Wow. 2020 is over and I think I can say that for almost everyone: I’m relieved and I really hope that 2021 will be a better year for our costuming community!
I never would have guessed that I will ever witness a pandemic and that I’m not able to visit friends and family in other countries which I visited regulary before all of that. I still can’t really wrap my head around everything but I‘m glad we now have a vaccine and my country started to use it. (Can’t wait to get my shot probably in the second quarter of the year because of our regulations, but still – can’t wait!)
But let’s talk about something more fun – did I complete my 2020 plans?
Well…sort of.
My biggest plan was to shop my own stash more which I really did. I used up a lot of fabrics and leftovers from older projects but since all events got cancelled I also didn‘t sew as much as I wanted to.
Of course I bought new fabric but I tried to always think twice and only buy fabrics I really really liked or needed and it worked okay. I definitley have less fabric than at the beginning of 2020.
Some of the new fabrics were due to my master craftmans examination because I had to present the examination board 3 different fabrics with lining and I had to have enough of all of the three fabrics to have something to practice and also for the examination. I also had to buy different fusible interfacings, ice wool and so on to and this brought up the count quite a bit.
I still used up a lot of fabric! I counted over 72m of fabric, not counting smaller leftovers which is still a lot of fabric.
I also wanted to finish some UFOs but I mostly got rid of them. That was not easy but I decided that I don’t want to finish those projects because they didn’t make me happy at all and I felt so relieved after I trashed those projects. I still have a few unfinished projects and I hope to work on them this year or give them to friends who want to finish and wear them.
Projects in 2020
I did make a new dress for the Zeitentanz-Ball and also a new one for venice which I really loved even though it turned out a bit big. (Still have enough fabric to make a new bodice!) And I also finished my two comissions, a corset and a lace dress for my cousin.
And then I was super busy with school and my examination. But I still managed to make three regency spencer, one regency dress, my 1830s dress and my kind-of-romantic-era dress and a pair of bloomer-pants and many more smaller things.
I also started working on my 1900s wardrobe, made a corset, a corselet skirt, some blouses and a started two dresses.
And I also finished my Marie Antoinette dress, which will be shown next year at Schloss Ambras!
And now let‘s talk 2021!
1. l I want to shop my stash again! This is very important for me because I want to save a bit of money for more expensive projects I want to make this or next year but I also want to own less fabric because it can be a bit overwhelming to see all the unused fabric.
2. Next I want to sew more modern, day to day clothes for myself. I have two beautiful viscose fabrics my mom bought me when she visited Hawaii and another 2 viscose fabrics I bought myself. This again is very budget friendly because I have everything at home, including zippers, buttons, and everything else I could possibly need.
3. 1890-1910
This time period is still going to be an important project for me. I have a dark green wool dress which waites to get finished then I have an embroidered velvet ball gown which is nearly done. I also want to make the perfect S-Bend corset and try some patterns from a book I was able to lend from a dear friend!
4. Still working on my regency wardrobe
My plans to make a small roadtrip in the UK is not cancelled but postponed, so this year I want to focus on underpinnings and also on dresses. I have two beautiful fabrics which are going to work as a ball gown and a light summer dress and I also have bed linen which I want to use for a more modest day dress.
5. Updating Marie Antoinette
The next project which I want to work on in january is my Marie Antoinette gown because there are a few things I really don‘t like. I also still need to make the headpiece for her and find new lace! Also need to change the shape of the train…but I will talk more about that in a seperate post.
6. Patterns, patterns, patterns
This year I want to draft a lot of patterns for underpinnings, corsets and also blouses skirts and so on. And I want to take the patterns from all the authentic clothing I have and recreate some of them.
I want to get more professional with my hobby and also get a bit more authentic with my sewing techniques. (Still not going to sew completley by hand :D)
And this is pretty much it. Of course I hope to make some new fun projects but because there is no way to foresee the future for meet-ups, balls and so on I don‘t really want to plan for events which get cancelled eventually.
