I remember back in November 2014 when I was so proud of the fact that I had made not 1, not 2, but 3 dresses and 2 skirts, as per the photo above – I was amazed that I’d even made one actually wearable thing! Then about 6 months later, I started planning a post on all my memade items so far and photographed them all on Maeve but never got round to posting and publishing it. Nowadays, my evenings and weekends are so frequently spent sewing that I’m sure a post featuring every single item would end up being so long that no one would care after the first 10 or so!
Instead of a round up of old makes, I decided I’d do a round up of what I’m planning to make at the moment for summer. Some are already underway, some have actually been finished since I started this post (more on those soon!), but here they are:
Bikini/Swimsuit
I’ve currently got some awesome mermaid fabric on the way, found some swimwear elastic the other day, and have big plans for swimwear. I’m really loving high rise legs at the moment (so 80s!) so I may attempt a bikini with a crop top style top (although I’m thinking some foam or underwire for support). I’ve previously drafted my own swimsuit but I think I’ll maybe go with a pattern first though to be safe, so possibly the Soma swimsuit by Papercut as a bikini or I might try separating top and bottom of the Nettie bodysuit by Closet Case Files as that’s a pattern I’ve wanted to try for ages.
Lace Bralette/Crop Top
I’m always trying to make structured bras at the moment – underwires, foam, all the works. I’ve recently “designed” a lace bralette halter style top based around one I bought from H&M recently with elements of Agent Provocateur’s Annoushka. I say “designed” because I can’t really lay claim to a design I’ve taken very heavy inspiration for, but I’ve pulled it apart and labelled out what I’d need to make something similar to see if I can do it, then I’ll take my own design onwards from there. I just need to find somewhere to source the specific lace I want now!
Full length Anna dress
I made the above Anna dress last year and loved it. It gets regular wear (in fact, the day of writing this post – it’s scheduled! – I’m wearing it) and fits really well, especially thanks to the full bust adjustment. I’d like to make a full length and lightweight version of the dress for summer – I think it’ll be perfect for my upcoming holiday to Austria and Venice. I’m hoping to find a wide printed silk/crepe de chine in a washed out watercolour style print for this. Let me know if you see something like that anywhere that’s easy to buy in the UK and affordable!
Briefs
I love the Watson briefs as they go together so quickly and easily, plus the gusset insertion method is awesome – they’re a good fit and they’re comfortable. But I want to branch out and try more brief shapes. So far I haven’t found The One that I’ll make over and over to make matching sets, so I’m trying to find that. I’m currently pattern testing (eeee, my first time!) a pair that I’m sure I’ll be able to talk about soon too, and I’ve downloaded another pattern to make up soon too.
Ginger Jeans
I made a pair of jeans from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual earlier in the year, but these were more a pair of cigarette trousers made out of denim. Although I love them, I’d like to try a pair of “actual” jeans too with the proper top stitching, front fly and everything. The Ginger Jeans by Closet Case Files are supposed to be a good one, so I think they’ll be my jeans of choice for my first go.
Embroidery
I subscribe to a couple of sewing magazine and I spotted some embroidery templates in these recently. I used to do cross stitch when I was younger, that’s what we learnt at school, but I would get frustrated because it seemed to take a long time to complete. I thought now was about time to try a different style of sewing, so embroidery it was! I generally dislike hand sewing but it’s necessary for some projects, so it’s all good practice. I’ve recently made the two above embroidery hoops that I’ve hung in our garden room – they’re by no means perfect, but they are my first ever ones! “Time to blossom” is a template from my Simply Sewing magazine, and the “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere” one is one of my favourite ever Disney quotes, from Beauty and the Beast (watch the song here), and is my own design. I’ll post about these soon I hope 🙂 So I’m planning to create a few more like these – especially Disney and Harry Potter inspired ;D They’re awesome to create in front of the TV.
Homeware – Applique Cushions
I made this stag applique cushion to fit in with our Christmas decor in our living room and really loved making it. I’m planning to create a few more similar for other seasons as this one is still on the sofa now – I think it may have become a year round cushion! Ah well, fits with the tartan decor in the room! I’m thinking bright cushions with a big yellow sun or flowers on them for summer.
What are your current sewing plans? What do you think of mine?
Nice to read about your plans 😀 And yay embroidery! I’m currently embroidering a pattern on a skirt (around the bottom edge and also on the front panels). I wrote a bit about my recently finished projects here (with photos). I wouldn’t mind seeing a full list of yours 😛
But my current plans are to finish that skirt, a corset-like t-shirt (altered pattern), a long dress (for parties) and probably some new trousers/skirts/summer dresses as well… However, I have to wait a bit till I have sewing time again, as I am a bit too busy with work-related things in the evenings as well!