Last year I loved using Gillian’s Top 5 List as an excuse to look back at all I’d accomplished over the year, so I knew I wanted to do it again this year. I’ve loved the reflections I’ve seen on other sewing blogs and am amazed and some of the gorgeous things people have made in 2014, especially when you see them all lined up in a row! (I mean, how does Oona even find the time for this much awesome?)

I’m not going to make any hard and fast goals for next year because I’m still trying to figure out how to keep finding the time to sew regularly now that I’m back to work. I think you can probably expect to see simpler sewing from me. I’ve got a half-made pair of pants on my sewing table that I’ll finish up, but I’ve found I’m just not that interested in complicated projects when I have less time to sew overall. That being said, I still wanted to take this opportunity to look back on the year and to share with you my Top 5 Misses and Hits of 2014.

MISSES:

5? Just kidding! What a nice feeling to look back on what I’ve made in 2014 and realized that I couldn’t quite fill the “misses” column! Here’s my Top four misses of the year:

4. Vogue 1152 Blouse
I’m a little sad to see this one on my Misses List. I fell in love with this fabric at Britex when I saw someone else buying some, and I bought it for myself on a whim. I researched and planned and came up with what I thought would be the perfect use for it as a flouncy blouse. But for some reason I just don’t wear this blouse. I don’t quite know what it is. Could be that it’s colors I don’t usually wear; could be that despite raising the neckline by a couple inches my cleavage still manages to peak out; could be that I don’t have a sweater that fits over the sleeves. Whatever it is, this poor much-anticipated blouse doesn’t get pulled out of the closet too often.

3. Blue Afternoon Skirt
I think this skirt can be saved, but it’s on the list for now. Unfortunately, I tried to do a yoga pant waistband without doing any research about how to do that or what type of fabric to use. This jersey was nice and stable, but it just doesn’t have enough recovery so after I’ve worn it for an afternoon, it’s stretched out and the skirt starts falling down. But, even as is, it’s a nice around-the- neighborhood alternative to jeans or yoga pants and like I say, I think I can fix it. I just need to come up with a new waist band that won’t add bulk…..

2. Borneo Beret
This beret was not long for this world, but it served its purpose. It kept my hands busy on the flights to and from Borneo (hence the name). This just fit my head so strangely, I never even wore it out of the house and unwound it shortly after taking these photos. I haven’t gotten around to knitting another hat out of it but just shrunk my previous knit hat, so that’s good incentive to get knitting!

1.  Mathilde blouse #2

It is not a good sign when *this* is the face you make when wearing a shirt you made. I look like I’m being held at gunpoint and trying to mouth “Call 9-1-1” without my captors noticing.

I hate this shirt. I wore it once to fill in my Me Made May wardrobe, then never wore it again. I truly don’t understand how a pattern that easily made the 2013 Hits List can so decidedly claim the 2014 Miss List top spot. Oh wait, yes I can. It’s a little thing I like to call “tragic fabric selection”. This is going in the Goodwill pile in the hopes that there’s a pediatric nurse out there needs some new scrubs.

HITS:

5. Tie-Dye Maxi – Vogue 8469

This dress was exactly what I wanted this summer. Ok, well not exactly. What I was really obsessed with was indigo shibori dying (which I still haven’t gotten around to trying out despite having a friend who did a ton of it a few months ago and offered to share his dye batch with me), but this dress scratched the itch and made me happy. And the fabric doesn’t wrinkle. So clutch.

4. The Ele-Fun Refashion
I was pretty pleased with how this turned out. This is the third iteration of this fabric and it’s definitely the one I’ve worn the most. The only reason this didn’t land higher on the list is because it’s *still* a little difficult for me to wear. San Francisco is such a cardigan climate and I just don’t have one in my current wardrobe that goes with this top. But I’ve worn it under a navy blue blazer a couple times and looked pretty cute. And let’s not forget that this shirt was featured on the Refashionista blog, so that was pretty fun!

3. Oonapalooza: Tangerine Dream
Thank you again, Oona, for the inspiration! I stitched this one up as my contribution to Oonapalooza. This is not a color I normally wear but this dress was a resounding success! It’s a nice light and soft cotton and so comfortable to wear. I’m proud of this dress because it was my first real attempt to alter a pattern and do some fitting. I did a full bust adjustment and lowered the neckline at the back and front. The only thing keeping this dress from being higher on the list are some construction mistakes. I used a frustratingly slippery fabric for the lining that caused for a bit of strange fitting at the front, and did a poor job of sewing the zipper in.

2. Aqua Goodwill Refashion
This top was definitely a surprise hit. I made it on a bit of a whim, just kinda winging it, and to be honest I didn’t love it when I first finished it. But I wear it SO MUCH. It filled a hole in my wardrobe that I didn’t know existed. It is a comfy, easy-to-throw-on, weekend shirt that just makes me look a wee bit more pulled together than a t-shirt would. It’s currently sitting in my repairs pile as I tore a little hole in it but I’ll definitely be pulling this one out to wear in 2015.

1. Denim Miette Skirt
This skirt is a newbie to my wardrobe but earned top billing by fulfilling exactly the role in my wardrobe that I wanted it to! I wear this skirt to work at least once a week and it’s a super cute and super comfy alternative to jeans. It’s bound to get a ton more wear in 2015….especially since I got three new pairs of brightly colored tights for Christmas!