Top Five Makes of 2025

These are my top five makes for this year.  

1.  Pullover wool and cashmere dress.  I revisited out-of-print (OOP) Butterick 6784 this past summer and cut out a few versions of this Katherine Tilton's pattern.  This one is my favourite one from the bunch, it's all about the beautiful suiting fabric that made the cut.  

2.  This is a saddle sock cover for a part of the brace that was causing some discomfort.  Sometimes, it's practical simple sewing projects that brings happiness and some relief.  

3.  This skirt used to be a dress that shrunk.  The merino wool fabric actually has a felted texture to it now and I was lucky enough to make it into a skirt.  Sometimes, it's the fabric that matures into something more beautiful than what it was originally.  

4.  This sweater was made with Style Arc's Elita pattern and a beautiful merino wool.  The fabric is beautiful, light and warm.  

5.  Oh my goodness, this one is my absolute favourite make of 2025.  It's so comfortable.  I have plans to revisit this Issey Miyake pattern, OOP Vogue 2334, in the new year and make another one.  This version is make in a lightweight sweatshirt fleece and it cozy.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Happy Holidays!

 

I just want to take a moment to wish you a Merry Christmas this holiday season.  May it be filled with peace, joy and kindness.  Happy holidays!  

Gift Sewing: OOP McCall's 7367

Yes, one more pair of baby sweatpants.  The first one fits, these are for when they are out-grown.  Same French terry fabric and out-of-print and vintage McCall's 7367 pattern, just two sizes bigger than the ones made yesterday.  

Another Canadian made and tariff free sewing project.  Exactly as yesterday's project.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  0.60 metres

Elastic:  0.70 metres

Pattern:  OOP McCall's 7367, circa 1994

Label:  1--KATM "You are loved" label

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, pins, wrist pin cushion, measuring tape, measuring gauge, iron, ironing board, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, thread clippers and tea.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Gift Sewing: Baby Sweatpants / OOP McCall's 7367

Oh my goodness, these are so cute but it's hard to imagine that they will fit a wee little one.  They are so tiny.  Or maybe that is just my perception coming off sewing a pair of adult size pants.   

These are the pants from out-of-print (OOP) and vintage McCall's 7367, an infants layette pattern from 1994.  Super easy to sew, even a sleep deprived parent can whip these up while the baby is sleeping.  Or maybe sew them before the baby arrives.  😉  There are no side seams, and only two pattern pieces.  The only challenging part was sewing those tiny little leg bands.  I am thankful for the stretch of the fabric which made it a manageable task.  The fabric is a cotton French terry.  

I was disappointed when I found that my original copy of this pattern contained a disappearing pants pattern.  Half of the pattern did not print.  I'm really thankful for a second copy that I recently purchased after I discovered I lost a pattern piece for the onesie.  Once all of that was sorted out, this was a quick project to cut and sew.  I spent more time changing the threads on the sewing machine and serger.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free sewing project.  Everything needed to sew these pants were found in the stash.  The fabric came from Marshall Fabrics, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The patterns are printed in the U.S.A. but I'm happy to report they were not tariffed items nor did they contribute to the convicted felon's economy.  The second pattern that I picked up earlier this year came from a Canadian reseller.  The elastic used is a Tailor brand, an American company.  It is a product that was made in China and has been in the stash prior to the convicted felon's global tariff war.  The label is from KATM, an Australian company.  The Gütermann threads were made in Greece and were purchased at Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The fabric scissors are Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightning bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  0.5 metres

Elastic:  0.45 metres

Pattern:  OOP McCall's 7367, circa 1994

Label:  1--KATM "made with love" label

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, black marker, measuring tape, measuring gauge, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, thread clippers, seam ripper, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, iron, ironing board, pins, pin cushion and tea.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Wool Pants: Butterick 6717

This pair of pull-on wool pants, Butterick 6717, has pockets!  

These are the first pair I've made with this pattern that do have pockets.  There are eight pairs of pocket-less pants previously made.  I left them off the previously made pairs.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's because that pocket pattern piece looked small but they don't feel that way when I wear these pants.  

Butterick 6717 is a keeper.  I do have a hard copy of this pattern but it's no longer available for sale on the Simplicity website.  It is, however, available in PDF format here.  I made these in a size large (16-18) with no changes to the pattern other than shortening the leg length one and a half inches.  The pants have a one and a half inch blind hem.  They were easy to sew and the pants are comfortable.  

The fabric is a charcoal coloured British wool fabric that has been hiding in the stash for many years.  It was pre-treated prior to hitting the cutting table.  I do have enough fabric to sew another pair of pants.

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  Everything used to make these pants were found in the stash.  The fabric came from Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The Butterick pattern, circa 2019, was made in the U.S.A. prior to the start of the convicted felon's global tariff war and did not contribute his economy.  It was purchased as a discounted pattern from Fabricland.  The scissors used to cut this project are Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The sewing machine needle was replaced with a Schmetz needle, a German company and was purchased at Fabricland.  The threads used were Gütermann Threads from Germany.  The label used is from KATM, and Australian company.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2 metres

Interfacing:  0.70 metres (fusible)

Elastic:  1 metre

Pattern:  Butterick 6717, circa 2019 (printed copy now out-of-print)

Label:  1--"2025" KATM 

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, wrist pin cushion, measuring tapes, measuring gauge, fabric scissors, tailor's chalk, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, blind hem foot, screwdriver, thread clippers, threads, Jean-a-ma-jig, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, seam ripper, ironing board, iron and tea.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day

Can you believe that it's six days before Christmas?  SIX!!!  That's if you're celebrating in the traditional or commercial sense of the holiday.  What about ugly Christmas Sweater day?  Is this part of your holiday tradition and if so, are you donning your ugly Christmas sweater today?  

Monday's Mending Pile

There has been some work done on the mending pile.  Let's see, 

This yellow cashmere wool scarf required some attention with a fabric shaver to remove the pilling that has happened over the past few years.  And it was during this time that a small hole was discovered near the hem.  A little hand stitching with some silk thread and it is ready for another winter.  

The first Style Arc Elita Designer jacket / top that I made was on the mending pile for some adjustments.  I really like the length on the second version and this one just needed to have some length cut off from the bodice and sleeves.  I cut two inches off the bodice hem.  I chicken out of cutting the sleeve length and decided to leave them rolled up.  Now that the hem length is fixed, I hope to get some more wear out of it.  

The Daughter Judy's Henry skirt is a recent make and would be perfect for these colder temperatures but it's too big.  I didn't get the sizing right when I made this one.  It was in the mending pile to see if adjusting the hook and / or button might fix the issue.  But in the end, I decided to donate this skirt.  If I revisit this pattern, I will have to remember to go down a size or two.  

The oversized sweatshirt I recently made has a little hole that is starting to show.  I know!, it's not even a week old.  Just a couple of stitches were needed to address that issue.  I wonder if it could be the age of the fabric that led to the hole development?  It was made with a piece of fabric that did have several flaws but I thought I was careful with my cutting to avoid those.  Hmmm, hopefully this will be the one and only.  

Well, that's all that I managed to knock off the mending pile this week.  

Tools and supplies:  hand sewing needle, threads, thimble, fabric scissors, thread clippers, Fray Check, fabric shaver, seam ripper, measuring tape and tea.    

Stand strong, elbows up and keep mending.