the forgotten sewing projects of 2017

When I started compiling my forgotten makes and bakes of 2017 at the beginning of the year I didn't think I had much sewing content left to share as I was sure I had blogged most of my projects..... nope! Haha.

First up, t-shirts! The first one was sewn early last year with a fun dinosaur print from MyFabrics, using a lengthened version of the Lady Skater Dress bodice. It's a medium weight jersey, but quite a thick feeling medium weight which makes it cosy and fairly opaque (yay, no awkward "hello there, bra" situation.)


I used the Lady Skater pattern as I liked the fit of it around my upper body as a dress, but somehow I feel it doesn't quite translate as a t-shirt. I'm wondering if it needs the weight of the skirt to pull the underarm seam into place? (If that makes sense?) Anyway, it's perfectly fine, more than fine really because DINOSAURS. It's a pretty cool t-shirt.

Next up is what was meant to be a Jennifer Lauren Gable top made with left over jersey from my green Lady Skater dress. Sadly, this pattern didn't work for me. As much as I admire the high, slash neckline on others I personally found it too strangle-y. The actual neck opening felt quite small too. Clearly I underestimated how much breathing space I like to give my collar bones... and the size of my head?!

I also didn't enjoy the pdf process as the pattern lines didn't want to match up well (there didn't appear to be a border on all edges to help align pages - unless I printed it wrong?) and I found the fit around the armholes quite tight. In order to rescue it I let out the seams around the armpit and side seams and replaced the slash neck with the front neckline of the Colette Patterns Moneta dress, which skims just under the collarbone. Turning under the neckline and topstitching was my only option as I didn't even have enough scrap fabric for a neckband.


I hadn't realised just how creased this t-shirt was down the middle when I photographed it last week, but surely nobody actually irons their t-shirts?

The resulting t-shirt isn't the best fit but it's perfectly practical and I love the colour. I really like the look of the box pleated skirt which came with the Gable expansion pack so I'll likely try that out sometime with a different bodice.

My final t-shirt was made with the left over fabric from my Marvel-ous Moneta dress. It was way too cool to waste.


There was *just* enough fabric to cut out the front panel then I used plain black jersey for the back, neckband and cap sleeves. The t-shirt pattern is Tilly and the Buttons Agnes top and having made it a few times now, making tweaks each time, I feel I'm close to a TNT (tried 'n' tested) t-shirt pattern. Needless to say, I flippin' love this t-shirt.

Last up in my garment sewing is my dark green, stretch velvet Lady Skater dress I made at Christmas. This was a trial run for another velvet outfit I had planned (and have since made.) The fabric came from Tia Knights Fabric and has four way stretch so it's similar to jerseys I've used previously. It was a bit of a pain to work with as the velvet liked sticking to itself every time I had to line up seams right sides together, but nothing I (or my machine's walking foot) couldn't handle.

After wearing the dress for a day I decided I wasn't happy with the fit so I went back and raised the waistline by 3/8 inch and graded the waist down a size. This massively improved the look and feel of the dress although I still wonder whether the sleeves need slimming down too. (Perhaps the shiny-ness of the fabric makes any wrinkles look worse than they actually are?) It was also at this point that I realised all my previous Lady Skater dresses are on the big side, but somehow it's less of an issue in casual cotton jersey, and I prefer the neater fit of my more recent Moneta dresses.

Although the dress is vastly improved I'm still not overly enamoured with it. I think part of the problem is the wide neckband and twin needle topstitching as it almost feels too casual a finish for the fabric. I feel tempted to unpick the band and draft a collar to relace it as I think the dress could do with some sort of detail, but further alterations (perhaps including the sleeves) will have to wait. I've faffed about with the dress enough for the time being.


In addition to my velvet dress in December I also managed to sew a few items for Christmas presents. What started as "I'll make a teacosy for this person" turned into a little production line for other friends and family. I've discovered tea cosies are a great way of using up cotton scraps and the perfect excuse to buy those cute cottons you love but know you won't wear. I made 5 in total and managed to make a photo collage on my phone as I sadly discovered PicMonkey is no longer freely available online. (Waaah! So gutted, anybody know of a similar free site?)


I also made a cool Doctor Who themed tote bag for a friend. The bag is gusseted so it has loads of space and I interfaced one side to give the bag some structure. I also used thick webbing tape for nice and sturdy straps. Best of all, the bag is reversible so my friend can decide which side she likes best. I was so pleased with how this turned out and it made me feel all nostalgic for bag-making (I was that teenager who recycled old jeans into funky bags!)


So that's all my sewing for 2017 wrapped up! 2017 was the year of jersey for me which genuinely revolutionised my sewing. I had spent the last couple of years convincing myself that I wanted to wear cute, woven cotton dresses, labouring over bodices which refused to fit me (which became really disheartening) when actually what I wear most and love wearing is jersey. I cannot even begin to express how much enjoyment I get from wearing all my jersey dresses and t-shirts. It truly is the best feeling wearing an incredibly comfortable item made by you, specifically for your shape, style and taste. Long live jersey!

Sewing plans for 2018.... yet more jersey? Hehe. I'd quite like to make a few more plain items considering how much I like wearing my plain Lady Skater dresses and just generally work through my fabric stash. I have plenty of lovely fabric sitting in my sewing cupboard so I just need to decide on a project.