Hello 2016! I’m still slightly in shock over how quickly 2015 flew by. It was a bit of a weird year, lots of it spent feeling transitional. I quit my job, moved from one coast to the other, lived with my mom for a while (somehow we didn’t kill each other), and then moved in with Boyfriend.

One of my resolutions last year was to blog less and sew more. I had so little free time that I kept wanting to sew but then feeling pressure to blog the pile of things I’d already sewn instead. Eventually I had to stop myself and ask why it was so important and when I couldn’t think of a good answer, I decided to cut back. Except then I barely blogged and all and now I keep having tinglings to blog more so I think I need to work on this balance.

Anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever done one of these but I thought I’d share some of my favorites and some fails (in no particular order) from the past year! (Some of these haven’t actually been blogged yet.)

Let’s start with the fails:

1. Velvet lady skater with cut-outs

I loved this dress halfway through making it. I had just attached the top and bottom with the black mesh and it looked super cool. I had a little voice in the back of my head telling me to abandon the original plan and just go with the mesh waistband but I ignored it and went full steam ahead. I like the idea of the mesh cutouts on the side, but they just didn’t work. The fabric was wrong, the contrast is too visible, the cutouts are too messy, etc. I definitely want to revisit this dress idea, probably in a black knit and most likely without those pesky side cutouts. So far this has been worn once.

2. Reformation dress copycat

This dress is a fail mostly because it’s SO CLOSE to what I wanted it to be, but just not quite there. I stupidly decided to take on a really difficult drafting project like 2 weeks into my flat pattern class, when I could totally start over now and I’m fairly confident I could do it right this time. But I slaved over this for three straight days and I’m just out of steam. Maybe I’ll hack off the top and make it a giant flowy skirt.

3. Galaxy leggings

I’m calling it a fail if I never wear it, and I’ve never worn these. I LOVED the idea of bright gorgeous leggings except that love died almost right after these were finished and ever since then I’ve worn nothing but grays, blacks, and whites to the gym. No idea why. Since these are not exactly wear-in-public pants, they’ve been sitting, sadly abandoned, in my closet ever since. (The strappy bra gets worn all the time though!)

4. Peplum top w/leather collar

I have no idea where this top went wrong. It looks super cute on the mannequin, I love the faux leather collar with the metallic gold print, the cap sleeves are adorable. But somehow, it’s WAY too big. And makes me look 30lbs heavier. I’m going to attempt to salvage it. This is what I get for cheating on V8815.

5. Lace undies

These just didn’t work out. I think I used shitty elastic so it just itches. And the pink and blue fabrics are itchy (especially the blue). Fortunately I love the cut so I think I’ll try again with the soft fancy elastic I found at Britex and maybe some modal or bamboo knits.

And now for the wins. As I’m picking from what I’ve sewn, I’m noticing that I love all of the stuff I sewed in the second half of the year. I definitely remember making a conscious decision to try to sew things I would actually wear, instead of just sewing fun fabrics into stuff I wouldn’t reach for in the morning and it looks like it’s paid off. Hmm.

1. Final project/xmas dress

I love this dress SO MUCH. It’s 100% self-drafted and turned out 100% exactly how I wanted it. It’s a tiny bit itchy on the inside at the seams but in the way where you can say “beauty is pain” and ignore it. I wanted something with a little boob, but not too much boob, and sort of secret boob. I think I found the perfect balance in that deep V cutout. I also knew I didn’t quite want a circle skirt, but I definitely wanted something big and slightly ridiculous. I’ll share more drafting stuff when I blog this.
2. Lululemon zip scarf copycat

I’ve been wearing this scarf almost every day so I’d call it a win. I copied the Vinyasa scarf from Lululemon, which costs $68 for some reason. I think this one cost me a grand total of $13. I was a little worried it would be too thick since I doubled up the fabric but I prefer wearing it halfway unzipped and it’s totally fine that way.

3. Lykke Wullf overall shorts copycat

These are the best thing in the world. Before I made the drapey tops I wore these overall shorts with a cropped top basically every day. They’re super fun and super comfy and I have some darker denim and gold hardware stashed away for a second pair for next summer.

4. All the drapey tops
I wore these all summer and occasionally in the fall with cardigans layered over. I’ll definitely be making a bunch more next summer.

5. Lacy linden

Comfy clothes dressed up to look fancy? Yes please! I want to make a black one of these with gold lace. Or just a solid one with sequin lettering.

And that’s it!

As a sidenote, you may have noticed that no cosplays were mentioned. I figured since Elsa was probably the best and most fun thing I made (but only wore 3x), and Zoe was sort of incomplete since I ran out of time (and then never blogged), they didn’t quite fit.