My Sewing Recap: All The Things I Made Summer 2022

Big news! HUGE! Last week I finally bit the bullet and bought a sewing bar (post here)for all my sewing supplies. I’m so excited and annoyed I didn’t invest in one sooner. I’ve been pulling my sewing machine, overlocker, and supplies out of closets and cubby holes for 5 years and it’s been frustrating.

My mom used to tell me that if I really wanted to learn and get good at a craft, hobby, instrument, or language, it needs to be visible every day. This way, you’ll want to pick it and work on it. This is why I keep my book on top of my bedside table. If I see it, I want to grab it!

The issue with my sewing equipment is that it’s been out… but on my kitchen table. 😐 Needless to say, it’s been causing me extreme anxiety every single day. Which causes the opposite problem… not wanting to work on my projects. Despite my organizational misery (hopefully solved with this beautiful cabinet) I finished quite a lot of projects this summer!

So, let’s get into my 6 new me-made items!

Table of Contents

My Sewing Recap: All The Things I Made Summer 2022

My goals for the season were to:

Get back into sewing. ✅
Learn to shirr fabric. ✅
Get better at using my overlocker. ✅
Create 3 new tops for Summer. 🚫
Create a dress without a pattern. ✅
Make a pair of shorts! ✅
Learn to trace a dress into a pattern and recreate it. ✅
Practice sewing buttons. ✅
Always test sewing machine settings on scrap fabric. 🚫
Learn to sew tulle. ✅

The Shirred Bee Top!

You guys, I love how this top came out but if I would do it over, I would. Here’s what I learned from this project…

Creating a shirt out of rectangles is easy, but not for everyone. I wish I made this shirred top with an area for my armpits. Instead, the ruching under the arms continuously folds down and makes it look unflattering. In the future, I’d love to find a way to lower under my arms but keep the high neckline.

As much as I loveeee the print, I used quilting fabric for this project. I bought the fabric in Spring, on sale, at Joann’s. It was something I saw had had to buy. The bees gave me Bridgerton vibes! Plus, my vision was to wear these with white jeans.

Anyway, the issue is that quilting fabric is, generally, 100% woven stiff cotton. Which, isn’t very soft or stretchy. And even though I washed it in hot water, dried it in a dyer AND over-locked all the edges… I’m terrified to throw it in the dryer again. I definitely wish I could have found this print in apparel cotton but, alas, it wasn’t an option. Nor did I know what I was looking for at the time.

This was a GREAT learning experience.

I Made a Hillhouse Home Copycat Nap Dress

My Free Birthday Floral Duvet Shirred Dress!

You guysssss every time I wear this dress, I get so many compliments!! It genuinely makes me shine. I’m so proud of this dress because I made it out of a duvet I found in the free pile of my building. It’s, again, 100% cotton but the weave is different making it soft and breathable. I love it because I’m literally wearing bedsheets. So, it’s like never getting out of bed.

This dress was going to be longer to mimic the famous Nap Dress by Hill House but I chose to make it more original and go with a tea length. I was persuaded by some IG friends. Original blog post here!

If I change anything, it’ll be the straps. I want to make tie straps (like the shirred bee top) and add buttons to make them interchangeable! A project to work on next summer.

The Floral Shirred Dress Prototype

Before I dove into my birthday dress, I tried out the pattern (or lack thereof) on some fabric I had in my closet. To be honest, I don’t love this fabric… but ended up loving the dress! It was a surprise and delight. And I’m thrilled I did a prototype because I made the pockets way too big (which is a lie, there’s no such thing) and the straps too small.

Despite my distaste, I get so many compliments when I wear it and I feel really confident when I put it on. So, all good things. Plus, I ended up going back and cleaning up my work and using my overlocker around the waist for the first time. It looks so professional and I’m really proud of it. Again, if I could change anything, it would be the straps. I’m starting to think I’m not a floofy straps kind of gal!

The idea for this dress/pattern is from one of my favorite vloggers, Lauren Johnson.

Pink Patterened Shorts

These shorts have been a long time coming, unfortunately, I realized far too late that I didn’t have enough fabric to build them properly. So, I have to realllllly work to stretch them out with my steamer and iron.

*sigh* – I hate these shorts. In the photos I look super happy but they were a poor choice. I picked this fabric out ages ago and left the project undone. I put in my own side pockets which, make me look wider, and generally unimpressed.

Will I use this pattern again? Yes. Absolutely but one size bigger and with a significantly less distracting pattern of fabric. I mean… baby pink?! What on earth was I thinking?

Favorite Summer Dress Remake

This one took a week to make and damn near killed me with all these buttons. Y’all, I haven’t done buttons since high school. Additionally, let me be clear… I am not only a purist but also a stubborn perfectionist. Which made me the bane of my own existence. Do I have another sewing machine with a button footer? Yes… did I use it? NO.

Instead, I went old school and used my vintage late 1960s Kenmore sewing machine and it was torture (if you haven’t figured that out yet). However, I had to do it. Because this is how one learns and learns to perfect their craft. So, I practiced 5 times before committing to the 7 buttons that lay upon my dress.

Are they perfect? No.

Has anyone noticed? Also, No.

Do I love this dress? … you guys, I LOVE this dress. I’m so proud I traced this dress into my own pattern and then made it from scratch. It’s going to be fantastic to wear as a dress or open as a cardigan throughout the year. Plus, it’s SO comfortable.

The White Daisy Elastic Band Top

Last, but not least, my second most worn item is the white daisy elastic band top I made at the end of Spring. I made this right before my trip to Napa and ended up wearing it on the plane! It’s a great travel top, especially with a cardigan over it.

I feel very sexy in this top for no reason. Maybe because I have a dash of pride when I wear it. Knowing I made it. It’s a little cropped and really cute with a pair of relaxed jeans or a midi skirt.

If I change anything, similar to the shirred bee top, it would be the armhole or make the elastic looser around the top. It cuts in a tiny bit at the armpit and gets uncomfortable after 6+ hours of wear but these are all things I’m learning to fix for the future!

I learned SO much this Summer!! Loads about my machine, overlocker, and even about different fabrics for each season. I’m super excited about all the projects I have lined up for Autumn. I cannot wait to share them with you guys.

Thanks for reading about my sewing adventures!