A Recap Of My 2025 Makes

I didn’t do a post like this last year, but this time around, I felt like doing a recap of my 2025 makes. So I hope you’ll indulge me as I mull over what I accomplished, what worked, what didn’t, and a few plans moving forward.

I counted up my makes, and although I didn’t include them here, I also made 3 new bras and matching underwear, plus I refashioned my ballgown into an asymmetric top to wear to Frocktails back in May. So, not counting those, I made 24 items. This actually surprised me because earlier in the year we had a major kitchen refurb done, and in June I broke my wrist, so during those times I didn’t sew as much.

I noticed that I sewed a lot of repeat styles, and I feel like this is a good thing. I guess it means I know what suits me….a signature style starting perhaps? Hmm.

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• The first four items I made, left to right: Camo ponte Hudson Joggers. Leopard print sweater Vogue 1653, cream corduroy trousers Simplicity 8701, and cognac sueded scuba trousers using the Style Arc Sage pattern.

The camo print Hudsons have been my everyday, in the house and out for a walk trousers. I’ve already had to replace the elastic. The zip detail sweater has also been worn a lot, and it goes so well with the cream corduroy trousers, which have become a favourite. It’s the same story with the suede scuba trousers…worn quite a bit too. All very successful makes.

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• Next four makes: Brown cable knit True Bias Marlo, Fibremood Selah trousers, Grasser tie-neck top and teal corduroy Fibremood Opal trousers

I’ve worn the brown cardigan quite a bit, love it. I haven’t actually worn the button-front trousers because I think the button detail is challenging to style. I feel happier these days with wearing untucked tops, so I’m not sure how that would work with these. I need to try styling them a bit. On the red top, I decided that I didn’t like the cutout at the back, so it went unworn for a long time. Then I had the bright idea of replacing the upper back of the top with a plain section. I had spare fabric, so that’s what I did, and I like it much better now. I also took off the buckle, and I wear it with the scarf wrapped around twice, tying it at the front so that it hides most of the cutout (note to self: no more tops with cutouts). The teal trousers have been worn a couple of times, but the fabric has relaxed a lot, and they feel a bit loose around my waist, so they’re going to be altered.

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• The next batch of four: Style Arc Sage trousers in marble sueded scuba, two self-drafted basic cream tops and a self-drafted blouse.

I love all of these makes. The marble print trousers have turned out to be more of a Spring or late Summer item. Of the two cream tops, the V-neck is great for chillier spring or Summer days, and the turtle neck is for Autumn or Winter. The print blouse has had a lot of wear either on its own or under a cardigan.

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• The fourth batch of four: Self-drafted border print blouse, Fibremood Ollie sweater, green linen-blend co-ord set and a self-drafted beach kaftan.

I’ve worn the border print blouse a few times, and now that I have a cream cardigan, I can wear it more layered up. The Fibremood Ollie is lovely to wear and looks great with my olive jeans. As for the final two pieces in this group, the co-ord and kaftan were fab to wear when I went to Greece. I look forward to wearing the co-ord more next Summer.

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• The penultimate batch of four: Leather-look pont Hudson Joggers, Self-drafted brown merino jersey top, black ponte Style Arc Sage trousers and Grasser exposed seam turtleneck top.

The leather-look Hudsons have been worn a few times. They’re really comfortable, and so are the black zip detail trousers. The two merino tops have only been worn maybe once each, but I plan to wear them more.

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• The final four of 2025: Olive utility cardigan (Marlo again), Black faux suede Sleekwich skirt, Cream cable knit Marlo and lastly another exposed-seam turtleneck top.

All of these are newish makes, and I’ve yet to style them more. I think the black skirt is going to be more of a challenge because, being a die-hard trouser wearer, I’m not that confident styling skirts 🙂

Looking at the photos and thinking about my favourite silhouettes, they’re as follows:

• Slim leg pants, usually in a stretchy ponte knit or similar
• Short boxy cardigans
• Wide-leg jeans and trousers
• Close-fit jersey tops, including turtleneck styles
• Short sweaters with a straight/boxy fit.
• Woven blouses with a simple silhouette, no big sleeves or lots of volume, ruffles or collars.

I did minimal summer sewing because I was concentrating on getting my wrist healed and just wore what I had. The green linen blend co-ord was a big success, though, and I love it. I especially like the asymmetry of the top.

A few new fabrics (well, maybe more than just a few, hehe! 🙂 ) have been added to my stash lately, and let’s say a definite theme is emerging. I’ve been planning on really narrowing down what I want my colour palette to be. My neutrals will be brown (it features a lot in my new fabrics), shades of off-white and cream, olive green and small amounts of black. Non-neutrals are burnt orange, caramel/camel, teal/green and little bits of red. I still have a couple of blush pink pieces and golden yellow too, but I don’t plan on adding any more of those colours right now.

I feel open to trying a couple of new things, and I recently bought a new jeans pattern with a slight barrel leg shape. I’ll be making up a wearable toile to see how I feel about the shape. Stay tuned for my thoughts on those. I’d also like to make a couple of skirts, and I’m exploring skirt styles to see what I like. I think I’ll do a few experiments with silhouettes using some old sheets first. I’ve always had a mental block about styling skirt and shoe, or skirt and coat combinations, and I want to keep it looking casual, so some experimentation is needed.

I plan to make a few more woven blouses this year, now that I have a better idea of the sort of shapes I prefer. And conversely, something that I’ve gone off a bit is the idea of coats that have sharper, tailored shoulders. I prefer a softer shoulder line these days.

This blog post has turned into a bit of a brain dump, but it helps to get it down in writing. Thanks for reading my musings. I can’t think of anything else to add right now, so I’ll leave it there. I’d better get creating, eh?

Ok, see you soon!