THE 2025 COMPILATION OF WHAT I MADE OR DIDN’T.

 

This is the time of year when you take stock of what happened during the year, and with costumers, it’s looking back on what you did or didn’t accomplish in our sewing.

This year I feel like I accomplished very little so it’s always good to actually look back and see if that’s true. So I just skimmed over all my posts from last year and listed what I had made. Holy heck, Batman! They were all blue! And here’s the sad thing, in my modern wardrobe I seem to have mostly bought blue tops. I must be in a rut. So I’m making a concerted effort to look for other colors now. Surprisingly, most of the ones that caught my eye are blue, but I found some green and burgundy.

For my first couple events of the year, I just wore something I’d already made, my 1837 Purple Floral dress for a holiday tea and a historical presentation I did for the San Diego Mayflower Colony.  

 

Following that, I finished an 1860s dress I had started in 2020 for a fashion show at the Riverside Dickens Festival. I had a choice of three that I had made on my assembly line but chose this one to finish since I thought it would stand out nicely in a show. I added some antique accessories to it since it was rather plain by itself.

This got me started on something new, an 1873 Blue & White striped seaside dress I wore to the Port Townsend Victorian Festival fashion show in April. I feel like I cheated by using a pattern I’ve made many times, but it was the easiest to make quickly.

With another fashion show coming up in May, I again pulled one of my incomplete dresses out of the closet, a 1911 blue embroidered skirt and blouse. The show was held at the Harvey Girls Museum in Perris, CA. We’ll be doing another show for them in 2026, this time wearing Colonial to Regency at their request.

Normally Costume College has me making lots of new costumes for it, but this year I got lazy. I wore my 1870s blue & white seaside dress again but then bought a black chiffon caftan to recreate a 1920’s Erte-themed outfit. I was really happy with it even though I didn’t make it. Ok, this was one outfit that wasn’t blue, but I didn’t sew it.

Another dress, long in planning, was something for either a Regency tea or picnic, whichever came first. I had a block printed voile in a blueberry pattern that I’d been saving to make for it. I ended up having to rush and trim a bonnet when we finally organized an afternoon tea in November at a friend’s house. I have a few ideas for a turban to make for it next time.

Nearing the end of the year, I really went off the rails in costume making and made myself a Halloween outfit. Not historical at all. But a caftan in orange with black spiderwebs to wear while handing out candy. I tried making a big spider hat but he wouldn’t stay on my head, so I added a spider to a witch’s hat, which also wouldn’t stay on my head, and draped a giant spider around my neck.

And then I spent the entire month of November and December making something that I wouldn’t be wearing: Xmas ornaments. I hadn’t done embroidery for years but after seeing a pattern for redwork ornaments by Jolly & Bright last year, I just had to make them. All fourteen of them. I added them daily to our holiday mantle as I finished each one. Even after I was done, I wanted to make more and offered to make individual ones for my friends. Then I started creating my own patterns to make others. I did buy another pattern for all snowflakes but am trying to decide if I should make them in blue or stick to the redwork.

 

 

After all the holiday rush and Christmas was over, I felt antsy again, and wanted to sew. I had finally got some petersham ribbon so I could finish the binding on my Victorian corset I’d started in November. In the last week I finished it. It’s made of a pretty pink brocade and I put lace along the top edge so I can immediately see which is end is the top. I made my last one in 2016 and its got worn spots and blood on it, so it was time.

 

All I have to do now is have it laced on me. Which will happen this coming Friday when I go to my next sewing workshop. I also plan to cut out the teal silk taffeta for the 1870s dress I’m recreating for the Port Townsend Victorian Festival in March. They requested some of us to make dresses from photos they had of former residents of the city. I’ll be using Truly Victorian #423 as the base for my dress.  Oh, look! It’s not blue!

At this point I don’t have any other plans for anything to make. Usually when an event is coming up, that helps me make up my mind. I’m going to keep on looking at photos of dresses and see which one grabs me next. I have an entire stash of fabric that needs to be taken care of.

                    HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HERE’S TO BETTER TIMES!