Wrap Up for Make Nine 2021 & Make Nine for 2022!
Hello everyone! I know it’s been a while but I’m (hopefully) back to posting regularly. Since it’s the first day of the new year, I thought I would update you on where I stand with my Make Nine plans for 2021 and give you my new Make Nine for 2022!
Wrap up for Make Nine 2021
2021 has been an… “interesting” year to say the least. My personal life has been a complete chaos full of big, big emotions, but in the end I think I’m a better person than the 2020 Nisan. I learned so much in 2021 in regards to making my own clothes: I’m feeling much happier with my trouser and button up shirt construction skills, I learned how to knit (!!!) and I started to develop a more grounded personal style. I fell in love with chartreuse, I wore fully handmade outfits (almost) exclusively throughout the year, and I worked on filling the gaps I had in my wardrobe. I sewed a bunch of garments for my partner as well, and seeing him enjoy them so much has just been the best! (Blog post about sewing for him coming soon-ish!)
Now, here’s my Make Nine 2021 blog post if you need a refresher on what my plans were for 2021. The year took several unexpected turns with two of our cats getting seriously ill, one of them sadly passing away in May, and me going back to working in the office full time, which dramatically changed my sewing plans. Overall, I only completed four of the items in my Make Nine list, but that’s alright! I made over 50 garments this year and I’m incredibly proud of many of them, and I see the Make Nine list as a gentle guide rather than a strict list of items I have to make.
Here are the items I have actually made from my list!
A 1940-50’s inspired wool jacket
This was one of the first projects I tackled at the beginning of the year. I used a lovely boiled / felted wool blend for the shell and some sherpa accents. I even wrote a blog post walking you through how I made it! I still love the finished result, but I have to say I haven’t gotten as much use out of it as I thought I would. I found it a little challenging to style last winter, but I’ll give it another go this winter :)
A white button up shirt with split side seams
Modern Sewer launched their collection of patterns this year and their Classic Shirt pattern was almost exactly what I was searching for this project! I didn’t end up making a classic white one, but I made a beige cotton one and a hand block printed black and white one that I love to bits. I cannot wait to make more Classic Shirts in the new year, as they are an absolute joy to sew and to wear!
[Link to Instagram post for the beige shirt] [Link to Instagram post for the printed shirt]
Some proper jeans
After a few failed attempts to get the Dawn Jeans pattern to work for me, I finally gave up on the pattern, feeling rather hopeless and frustrated. But then, then Modern Sewer came to the rescue once more with their Worker Trousers pattern! This pattern has a few classic jeans details, but it’s also very much its own thing with the lack of darts / yoke on the back and the lovely balloon shape of the legs. I made three pairs: a brown polyester wearable toile, a black denim one, and an off white cotton gabardine pair with added pleats. The black denim pair is just my dream pair of black mom jeans, so I’m happily ticking this off my list!
[Link to Instagram post for wearable toile] [Link to Instagram post for the black denim pair] [Link to Instagram post for the off white pleated pair]
A proper winter coat
Again, I ended up changing plans for this project, but I’m head over heels in love with the outcome. I used a stunning dark chartreuse wool and a modified trench coat pattern from Burda Style to make my dream coat, and it’s one of my favourite makes to date! This one also has a blog post attached to it, so you can find allll the details over here!
Now, for the items I didn’t end up making…
Part 2 & 3 of my journey into making a three piece suit: a waistcoat and a blazer jacket! and relatedly, A Suit From My ~ Dream Fabric ~
What can I say, I just haven’t been able to find the mental and physical energy to get through the fitting stage for a waistcoat or a blazer. I really want to do justice to these projects, so I’m guessing that I’ll be able to work on them after I finish my Master’s degree sometime this year.
Some loose fitting overalls!
I still want to make a pair of classic oversized overalls, but out of a stiffer, more hard wearing fabric. Maybe a black denim or heavy weight cotton twill? I have my eyes on the Harlene Overalls from Merchant & Mills but I’m anticipating some fitting challenges with it and therefore have been avoiding it :D
Something, anything inspired by Dries Van Noten’s Spring 2015 Menswear show!
Yeah, I just didn’t end up finding the perfect fabric for this one. It’ll happen one day!
The Silk Brocade Jacket
Hahahaha no, just no. This clearly wasn’t the year to tackle this beast of a project, and I made my peace with it by now :’) Maybe next year, or even the year after that!
Make Nine for 2022
Alright, now that you’re up to speed with my list from last year, here’s what I’m interested in making this year!
1 - Another Winter Coat
For this one, I’m planning on using the Martina Coat pattern from Vikisews. I have a camel coloured wool blend coating in my stash that I want to use for a wearable toile of this, but if that goes well, I would looove to make one out of this stunning pure wool coating I scored last winter. It’s a black and grey houndstooth check and I’m dying to make it into a coat!
2 - A Tailored Waistcoat
Now I don’t know if I’m a waistcoat person, but I just really want to make one and see if I’m into it! It’ll also be a great opportunity to practice some classic tailoring skills to prepare myself for my eventual blazer project. I’m not going to set making a blazer as a goal this year, simply because I feel like it’s going to be a rather turbulent year for me and I’m not sure if I’ll realistically have time to tackle it.
3 - A Half-and-Half Coat / Jacket
So I bought these two stunning wool herringbone tweeds last year with the intention to make them into a split coat or jacket. They are the exact same fabric, but one is in a brown colourway while the other is a dark grey hue. I have been dreaming of a piece like this for ages, so I was overjoyed to finally find the perfect fabric for it! I’m not sure what sort of silhouette I’ll go for, but I would love to finally use them this year.
4 - The Perfect Boxy Summer Shirt
I know I worked hard on perfecting the Gilbert Shirt from Helen’s Closet, but I’m still hungry for the ~ perfect ~ boxy summer shirt. I would love to self draft my dream version of this sort of silhouette, with a convertible collar, boxy sleeves and a cropped length. I have a cut of premium linen in an oatmeal colour in my stash (that I’ve been saving for over a year and a half at this point) that I want to use for something like this project.
5 - A Well Fitting Bodice Block
Me: “I’m gonna have a chaotic year so I don’t want to force myself to tackle big, involved projects with lots of fitting”
Also me: “I’m gonna make a bodice block for myself!!!”
Yeah, I don’t get myself either, but my upper half causes me so many fitting issues and I just want to get my bodice block done so I can better understand my body and use it as a reference point for all other top patterns. My upper bust is bigger than my full bust by 2 cm, I have very square and broad shoulders for my frame, and my armpit areas are doing something funny. Here’s to a 2022 where I figure my upper body out for good!
6 - Underwear
I am in desperate need for some new underwear, and I want to make them myself. For some reason I have a strange mental block about getting started on this much needed project, so I’m hoping putting it on the list will prompt me to get it done!
7 - A Colourwork Sweater
I finally learned how to knit in 2021 and I made lots of sweaters for myself! Knitting always seemed impossible to learn to me, so I feel extremely proud of myself for finally picking it up. There are still lots of specific techniques in the knitting world that intimidate my, colourwork being the major one. But here’s the thing: I was certain that I would never be able to knit socks until last week, and two days ago I finished my first hand knit sock and even enjoyed the process! So I feel like I’ll be able to teach myself how to knit with multiple colours at one point this year. I’m not sure what colours or pattern I’ll go for, but mark my words I’ll be wearing my colourwork sweater next year when I’m writing my Make Nine for 2023!
8 - Another Pair of Hollywood Waist Trousers
In August I made this pair of Hollywood waist trousers to commemorate the passing of my sweet boy Mylo. It was my first time making a pair like this, and I learned so much from the process. I wear them all the time with great pride, but there are a few areas I would like to change, so I’m hoping this will be the year I perfect my Hollywood Trousers. I have another vintage wool blend suiting in a dark grey that I set aside for this project, and I’m super excited to make them!
9 - A Casual Boilersuit
Ever since making my warm yellow Tencel Blanca Flight Suit I’ve been hungry for a more casual and easy to wear boiler suit. I have this incredible mid to heavy weight pure linen in my favourite colour (a rich golden olive) I found a few months ago that I think would be perfect for a piece like this. I’m not completely sure of the pattern yet, maybe I’ll make some changes to the Blanca Flight Suit, or maybe I’ll try a different pattern, like the Intrepid Boiler Suit from Alice & Co patterns. Or maybe I’ll just draft one from scratch, who knows!
Overall, I’m just excited to continue making my dream garments, to learn new skills, and to improve upon the skills I have gained over the last two years. Making my own clothes has been a truly life changing experience for me, and I can’t wait to see what 2022 will bring me! Happy new years everyone, hope you all have a lovely year full of sewing luck <3