I thought this post might be hard to write – how can I chose favourites from the 50+ projects I’ve made this year? But once I scrolled through my Flickr stream, it was clear which garments made my heart sing!
1. Washington Dress in Black Scribbles
I made this dress in January, and it gets a lot of wear in winter. When I asked my husband what he thought stood out in my sewing this year, he mentioned black and white prints, and he’s definitely right. They are basic but not boring, and I like that I can pair black and white prints with pink, purple, red or turquoise as the mood strikes! (Or other colours, of course, but those are always the shades I choose!) Other favourite graphic black and white prints I’ve sewn this year include my Jorna dress and my t-shirt trials!
Against all odds, this is my power outfit. I always wear it with these boots, and I always stride a little more confidently when I wear it! Why? It’s a t-shirt with a ruffle attached. But somehow the skirt swings satisfyingly, and it’s fitted but not tight in a way that works with my curves. I like it so much that I just sewed another one in leopard print!
This might be my favourite dress of the year. I love the print, love the mid-weight rayon, love the pattern (Comino Cap bodice and Sally Jumpsuit skirt)… but most of all, I feel like a babe when I wear it. What more could I ask for?
This fabric is nuts, and that’s why this dress makes the top 5! It’s a bold silhouette in a bold fabric, and I feel totally me when I wear it. If someone asked me why I sew, I’d say to make clothes like this… and if someone asked me how sewing has changed my life, I’d say it’s given me the confidence to stand out!
I just feel great every time I wear this dress. I do a lot of pattern hacking, and it’s always a bit hit-or-miss… but this one is a hit all the way!
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Well, it’s official: All my Top 5 garments are knit dresses!!!! 3 are Cashmerette, and 2 use parts of the Comino Cap dress… Could I be any more predictable? Just to prove I DO, wear pants and tops, I’ll give a shout out to two other favourite wardrobe essentials: my Cone Mills Ginger jeans, which really don’t stretch out even after more then 5 wears, and my enduring love for long cardigans, which are my favourite way to layers pants or a dress.
Crafting A Rainbow 
Gillian, your birthday dress…. STILL GORGEOUS! And the black scribbles Washington dress is just amazing on you.
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Thank you!! It’s funny how some outfits become better than the sum of their parts!
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I love your fabric choices! the groove dress is my favorite – that ITY is breathtaking. You are the ‘knit’ dress queen.
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Knit dresses really are my happy place! Sewing tees or pants, sure, fine, but dresses get me excited! 🙂
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All of these are so lovely! Thanks for sharing – you are an inspiration!
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Aww, thank you! I feel lucky to have a wardrobe I love!
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It’s so funny, we both love knits, but you love dresses and I only wear them for church and formal occasions!
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I don’t know if I wore many dresses before sewing… but now they are the easiest way to look professional for work while in maximum comfort! Why do you think they don’t appeal to you?
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They always seem a bit fussy to me, but mostly they’re cold. I am never warm enough to wear a dress comfortably unless it’s really hot in mid-July or August. Then pants are too constricting, but with my job at the library I couldn’t wear shorts, so dresses and skirts it was. Also I think the styles I like, and my preference to wear tights make wearing dresses more work than it should be. I need a slip, then I need that not to show, and then I need my tights to stay up…
Mostly, though, they’re not warm.
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You have a serious collection of knock-outs here! Way to go Gillian! All of those fit beautifully, and seem to work really well with you in terms of color and print. Yey!
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Thank you! I’ve had fun this year sewing with some bolder prints, and I”m loving it! (Not that my tastes were every shy… 😉
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Great collection of dresses here! I especially love the birthday dress – so pretty!!
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Thank you! Looking at that picture is making me wish it was still summer temperatures!
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These are all terrific choices!
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Thank you! ❤
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All of these make me want to raid your wardrobe 😉 Sadly I don’t really have any great outfits this year, just a few basic ones to fill my empty wardrobe (that babyweight is holding on for dear life). But now that I’ve got my based covered I can make amazing clothes next year! And I’m going to stop caring about the baby weight!
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You’ve made cute clothes this year, for yourself and the girls! And managed going back to work part time with two kids… so be nice to yourself! 🙂
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I love your birthday dress. It looks wonderful.
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Thank you! ❤
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Number 5 is my FAV! Hands down! You look absolutely gorgeous!
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Thank you! ❤
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You are the knit queen, I love all your outfits, you look amazing and your photos are so good.
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Thank you! Doing the Better Picture Project last year really helped improve my photos, and I enjoy taking pics so much more now!
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Your Sallie Jumpsuit is one of my favourites. Black & white prints are really appealing to me, too.
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I do love the Sallie! It feels more glamorous than a jersey jumpsuit has any right to feel! 🙂
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You tried some great new silhouettes this year! The ruffle dress and birthday dress are my two favorites.
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You had me with number one!! Your eye for fabrics is evident! Great year’s work!
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All of those look so you! You really do have such a great eye for prints.
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I love the new look of your blog, by the way. You’ve done a great job this year. I think my favorite piece is actually that leather bag. It looks very luxe. I’d like to learn how to make leather bags myself.
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Please disregard my previous comment. That comment is from Fifty Two Fancie’s comment page. I always write out my comments on a notepad before I copy and paste so that I don’t forget anything I wanted to say. Ooops. Here’s what I had to say about your roundup:
50+ projects? Hot damn, girl! Good for you! I agree with you on your #1 pick: the Comino dress. You look cool as fuck in it. Great roundup. Here’s to 2017!
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You’ve made some corkers this year. I love the prints you’ve used.
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All of those look great, I especially love your birthday dress! Such a cool fabric!
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