The last time I sewed a piece of clothing for myself was when I took a sewing class as a kid somewhere between age 8 and 10. I made a sweatshirt out of turquoise crushed velour! I couldn’t find the shirt, or find any pictures of it, unfortunately, but I know I was happy with it.

Anyway, after some successful projects for my kid in the past few years (dresses, pants, light up dragon wings), I was inspired this year to try sewing for myself.

Here’s what I made!

Three Concord T-Shirts

These are the t-shirts shown in the header image. The pattern is the Concord shirt from Cashmerette. One of my dreams for sewing is to make clothes that aren’t the t-shirts and jeans that I typically wear, but I was compelled to start with something familiar.

I sewed the maroon shirt in January 2025. It was with some crushed velour from my mom’s stash from when I was a kid, not unlike the shirt I made as a kid. I also made the gray ringer shirt in January, and then made the striped one in November 2025.

I lowered the bust and made the shirts longer for the latter two, but I also think there’s room for improvement in the fit of the shoulders.

Two Page Hoodies

Right, so I just wear jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies. I don’t need more hoodies, but I wanted to make this Page sweatshirt from Chalk & Notch. I made the blue one in February.

The rusty orange (made in June) colored one isn’t actually a hoodie, it’s the crew-neck version but with the hoodie pocket. I had very much wanted a sweatshirt I could wear around the house (and sleep in) that didn’t have a hood to strangle me in my sleep but did have a pocket to stash my phone.

One Donny Shirt

This was the first non-knit article of clothing I (ever?) made. It’s from the Friday Pattern Company which happens to be local! This shirt seemed like a good collared shirt pattern that I could try without having to figure out buttons. The sew-along video was really great and I learned a lot. I actually brought and wore the shirt on a business trip to Rome (thought it looks like I’m having too much fun to be doing business there with my gelato.)

One Lazo Jumpsuit

I was influenced by seeing this pattern from Helen’s Closet on instagram a bunch and thinking it was pretty cute.

However, after putting a lot of time into this piece, I realized I don’t like it. I’m not ready for a romper. Maybe in some distant future after getting comfortable with other types of clothing along the way.

I think it technically came together pretty well, but it was too soon for me to make a garment that combined a top and a bottom, when I haven’t really made many separate tops or bottoms.

Several iterations of a sloper

This year I also signed up for the Cashmerette Sloper School, and went through the process of making a sloper, or a base pattern that you’ve personalized to fit your body very well.

I’ve made three full dress slopers, and one recent one that was just the bodice part without sleeves or skirt. They’ve each had issues with the bust or the shoulders or the back, and I’m still iterating and adjusting. Hopefully some day I’ll arrive at a base pattern I’m fully happy with.

Kid Stuff

I also made a couple things for my daughter, including:

• St. Patrick’s Day Dress using the Adelyn’s Scoop Back pattern from Simple Life Pattern Co. Alas, my daughter has asked me to stop making this pattern for her because the back is too low and breezy.
• Field trip joggers from Waves & Wild.
• Calico Cat Halloween costume (felt tail and felt sewn to an existing hoodie).

Next Year

I started sewing this year in hopes of making clothes that fit my body and maybe expanding my personal style. My style hasn’t really changed, yet, but I am regularly wearing some of the clothes I sewed myself, and that is pretty cool.

In 2026, I hope to get to the “end” of my sloper project, and crack the code on making tops that fit me well (without being t-shirts).

I also want to make the Friday Pattern Company Pogonip Pullover and wear it on a hike in Pogonip! I just haven’t decided what kind of fabric I’d want to make it out of yet.