Welcome to Year Two of My Sewing Journey

A little over a year ago, I started sewing my clothes.  I was so new and inexperienced that I took a pattern piece that was meant for the fold, cut it on the fold, and then proceeded to cut straight down the fold.  That was Thanksgiving weekend 2017.  Cut to December 2018 and I have made a LOT of garments including:

2 kimonos (sewhere.com)
8 knit tops (burda, colette, self-drafted)
3 fly front pants (burda)
4 side zip cigarette pants (colette)
4 woven tops (colette, true bias, made by rae)
2 skirts (craftsy class, vogue)
1 button down shirt (itch to stitch)
1 tallis and three tallis bags (self-drafted)
1 scarf (self-drafted)
1 swimsuit!!! (rad patterns)
5 racerback tanks and tank dresses (self-drafted)
1 Ogden cami maxi-dress (true bias)
1 fancy-ish dress (vogue)
1 pair of jammies (patterns 4 pirates)
1 pair of knit pants (vogue)
2 Morris blazers (grainline studios)
and 1 pair of Ginger jeans, rivets and all.

(how many is that? I think over 40.)

Some of these projects came out better than others, but there are only about two pieces that I don't wear in regular rotation.

When I started this journey, I didn't even know what a serger was! And while things aren't always perfect, I have made welt pockets and sewed fly front zippers.  So as I embark on year 2, I have decided to take on some new challenges.  I still want to make my own swimsuits and pants, but I really want to learn some tailoring techniques.

I am an absolute sucker for menswear on women.  Just look at these amazing badass women starting in the 30s...

You just cannot mess with any of these women.  And then there is the master mistress of menswear: Victoria Beckham.

I mean, really.  Is there a better look?  Now, I suppose I have to be honest with myself or whatever and accept that I am only 5 feet tall and nowhere near that thin.  I will never be tall or svelte.  Does that mean that I cannot rock some well-tailored duds?  Hell no! Not if I can sew up some properly proportioned well-tailored decently-tailored garments that fit my body well.

This blog is going to focus on my journey into making tailored menswear for a short, curvy woman.