Early last year I claimed that 2023 was going to be ‘the year of the shirtdress’ and, for once, I was right.
The biggest winner in the shirtdress sweepstakes (prize: Erin makes a lot of you) was the Isca dress from Marilla Walker, which I made a dozen times:
The first iteration (blog post)Round two.Round three (blog post). This is where I began replacing the set-in sleeves with a kind of modified cap sleeve.
After those three, they kind of came in a rush:
Heavy rainbow chambray. This almost certainly came from Stonemountain.Liberty Tana lawn.I think I bought this lawn from Stonemountain? I’m bad at dress selfies but I made an attempt for this one in a hotel in Copenhagen.More Liberty, this time a little longer for autumn/winter wear. (The buttons are little flowers too.)This one is probably my favorite? I have no idea where I got this fabric, it’s a light poplin or maybe a heavyish quilting cotton. Another Liberty print, this time, poplin, and again in the longer length. The piping is a very candy pink that I think goes well with the 80s-esque splatter print.This is a warm and cosy faux bois flannel I bought from Josephine’s and sewed up the very next week. The buttons on this are very nice.Another warm flannel version (I just wear a long-sleeve tee underneath to make those little sleeves wintery).This was going to be my Plaidurday dress for this year but I didn’t quite finish it in time. It’s a plaid with a floral overlay, again in the longer “wear it with knee socks for autumn” length. The buttonholes are done in the same(… ish) red as the flowers.
Did I have time to sew anything else, you might ask? Well, yes. I also made two (and a half) of the Matilda shirtdresses:
A blue paisley Liberty lawn (blog post).I’m not entirely sure I made this one in 2023; it might have been a late 2022 entry. I left the collar off this one but forgot to reduce the collar stand/band. That, combined with the stiffness of this fabric, basically makes me look as if I should be saying “Yes, Lord Vader—immediately, Lord Vader!” every time I’m wearing it. This dress is going to have to wait until spring for me to finish it; I bought the fabric in Korea, realized I didn’t have enough, faffed around to try to find a coordinating solid Kona cotton, finally got it and cut out the pockets, piping, sleeve bands, button bands, and collar, and then lost all interest. I’m sure at some point I will get motivated to find tiny teal cherry buttons, but until then it will probably live in the UFO pile.
I also made two of my favorite Farrow jumpers, one at the beginning of 2023 and one a few weeks ago, both in basically the same color.
This is a nice piece of wool that I’m pretty sure I bought at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston in the 90s? It only goes to show that you should never, ever, get rid of any fabric, ever. Someday the right project will come and wake it from its slumber. (It’s not so grabby around the hips when it’s being worn; my dress form is fuzzy and I am not.)This is in that nice Kaufman Shetland speckle flannel. I love this style for winter; I wear it over a t-shirt and with ankle-length leggings and boots.
The most challenging thing I made this year was absolutely the Hove jacket from In The Folds:
You can see a bit of the bobbly stitching on the zipper at the bottom. All the seams are bias-bound! I underestimated the amount of fabric needed and had to reorder halfway through! All I can say is, my vast vocabulary of epithets and interjections really came in handy during this project. However, I wear it basically EVERY DAY, so it was worth it. And there’s some heavier wool fabric and reflective piping waiting on my sewing table right now for round two … gonna do a button band or snap closure for the next one (or maybe even toggles!) though.
The other thing I made in 2023 and use almost every day (and which gets the most comments of anything I wear, by far) is this project:
I bought the “You Can Always Quit” t-shirt from the Today in Tabs newsletter, but (surprising nobody) I am not a puffy-paint t-shirt wearer. It sulked in my sewing room until I bought a cheap black canvas crossbody bag from Amazon. Then I cut out the logo and just zig-zagged it onto the bag.
Absent on picture day: the Peppermint Pocket Skirt in black and white gingham seersucker (which I’ve actually not even worn yet); a complete failure of a shirtdress that will have to be broken down for parts (but might be tried again in a different fabric and/or size); an attempt at the Tilly and the Buttons Zadie dress in ponte (I made a mistake and ripping stitches in ponte is the ABSOLUTE WORST).
Which one do you like the most? (Pass over the ones you don’t like in silence.)
You can MAKE shoes?! I mean, I know SOMEBODY makes shoes, but my prima donna feet now demand that I take a shoemaking class.
Your Rainbow Chambray makes my eyes happy, I covet your Shetland flannel jumper and Liberty Lawn, and now want your snarky bag, too!
Also, making your own jacket is badass and it never occurred to me that I could do that, either (assuming my sewing machine has the strength for it). Is it weird that I’ve gone this far in life just assuming that shoes and coats must be bought?! At least I did discover Poshmark and Mercari, so I wasn’t buying many new.
A Dress A Day 
You can MAKE shoes?! I mean, I know SOMEBODY makes shoes, but my prima donna feet now demand that I take a shoemaking class.
Your Rainbow Chambray makes my eyes happy, I covet your Shetland flannel jumper and Liberty Lawn, and now want your snarky bag, too!
Also, making your own jacket is badass and it never occurred to me that I could do that, either (assuming my sewing machine has the strength for it). Is it weird that I’ve gone this far in life just assuming that shoes and coats must be bought?! At least I did discover Poshmark and Mercari, so I wasn’t buying many new.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy new year, kiddo! Love reading about your sewing projects. Thanks. Leslie
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am so glad you’re still here.
LikeLike
Hi Erin, That’s a lot of dresses!! I’m impressed. It’s so good to get these posts from you, and I love your aesthetic! Janet in California
LikeLike