Best And Worst Of 2013

Let us start with things I could have done better or perhaps not done at all.  

I think the biggest fail of the year had to be this dress.  I have so many nicer things in my wardrobe, that I can't see it being worn at all.  I will have to think how I can reinvent all that fabric.

My second biggest fail had to be this dress.  I really liked the dress but didn't line it. It ended up with a seat in it and in the end met with a nasty bleach demise.

My third biggest fail is this version of Sewaholic Alma.  I really don't like the colours on me and it just feels too tight across the shoulders.

Now for the fun part, my favourite makes of the year.

The floral Sewaholic Thurlow shorts, always make me smile.  They are comfortable, made of quality fabric and I love the print.  What more can I say!

This version of Sewaholic Alma has to be my all up winner of 2013.  I love everything about it.  I love the fit, the shape, the colour and most of all I love the silk metallic fabric.

As far as jackets go, this has to be the clear winner.  The dress version of Simplicity 2443 came in as one of my most worn items of 2012 and this jacket which is also part of Simplicity 2443, I think has to take the title of most worn jacket.  I suspect though, that it may have competition now with my newly made waterfall jacket.

The tangerine dream blouse, hasn't been worn a lot yet because it was made at the end of winter, but I love everything about it.  It was beautiful to sew and I love the colours.  Usually I can't wear orange but the combination of orange with the black and pink just somehow works with my skin tone.  I am usually really critical of the quality of my work but unusually I can't fault my workmanship on this one which probably has quite a bit to do with it's inclusion here.

Vogue 1027 has to be the best marriage of fabric and style of the year.  I love this fabric.  It has a metallic sheen to it and drapes beautifully.  This dress proved to be the perfect transeasonal piece with a cardigan.  When I made it, I kicked myself because I attached the sash incorrectly and it is now sporting a hand stitched repair which I try very hard not to notice.  Despite the design feature, I love it.

I could add so many more happy marriages of fabric and style but these are my favourites.  I hope that next year, I find it just as difficult to leave items off.

I might have had issues choosing my favourites of the year but my greatest challenge was actually a no brainer.  It was and remains, Courteney's formal dress.  I had so much fun making this but also found the construction draining.  There was a lot riding on this dress and it had to be right on the night.  It fit her like a glove but her one complaint was that it 'grew' as the night went on.  If, and I hope I do, get the opportunity to make her a dress for her 2014 school formal, I will need to find a way to avoid this issue.  There may well be a length of silk stuffed unceremoniously into her backpack when she returns from India in early January.  The pressure to create something incredible will then be on!

2013 Statistics

Pants x 10

Tops x 28

Dresses x 13

Underwear x 3

Jackets x 5

Skirts x 4

Cardigan/Jerseys x 3

My me made total for 2013 was $963.84 which was slightly lower than 2012.  I put this down to working 5 days a week this year.  I also put this down to a number of favourite makes from 2012 resurfacing regularly this year.  My RTW total for 2013 was $607.05 and was about 90% footwear.  My total for everything this year comes to $1570.89.   All in all I think I have had more successes this year and definitely have a number of tnt patterns in my collection.  These will again become favourites in 2014.  I did a little add up a few weeks back and I have in excess of $400.00 of fabric in my stash so I will try to continue with my fabric diet until most of this is dealt with.