My Handmade Wardrobe - Hit And Miss

Although I've been sewing seriously since 2007, I haven't made many garments. I hope this doesn't shock you but I prefer to buy factory made clothes. Why? You must be screaming. The simple reason is it's a lot cheaper.

I live in Singapore and it's hot as hell. I wear cotton knit t-shirts 99.9% of the time and I wear them with a pair of dri-fit shorts or sometimes a skirt. Knit fabric is ridiculously expensive in Singapore so it's hard to justify making my own t-shirts. As for shorts I keep getting hubs' hand-me-downs so...

Having said that, I still consider making more garments simply to amuse myself and most importantly, use my fabric.

I have only made a total of 10 wearable items, mostly in 2018. Out of these, I considered 5 a complete fail so I never wore them. Not even once.

This pair of pants (blogged here) did not agree with me mainly because of the fit. It was too roomy and made me look fatter and for me, that's the most important criteria. Clothes that make me look fatter are out. I considered altering it but it's something I'm putting on a list but will probably never be motivated enough to do.

This lengthened Sailor Top (blogged here) I absolutely could not wear because of my family's reaction to it. Anyway, I can't wear it now even if I want to because guess what? My shoulder has broadened. Well, either that or I've gotten waaay fatter.

Shirt No. 1 with buttons (blogged here) never got worn simply because I didn't think it was good enough to wear out. As for wearing it at home, it just didn't make sense because I prefer to wear t-shirts.

The racerback adventure tank (blogged here) turned out not too bad but I made it 2 sizes too small. My daughter wore it to school once and decided it didn't suit her.

You must be wondering why I consider the One Hour Top (blogged here) a fail. Honestly, I don't know either. It doesn't look too bad but when I wore it, I felt I had to keep fussing with the sleeves. That annoyed me and that is why I only wore it once. Hubs kinda likes it and has asked me more than once, what happened to the polka dot thing? I told him I've lost it.

I consider these 5 successful.

The Acacia panty (blogged here) is such a perfect fit that I never wore it for fear of ruining it. I never made another pair though because I don't have a suitable fabric.

The Sailor Top (blogged here) I think I've worn out about 5 times. Then I forgot about it and one day I found it again and I tried to wear it but as we've previously agreed, my shoulders have broadened  (not fattened) and it's no longer comfortable. I'm a bit sad and one day maybe I'll make another one in a larger size. Dem those broad shoulders of mine!

Shirt No. 1 (blogged here) surprised me because I didn't think I would wear it that often. I usually wear it to the supermarket and I pair it with my dri-fit shorts. The shirt is a bit short though so I have to remember not to raise my arms unnecessarily.

I consider this skirt (blogged here) a success not because I wear it often. I haven't actually. What I love about this skirt is that it is a perfect fit and I use it as a bluprint of my lower body.

The Cleo Skirt (blogged here) was a surprise hit. When I made it, I thought I would wear it a few times at most but I've worn it so many times that some thread came loose and I had to sew some reinforcements. My daughter loves it and has requested for one. I think what makes this skirt work is the fabric choice and the 2 pockets. My daughter has already bought fabric for her Cleo skirt and hopefully I'll get off my fat ass and sew it.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my 50% pass rate. You can't be happy with every item you made. I'm going to start making wearable again (because I have a ton of fabric to get rid of) and let's see my success rate for the next 10 pieces.