Tuesday, January 8, 2013

2012 Sewing Round Up

I know I said I wasn't going to do a post about everything I sewed in 2012, but right after I said it was too overwhelming, I got curious. What exactly did I do last year, and how does it compare to the year before? Here are some statistics; this year I put them into the form of charts!


Number of items sewn has increased in all categories, especially when it comes to non-dresses! I'm so happy to say that 2012 was the year I tackled pants/shorts, underwear, and outerwear, although there's still so much more I want to learn when it comes to those categories. I also branched out into using buttons and hooks and eyes as closures, instead of just zippers. And probably the biggest change was that I ended up sewing waaaay more with knits than the previous year. The accomplishment that I'm proudest of, though, is that almost half of what I sewed was done using patterns of my own making! Granted, the patterns mostly boiled down to three basic blocks, but still! I also think it's telling that the next highest number of patterns came from free patterns put out by other generous sewing bloggers. I'm pretty happy with these numbers; the only thing I would change next year is making more patterns by independent pattern companies. I've got a Tiramisu, Cambie and Thurlow in my queue for this spring.

I also couldn't figure out a way to put the following stats into chart form...

Blogging community "events" participated in: 4 (Sew Grateful week, the Sew Weekly, but only sporadically, the Summer Sewing Swap, and VPLL's 1912 Project)...this one makes me so happy, and I totally want to participate in more!
Projects that used sheets/curtains/other non-traditional yardage: 17 (mostly sheets, but a couple of curtains and a tablecloth too!), up from last year's 13
Stashbusting projects: 16, including two fabrics from the earliest stages of my stashing, definitely an increase over last year's 6! It's just too bad that fabric-buying more than made up for it...

And speaking of fabric buying, the average cost of projects this year was $5.91, a slight decrease from last year! I blame the FIDM scholarship store, Michael Levine Loft, and several fabric gifts for the decrease. The total cost of all the garments though, was $432. This is almost exactly double last year's amount, but the number of garments I made is also roughly double, so this is actually reasonable.

As for time spent sewing, the average time spent per garment was 6.7 hours, for a total of almost 491 hours of sewing this year! I didn't calculate this number last year, so I have no idea if the average time per garment went up. I'm inclined to say that there was little change, since I know that that's about how long a dress took me last year, and that's pretty much all I sewed. I will say that the range of time spent per garment definitely widened, though, as I had many more knit projects that took less than two hours, and many time-intensive projects that took upwards of 20 (e.g. my jacket, my Elizabethan stays, the Girl on Fire dress, etc.). Considering that I tackled so many more tricky fabrics and patterns and PANTS, I'm actually surprised that the number isn't higher!

And now, the really scary part is the actual collage of everything I've made, minus the five fails that I listed previously. I also somehow missed my Ms. Frizzle dresschiffon tunic or Mr. Cation's shirt, for some reason, but I'm not going to go back and add them in after getting all of these pictures to play nicely together.



Whew, what a year! I knew that I had been productive, but seeing it all put together like that is a little scary. This is one of the reasons why I'm taking on the Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge: I don't really need any more modern clothes. While I still want to tackle jeans and jackets, I don't think my closet can handle this frenetic pace of sewing for another year. I've donated quite a bit of clothing (both RTW and me-made from last year), but really, how many tops and dresses does one really wear? I mean, I get lazy in doing laundry, but not that lazy. So here's to sewing slower, larger projects, and being more thoughtful in what kind of fabric I take in and sew up!

43 comments:

  1. WOW. That is an impressive wardrobe! Well done!

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    1. Thanks Gillian! And now I can work on my costume wardrobe :)

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  2. You must have a mad lot of closet space! What a great wardrobe. I'm impressed that so many were made with patterns that you generated yourself. What will 2013 bring???

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    1. I'm lucky that my husband doesn't mind that I've taken over the second bedroom's closet, but honestly most of this doesn't take up too much room. I've also donated a good amount of older stuff or me-mades that didn't quite suit.

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  3. You are my personal hero!

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  4. Sweet, sweet graphs! You have so rocked out in 2012! So glad I found your blog- love seeing your creations (and epic LoTR and the like tales!) and can't wait to see what 2013 brings!

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    1. I've been so glad to have discovered you too, Amanda! Glad you enjoyed all the LOTR stuff!

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  5. I'm so glad you changed your mind and did this post! I love the graphs: it really brings the numbers home! And I really love it that you were able to track the differences and similarities between last year and this year. So cool!

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    1. I'm pleased that I just did it too...it really helps me see what I've done and what I want to change for next year. I'm pretty sure I would have been angry at the end of this year if I didn't have previous numbers to compare to.

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  6. I love that "squids" gets it's very own category! What a fantastic year you had.

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    1. To be perfectly honest, squids and bow ties for cats were fillers so that the graph would go all the way across. And now you know :)

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  7. You are just too damn impressive. These are amazing, and the squid, how did I miss that? HOW DID I MISS THAT? I want one.

    strugglesewsastraightseam.wordpress.com

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    1. Look who's talking, Ms. Going To Grad School To Become A Playwright! The squid was my crowning achievement in 2012, yours was getting into grad school and moving to NYC!!

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    1. Haha, I think I had a similar reaction too, when I saw my finished collage, but in a slightly horrified way...

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  9. Very impressive! Now you made me want to make charts, too :) I also have that feeling where I seem to have enough clothes for now, but I still want to keep sewing. Good thing you can still sew costumes!

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    1. Charts! Do it!! They really help you see the big picture of what you've done in a year, plus they look pretty :) I obviously can't stop sewing, so it's time to plump out my husband's wardrobe too, along with costumes!

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  10. Awesome wardrobe. I can't wait to see what you do for the fortnightly challenges! ;)

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    1. Thanks! I can't wait to see either...I need to get a move on planning!

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  11. How did you calculate your sewing time and cost? I've been meaning to track these myself, but I'm never sure what to include... tracing, cutting, muslin-ing; patterns, tracing supplies, equipment...

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    1. In each finished garment post, I include cost (fabric and notions, but not sewing machine usage or thread or wear on scissors) and sewing time (which usually includes the cutting and muslining and actual sewing time as well). I just went through all my old posts and added up the numbers.

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  12. Wow, you were productive! Can't wait to see what you make this year!

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    1. I think I'm a little taken aback by how productive I was...I knew I had been sewing up a storm, but didn't know it was such a large storm ;)

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  13. Holy crapdoodle... your closet must be HUUUUUGE!!! ^___^ I like how you included squids and cat bow ties into the chart.... pure awesome ^__^

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    1. Sooo...my closet includes the spare bedroom closet...but I also donated quite a bit of stuff! And how could I not include squids and bow ties?

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  14. Wow, this is amazing! You did so much last year! Great job, dood!

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    1. Thank you! You too, you Mood Sewing Network blogger, you!

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  15. wow - that is an entire wardrobe... well maybe you need another pair of pants ;op But seriously girl, that is beyond impressive!!!! Now here is my question - outside of the costumes how many of the tops/dresses get worn on a regular basis??

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    1. Hahaha yes, more pants are needed! Yours is an excellent question, though -- several of the tops actually got donated or are laundry emergency clothes, and several of the dresses were made with wedding attendance in mind so they've only been worn once...but I comfort myself that had I purchased RTW, it would've been the same case. I would say about half of 2012's productions get worn regularly, though.

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  16. Omg, you geek!! You did a pie chart AND a bar graph?! I mean geek in a nice, "you're awesome" way tho :)

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    1. Haha I take no umbrage at being called a geek! I love looking at summary charts and things, so of course once I decided to summarize my year, I had to make some!

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  17. Holy crapoly!!! Me loves the charts and pie graphs! Awesome wardrobe....glad to see vintage overtook modern. Looking forward to seeing what you whip up for the Historical Fortnightly Challenge! More Middle-Earth!!! :)

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  18. 491 hours of sewing?!?! Total. Rock. Star. I love that you spent so much time sewing from your own patterns - that is EPIC and wonderful!!! Well done in 2012, and I am so looking forward to what you have in store for 2013!

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  19. Wow you really sewing up a storm in 2012! I am so envious, I for sure need to ramp it up in 2013! You made some great things, I agree, can't wait to see what you make in 2013!

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  20. God damn u sewed a lot in 2012! I enjoyed every moment of it :)

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  21. Wow!! That's a lot of sewing! And it's all lovely. :)

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  22. First let me tell you that I'm truly Impressed by both garments and progress made! Your last reflections ring a bell in me as I'm also very worried by the amount of garments I'm accumulating lately (a bit less by the cost). Though there are some gaps in my wardrobe like pants and jackets just like you, I really feel I have to calm down on tops! I don't have a definite plan yet but I'd like to take time to do things really well, make muslins (and try to enjoy that step) and tackle more complex projects. I'd love to know more of your thoughts on that!

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  23. Scientist meets Sewist: love the charts!! And I want to thank you again for the awesome Dolman Sleeve T shirt pattern; I've made it 3 times now, love it, and it has my 23 y/o DD stamp of approval :) Also, it's always comforting to hear about another sewist's pants struggle.

    Kathleen

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  24. That is a very impressive haul! If only my goal for this year was even 1/2 as much. Very inspirational and I love the charts :)

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  25. Wow you really did make some gorgeous things!! I adore all the dresses,beautiful! XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk

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  26. When seen altogether like that, it just reinforces that fact that you are amazing! What a great collection of garments you've made! Good luck with the HSF, I'm looking forward to seeing what you make, but I'm crossing my fingers we get the occasional Star Wars tee or superhero dress as well.

    Also, any chart that includes "squids" and "bow ties for cats" as measurable items is the best kind of chart.

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me your thoughts! I appreciate reading them and I try to reply to most, if not all, comments, especially when they are questions. I ask that you keep your comments polite, and if you're a spammer, don't bother because your comment will just be deleted! Also, if you're commenting on a post that's more than two weeks old, it will be moderated.