Reflections on 2024

 

given by a friend!

This was a year with more sewing going on than the previous two when I was recovering from surgeries and mostly wore my bathrobe. 

It was the year I rediscovered dresses, because when I finally started getting around more, they were easier to put on. Much to my surprise, I also enjoyed wearing them! One nice thing about getting older is the disappearance of a lot of insecurities (maybe not all…still human), especially regarding appearance.

Patterns

For years, my main pattern source had been Ottobre Woman. With Ottobre on hiatus, I resubscribed to BurdaStyle. I do enjoy Burda’s fit and drafting, but I am a basics kind of a girl and Burda is kind of anti-basics. To use their magazines, I usually have to scan through them to find a style that I can strip of their details to make what I have in mind. There’s fun in the search, though, and I affirmed that by renewing my subscription for the next year. In the latest issue, Burda says they will be celebrating their 75-year anniversary with retro patterns each month. They are also bringing plus sizes back into the magazine. Sounds good to me.

In 2024 I gave Love Notions a whirl, and had mixed results. A couple of their knit patterns worked well for me, but I don’t sew that many knit things. Their woven patterns consistently don’t meet at the front and are tight across the shoulders on me, the only patterns I’ve ever sewn that fit that way. Wait, I’m lying. Back when Sandra Betzina’s line for Vogue first came out with “today’s fit” sizing, I gave them a try and they fit that way, too. Love Notions has plenty of fans, so they are doing something right. They just aren’t for me. 

Style Arc, on the other hand, has given me a lot of pleasure this year. In the past, I had sworn them off more than once because of confusing terminology and directions, but their styles kept drawing me back. They make patterns for things that I want to wear. I love the current barrel leg trousers, and Style Arc has lots of them. I also enjoy their easy fitting dresses. I love that they print the seam lines on their patterns. They have frequent sales and that doesn’t hurt, either!

I scan other indies and the legacy pattern companies now and again, but haven't felt like they were offering much that I needed. I did buy a couple of Palmer/Pletsch jacket patterns (Butterick? McCall's?) and a top from Itch to Stitch, but haven't made them up yet.

This seems like a good time to insert a pattern scorecard for the things I made in 2024. Not all of them made blog appearances. 

• Burda - 4
• Love Notions - 3
• Ottobre - 2
• Simplicity - 1
• Style Arc - 9

This year I made TNT patterns for several basic pieces, wahoo! 

Jeans - style arc carlisle

Big shirt - knipmode

Semi- fitted shirt - burda

Camp-ish shirt - style arc marley

Cardigan - burda

Jean jacket - burda

Still needed: basic trousers, woven shell, knit tank and tee. Toss in a pull-on pant and basic dress and that should give me almost everything I need to make variation after variation. 

a smart buy from Miss Matatabi

Fabrics

Stash report…this year I had an unexpected little income stream that I earmarked for fabric purchases. Because the money was not coming out of our regular funds, it helped me ease up on obsessive bargain-hunting (the feeling that I could not have nice things because they are too expensive) and the crippling fear of shipping charges (which meant that I would buy stuff I wasn’t crazy about just to avoid paying for shipping). Neither of those attitudes make good economic sense because they lead to a closet full of fabric that is not quite right - bought because it was on sale or to avoid paying for shipping.  The funny thing is, once I gave myself permission to buy whatever I wanted, I became very picky and made much smarter purchases. Guess what - nice fabric inspires better workmanship. 

The moral of the story is: buy less, get the good stuff, and do good work.

The “Make 9” grid from the beginning of the year didn’t work out. It’s better to just follow the flow of my wants and needs than to set goals in advance. With the fresh new year arriving, the urge to make lists and plans is strong, but I'll resist.

Best wishes to all for 2025!