Reviewing my year in sewing | 2024 goals revisited, favourites, regrets & lessons learned…

Do you do an annual review of your sewing and making? Call me extra but this is something I absolutely love to do at the start of a new year. As a general rule of thumb I consider everything I made (sewing, knitting & crochet). I think about whether I enjoyed making those things and how I feel about them now I may have had some time to wear them. I also consider how they have fitted into my wardrobe and review any mistakes, failures or things that just didn’t work.

I always feel as though reviewing the past year of sewing helps me to more intentionally plan my making for the year ahead since I know what has and hasn’t worked in the past.

Everything I made in 2024

This year I sewed thirty four garments and four ‘non garment things’ such as bags and accessories. I knit six garments or wearable items and I crocheted just one little thing ( although I do have a long term crochet project on the go). If you want all the details of what those makes were and the patterns I used, you can watch this video below and read this blog post here.

Quick observations

ONE – The glaringly obvious thing for me is that there are only four dresses in my list of makes for last year which is very unusual for me and one of those was actually a pattern test and review so it was one that I was paid to sew for work. This year I reached for dresses far less than I ever have done and I’m not sure if that’s down to our rubbish British summer, we didn’t really get any nice ‘dress’ weather, or that my style is just changing a little again. I was more-so wanting to wear floaty long trousers like my Tyra or Safiya’s or even a long skirt.

TWO – There are a lot of out of my comfort zone makes which I’ll talk about in a minute

THREE – The fabrics I chose this year were very different to previous years in that there were much more solid colours and textured fabrics rather than the floaty florals and prints I tended to go for in the past. This probably goes along with the fact that there were less dresses sewn but even when sewing blouses I tended to stick to solid colours last year – interesting!!

Favourite & most worn makes

This can be a really interesting thing to think about. Often my ‘most worn’ makes may not necessarily be my ‘favourite’ makes. For example, I have a white Agnes T Shirt that I wear on repeat, it’s definitely not what I would name as one of my favourite makes but it’s definitely a most worn. A favourite make might be a coat or jacket I’m really proud of but that might not be worn as often as that Agnes T Shirt but it’s still a favourite- I’m possibly thinking about this a little too much now! Anyway, here are mine for 2024…

Black Tyra Trousers by Ploen Patterns – I’ve worn these so much! They are so comfortable and so handy for when I want to be comfortable but need to be a little bit smart too. My go to styling with these is a long sleeved top or thin knit tucked in with a cropped jacket on top.

The Blazer by The Avid Seamstress – A proud make indeed, purely because it really did push me out of my comfort zone. It’s something I’d not made before and I learned a few new techniques along the way. This one hasn’t been worn a load yet but it’s already come in handy for an event or two where I’ve needed to be smart/casual and I think that’s the kind of make it’s going to be. It’s good to have for when I need it.

Dawn Jeans by Megan Nielsen – I love these simply because they remind me not to limit myself with my sewing. Jeans was one of the things I said in a video long ago I would never attempt to make and now I’ve made two pairs and I love them both. On top of that the process was one of the most enjoyable and therapeutic things I’ve ever sewn and actually helped me out of a bit of a dark time I was having mentally in the spring.

Blanca Flight Suit by Closet Core Patterns – Another one I’d shied away from because it looked a bit scary – sewing a fitted jumpsuit which included one of my worst sewing techniques (zip fitting) was never going to fill me with immediate confidence. However, I love the look of this flight suit and really wanted to give it a go. I ended up grading between sizes which gave me a lovely fit and similarly to my jeans, I found the whole process of sewing these thoroughly enjoyable.

Cream Boucle Ilford Jacket by Friday Pattern Co. – I LOVE how this one turned out and despite only sewing it at the end of October I’ve worn it a lot already. This is a hack of the Ilford Jacket by Friday Pattern Co. I’ve removed and changed QUITE a few things and lined and bound it. It’s a great throw on jacket and goes with so much of what I already have. If you’re a member of my Patreon community you can watch the making process of this video – join here!

Quilted Ilford Jacket by Friday Pattern Co. – Again one I only just finished in December but I’ve already worn a good few times. I am thrilled with how this one turned out and the colours blend so well with my current wardrobe so it’s just a go to. This one was based on the ‘barn’ style jackets we’re seeing around so much on the High Street at the moment.

Archer Shirt by Grainline – I wanted to include this as, again, it was a push myself make. I’d not ever made a proper shirt before with all the tailoring techniques such as a burrito finished yoke, sleeve cuffs etc. It was one of those, slow down, slightly scary but very enjoyable projects. This was another project I only just finished in the autumn so I still need to give it a bit of time.

Mistakes, regrets & fails

This is a really important one to think through I think. I look at why I didn’t gel with this make, what went wrong. I ask myself, would I like to make it again but differently or is it just a big fat ‘no from me’! I’m pleased to say that this year there were just two makes that I felt uneasy about so that’s a really great result.

Montana Dress by Style Arc – Unfortunately, I simply made this dress from the wrong type of fabric. The Montana can be sewn from either a woven or stretch fabric. I used a stretchy viscose jersey with an obvious stripe which didn’t fare well with the curved bodice. I also think the pattern was a little bit heavy for this stretchy fabric so it drags a bit. However, the dress itself I really do like, it fits well and is a lovely simple floaty style that I’m sure I would enjoy wearing on a hot day. I’m planning to try this dress again in 2025 probably from a woven fabric rather than stretch!

Darling Ranges / Lyra Dress hack – This one is a funny one for me and actually one which I’m not sure is definitely a fail yet since I’ve not had a lot of chance to wear it. However, this really didn’t turn out how I had envisaged in my head despite a previous version of this hack being one of my favourite summer dresses. The gingham print was unusual for me and I felt a bit frumpy in it. I’m going to try it out again this summer and if I’m still not convinced, I’ll chop it into a cropped peplum top I think. Interesting again that these are both dresses…!

What did I learn from my sewing and reviewing my 2024 goals

First of all, one of my big goals in sewing last year was that I wanted to make less. I made 5 less garments in sewing this year so I guess you could say I achieved that one but not by much really, it’s still quite a high number but I think I need to accept and be ok that actually as well as being a hobby this is actually my work so I’m not sure I’m ever going to be able to be a minimal maker.

Another goal I had (again for this year) was to sew more intentionally so I wanted to sew things that went well with what I already have in my wardrobe from good quality fabrics that I felt good in. At the end of last year’s review I mentioned that I had realised that I really like to wear nice quality shop bought knitwear as well as things I make, so perhaps focussing on outerwear and jeans was the way to go. I think we can all agree I’ve done that, certainly with the outerwear anyway and it’s also interesting that the outerwear is among my most worn makes.

Last year I also mentioned in my review that I felt I’d played it safe with my makes – I was almost a little bored with my sewing dare I say it. This year I feel like I definitely haven’t done that. I’ve really pushed myself to try new things, learn new skills and make things that are more difficult but that are going to work better for me. For example, my blazer, my jeans and even my Blanca flight suit.

I’m proud of the fact that a lot of the patterns I used again this year were patterns I already owned. I tried nine new patterns but only actually bought six of those as the Jesse T was free and the other two were gifted through work. I still love using what I have and adapting patterns rather than buying new every time and I have to say sometimes that can be out of laziness. I’m much more likely to get on and sew something if I know it’s already sized and cut out and I just need to make a few tweaks here and there.

I think the change in colours/prints this year has come about because I’ve been making more ‘staples’ i.e. outerwear and jeans etc but actually even in my other makes and my ready to wear life I’ve been preferring neutrals and solids over prints. That has very much been a high street thing this season too though so I may have been unknowingly influenced by that. I also had my colours analysed towards the end of the year and although it’s taken me a little while to get the hang of taking these into account when buying. Towards the end of the year I was very much more going for colours that I know suit me best.

So that concludes my round up of last year’s sewing, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed putting together this little review. It makes my organised mind very happy to analyse things in this way. I’m not going to talk yet about my plans for the year ahead because that will be coming up in another later this month. If you would like to keep up to date with all of my future blogs and videos, I’d love you to subscribe to my mailing list here.

How did your sewing went in 2024. Do let me know in the comments!

Lot’s of love

Sally xxx