sewing plans: winter 2018/19

Alright, it's winter! Everything's cold! I am nowhere near as enthused about this as I sound!

I am very glad to be done with autumn, and glad to be done with my autumn plan, which I kept thinking I wasn't doing very well with but actually got almost completely finished. The only exception was the loungewear outfit, because I put something on my list without having either the fabric or the patterns and I KNOW that never works. The most recent McCalls collection has a pattern that I think might work, so I might try and do that over the next few months if I have time.

On to my winter plans. I'm still not back to my normal rate of productivity, so I've planned fewer things to give me a greater chance of getting them all done. I'm intending to make more fancy things than usual, and I've ended up with an accidental green and black theme, so that's what we're running with.

Christmas presents

A hooded scarf

A couple of weeks ago I made this for myself:

It's the Named Clothing Nuna scarf, and I made it because I keep getting caught in rain that's not heavy enough for an umbrella but still plays havoc with my hair. Two days after I finished it my parents came up to visit and Mum requested I make one for her as well. She wants a dark neutral colour and longer scarf ends, so I need to work out how best to do that - either cut on the cross-grain or sewing an extra piece on.

Pyjama bottoms

Unless I'm struck by a bolt of inspiration, all three of the men I buy Christmas presents for will be getting pyjama bottoms this year. Patrick will get paisley velvet or the nearest equivalent I can find, Dad will get something reasonably tasteful and my little brother will get (at his specific request) the absolute ugliest and most ridiculous print I can find. 

Fancy stuff

A stretch velvet Magnolia dress

First things first, my Christmas dress. We've decided to do Christmas alone this year, and my extra-fancy boyfriend has booked us an extra-fancy Christmas lunch. In France, because why not. I feel this is reason enough to respond with OTT fanciness of my own, so I'm going to make an emerald green velvet version of the Deer&Doe Magnolia (with a few alterations to accommodate the stretch fabric, such as leaving the zip out and swapping out the sleeves for the Givre sleeves). I fully intend to wear this to Christmas lunch despite the fact that everyone else in the restaurant will probably be wearing sensible trousers. I also intend to go for a stroll along the beach in it afterwards, if I can work out what shoes are in the middle of the long dress/beach/cold Venn diagram.

A black Trina dress

I made my first experimental Trina more than two years ago, with the full intention of making it into a proper dress if I liked it. I did like it, but then I couldn't picture what I would want the proper version to look like. Recently I've been thinking about cocktail dresses and a black Trina would do the job for that quite nicely. I'm either looking for a fabric with a bit of texture or a plain fabric plus a really nice gold trim. How easy that will be to find I'm not sure.

A black eveningwear jumpsuit

This was one of my dream projects for this year and I thought it wasn't going to happen. There seemed to be no such thing out there as a fancy jumpsuit pattern that wasn't also backless or halterneck or something else precluding normal undergarments, and I just don't have time for that. However, right at the end of the year, Papercut Patterns released the Sierra jumpsuit. They've styled it very casually, but made up in plain black I think it could be just the thing I'm looking for.

Practical stuff

A denim mini skirt

So I have never used or even considered a Tilly and the Buttons pattern before because they all seem super basic for the price (or extremely not for my body type), but I have just bought the Ness skirt. Sure, it's a very basic idea, but have I been able to find it in the eighteen months I've been looking for this exact thing? No, I have not. I've made several attempts at a denim skirt, all of which I've hated too much to even photograph, so I'm hoping this will be the one.

A black Nettie bodysuit

I've been going back and forth on this pattern forever and I think now is the time. A combination of small waist, large high hip and genetic scruffiness means that my tops often ride up over the course of the day and leave unexpected patches of exposed skin, which is super distracting and contributes fairly heavily to me feeling uncomfortable with what I'm wearing. I've never worn a bodysuit in my life, but it might be the answer to a long-standing problem and I'm going to give it a go.

A pair of Palisades trousers

I really liked two out of six of Papercut's new collection, and this is the other. I've tended to steer clear of elastic waist trousers but I think these have enough design to them that I could get away with it. I went to my first London Stitchers' Meetup last month (was fun, would recommend) and came away with almost four metres of olive green fabric that I can't quite identify but looks very much like trouser fabric to me, and I'm going to use half of it to try this pattern.

A pair of M7626 trousers

One of the things I've been considering doing in my search for an acceptable trouser wardrobe is making the McCalls 7626 jumpsuit pattern into a standalone pair of trousers. I'm planning to draft (or steal from another pattern) a curved waistband, lengthen the crotch depth a bit, and alter the legs to be a bit longer and narrower. I've got some black and white tartan suiting to try this with; I keep trying to make patterned trousers and they keep looking too much like pyjamas, but I'm going to try again nevertheless.

A hat

A few weeks ago I accidentally left my favourite knitted hat on the 87 bus. I also had a REALLY STRONG premonition beforehand that I was going to leave my hat on the bus, made special note not leave my hat on the bus, then left my hat on the bus. Amazing. Fortunately the same wool is still available, so I'm going to remake it. We're not having a great time with our knitted creations at the moment - Patrick is currently borrowing my massive blanket scarf that matches my lost hat because he has lost his massive blanket scarf... somewhere in our one-bedroom flat. We cannot find it. It's all very confusing.

I'm hopeful for a stronger winter, mental health wise. It's been a truly awful year for my anxiety and depression, punctuated by tiny spots of feeling OK so that I could have four or five full-on crashes within ten months (thanks, brain). I have a new therapist who I'm optimistic about and enough social plans to feel festive and busy without feeling overwhelmed, and that should translate into more productive sewing time and a happier Jen. Fingers crossed!