I have a growing pile of sewing patterns, books, and fabrics in my sewing queue. Some patterns have been sitting in my stash for a few years while others I got over the past year. But what they all have in common is that I haven’t made them yet. And this is partly why I haven’t made a Make Nine list since 2018. LOL Frankly, I didn’t want to make a list and then feel pressure to make them or feel bad that I never got around to making them by the end of the year.
I had a productive year in 2018 and actually did a follow-up blog post in March 2018 showing the progress I’d made. Wow. My really sewing dropped off when I started a new job in the summer of 2019. And then in 2020, the pandemic hit and my job became extremely busy. So it was a year of even less sewing. But a few months into lockdown in the Bay Area, took stock of my patterns and fabric. I thought, “Hmmmm, I have this pattern but no fabric for it or not enough yardage to make it.”
Fabrics in my stash
Last year I organized some of my fabric into neater stacks, following the great advice from Kelli of True Bias in her post Fabric Stash Organization. Her fabric is neatly stored in a bookcase. I wish I had an empty bookcase for my fabric but all our bookcases — except for one shelf of fabric — are filled with books. The rest of my fabric is in bags and bins.
I discovered that I had a lot of denim, red ponte, red prints, red wool crepe, black ponte, black-and-white prints, and other various prints. And that’s when I also realized that a lot of the patterns I wanted to make required more yardage. My cuts of denim were 1.5 or 2 yards (~1.4 m or 1.8 m) at most and the dress, skirt, and jacket patterns needed more fabric.
Patterns in my sewing queue
Last October, I wrote a blog post about sewing patterns in my queue. I still haven’t made those patterns but they are still in the sewing queue!
Here are the other patterns in my current queue, in no particular order, starting with the two that I already traced: the Array Top by Papercut Patterns and the Neige Sweatshirt by Deer and Doe. I got both patterns from Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley.
I made the Array Top in a purple rayon with elastic at the wrists. Now I want to make a tunic-length version with flared sleeves with this lovely teal Nani IRO double gauze.
I also have some lucious teal French terry to make the Neige — both fabrics from Stonemountain (sorry, no longer in stock last I checked). The sleeves and the funnel neck of version A of the Neige got my attention. Spring weather so far has not been very hot
I also got some fun French terry from Marcy Tilton Fabrics, which she called White Maze. So I splurged because she was having a sale and I was thinking of making a second Neige from this fabric.
But then I recently got a newsletter from Peggy of Sew House Seven with a link to a free pattern – the Elemental Pencil Skirt PDF — for her newsletter subscribers. And guess what? She said her favorite fabric for this skirt is a bamboo French terry! So now I think I’m going to make this skirt from the White Maze fabric. I don’t know the fiber content of this black-and-white fabric. It’s sold out on Marcy Tilton’s website and the order info only says French terry, nothing else.
I think it will make a fun pencil skirt. Peggy describes it as a “slim, high waist pencil skirt with a hidden elastic waistband designed for knit fabrics with at least 50% horizontal stretch.” This will definitely be a comfy skirt to wear. What’s more comfy than French terry?
Jalie patterns
When I was perusing the sewing patterns on Stonemountain’s website, I discovered a couple of Jalie patterns I had not seen before, the Gisèle Round Neck Blouse for lightweight wovens, and the Reneé Ponte Pants. Jalie is a Canadian company that makes a lot of patterns for knit fabrics — and plenty of sportswear as well as patterns for gymnastics and figure skating apparel. I didn’t realize they had any patterns for wovens so I decided to get the Gisèle and some lovely blue sateen chambray.
I have quite a few yards of black ponte that I set aside for pants a while ago. Some of it was deadstock from Stonemountain that I got a couple of years ago, well before the pandemic. It has a nice weight to it – perfect for pants.
I’ve also had Jalie’s Drop Pocket Cardigan in my stash forever but have not made it. I got it because I had seen other sewists versions of it a long time ago. However, back then I didn’t have much experience with knit fabrics so I was hesitant about making it and choosing fabric with the right amount of stretch. But I’ve sewn a lot of knits since then so not problem now!
When I have knit fabric scraps, I now make underwear. I got the Julia Camisole, Bralette and Panties pattern a while ago. I’ve cut the pattern pieces for panties and a bralette. So far I’ve only made one pair of panties. Underwear isn’t very exciting so I haven’t made more yet. But they are in the sewing queue!
Onward!
I’m sure you adjust your queue often — especially when you see a new pattern. I know I get distracted whenever I see something new. My sewing time and energy is limited these day because of a busy job. I used to feel bad that I hadn’t made anything in a while. But that’s certainly not helpful so I just sew when I can. Any sewing feels like progress! So here’s to progress. 🙂
I love your telling of the 30 yard challenge. I know the challenge is over, but I am inspired to do a personal challenge because I have a huge stash! Thanks!
The challenge is ongoing! I’m still working my way to 30 yards. I’ve committed to sewing the projects that have been in my queue for a while. Good luch with your challenge! You can always restart it after each 30 yards.