Fives learnings from a year of sewing

I made more than fifty pieces of clothing last year and here’s what occurred to me:

It seems wild, to think I made that many things – and that doesn’t count the unfinished WIPs and fallen by the wayside projects. I can imagine that this is probably similar to the items of clothing I might have shopped a few years ago. But as I was going through my photos and looking at all the pieces I made, a few things really stood out.

Nina Lee Bakerloo Blouse and Helen’s Closet Winslow Culottes in Greece

1 – Summer is so much easier to sew for

I really feel like I nailed my summer wardrobe this year. My summer capsule collection accounted for at least fifteen of the fifty makes. I love the fabrics – linens, cottons, gauze – and got most of it in one go from one of my favourite in-person fabric shops, Ray Stitch. I went in and came out with a bunch of matching colours and that was most of the shopping done. And then there’s the fact that these fabrics are naturally easier to sew with, they press easily, you can do a quick pre-wash and not worry too much, they just…do what they’re meant to do. Plus, you’re rarely dealing with multiple layers of heavy fabric, so much less chance for tension issues or the drama with trying to press out bouncy wool suiting or bar-tack four layers of denim.

If I was speaking to a beginner, I’d tell them to start sewing for summer. The items I made felt the most professional, probably brought me the most joy both in the making and the wearing. It also means my cold-weather wardrobe was sorely lacking and I kind of wish I’d been easier on myself and bought more RTW clothing for winter. I spent most of the season not loving what I was wearing and so that’s another learning, my commitment to a memade wardrobe can’t outweigh my confidence and mental health.

2 – Fabrics like swimwear nylon and silk are really not as hard to sew as I thought

Until this year I’d avoided sewing with what I thought were impossibly difficult fabrics. Swimwear and silky things were the items I had committed to buying instead of making. But I couldn’t complete my summer wardrobe without at least one item of swimwear and the Marley from Edgewater Ave was really calling my name. It was so much easier than I ever could have imagined. Laughably so. I’m sad I waited so long in a way, although that’s always the way with learning anything. It’s obvious once it’s obvious. Then my dad had a silk sleeping bag liner he wanted to turn into a pair of trousers for a trip and after a minor meltdown trying to explain why and how I couldn’t do it. (Silk is just not something you casually work with and all sewists know this). But when it came to it, with a little bit of paper to start my seams, the right needle, the right thread, a very carefully cut out pattern (rotary cutter was a must) and sewing a little less brazenly, I did it. My last make of the year was a pair of Dressy Talk pyjamas out of gorgeous silver silk. It’s something I never thought I’d be able to do and it was hard, but it wasn’t impossible and I’ve never felt prouder.

3 – In 2023 I’m going to read the bloody instructions properly

I’m in inpatient person, I want to get down to sewing and I don’t want to pre-read. I also seem to skim the instructions as I’m going, rather than properly taking them in. I’m usually also listening to a podcast or an audiobook, so I’m multi-tasking. It means I made a lot of really really obvious mistakes last year. You know the ones, where you want to throw your seam ripper across the room because you can’t believe you’ve just overlocked a seam that is OBVIOUSLY incorrect when you stop to look at it, or think about what you’re doing. I made a vow to myself to pause what I’m listening to and take a moment to read the instructions out loud to myself before I start each step. It’s what Japanese train drivers do – they call it essentially ‘pointing and calling’ – to ensure they’ve verbally and physically acknowledged what they’re doing, to avoid doing things on autopilot. And no matter how good at sewing I get, those silly mistakes can really steal a lot of the joy out of a sewing session. So from now on I’m going to take those extra 30 seconds to really process the instructions, even if I know what I’m meant do and make sure I’m not about to waste precious time and drive myself crazy in the process.

4 – Slow is worth it

The Pattern Line, Harrison Dress

I’m usually either sewing for an event that’s come around sooner than expected, or I’m just rushing through for no good reason at all. Last year, not always, but a few times I’ve slowed down and hand-sewn a facing or tacked before going to the machine and let me tell you, it was worth it. Testing the Harrison dress by The Pattern Line this year really gave me a taste of what professional sewing is about and I don’t think it’s about speed, it’s about the finish and the attention to detail. And the more I spend on fabric, the more planning I put in, the more I expect of my outcomes, the more I want the outside and inside to look as good as they can. After all, taking a piece of work down to hand stitch while I watch TV really isn’t a terrible ordeal. Turning my machine down to a slower speed to make sure I’m stitching actually in the ditch, is worth it if the end result is neat stitching that I won’t want to immediately unpick.

5 – I really wish I had taken notes for each make as I went

My Instagram posts are a great way to check what size I made, what fabric I went for and any obvious hacks but I really wish I had taken the time to write down any thoughts, learnings, ideas, edits I made as I went. As I revisit patterns and as my stash of patterns grows, I remember much less about why I did what I did. It’s definitely something I’ll try to remember to do moving forward, but I’m putting this down here so I don’t forget that future and past me thinks it’s worth it. If you’re going to do it too, write down anything that occurs to you as you go, that you think future you would like to know before they start, versus half way through…

And just after I wrote this down, I started making a second Bakerloo Blouse because I wanted a long sleeve version and the one above was sleeveless and I couldn’t remember why I’d decided to do that. Except, when it came to put the sleeves on I remembered that it was because the armscye is too small and I needed to adjust it….but didn’t. So here I have another one that’s probably going to end up being sleeveless or I’ll have to buy more fabric. Hopefully I’ve learned my lesson now.

Any more for any more? Got a realisation of your own? Share below!