a review of 2023

First of all, hope you’re having a lovely new year. It has only been a day, so chances are high that it has been a positive 2024 so far.

I want to preface this post with a couple things. First, I know everyone and their mom with an internet account does a yearly wrap up. Maybe you’re over it, that’s fine. This post is mostly for me and my records tbh, but maybe you’ll find it interesting anyway. Second, don’t compare yourself to anyone else’s quantity or quality of work they produce. Maybe you have less or more free time, maybe you have different priorities, that’s okay. We’re all just living on this big blue dot, ya know?

Because quite honestly, this isn’t a lot of stuff for me. Looking back at my plans and lists I made in early 2023, I barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to do. I had to cancel some events and also just didn’t have as much personal sewing time. Then, I kind of lost my sewing drive the second half of the year and totally shifted focus. After all this change and weirdness, my sense of style has shifted quite a bit too, which is honestly a terrible thing to happen when you don’t have a ton of motivation to sew.

After acknowledging all this, I’m proud of myself for still making all this. It’s kind of nice to grab all the things you’ve made over a whole year and realize personal trends and ups and downs and what have you when it’s all piled together. So let’s review.

costumes

I had two main costuming events this year: Gen Con and Electric Forest. And you know what? I had full outfits for both of them, so I will consider that a success. Alice was a last minute decision based on a secondhand dress I received (blog post in drafts still, oops), but the valentines cowboy was a project I started planning December 2022 and worked on it up to the final week before Electric Forest in June. I’m falling back in love with costuming again I think and have big plans for the coming year.

dresses

Three of these dresses I made this summer, agonized over details, took ages to make them and wore them 0-1 times each. The nightgown dress I saw an inspo pic a week before Thanksgiving and on a whim I whipped it up just in time for Thanksgiving dinners. I’ve worn it constantly since. I’ve been puzzling about it for weeks. Am I in my earth tones phase? Is it because there’s no restricting waist line? Maybe because there’s no fiddly closure? All of the above? At any rate, I kind of wish I was wearing that dress right now.

tops, barbie edition

I couldn’t stop myself, I’m obsessed with this pattern by Gertie. It’s not even a regular pattern, it’s from their patreon. So good. I wear 3/5 of these constantly and they’re so quick to sew up if you have a serger.

tops, other

I think I’m missing one crop top, too. The adria was a bit of a miss for me tbh. It rides up weird because of the neckline and the linen gets wrinkly in a weird way rather than a fun rustic way. The patsy top was a mockup for my cowboy outfit and is a size too big, but I wear it tied in front and it’s fine. Should have just made more barbie tops 😉

bottoms (just skirts)

I reworked an 80s wool skirt that no longer fit and had a couple holes into this cartridge pleated fun thing. It was a nice project and I would like to make another but with more fabric for more dramatic pleats in future.

The wrap skirt is a free pattern from Mood made out of an ikea duvet cover from the thrift store that I dyed after I made it because I didn’t like the color after it was clothes. It probably deserves its own blog post based on the amount of time I spent on it (and the flat lay does it no service)

The second wool skirt is my favorite thing I worked on last winter. I found another 80s wool skirt for a couple bucks in a rummage bin at a nice thrift store. It was just covered in moth holes, but it was the perfect size. I dyed it to tone down the 80s turquoise and covered the holes in daisies. Also needs its own blog post so I can gush over it and how much I love visible mending as a concept.

outerwear

My piece that gets the most attention out of anything I wear. If I don’t feel like talking to people in public, I can’t wear this jacket because I will get stares and comments lol. It’s so warm and cozy, but I still haven’t sewn on the snaps so it flys open all the time. I also whipped up Spaghetti Western’s headscarf when I want to feel like an old timey grandma, and here is my favorite machine knit hat that I wear literally every day.

So there we are. Literally (almost) everything I’ve made in 2023. Although I kind of also forgot to take a picture of my long furby… He needs more appreciation.

This year I made less stuff, but I also spent a lot more time on making specific things like my quilted jacket or my fully beaded cowboy ‘fit which I am extremely proud of. Next year my goals are going to stay quite simple because I have a busy year of probably moving and home reno stuff, but I’d still love to make more clothes that I’m as excited to wear as my linen nightgown dress. I’d also love to make more fun things for my partner and am working on a couple shirts for him right now. My main goal though, is to work through fabric I already own and rehome some good material that I’ll never use. I just have simply too much and would like to be more intentional about the fabrics I use and the things I make. You just spend too much time on a handmade good for it to waste away in a closet.

Thank you for reading and happy new year 🌼