Favorite makes 2022

I made a lot of things this past year and I thought I’d share a few of the things that have bubbled up to the top as favorites. I don’t have photos of everything, since I didn’t feel like doing a photo shoot in the past two days, but I did get snaps of most of what’s on this list.

I’m finding that I’m starting to understand why people make the same patterns over and over again, both knitters and sewists, as I’m leaning towards making patterns I’ve already made in 2023. As I make a pattern for the second time I start to feel like I really undestand it and for those patterns that I’m getting ready to make for a third time, I feel the confidence to really make it my own and do some larger modifications and customizations.

Palisade Pants

I’ve made two pairs of these pants and I love them! The huge pockets along with the faux front that looks really nice but it’s elastic in the back means they’re comfortable but also good looking. The first pair I made out of a light canvas that I got from Stonemountain and Daughters Fabrics and the second pair from a cotton double cloth from the same shop. I traveled in the canvas pair last spring to visit my mom and wow, what perfect travel pants with the relaxed fit and huge pockets. The double cloth pair feel like pajamas but look fantastic. This isn’t the easiest pattern and the way the pockets are set up means that you do need to be careful with the fabric you use as it can get bulky (the double cloth was a challenge, but worth it). Neither of my two pairs are perfect, but honestly, I don’t even notice the small mistakes anymore because I love them that much.

Me, standing with my left foot in front of me in front of a fireplace with holidays decorations on it, wearing a blue and light blue striped t-shirt and a pair of pants made from a crinkly cotton cloth.
Me, just the other day, in my double cloth Palisades. I'm also wearing the Closet Core T-shirt which I talk about below.

Rio Ringer Tee

Last summer I went on an odyssey of t-shirt making. I picked out three patterns and away I went. The Rio can be a t-shirt dress or just the tee and I’ve now made the tee twice and the dress once. It’s by far my favorite t-shirt pattern although the Core T-Shirt is a close second (and it’s a free pattern, so a great place to try your hand at sewing with knits). As I end the year I’m sewing up two more of these and have plans for another dress. I’m also going to be playing with some modifications to truly customize the shirt.

Me standing in front of a blank wall in a green and white striped t-shirt and wearing jeans.
Here's the Rio tee, and I even did pattern matching with stripes and am even more impressed that I got the neckband to look decent.

Stria Cardigan

I’m still knitting, it takes longer, but I love the meditative nature of it and I’m finally finding my groove with what I like to wear and what my wardrobe needs, which means I’m more thoughtful with what I knit. I finished this cardigan in June, tucked it away since it was hot out. I pulled it off the shelf in November. I reach for this thing constantly. It’s easy to wear, comfortable, and goes with everything. The main color is Malabrigo Sock Yarn and the stripes are all left overs of different brands, each stripe color is a very small amount so perfect for using up stash bits. I’m tempted to make another and go for a larger size and possibly no stripes.

Me standing in front of a blank wall in a green and white striped t-shirt with a striped multi color cardigain over it, and wearing jeans.
The Stria, over the Rio, it's all stripes all the time some days around here.

Fringe Dress

I started on this dress in September thinking that I’d wear it next summer, but then the weather was hot in September and in October as well, so I got to wear it several times. What a fantastic dress and I’m already planning another. I used Brussels Washer from Stonemountain and Daughters Fabrics and the rayon with linen is a perfect combo for this dress.

Free Range Slacks

I may have made these in 2021, I’m honestly not sure, but they’ve been a favorite to wear in 2022. Sew House 7 is a great independent design shop out of Portland, OR and what I love about these pants is how simple they are. You can do flat fell seams if you like, but you don’t have to. I wear my 100% linen pair a lot during the spring and fall here, they’re perfect transitional weather pants and I made a second pair out of Essex Yarn Dyed linen cotton which are a bit heavier so more suitable for cooler weather. I modified by lengthening the legs, shortening the rise, and doing a small scoop out on the back legs to tighten up the rear.

Inclinations Shawl

Let’s hear it for super large shawl wraps! Like the Stria talked about above, the Inclinations Shawls is knit in half fisherman’s rib, which is now a favorite stitch. It’s so squishy and wonderful and it’s fun to knit as well. I used 3 skeins of Spincycle Dream State and 1 large 150 gram skein of Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok Worsted for this. It turned out so well and I love it so much that it sits on the back of my favorite chair for easy access and I can’t wait to use it for travel as it could double as a bit of a blanket as well as a wrap.

A selfie of me with the large inclinations shawl wrapped around my neck, showing the colored stripes that are moving between blues, turquoise, and other shades.
A selfie, bundled up with the Inclinations on a day I couldn't seem to get warm.

What’s next

For 2023 I’m definitely making some things I’ve made already, but I’m starting the year with the Closet Core Patterns Sew Your Dream Jeans Course. I have all the fabric and notions I need, so I’ll be starting to watch videos and make a muslin soon. This is definitely going to be a challenge, but I’m so excited to make jeans that fit me and are customzed for me. I’ve made a lot of shorts and pants and feel like I finally know my body and how to read patterns well enough to custom fit things from the first go at a pattern.

A knitting pattern designer I follow, she designed both the Stria and the Inclinations Shawl, has said something a few times on her podcast; “I feel the most like myself when I’m wearing things I made.” I’m starting to feel exactly the same way. I didn’t expect to love sewing as much as I have grown to, it was a thing to do during lockdown. Turns out, I really love both doing it and wearing the things I make.