35-61 wears). Three handmade things died before their time: a viscose woven top that shredded along every seam and two knit tunics. I am inclined to blame the (cheap) fabric in all three cases.

2. Things that just didn't work out: 12 items (28%) of which I had made 7 items. My code for this in my spreadsheet is "disliked" but this actually covers a multitude of sins: wrong colours for my wardrobe, hated the facings on a top I'd made, hated the sleeves on another item, poor fabric choice on a couple, a couple of gifts I disliked and couldn't return, that kind of thing. I think this category is always going to skew to the handmade, because you can't get it home and be like: on further consideration, no, and return it. Once you've made it, you're stuck with it.

3. Things that didn't fit: 5 items (12%). Of these, 4 were very old "maybe one day I'll fit into these again..." garments that I finally let go of, and 1 was a thrifted item that I wasn't able to try on or return.

Quality and Longevity

Another goal I had this year was to try to make sure anything new I bought or made in 2018 had at least the potential to last for 30 wears and make other changes to make sure all my existing clothes lasted longer.

Probably the best change I made this year was due to something I identified in last year's analysis. In the past I made too many woven shirts and other tops that fit poorly and were annoying to wear as a result. Eventually these turned up again as discards in the "didn't work out" category having been worn relatively little. I did a LOT of work in the first half the year to work out what shoulder, armscye and back pattern changes I needed to eradicate at least some of those problems, with a lot of success. The exception proves the rule: I made a tunic in a boat print in November without doing some of the shoulder and armscye changes I've been doing all year and while it's not terrible, it's noticeably less well-fitting and therefore more annoying than other things I made in 2018.

On the construction side, I made an effort this year to do the kind of invisible work that ought to make my garments more hard-wearing. I used techniques that I know extend the life of garments like flat-felling or doing french seams, sewing double rows of stitching in pockets and key seams and so on. I also upped the quality of some of my fabric purchases, although not all of those purchases actually became garments. Knits, both RTW and hand-made, remain a problem on the quality side of things.

I also changed my laundry routine. Despite pre-washing/tumble drying all my fabric, in previous years quite a lot of things shrank or were destroyed in the wash after construction. This year I started to hang dry almost all my woven tops to prevent shrinkage and seam shredding. I still tumble dry knits and I machine wash everything, but I've nevertheless had many fewer laundry disasters this year than in previous years. In fact, I didn't lose any of my hand-mades to laundry problems this year.

So far, everything I made in 2018 is still in my wardrobe -- only time will tell how successful these changes have been.

Handmade review

Patterns Used

To make my 37 garments, I used 30 different patterns in total, 21 of which were new to me. Of the 30 patterns, 12 were from Burda, 6 from Ottobre, 10 from Big 4 envelopes inc Burda envelopes, and 2 from StyleArc. No other indies were in the mix at all this year: I mostly replaced the occasional indie pattern I used before with Big4 envelopes.

Yet another of my goals this year was to use more of the PDF and envelope patterns I already owned. I did make a special effort to use more of my envelope patterns: by the end of the year I'd used 22% of the patterns I owned compared to 18% at the end of last year, in spite of buying several new ones.

However, my dislike of PDF patterns is pretty intense. I always think I like the idea, but in practise I hate everything about putting them together. I nevertheless bought 5 new PDF patterns, but used exactly zero new-to-me PDF patterns this year, so my utilisation actually decreased. I need to figure out a way to use the PDF patterns I've bought in 2019, even if it means paying for large format printing.

The Magazine Challenge

Magazine Challenge garments, bottom right corner is the pattern that failed & had to be recut.

 At the start of the year I challenged myself to make 12 items from this year's Burda, Ottobre and (while I was getting them) Knipmode magazines. I managed 8, plus one wadder. Of the 9 patterns attempted, I made 6 successful (and 1 unsuccessful) Burda patterns, and 2 successful Ottobre patterns.

From left to right in the image above, starting in the top left, I made: a draped back tee from Burda 01-2018, a short jacket with piping detail from Burda 02-2018, a gathered sleeve blouse from Ottobre 02-2018, a pleated skirt from Burda 05-2018, a striped t-shirt from Burda 05-2018, a shirt with a pleated placket from Burda 06-2018, a pair of t-shirts from Burda 01-2018, and a knit tunic with puffy sleeves from Ottobre 05-2018. I also attempted a knit top from Burda 02-2018, but it failed and I ended up recutting the fabric into this basic tee (bottom right).

Although I didn't get to 12 items, this challenge was actually a major success as far as I was concerned. I definitely went outside my comfort zone to make some of these, and others were patterns and garments that I might not otherwise have made without the impetus of this challenge but that I absolutely loved when completed. I fully intend to pursue this challenge again in 2019!

Hits and Misses

My top 5 favourite things I made this year are:

Five Hits

In no particular order:

Left: A moleskin coat from Burda 11-2015. I LOVE this coat. It's far from flawless in the sewing, but it's so warm and cosy and comfortable! I still think my flower poppers were a genius find, and I am so happy to have finally made this coat, YEARS after I first bought the fabric and lining.

Upper middle: Black and white piped jacket from Burda 02-2018. This was a total throwaway project that I did for the Magazine Challenge, with a barely-big-enough scrap of fabric I bought for peanuts. It was super challenging working with the patterned fabric, the piping, etc etc, and I love the outcome.

Lower middle: Navy/white striped tee from Burda 05-2018. I never would have made this except for the Magazine Challenge, and I love the stand-up collar and the contrast sections. I paid a lot for this lightweight sweatshirt fabric and it was so worth it. I wore this every cooler day in the summer.

Upper right: Put a bird on it shirt from Burda 06-2018. Again, a pattern I liked when I saw it in the magazine but might not ever have gotten around to making except for the Magazine Challenge. I got so many compliments on this shirt! I'm really pleased with the match between the Indian cotton fabric and the simple boxy pattern, which has just enough sewing detail to be interesting.

Lower right: Turquoise gingham shirt from Burda 04-2010. I have been wanting a turquoise gingham shirt forever and I've worn this one so much since I made it (and got so many compliments on it). I made two shirts with this pattern this year, and the other one is in my 'misses' section. I am glad I got it right second time around.

My top five Misses from 2018:

Five Misses

My top 5 disappointments, in no particular order:

Left: Navy raincoat using Burda 6772. The fit of this is just not quite right. I didn't get much wear from it before the season changed and perhaps I'll change my mind about it when raincoat weather rolls around again, but I was really disappointed with how this turned out as I worked really hard on it.

Upper middle: Draped back top from Burda 01-2018. I love a wacky Burda top, and this draped back top looked like so much fun in the magazine. In reality, it's just nowhere near as interesting as it seemed in the photos. I still wear it, but that flap of fabric on the back is sort of weird and lumpy rather than a flowing drape.

Lower middle: Popover plaid shirt using Burda 6457. This fits well enough to keep wearing but the dropped shoulders irritate me. There are some annoying sewing flaws in it (especially on the cuffs) and the mother of pearl buttons I put on keep breaking. And yet, I have worn it quite regularly since I made it. It just seems like it could have been even better, I guess.

Upper right: Navy shirt from Burda 04-2010. First attempt at the pattern I used for the turquoise gingham "hit" shirt. Despite being in this disappointment category, this is actually one of the things I made in 2018 that I've worn the most! I think it's the knowledge that this could be a really great shirt that makes me dislike it somewhat. I used the wrong interfacing, which has wrinkled and bubbled in the wash, and there are some other little sewing problems. I don't hate it, but I love a plain navy shirt and this one just isn't as good as it could be.

Lower right: Boat print tunic using Butterick 5203. I made this tunic in November and I've worn it every week since because I love the pattern and the print on the fabric. I don't love the crappy fit I got on the shoulders or the fact that I didn't raise the armhole and I needed to. If only I had worked on it a little harder it could have been a really perfect tunic!

Overall, the weird thing is how some of my favourite things are really quite flawed, sewing wise, and some of my least favourite things are the garments I've worn over and over since I made them, flaws and disappointment and all!

My Wardrobe Plan 2018

I've really settled into my wardrobe plan this year. In 2017, I felt like I'd had a breakthrough year and was like, yes, this is working, things are fitting together really well, I actually feel like my wardrobe makes sense. This year was just a refinement of that experience. I did a lot of "what do I really need? what do I actually wear?" checks on my wardrobe plan (which is, inevitably, kept in a spreadsheet) throughout year. Part of the reason I stopped sewing much in the second half of this year was that actually, I have everything I need right now. My wardrobe is completely functional, and I like everything in it, even the things that are not perfect (see the "Misses" above: I still wear them, even if they sometimes annoy me). This is actually a very liberating feeling for me.

I definitely think that my wardrobe has been significantly improved by the process of planning it, and I am perfectly willing to keep planning if it reaps these kinds of returns. That is not to say that it is perfect. While I have my colour scheme mostly ironed out and am very happy with it, I have not entirely got my proportions/silhouette right on everything. I'd made some things that, in my head, I thought would go together really well, like a top and a skirt for example. When I tried it on though, while the colour scheme was great, they sometimes just didn't look good together as an outfit. In 2019 I'm going to be rebuilding a work-appropriate wardrobe nearly from scratch, so this silhouette/proportions issue is an important lesson to carry over.
 
One minor epiphany I had this year was that I was definitely being unduly influenced in my planning by a somewhat hidden commandment of the online sewing community: Thou Shalt Like Dresses. It turns out that I mostly only like dresses on other people.

The sewing world at large is incredibly into dresses and I feel like there is an expectation that we should all regard dresses as the perfect garment. I bought into this so much that from the very outset of my garment sewing life that I bought loads and loads of dress patterns, even though prior to starting sewing I last wore a dress in about 2001. In this fantasy world, just buying the patterns and looking at all the gorgeous dresses other people make and look fabulous in would make me want to make and wear them too. Unsurprisingly, It hasn't worked like that all. I can't make myself like dresses just because everyone else does, and I don't really know why I thought I could.

Here in the real world, I very strongly prefer separates. I have come to love the long-tunic/short-dress-and-leggings look, but really only as almost-pyjamas outfits to wear around the house in winter. I did also make a couple of summer dresses this year. I like them, but I just don't feel like me in them and I didn't reach for them when I was getting dressed.

I'm not never going to make dresses in the future, but I will probably do so only at very infrequent intervals. I definitely think if I had a special event I would probably make a dress, and I would like to have a couple of classic dresses in my wardrobe -- the proverbial Little Black Dress, for example.  Overall, though, dresses are just not an integral part of my present or future wardrobe plan, and you know what? That's perfectly OK.

In Conclusion

I definitely think 2018 was a successful sewing year for me. I made a lot of things I liked. I learnt some new skills. I challenged myself in various ways. I like the collection of clothes I've put together more and more and I feel like I am creeping ever closer to my goal of having a sense of my personal style and the wardrobe to match that style. I also think I've seen some things I need to work on next year, and some ways to be more creative, and in general ways to enjoy my sewing hobby more and more all the time.

I'll therefore be back on 1 January with my thoughts and goals for the sewing year ahead in 2019. :D