My Sews in 2024: Still Infrequent
Years ago I joined the newly created 52 week sewing challenge on Facebook, loved the community, my sewing quality and quantity increased, and I started better tracking my sews. At the end of that year I shared a year in review recap and absolutely loved how all the projects looked together. The next several years I did the same and now, with this post, I've shared seven years in review.
This year I've been putting most of my free time towards family, publishing and updating my first app Simply Customize It, and enjoying being close to a local Pilates studio. As such, I sewed much less than even the last year... and yet some were still made and here they are!
February
Burlap Backdrop
A friend bought two 8-ish foot long pieces of burlap fabric and needed them sewn together so they could be used as a backdrop. I hadn't sewn with burlap before and was worried the seam would open up on her so decided to serge the sides together before unfolding the seam and topstitching it flat. Just a heads up if you plan to work with burlap it shed tons of fibers.
Closed Some Holes
Over the last several months I'd been noticing holes in my bra, my home workout top, and several pair of underwear. With my sewing machines plugged in and the area around them tidied up I figured there was no point putting it off any longer and grabbed them all for some quick and messy fixes. Done! And they now lived for another day.
July
Attempted Swim Suit Rescue
In July I realized I really needed to fix or replace my stretched out swimming suit. I looked at swimming suits online and finally realized, after seeing a Stitch Upon a Time sale, it would be simpler just to make a new set. After going upstairs I realized I had nothing to lose so I attempted to extend the life of my old favorite swimming suit bottoms by cutting off the waistband, adding regular non-swim elastic, and serging it back together. Got it done right before attending a kid's swim party!
Two Piece Swimming Suit
The quick fix on my old swim suit wasn't the best, the fabric was weak, and I later noticed a small hole on one layer of the waistband. As such I started looking into buying swim shorts and capris online before deciding just to make my own swimming suit again. I was lazy so pulled out my old patterns, trusted they still fit, chose some fabric from my stash, cut the pieces, and sewed it up. Full disclaimer I did confuse the patterns at one point and sewed the bottom bands on my suit with a 1/2 inch seam allowance rather than the planned 1/4 inch... that said, they were perfect, fit great, and were completed in time to go for a 20 minute swim before the pool closed for the girls' swimming lessons. Looking forward I did still develop a chaffing burn on my inner thighs right below the shorts when walking home from the pool so I could see, if that's still a concern in the future, either going longer in the swim bottoms or just dedicating an old pair of capris to wear overtop after swimming.
These, like last time in the fix above, are the Stitch Upon a Time Brazi for the swim top and Apostrophe Patterns leggings for the bottoms. I've shared previously about both the Brazi (dress and bra version) and using the leggings as the girls' swim suit bottom years ago. I haven't yet shared about my personal swimming suit before though so if that would interest you let me know either in the comments below or email me at mail@simplykyra.com.
Stuffie Hospital
Closer to the end of the month I added one more quick project by hand stitching the hole closed in my daughter's stuffie. Unfortunately, the original purchase came already with a hole in it which I didn't notice until after my daughter was gifted it. The plan was to have her fix it but she hadn't yet and when I finally asked if she wanted me to fix it... she did. And thus another quick project done.
October
Halloween Treat Bags
Back in 2018 I made the girls Halloween bags for trick or treating which they liked and later used as library bags as the bags were so sturdy and tough.
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Check out the original treat bags here!
Unfortunately, over the years we somehow lost one of them and finally last year I decided it wouldn't magically show up and meant to make the girls a replacement. This year I decided now was the time, tracked down glow in the dark fabric from Joanns, and made them their new Halloween bags. The bags themselves didn't light up as much as I had hoped so they aren't as extra safe as I had wanted but I love them and they fit so much candy so the kids are over the moon! These are now going with the Halloween stuff so they stay safe for future years.
December
Nightgowns
Back in 2020 I switch from making the girls Peppermint Swirl Dresses for Christmas and started making them nightgowns instead. At first I attempted to surprise them with it but over the years it's become a known secret to the point that when Joann's Snuggle Flannel went on sale back before Halloween this year I had them pick out what fabric they wanted and whether they wanted one or two new nightgowns. With the present being a known surprise it's become much less stressful finding time to work on it as I don't have to limit it to school or sleeping hours. That said, I still put it off and finally finished the dresses about five days before Christmas... after a power outage two days before scared me about potentially not finishing in time.
I wrote about this Patsy and Olivia mashup nightgown years ago in a shared post underneath another Patsy hack I only did the one time. That said, with how often I've since sewn this nightgown I've been meaning to give it its own updated post. If you'd be interested let me know either in the comments below or email me at mail@simplykyra.com so I know to make it a higher priority.
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Past Years
I really enjoyed sewing over the years and adore that joining the 52 Week Sewing Challenge helped kick off a feeling of community. That said, although I increased the level of my in-app notifications last year I didn't see too many posts from the group and instead sewed more for my particular wants as they came up. I do want to share links to my past years of sewing in case any of the patterns, fabrics, or whatever can help you out. So in order from 2018 to last year's 2023 here they are:
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Have you sewn any of these projects before? Are there any sewing projects here or in previous years that you'd want more information about? Feel free to share in the comments below. And like always I hope you're having a good week!
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