The Sewciety

In October, after seeing a review by GMarie of a sample box she'd received, I signed up for a sewing subscription box from The Sewciety.  Each box includes a pattern with an amount of fabric appropriate to make said pattern, plus the thread and any notions needed to complete the project.  It also includes a small project, such as the little bag I sent to Maddie in November, potholders, things like that.  So, here's a rundown of the projects I've gotten and made from them.

October's box was an a-line tunic.  I made it as drafted, decided it made me look fat, and narrowed it with darts, adding a zipper to make it easier to wear.  Here it is in a gray fabric from them:

And here's the original blue fabric.  I love the fabric, but am rather indifferent to the pattern.  If I find a fabric I think will work well with it, I'll make it again; if not, eh....

November's box was another tunic.  It had an asymmetric collar, and I dithered for a long while before deciding to use some heavy white knit I had here for the collar, and add buttons for decoration.  I have to say that I hate cutting an entire front or back from a single layer of fabric, but I just love this pattern.  I would expect that I'll want to make more of this style next fall, when cold weather approaches.

December was another tunic.  The sleeves were a little odd, but I really liked this one, too.  I like the fabric, which is charcoal gray with a subtle floral print.  I'll probably make more of this next fall, as well.

January was a dolman sleeve tunic.  I made it, and felt like I was wearing a batwing suti.  Took out half the wing, still hated it, took one picture, and threw it into the donate pile. Let someone else like it or hate it.  I don't care.  The one good thing I have to say is that I didn't feel good about the pattern, so I used a fabric I had here, to which I was wildly indifferent.  I saved the fabric for something I did love.

February's pattern was "unmentionables".  Black unmentionables.  So, let's leave that unmentionable.

The March pattern was a sweater.  I looked at the pieces as I cut it out, and was horrified at how huge it was - and I was using the smallest size!  "What do they think a small person is, anyhow?" is pretty much what I thought as I worked on it.  It was a very fast and easy pattern.  The directions said the edges didn't need to be hemmed, but that doesn't work for me.  So I hemmed it.  And tried it on.  And liked it.

And then I made myself another in a lightweight white sweater knit that I purchased with one of my daughters and GMarie, in November of 2011 (I believe), at JoMar in Philadelphia.  It was well worth the wait to find just the right pattern for it.  I also made a red one for the relative in Denver, but forgot to take a picture of it before I sent it out.  She loves it, and red goes well with her dark hair and fair complexion.

The April pattern is for pants.  I don't wear pants, so I haven't even bothered to download it.  I'll probably use the fabric for skirts.

Overall, if I were on a tight budget, I'm not sure this would be a worthwhile subscription, mostly because I'm fussy about my clothing. (Yes, I know it isn't normal for someone to declare that they don't wear pants.  That's OK; if someone wants the pattern, let me know.)  But I've found new pattern designers I wouldn't have otherwise found, and I've loved every single piece of fabric that they've sent.  Plus, it's like I gave myself a present every month.  So that's nice.

I've done a lot of other sewing; it's been almost an obsession since the beginning of the year.  So look for more of that at some point.

Happy Weekending, everyone!