2010 DIY Wrap-up

I didn't think it was a productive creative year at the time I was living it. But, when I looked at the spreadsheet, I saw that I had produced more than I realized. In making this photo collage, I also realized that my spreadsheet was incomplete.

With a growing child, you have to run just to stay still. I sewed replacements for things that she outgrew. I made 8 things for Iris, 7 sewn and one knitted in addition to 4 refashions
(and endless rehemming as she grew).

I sewed 4 things for her cousin and 1 for a playmate.

The two dresses and the cardigan were longer-range projects, but the vast majority of children's items were simple items like tops and pull-on pants and skirts.

I made 18 things for myself, 4 knit sweaters, 1 knit shawlette, 3 blouses, a pair of PJ pants, a pair of shorts, 5 skirts, 2 jackets and a dress. I also refashioned a dress into a skirt.

Bad Dad received new PJ pants.

• 34 35 sewn from scratch
• 5 quick refashions
• 6 hand knits (5 sweaters, 1 shawl)
  
• 6 charity quilt tops
  
• 1 baby quilt (gift)
• 1 humongous quilt top
• endless repairs and rehemming
• let's not forget the tie-dye
• or all the theater costumes
  

The lessons of Wardrobe Refashion continue to stick. I bought fewer and made/repaired more. I spent about the same amount of $ as before, but was able to buy better quality by buying fewer and more selectively. Those are practices that I want to continue.

So far, I've read about half the papers in the book, The Culture of Sewing.

Although the book describes the 1850s through the 1950s, I definitely fit the patterns of production and consumption described in the book. I sew for better fit and quality. I sew to fit unusual body proportions. I purchase ready-made items that are labor intensive or require a higher level of skill or specialized tools that I do not possess. I sew for myself, family and friends and for charity.

Unlike prior generations, researchers will have an easier time collecting evidence of our home production. The proliferation of DIY blogs proclaim a collective, "We are here!"

Links:

• See how your clothing expenditures compare against the BLS tables of household expenditures by income level.
• See all the Consumer Expenditure Survey Tables.
• Wardrobe Refashion Rules