I made 22 garments for myself in 2019.
Every garment I made for myself in 2019.
I made 22 garments for myself in 2019.
I made zero garments for myself in 2018.
After sewing for basically my entire lifetime (thanks mom), this was the year I took the leap into #memade clothing. And what a leap! I learned so much. I’m making stuff for others now. And I got a grant!
Setting up my rack in my living room for photos made me take pause. There is so much being said in these 22 garments. There’s a renewed promise to resist corporatism and do my part not to spend my dollars where human beings are exploited. There’s a small business being built in every stitch. There’s a conversation with my great-grandmother and all the tailors in my family before her. There are vintage materials in these garments sourced from her and my grandmother and my mother and my husband’s amazing yiayia. And there are hours and hours and hours of my time, spent quietly, healing and rebuilding. These items represent the past, present, and future.
Here’s the breakdown of what I made in 2020, including pattern links and occasional links to the IG posts debuting these pieces. I haven’t posted everything here and I probably won’t, but I gathered up what was there! This list goes from left to right.
Seamwork Catarina in AGF cotton voile: Made for my honeymoon, September. Also wore to my rehearsal dinner. The voile is so beautiful and high-quality and feels like silk.
Ogden Cami by True Bias + Sew Liberated Hinterland Dress skirt mashup in 100% linen: Made in May for Me Made May…one of my favorite dresses now. The linen has worn very well, and it’s really soft and summery. It also has special pockets.
Ogden cami + Hinterland dress skirt in Crowded Faces lawn: Made in August for my birthday.
Hinterland dress, sleeveless, in 100% linen: Made in July, maybe my favorite of the bunch because the stripes are matched so well.
By Hand London Hannah Dress in Ruby Star Society rayon: Probably the last garment made in 2019, and by far the best constructed. Can’t wait until it’s warmer so I can wear it all the time.
Sew Liberated Hinterland dress, short sleeves, in Robert Kaufman Essex Linen: Made in May before I had a serger. Love it but if I made it today I would try to match the pattern better. Great dress for all seasons.
Merchant and Mills Factory Dress, linen/rayon blend: Made in April or May? I love the baggy cut of this dress and at some point I will make another one in a lightweight linen.
Free Range Slacks by Sew House Seven in linen/rayon blend: Part of a faux jumpsuit, and a great easy pair of pants with flat-felled seams and awesome details you can’t see at all because they’re black. Made in August/September.
Gathered rectangle midi skirt in Chinese silk: Made in October when it was too cold to wear. I got some silk from a coworker and turned it into this.
Ogden cami: Made with 1.25 yards of remnant shirting. April? I don’t wear this a lot, to be honest. I like it but I want to make one with a slightly higher neckline.
Willow tanks in the middle.
Grainline Studio Willow Tanks in Crowded Faces lawn, black linen rayon blend (part of faux jumpsuit), tan hopsack linen with button back hack, and Kokka linen: I have said before that the willow is my favorite do-it-all pattern and I will be making more of these and living in them all summer. I made all of these over the course of summer 2019. A great fit!
Hey June cropped Willamette shirt in teal linen with contrasting collar: Made in June with leftovers from the Factory Dress and some quilting cotton. The placket is a bit wonky.
Hey June Willamette shirt with button front in checked seersucker: Made in June. This was actually a muslin and I don’t wear it a lot but it was very well-received at work. I will probably make more Willamettes in 2020, and I will try the Kalle shirt pattern too.
Cropped Tessuti Fabrics Athina Top, short sleeves, in Essex linen blend: Because it’s a free pattern, the Athina was my first foray into sewing garments this year. I still really love this pattern and I’m even going to make one for my mom for Christmas. I also have made commissioned ones! It’s a great pattern.
Hacked shirt from the Hinterland Dress pattern in red linen/rayon blend: Love this–my first pattern hack, made in March (?). I thought I would be making a bunch of these for work but I never got around to it.
Sew Liberated Strata Top in black linen/rayon blend: The third piece of my faux jumpsuit. I love this and really should make more of this easy pattern. I wore it to Thanksgiving with my Free Range Slacks.
Cropped Tessuti Fabrics Athina Top in hopsack linen: Made in March and one of my top makes. I love this shirt, how the fabric has softened, the perfect silhouette it makes, the way I can cuff it…I just love it. One of my first makes on this 2019 garment journey and it is a sentimental piece.
Wiksten Haori, short, in woven cotton with red linen/rayon lining: Months later, I still wear this to work all the time! Made in March/April. I loved it so much I made…
Another Wiksten Haori, unlined, Kaufman Brussels washer linen, with homemade contrasting bias tape: Made in October and LOVE. I wish I could wear this every day but it’s too cold now–come spring, I will be living in this.
Thank you for checking out my list! I’m so proud and I have learned so much and it’s been a good year for sewing.
