My 2023 New Year's musings

Its so far taken me three days to write this post. Its not a post I want to rush. 

Most though not all New Years, I try to review what I made last year, and also what I never got round to making despite planning, and also possibly more importantly to decide what worked, what was terrible and how I should proceed. I never so far make everything on my list but then if I did achieve that say part way through the year what would I aim for next?

But looking back at last year I realised I have made very little of what I had planned. I even traced a number of patterns yet never got round to making the planned item. In this respect at least my planning last year was pretty much worthless.

So to be honest after reading my last year's post I wonder if it is worth the effort of planning at all? 

But then you must start somewhere and the one year, in recent years, when I never made such a plan I seem to have expanded my fabric and my yarn stashes but never made very much, so for me the best way forward is this planning post. Also despite its inevitable I will buy more yarn and more fabric at some point, I do want to try to further reduce my rather huge stashes of both - and save money as well as space.

I know lots of bloggers do this kind of post. Its not just to fill that New Year gap where maybe you did not do much other than relax. There is a real purpose for most people. Similar I suppose to New Year's resolutions. Very few people in this world have much if any real free time, let alone money to spare, so plannning what you want and what is possible (though not always what is realistic I must admit) is a valuable useage of time. Its well worth spending a couple of days to work out what you wish to aim for over the next year or even just the next few months.

Before I can decide on this year's projects really I needed to look backwards, and to be perfectly honest I know that in 2022 I copped out, particularly towards the end of the year, and just made things I know will work having already used the patterns several times before. Partly this was down to a complete disaster using a pattern from Dotty Angel. Never again! I shall stay away from that pattern group. So after wasting my fabric on that project I then dumbed down my world rather more than I think really I should have done. I went safe. As in no risk at all. But then when this happens, as in a complete disaster, you lose confidence in your ability and this in turn means you make easy items and you don't learn anything either.

In some cases I made things recently that I have made possibly 20-30 times before. Well I know they work, and that I like those styles, but its very unadventurous really although I could argue and say "but I do like that particular style and have worn X and Y loads" so that kind of makes it worth it. But reallly those kind of items are fast and easy now to make, so should be interspersed with something a bit more challenging maybe?

Also, I have to remember I have literally tens of paper patterns and probably hundreds of magazine patterns I really want to use but never get round to. Thats kind of unacceptable both from a space point of view because I live in a small UK two bedroomed house, so its small by standards in many countries, and even in the UK its a small two bed so we lack space here for things like hobbies. That makes my keeping hundreds of magazines a real pain for my partner. He's nice about it and even bought me loads of magazine boxes to help keep them in good condition, but really I am aware I take up more room for my own hobbies than he does for his or even for his tools which he does seem to collect and not use often.

Then there is the money/ costs point of view. Even when its an old Ebay bought magazine from the 1980s its cost me money and I am not a wealthy person so cannot justify just owning all this stuff and not making use of at least 80% of it. Of course there is no way I will ever make all the patterns I own, but I should I think make at least one item from each magazine. I actually did start to do this but went off track. That was a few years ago. How can I really justify this without at least attempting to plan a new wardrobe and to use some at least of these new designs. That is NEW meaning anything I have not made previously so the style might date even back to 1968 which is my oldest Burda magazine.

If I manage to make 1-4 items a month which is probably my usual assuming I only have one very challenging project on the go at any one time, it will still take me probably around 10 years to use every magazine just once. Thats how many I now own and I stopped buying them regularly really 4 years ago. I must however admit to buying 2 mags in 2019, 3 in 2020, 3 in 2021 and 2 in 2022 so I do occassionally give in. Usually its when I go on holiday somewhere. Still thats another 10 mags in the last 4 years alone and I have yet to make anything from those 10!.

Ok so what DID I get round to making in 2022?

FAE THEME

I went towards a Faerie inspired theme with much of the clothing I did make in 2022 and I have been very happy with this and intend to continue in that vein at least for the rest of winter 2023. At time of setting this goal I had never heard of Fairy Core either but such is life and I still have no regrets. Maybe its a case of great minds think alike etc? 

I do not regret making any of the velvet fae stuff at all and have been living in it and loving it. Its changed the look of my wardrobe immensly. Its made me feel like me again after many years wearing second rate clothing from places like supermarkets. You know all that wearable and affordable stuff that everyone wears but is really boring and safe - but very work worthy I suppose. Though interestingly I have not had any adverse comments wearing this me-made faerie stuff at work so that really proves to me its possible to feel like me and do my day job.

 

I will probably make a few more similar items in a Faerie theme. Maybe more in cotton jersey since thats also very wearable and I have very little in practical cotton which works for summer. 

I actually love much of what I made the last year whereas thats not the case with quite a bit of the earlier stuff. Thats not saying I did not learn or achieve anything, and it was fun to just make things but much of it is not really "me".

I even knitted a pair of glitter mitts which are very fae inspired so that was actually a good look to aim for. These were an achievement having been on my to-do list since, I think, 2007. I have done a fair amount of knitting this year though I suppose, but mainly its been small items like socks and hats.

So, I have no regrets about the Fae theme at all, despite a receiving a few not so nice comments about it not being age appropriate for me to make Fae inspired clothing. But some people have no vision and no fun left by the time they get grown up. Stuff that. I want fun clothing that is also stylish and comfortable. I also need to try to use up the rest of my velvet fabric offcuts so I feel maybe a few similar tops or dresses coming soon. This could be good for January since its nasty cold, wet and windy outside the window while I write this and I feel it could be a good month to use up a lot of those velvet pieces on new items. Especially now I have decided how I really do like the ones made in 2022.

I did also make more knickers and bras and some vest tops but again its all very basic stuff I have done before so hardly counts. But its practical and uses up those spare bits of left overs which reduces the waste I send to landfill ( and it doesn't make my stashed fabric any bigger of course) and thats got to be good. I actually really need new "smalls". Not really knickers but smaller sleeveless tops so I will aim to make a few of them over the next few months. 

Same with basic long sleeved tops and leggings and flared stretch velvet trousers which I love to wear but they are relatively easy nowadays for me to achieve. These are some I really like from the last year:

Though there is no doubt about the fact I have been getting a bit too boring in my recent sewing so here we go for 2023........

Like last year I still really want to make this skirt from Burda Style 09/2014 which was the first new magazine ( as in not second hand off Ebay) I bought from Burda so I should use that one soon:

I have this pattern traced - it was difficult as well being large pattern pieces that did not fit onto my table, and I traced onto wall paper so I had to join the paper width-wise to get it to fit. I even have some stretch burnout velour which would look great and would work as a muslin, and since it was just 90p/m so as cheap as cheap gets this would be a great way to test if this fits. I had the fabric this time last year so there is actually no excuse for not making this other than my fear of it not working.   If the pattern fits then I intend to make a stretch denim version. Or at least when I make the pattern fit me is what I mean. I know already its too long and could be a bad fit else where. I also own some stretch denim for this purpose. So a real cop out for this pattern since its traced and ready to cut out, and I have two different fabrics ear-marked for it!

Similarly with these dresses from 03/2019 Burda style, that were on last years plan. I already have the fabric so really I need to make these. I have not yet traced these but the magazines have been lying around for a whole year in my sewing space while I consider them. The black dress on the left that is and the centre one in gold not at the moment the jacket. Though I may yet make the top based on the centre dress rather than the dress itself. That would be a safer way to test out the twist pattern.

 These will I think challenge me. 

I have a half made skirt with a twist in it that I have yet to finish due to getting a bit stuck on exactly what those Burda instructions want me to do to achieve it so thats on my to-do list. Its been stuffed into a box for the last 6 months because I got stuck on that one. 

This is what its meant to look like but I could not figure out that twist. Its from the November 2017 magazine:

Stretch Skirt A, B 107 | 11/17

Time I think to brave up a bit and get the thing made - or ruined if I cannot do it - but at least do something to attempt to make that rather than just ignore it for another year. Its all cut out and even partly sewn. I probably could even google to find a blogger who has actually succeeded in making this one who can advise me on what I cannot quite get. Thats assumng when I go back and read the instructions I cannot figure it out. Often if I take a break and go back it just seems to work. I really like twist patterns so should get round to finishing this one in 2023.

I did trace the top pattern below, but again I have yet to sew this one up and there is in that case no excuse because its not even a difficult one to sew. I have plenty of stashed fabric options ( including possibly velvet offcuts!) would look good in this style as well. Must get round to that one!

 

There is a long list of other things I aimed for last New Year and never achieved but I will gloss over it. 

These listed above are what I WILL make this year along with some more track pants - I have the fabric and zips for these. 

They will be a repeat but I will use them and they will still be a challenge because I found them hard to make last time around. And really you need to make stuff you actually want to wear as well don't you. I actually need these. Hopefully my second attempt will be better because this first pair were a bit imperfect really though despite that they have been well worn and loved.

And I want to make a few repeats of some of the Faerie inspired successes from last year. I am not going to make too many lists this year but just aim for this small number of new things to get me going and maybe then I can achieve them. And of course things will just come along that are not yet even considered here that I am bound to make.

CLEAROUT

I do also think I need a massive clearout of my older me-mades before I begin this years making. And I do mean a massive clearout.  Its time for a reduction in what I own because I simply have no room left and in the end why hang on to all those slightly or sometimes terribly imperfect garments I made, especially when I used a cheap fabric thats not really that nice to wear?

I used to be far less selective when buying fabric. Nowadays I tend to go for lovely stuff rather than what is cheapest. Though I do try to only buy in sales and I watch fabric until there is an offer on. Its rare that I give in and pay full price and if I can use a second hand item to make something new then I do.

I used to sew with anything and everything though just to learn and some of it was actually nice but most is really not at all nice either to wear or look at - look at the older blog posts to see what I mean if you want to- and its time to send it off to charity and make new - if I have not made new yet already. 

And finally in 2023 I want to get my wardrobe into containing the sort of clothing I actually want to be seen in. Thats this years biggest aim I think. 

To make a smaller number of planned challenging projects and to achieve that, but mostly I want to eliminate from my current clothing collection all my worn or just boring mundane items because just because its me-made that no longer means I need to carry on keeping it and especially now I am more confident ( well some of the time at least when I do not have a disaster), I can repeat things and make them better than I did first time around. I have tended to just keep it all - because I made it. Thats got to stop. Its no longer a viable excuse because I hardly own anything now that is not me-made. And what I do own that was bought I want to keep, so the rubbish must be eliminated.

After all I have a blog and while its still here ( I do worry Blogger may disappear!) I have a good record, or diary, of what I have previously made and how. 

So in the end I think 2023 is the year for me to skim things down, throw out my old clothing, or give to charity a large proportion of the things I have made, and to make new exciting garments, and of course I need to do some experiementing as well as the safe sewing I do already. 

I am not going to completely stop making my Tried and Tested (TNT) patterns though. I did learn this year that it is really good to have a few fall back patterns that fit well and are just very basic every day wearable patterns that when you feel depressed or when things go wrong with something adventurous then its great to pull one out and sew something you can rely on working.

AND I am going to aim to repair quite a few of those old patterns that have got a bit tatty. I clearly need to keep them for such times as when I lose my sewing mojo. Some TNT patterns I like to wear are seriously falling to bits so I could do with tracing them on to thicker stronger paper for future useage. No thats not really sewing but some are old patterns now that are harder to get hold of and even when still in print why buy new what you have already. I should just transfer them to better paper and store the original tissue pattern until needed. 

So thats another aim for this year. To trace and preserve those TNT patterns that I like very much that need repairs.

So thats my plans for 2023 then. 

If you actually read to the end of this post, congratulations!

I know its a bit epic blogwise, its text heavy, and a bit probably too information laden and picture light for a normal blog post, but this one is for me. I need this one to sort my head out and get my life going again in 2023 so I hopefully achieve what I want to.

If you did enjoy reading then thank you for wading through all that text to the end. 

Take care and I hope 2023 is going to be the best year ever for you and for me.

 Bracken