I make one of these posts every year, looking back at my plans at the beginning of the year, and what I actually did. Obviously, the big difference with other years is that all of the events I planned to sew for were cancelled this year. Despite that, I did actually end up making quite a bit from my list. I couldn’t wear the outfits to events, but I did dress up and make pictures, and I now have some nice additions for my wardrobe when events can happen again.
My plans started with the 1890’s, wanting to finish my new corset, make a blue petticoat, and then a green/black silk ball gown.
I actually did all of these, although I think I never even showed the finished corset? I’m wearing it in the top two pictures, it matches nicely with my petticoat!
For the day time, I planned to either re-make my Edwardian corset and tartan skirt to fit better, or to make a split skirt to go with a (modern, but fits the shape) sports sweater.
In the end, I did both. I enlarged the hips on my Edwardian corset, and added some gussets to my tartan skirt to fit my rib-cage. They aren’t the prettiest fixes, but definitely worth being able to wear them again.
I also made the split skirt, and later in the year added a sport’s blouse for a more summery version of the sport’s outfit. (Even though I haven’t actually worn the sport’s blouse with the split skirt yet…)
For the second half of the year, my plan was mostly to focus on the 1830’s, again for an event. I wanted to make a new dress, and then a white bodice for mix-matching and a hat, and maybe a coat.
In the end, I finished the dress, and started on the hat, which got done right after the new year. Because any urgency of an event was off, the blouse and coat never happened. I’d still like to make both, though.
The final plan I wrote down was to work on my 1780’s hand-sewn stays. I did work on them, though they didn’t progress quite as much as I’d hoped, and I’m still sewing boning channels. These are definitely a slow but steady type of project!
I did also make a number of things which weren’t planned. In April, American Duchess released a pattern for a lovely wrap cape, which I couldn’t resist making up.
In May and June, I went on a bit of a Regency sewing spree. (At that point, I still had some hopes for a Regency weekend in November…). I made new stays, which fit me quite a bit better than my old ones, made two dresses, and altered two spencers and a dress to fit better again.
Over the summer, I picked up an old project, for which I’d only done the drafting, and made my folded jacket.
And finally, after finishing the 1830’s dress I made a stripey bustle gown. This really was a palate-cleanser type of project, using cotton and poly taffeta, and making the design such that I could use patterns without any adaptation. That made the whole process much quicker, and it is such a fun dress to wear!
For the final months of the year, I took a step away from the big historical projects, and just worked on my bonnet and some unfinished stuff. The main thing I finished was a modern dress made from a fun panel fabric (adapted from “IJsvermaak bij een stad”, painted by Avercamp ca 1620). This project had been in the ufo basket since I had to change plans due to too little fabric. It isn’t the prettiest thing I’ve ever made sewing wise (and reminded me I don’t know enough about sewing knits…), but I’m glad it’s done, and it does look nice when worn!
Atelier Nostalgia 