As a craft-blogger, who reads a lot of craft bloggers, it seems as if we'll often make something, take some photos, put together a blog post, and it's on to the next project with the previous one never to be seen or mentioned again in blogland. We share how the project turned out fresh off the needles or sewing machine, but we rarely take a look back at how it fits into ours lives. (Me-made months being the major exception).
Part of the reason I started blogging is because I wanted to share my creations with a like-minded community of makers. The excitement of showing off what I just made. Heck - finished object is my 2nd most frequently used tag and accounts for 25% of my posts here.
But this year I've been thinking a lot about sustainability of fashion in general and of my own closet in particular. Emma's post on wardrobe metabolism and the life cycle of clothes was one that really hit the nail on the head for me. One item in particular that should out from that piece was bullet #3 - "Keep tabs out what works & what doesn’t."
This isn't about reviewing the pattern, but the project. If you see someone (or multiple someones) making a the same pattern multiple times, you can get the hint that it's a keeper. But individual projects can vary so much, even out of the same pattern. I'm certainly guilty of getting caught up in shininess of a newly-completed project only to find out weeks, or months down the road that it just doesn't work - the fit was off, the fabric was a poor match, it just doesn't fit my lifestyle anymore (or never did). Or perhaps I didn't care for it at first when I was being over-judgmental on my construction technique at the time, but I now wear it at least once a week.
So in an attempt to show how my projects have stood the test of time and/or to learn from the mistakes of my yesterdays, I'm going to better document the role of handmade items in my life in two-ways:
- I'll tag the post anytime something I made appears in a post, even if it isn't new. For my clothes, it's me-made; for LMC's stuff, mama-made; and for items I made for Mr. Cleaver, miz-made.
- The Tried and True Review, where I'll look back at old project and discuss how it's held up since I made it, both successes and closet rejects.
First up?
Made: August 2008, the last thing I made in Chicago, before I moved to Maine. Almost six years ago!
Update: I still wear this - actually, I'm wearing it today. I wear it 2-3 times in a month in the summer then retire it for the cooler weather.
Fit: It was a relaxed fit to begin with, so this one had held up when weight changes pushed other shirts aside.
Style: It's cute, without being overly cutesy. It's a little bit retro with the polka dots and it looks nice enough for work. I need some more similar things in my closet.
Materials: For $2 fabric from a garage sale, this has held up surprisingly well. It's super-duper lightweight cotton, so I have to wear a camisole underneath, but it's great for summer. I do have to iron it after washing though.
Construction: In truth, this is not the greatest sewing job, but it hasn't effected it's wearability. The collar stand and bias binding on the sleeves were both new techniques to me at the time and are rather sloppy in places. I could still use work on collar stands. There are also multiple lines of stitching along the ruffle on one side where I had some trouble in attaching it. But it's all white on white, so unless you're unreasonably close, you wouldn't notice.
Lesson(s) Learned: Mistakes are most obvious to the maker and don't mean that it isn't still usable
Final Verdict: It's a keeper, and I'd make the whole thing over again, but better this time.
