Saturday, December 21, 2013

Top 5 Hits of 2013

Ahhh, the first day of holidays! It is so very, very sweet. It’s been a day of lounging around and accomplishing very little. In classic teacher tradition, Jamie and I have both gotten sick the moment the pressure is off, so we’ve been wandering from couch to couch in a daze! Still, it’s lovely to have the time to just relax! 


Top 5 of 2013 - An Annual Blog Series


It’s been a real joy to see so many Top 5 lists pop up in my blog reader this week! It’ time for me to weigh in… starting with my Top 5 favourite and most worn makes!  


1. Pants! (All the pants!) 



I’m pleased to report that I have officially got my money’s worth out of the Style Arc Elle pattern! 9 pairs and counting… and after experimenting with the amount of ease (too little, then too much) I like the fit of my most recent pairs. 



These polkadot ones are my favourite in terms of fit and fabric. The fabric has lots of stretch (at least 30%) so they fit snugly but comfortably, and don’t get baggy through the day! I’ve got another 3m of this fabric, so a non-polkadot pair will be coming up soon. 



2. Leggings! 


Making leggings was one of my Top 5 goals last year (as was making pants), and I’m very glad I gave it a shot! I’ve made multiple versions of two patterns (Style Arc and Sewing Cake) and they all get lots of wear! 



Along the way, I’ve learned to be really picky about the fabric I use. My favourite pair (by far) are the black Cake Espresso leggings above. It’s a great pattern, but the magic is really in the seriously stretchy 4-way stretch knit. I bought it at a second-hand shop, so there is no way of getting more, but I wear these once or twice a week! 



3. Kimono-Sleeve Knit Dress



This is such a basic dress, but I love wearing it! It’s a double knit so it doesn’t cling, and it has so many of my colours in it that I can wear it with half the cardigans in my closet. I can’t remember exactly what pattern I hacked to make it, but I just made a similar silhouette with Maria of Denmark’s Kimono tee pattern and it worked out well. 



4. Knit Scout Tee



I made this tee back in March, and it’s one of my most-worn garments. (In fact, I’m wearing a similar French terry version today!) It’s loose, drapey, and one of the rare tops I don’t feel the urge to wear a cardigan with! I also wear this flannel Scout tee made last year quite a bit - it’s so cosy and soft!



5. Mission Maxis


This is my favourite pattern of the year! 


I’ve made 4 versions of the maxi dress, plus one for Anne, and about 6 versions of the tank top, including this version I wore for the Waterloo Knitter’s Fair colour palette talk. 



It’s just the perfect loose-but-not-tentlike fit, and it works well with a whole range of knits. The front and back can be cut side-by-side on the fabric, so a maxi takes only 1.5m! 



FInal Thoughts:


In the end, this really became a list of 5 of my favourite patterns. Here’s how many times I’ve made these 5 patterns: 


Style Arc Elle Pants: 9 times


Cake Espresso Leggings: 2, with fabric for 2 more picked out


Maria of Denmark Kristen Kimono Tee: 6 times


Grainline Scout Tee: 5 times


Jamie Christina Mission Maxi: 10 times


That is a grand total of 32 garments made for myself from just these 5 patterns!  I wonder which patterns will dominate my sewing next year? 

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