My sewing plans for November 2017 are heavy on Project #SewMyStyle garments.

I planned to blog about pants fitting this week, but I came up short on time. My next pants-fitting post is going to be heavy on illustrations, and I couldn’t pull them together by today. Sorry, gang. Next week!

This isn’t the worst thing, though, because it gives me a chance to chat, real casual like, about what my sewing queue looks like for November. In a nutshell, November is all about Project #SewMyStyle, the Instagram sewing challenge where sewists tackle one pattern a month. I aim to sew the final two garments of the 2017 challenge back to back so I can move to TNT patterns for the tail end of the year. (WHERE DID THIS YEAR GO? Seriously, whoa.)

The final two #SewMyStyle patterns are the Anna dress from By Hand London and the Ruri sweatpants from Named.

Anna Dress from BHL

The Anna dress from By Hand London is the November garment for Project #SewMyStyle.

The Anna dress is November’s pattern, to be finished by Nov. 26 (in case you didn’t know, #SewMyStyle makes are shared on Instagram the last Sunday of each month).

I’m combining two views; I’m making the V-neck bodice and the maxi skirt with the slit, va-va-va-voom.

I seriously contemplated skipping November’s #SewMyStyle and waiting until spring to sew this dress. Sewing out of season (it’s been in the low 40s in my parts and windy = BRRRRRRR) is hard.

My husband, being the man of commitment he is, talked me out of skipping. “You’ve made 10 garments! Don’t quit now!” he said. Sigh, he’s right when he’s right.

Regardless of whether I made Anna this month or six months from now, I already had fabric picked out: glorious Liberty of London peacock print Tana cotton lawn. I got this yardage at THE Liberty of London IN LONDON.

Could there BE a more perfect fabric for making a By Hand London dress? Answer: Nope. I’ve literally been waiting years to use this stuff.

So, late this month, you will see me prance around in a summer dress.

Ruri Sweatpants from Named

I'm making the Ruri sweatpants for December's Project #SewMyStyle garment.

For December’s Project #SewMyStyle installment, participants picked a pattern from Named’s fall/winter 2017 collection. I chose sweatpants! Or joggers, if you’re fancy.

I like the collection very much, especially the Beryl bomber dress. But I wanted something easy to fit and easy to sew. Hence, sweatpants. Plus, I’m positive I’ll wear the Ruris more than I’d wear the Beryl. I’m excited to see which patterns everyone else sews!

I bought the Ruri pattern and let it sink into my brain so I could identify the right fabric for it. I was at Jo-Ann, picking up notions for something else, and I spotted β€” wait for it β€” suede scuba knit.

Suede. Scuba.

The scuba definitely was heavy enough to be a decent bottomweight, and I did enjoy working with scuba when I sewed theΒ Victory Patterns Jackie dress. Hmmm, I hmmmed.

My little guy was with me, and his Jo-Ann’s browsing patience already was running low. We were at the point in our Jo-Ann visit when he pulls every bolt he can touch to the floor and says, “Sar-we, Mom.” (I doubted his sincerity. Lucky for him he’s cute.)

It was not time to get a cut of suede scuba, and I wanted to think on it.

The next day, after re-examining the Ruri pattern, I packed up little guy and returned to Jo-Ann, saving cash money on suede scuba with multiple coupons (as one does at Jo-Ann).

In the interest of transparency, I also want new sweatpants for Thanksgiving weekend maxing and relaxing. Yet another reason I’m sewing back-to-back #SewMyStyle patterns!

Longing to Sew Tried-and-True Patterns

This fall, I sewed a few doozies. They turned out fine, but getting there was a challenge.

It’s important to challenge yourself as a sewist, and as any kind of craftsperson or artist. You expand boundaries by pushing them.

The truth is, I’m up for an non-challenge. I want a quick and dirty sewing project, and I want it yesterday.

Since I started up the blog again, I haven’t made many patterns more than once. That’s partly because I want new content for Sie macht readers, and partly because, well, novelty is fun.

But I’m getting burned out on novelty. And I’m getting burned out on buying new patterns. And printing them, taping them, tracing them. Too often I find my enthusiasm for a pattern starts to drag by the time I actually get around to SEWING it. Does this happen to anyone else?

When I get honest about my lifestyle and what I like to wear, I’m all about T-shirts (long- and short-sleeved), sweaters, and jeans. My closet aches for these staples.

That why, after I’m done with the Anna dress and Ruri joggers, I’m going to make multiple Megan Nielsen BriarΒ TsΒ and Seamwork OlsoΒ cardigans. Then I’m probably going to move into jeans.

You heard it here first: I’m booking a ticket to TNT City. I’ll let you know how batch sewing goes!

My dear sewing friends, what are you working on this month? I can’t wait to read your comments on the contents of your sewing queue, the comfort of TNT patterns, SUEDE SCUBA (!!!), and more. I read and reply to EVERYTHING. β€πŸ‘β€πŸ—¨πŸ—¨

P.S. ICYMI, here’s the last Sie macht post:Β Sewing Pants, Part 1: The Measurements You Need for Success.

P.P.S. Do you like this type of post β€” casual, a little wandering, fast and loose? In general, I aim for timeless “evergreen” posts that are optimized for search engines (I get most of my traffic from search). Sometimes, though, I worry that I don’t share enough of my personality on Sie macht. What are your thoughts?