2022 Dressmaking Recap

Now that all my 2022 projects have been blogged about, it's time to do my yearly round-up of the garments I made this past year. I like to do this each year to see everything in one place, and evaluate what I made. 

   

 

1950s teal dress, 1940s Christmas dress

 

I made a number of new patterns, as usual...this one I made twice in a row!

1950s Easter dress, gray cherry house dress version

 

I think perhaps this year I was more diverse with color choices than ever before. Of course I still like blue, but for once my sewing for the year is NOT predominately blue! :-) For one thing, I rediscovered purple. (And incidentally, sewed two of my favorite pieces. The purple house dress gets worn pretty constantly.)

1950s daisy dress 

 late 1930s purple dress

 

I made a fair amount of separates this year, including a couple of mix-and-match outfits, which was one of my sewing goals for 2022. Both these two outfits were looooong on my sewing inspiration list from vintage photos, and I'm happy to finally make them a reality this past year.

  

1950s gingham 3-piece

 

     

1930s dress and jacket set

 

I made a couple of pinafore aprons for the first time. The yellow one was a shop sample for my new vintage-dressmaking-supply shop The Timely Tailor, and I love how it turned out!

   

1940s pinafore mother-daughter duo 

shop sample for this kit

 

Another color that is less common for me, which appeared more than once this year in my wardrobe, is brown. 

1940s 2-piece, 1940s print house dress

 

And to my surprise, also a little pink!

1940s pink dress

1950s polka dot blouse

 

I used some long-stashed patterns out of my collection, as well as a few new arrivals...just sewing what I wanted to. A few of them didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but there are also some definite successes and favorites added to my closet - including these two remakes of patterns I had first sewn many years ago.

early '50s tiered dress, 1940s house dress

 

Most projects were fairly straightforward. Once in a while I had a troublesome one, or ran into complications I hadn't foreseen, like the novelty 1950s skirt. But it still turned out well in the end, thankfully! I didn't do as many details as last year...just a little top stitching and adding lace occasionally, but I did try several new techniques, like decorative cutouts and lace-and-bead appliqué.

1950s novelty skirt, late '50s leaf dress

 

No formal gowns this year...and I think not quite as much variation in silhouette as I sometimes achieve. But I also have found what I like to wear in this stage of my life, so that influences my pattern choices as well. Also I think every piece I sewed this year was made with cotton...mostly modern, a few vintage pieces. No wool or rayon this year at all. But it's fun to see the variety that just plain old quilting cotton can still create.

1950s blouse with vintage fabric 

1940s novelty jacket blouse

 

Of course, I made a few baby dresses this year as well, for my small daughters.

 

I am glad to be able to craft my own wardrobe. Even when something doesn't turn out right, it's still a good chance to learn and build my skills for the future. And it's always a satisfying feeling to turn a flat piece of fabric with so much possibility, into something stylish and wearable. That burn to create is what keeps me pretty constantly sewing, whether it's garments or quilts. 

1930s green dress, 1950s dotted dress

 

Final count for the year...

3 1930s outfits

9 1940s

11 1950s

and 4 baby/girl dresses.

1930s separates

 

Thanks for following along on my vintage sewing adventures! I'm looking forward to what 2023 will bring.

~Kristen

Comments

[Trish S]

I love all your dresses. They are so accurate to the times,the prints are spot on. And they’re so very cheerful too! I remember my grandmother wearing clothes like these. Thanks for reacquainting me with so many styles. Can I ask, did you get them all from vintage patterns? And where did you source the lovely fabrics. Thanks for blogging such a great round up.

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Hi Trish - Thank you! Yes, all of these except for one apron were made from my collection of vintage patterns. The fabric is almost all regular quilting cotton that you could find online or in a quilt shop, if you know how to look for vintage-style prints. I generally link or mention the details in each blog post.