Top Five Makes of 2025

These are my top five makes for this year.  

1.  Pullover wool and cashmere dress.  I revisited out-of-print (OOP) Butterick 6784 this past summer and cut out a few versions of this Katherine Tilton's pattern.  This one is my favourite one from the bunch, it's all about the beautiful suiting fabric that made the cut.  

2.  This is a saddle sock cover for a part of the brace that was causing some discomfort.  Sometimes, it's practical simple sewing projects that brings happiness and some relief.  

3.  This skirt used to be a dress that shrunk.  The merino wool fabric actually has a felted texture to it now and I was lucky enough to make it into a skirt.  Sometimes, it's the fabric that matures into something more beautiful than what it was originally.  

4.  This sweater was made with Style Arc's Elita pattern and a beautiful merino wool.  The fabric is beautiful, light and warm.  

5.  Oh my goodness, this one is my absolute favourite make of 2025.  It's so comfortable.  I have plans to revisit this Issey Miyake pattern, OOP Vogue 2334, in the new year and make another one.  This version is make in a lightweight sweatshirt fleece and it cozy.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Merino Wool Sweater: Elita Top / Jacket by Style Arc

A few months ago I made the Style Arc's Elita Designer Top / Jacket in a boiled wool.  And since then I've want to sew a sweater knit version.  Finally, it's done after a few tweaks to the pattern.  

1. The hemlines were shortened; two inches on the bodice and two and a half inches on the sleeve length.  
2. The front curve near the bustline was widened
3. An addition of width at the back to provide more ease. 
4. The edges were finished with the machine roll hem feature on my serger.   
5. The ties were left off, I'll style it with a brooch instead.  

The sleeves are still a little long but I don't mind rolling it up once.  The pattern is lovely it's a keeper.  I like how it fits and I'll be able to wear this over the back brace if need be.  

The fabric makes this top.  It is made in a merino wool knit, a beautiful previously owned fabric that I picked up at Winnipeg Sews.  I feel very lucky to have found it.  And I will admit that it lingered in my own stash for quite some time because I was afraid to cut into it.  I was also afraid about shrinkage when it came to pretreating the fabric.  

But I decided that I have been holding onto the fabric for far too long.  I want them to shrink before cutting, not later.  I threw the burgundy colour merino wool jersey in the washing machine on the delicate cycle and used Woolite.  Afterwards it went in the dryer, again in the delicate cycle while I kept my fingers crossed.  I know risky, right?  

The fabric shrank.  I started out with 2.2 metres and in the end there was 2.06 metres.  It also shrank in the width but it came out looking beautiful.  And thankfully even with the shrinkage, I was able to cut out this project.  

The beige wool sweater knit received the same treatment but I didn't lose any length much to my surprise.  I still have to decide on the project.  

So the question, do you pre-treat your fabrics?  

Sewing IS Political

This project is another Canadian 🍁 made and tariff free make.  The Style Arc pattern originates from Australia.  The fabric was found locally at Winnipeg Sews, a now closed fabric outlet.  The threads were from the stash.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  None.

Fabric:  2 metres

Pattern:  Style Arc's Elita Top / Jacket

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, fabric scissors, tailor's chalk, measuring tape, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, screwdriver, tweezers, canned air, Janome 2000D AirThread Serger, threads, tailor's ham, pressing sleeve, iron, ironing board, measuring gauge, good tunes and tea.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

September in Review

Sewing, Alterations and Mending

Dresses:  Butterick 6784 and Style Arc Top / Jacket

There was sewing this month!  Woohoo!  This was the best way to celebrate National Sewing Month.  All of these were previously cut and ready to sew.  I just needed to change the thread on the machines.  That made it easy.  

I have been going through my wardrobe to reassess what needs to be replaced, altered or recreated into something new.  After sewing the latest version of Butterick 6784, I was reminiscing about the first dress I made with that suiting fabric.  That led to an alteration project, this shirt dress had two and a half inches removed from the hem before taking it to the ironing board and sewing machines for re-hemming. 

In mending news, these sweatpants needed some reinforcement at the centre back seam.  I discover most repairs while ironing clothes. Maybe that is why I'm not a fan of ironing?  But I digress.  It was a straight forward easy fix.  

Stash busting

This month I stashed busted seven metres of fabric, 0.4 metres of Knit 'N Stable tape, six spools of thread, two sewing labels and used one new-to-me pattern.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Fall Sewing: The Elita Designer Jacket / Top

Cooler temperatures arrived this week as a reminder that autumn will soon be here.  So, when it came to picking the next project from my cut pile, the Elita Designer Top stood out.  This was a quick and easy make and I was able to sew this in an afternoon.  

This is my first Style Arc pattern and it turned out well.  I found this pattern to be well drafted and fun project.  If I were to struggle to find something to complain about it would be the text size of the instructions.  Without glasses, it's a complete blur!  A magnifying glass might come in handy if this weren't an easy to construct garment.  

I decided to omit the ties because I wasn't certain about the fit and if the placement would be good for my petite stature.  I do like how this wears with a brooch and am glad I left off the ties.  I did not do any adjustments to the pattern when I cut it out.  As you can see, I could shorten the sleeve length although I am not bothered by the rolled sleeves.   And maybe the hem length as well, we'll see.  The edges are left raw but I might go back and finish it with the rolled hem feature on my serger.  I didn't top-stitch anywhere on this project.  Instead, I used my clapper and pressed open the seam allowances.  

The fabric suggestions for the Elita Designer Top are ponte, boiled wool and knit jersey.  The fabric used on this project is a boiled wool.  It was pre-treated with a wet towel in the dryer method.  Hopefully that will take care of any shrinkage.  

Sewing IS Political

This is the latest Canadian 🍁 made and tariff free sewing project.  No equipment, supplies or notions used to create this jacket contributed to the convicted felon's economy.  The fabric was an end-of-the-season find last year from Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads are Gütermann threads.  The fabric scissors used to cut out this project are Merchant and Mills, an United Kingdom company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Raw

Fabric:  2 metres

Pattern:  Elita Designer Top

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting tables, fabric scissors, paper scissors, assorted heavy objects used as pattern weights, tailor's chalk, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, iron, ironing board and clapper.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

March in Review

Sewing, Alterations and Mending

Left to Right:  Cotton Trapeze Dress, Merchant and Mill's; wool plaid scarf, no pattern used.  

March was a slow month at the sewing machine.  The scarf was just a project that I made to use up the last bit of yardage from this skirt project.  I've surprised myself with how often I've reached for this scarf as the weather warmed up and it worked well with this coat.  The dress has a sixties vibe that I adore.  I took it out for a spin pairing it with a turtleneck sweater and it's so comfortable.  This may become my go-to summer dress.  Although, I do like my Eva dresses and they will likely not be replaced.  

And there was a wee bit of mending to a piece of furniture that needed some care.  These sweatpants have a tiny hole in the left back side that needs to be closed.  I plan to mend them today.  Otherwise things were quiet in the workspace. 

Stash busting

This month 2.4 metres of fabric and two spools of thread were used from the stash.  I did pick up 2 metres of fabric this month.  And I quickly regretted the purchase even though it was on sale.  

It's a man-made knit with a metre long sticky tape residue at the centre fold and right side of the fabric. It's not the kind of fabric I go for but it was a good deal and I thought that I could use it as a toile fabric.  I didn't realize it was damaged by the tape residue when I took it to the cutting table and the sales clerk did not point it out when she measured it.  If I had noticed this, I wouldn't have picked it up.  I should have known, the sale price was too good to be true.  Thankfully, after three tumbles in the wash and a heck of a lot Shout stain remover, the tape residue is no longer noticeable.  But I digress.  

When the addition of toile fabric is considered, I didn't do much stash busting this month.  And there were some new patterns added to the stash.  Three new patterns from The Assembly Line (The Tulip and Balloon skirts and the Puff sleeve top) and a new Style Arc pattern to test out with the above fabric.  I hope to get to those projects soon.  Hopefully, April will be a more productive month.  

Stand Strong, Elbows Up and Keep Sewing!