What I made in 2018: by the numbers

my makes

I am still in full-on reflection mode, and being stuck at home during school holiday means I am getting no more sewing done for 2018. I organize all of my sewing planning in Trello (in addition for storing my digital patterns and organizing my fabric stash), and I’m a big believer in evaluating the success/failures of what I do to see how I can make improvements for the future.

So, with that being said, here are some interesting (to me at least!) stats about all of my sewing projects from 2018, and after that, a list of all the garments (most of them are unblogged, but I’ll link to a photo if I have it!).

Total number of completed garments: 60 (that’s up from 38 in 2017!)

Total number of abandoned garments: 8 (so these are ones that I did eventually complete to the best of my ability, then donated, but I don’t count them as part of the final 60.)

Successful vs “sorta” successful vs not successful at all: I consider a “sorta” successful project to be one that maybe gets some wear, or is like, mostly ok, but might have some sort of flaw that prevents it from getting more frequent wear.

  • 32 yes’s
  • 15 sorta’s
  • 13 no’s

Figuring out what separates a successful make from one that’s only meh or even totally unsuccessful, and then using those lessons to plan future projects, is something that I constantly strive for (but also recognize as probably an unrealistic goal for every project). I’m happy to have learned plenty about what does and doesn’t work for me and my projects this year! Probably the most important lessons:

  • If I don’t like that fabric, I won’t like the garment
  • REALLY consider my lifestyle before making a garment (that one goes out to the multiple pencil skirts I made that I cannot wear on a bike!)

Garments made for a pattern test: 18 out of 60, that’s 30%!

I’m planning a big overview of what it’s like to pattern test, but for 2019 I decided that I’m not doing it any more! As much as I’ve enjoyed helping designers, getting free patterns, and stretching my skills with garments that I probably would not have otherwise made, I need to focus my time and energy in 2019 on supporting my own little business dream!

Garments made from a pattern that I acquired in 2018 vs another year:

  • 2018 – 40
  • 2017 – 15
  • 2016 – 5

This definitely shows that while I talk a big game about rifling through my pattern stash, I am very frequently distracted by something new and shiny. Although, I will note that a big big chunk of those 2018 patterns came from pattern tests and Sew My Style purchases.

Garments made with free (to me!) patterns vs ones that I bought:

  • Free – 33
  • Purchased – 27

I love hunting down free patterns (one of the perks from pattern testing!) so these numbers don’t surprise me at all, although I am happy to support pattern designers by purchasing patterns as well!

Garments that used fabric that was already in my stash vs ones that I specifically bought new fabric for:

  • Stash – 49
  • New fabrics – 11

I’m not going to pretend that I’m some virtuous sewist who rarely went on frivolous fabric-buying sprees, because what these numbers are really saying is that I usually don’t buy fabric with a specific project in mind. Mostly, if I spot something wonderful, I snatch it up and wait for the pattern inspiration to come later on. This works pretty well, except I do have a quite large fabric stash now.

Garments made for a sewing challenge: 18 out of 60 (30%!)

I’ll have another round-up post on the sewing challenges I participated in, some of them were great successes and some of them were great lessons-learned.

How many patterns did I use more than once in 2018? 10

Definitely not enough! I am developing a treasured bunch of favorite patterns that I’d like to revisit again in 2019.

What types of garments did I sew?

  • Accessories: 2
  • Jumpsuits: 1 
  • Dresses: 5
  • Kids: 2
  • Lingerie: 20
  • Outerwear: 4
  • Pants/shorts: 5
  • Skirts: 2
  • Tops/bodysuits: 18
  • Menswear: 1

I’m not surprised by how many lingerie pieces are there because they’re so quick and easy to make, and take so little fabric, I’m obsessed! The list definitely skews towards easier stuff, and I’m looking forward to focusing on more challenging pieces for next year.

Which pattern companies were most represented?

No surprises here, a big bunch of faves!

And here’s the full list of all the garments I made in 2018! (mostly in chronological order, designers are linked where applicable)

WELL! If you made it to the end of the list, I applaud you! How do you feel about your 2018 Year in Makes? Link to your big, reflective round-up posts if you have them, because I love to read these sorts of things! Throughout January, I’ll continue to post about how my favorite projects from the past year, how I fared with sewing challenges, and my plans for 2019, so check back soon!