My 2020 sewing year was a bit strange. It started strong will my first-ever attempt at planning; got interrupted by a last-minute decision to spend the first lock-down in France, where I had a sewing machine but neither fabric nor patterns; got completely crazy in the summer when I managed to get my supplies back together; and resumed to somewhat of normality in the last part of the year.

In any case here are my favourite projects of the year – dresses, dresses and more dresses I’m afraid:

Here are all the sewing projects I completed over 2020 (not all posted on the blog I’m afraid – this is my big resolution for 2021!); in chronological rather than preference order.

Early 2020

V9327 in suiting wool (fully lined), sewn in January but shot in december – Covid got in between… This was my second time sewing this pattern which I really like for winter, I had reviewed the first version here.

More (fully lined) suiting wool for winter and a first go at my new embroidery machine. I only had 2m of fabric so I only managed to fit the skirt of V9327 and the Named Clothing’s Lexi Top.

My first attempt at replicating a dress I saw in a shop with M7978 – I made a FBA but sadly not large enough so the bodice is a bit tight. All rectified in my second version (more on this one later).

And a completely unplanned funky M7995, for which I made the big mistake of not doing an FBA and which I never wear. We live to learn…

And then we escaped to France and my sewing had to stop for a few months… It was really tough!

Summer 2020: hugely productive

To compensate for my non-existent spring sewing, summer was hugely productive. Instead of being in London, we spent March to August by the seaside in France, so my sewing adapted to the much warmer weather.

I really enjoyed sewing different versions of similar patterns which had been waiting in my stash for a while.

First was V9253, sewn in blue and pink:

Second was M7952, sewn in blue stripes and white broderie anglaise:

Third was the Cassandre dress pattern, which I extensively used as a basis for several dresses:

Fourth was the M7958 top, here as well used several times.

And fifth was my self-drafted shirred dress, sewn in coral broderie anglaise and navy silk this summer, and for which I produced a free tutorial.

Late 2020: more planning, more variety

Back in London in September, I was craving more organisation in my sewing, so I wrote down my Autumn sewing plan – which I am proud to say I mostly followed. This resulted is a bit more variety is my sewing – although dresses remain my favourite by far.

So I started with two Pascal shorts...

… two M8048 coats…

… two box-pleated midi skirts with a full tutorial:

And then more dresses I’m afraid, it is the main thing I wear, especially now that I can knit matching cardigans!!!

So two new versions of M7081 (respectively my fifth and sixth)…

… a new velvet Magnolia (my fifth):

… and two silk dresses , a dotted coral M7978 and a “camouflage” Dior fabric V9327 – both in the most delicate (and for the Dior one expensive) fabric which I took most care of! Definitely my biggest technical challenges of the year!

Conclusion: not the most challenging but still a very happy sewing year

2020 was definitely not a year of huge sewing challenges (except for my three silk dresses), as I was definitely more focused on learning to knit properly from a pattern. But I still had a lot of fun and produced many garments I wear regularly, so I am very happy – and that’s the all point, isn’t it?

Aside from all the rest, I will definitely remember 2020 as the year of my knitting revelation. After ages of being intimidated by knitting patterns, everything finally clicked! As a result: 12 cardigans, 7 jumpers and 2 shawls knitted with love over the past twelve months.

Favourite patterns: Belladonna, Enchantee and Blossom

My most knitted and by far favourite pattern this year is the Belladonna cardigan by Andi Satterlund. I knitted four versions over 2020 (and I don’t rule out more versions in the near future…): pale blue, royal blue, black and purple – the only one not reviewed on this blog is the purple, completed just before the Christmas school break, parents will understand me…

I adore this pattern for its beautiful lace inserts – there is literally lace everywhere except on the sleeves; and its absolute perfect fit. I raised the neckline for my black and purple ones and it makes them much more versatile, so maybe the low neckline is the only negative of this pattern.

My second favourite pattern this year is the Enchantee sweater by Atelier Emilie – three jumpers knitted here (royal blue, baby pink and lilac), all for my teenage daughters.

I am a huge fan of knitted lace leaves and this pattern is so easy that it can become quite addictive. I substantially reduced the smaller size to fit my daughters’ FR 38/ UK 10/ US 4, as neither of us is into loose sweaters – 4 repeats of the lace at the front and at the back are amply sufficient.

And my third favourite pattern is the Blossom jumper by Along avec Anna (2 jumpers, 3 cardigans).

I had already knitted the Blossom shawl at the end of 2019 and I think it is the project that really got me into knitting lace.

Knitting the jumper turned out to be thousand times easier than the shawl (which is quite complex as you have to manage increases on top of the lace chart). I knitted two jumpers for my daughters but the first one turned out far too large…

Here again this pattern is quite loose-fitting, so for my second version I substantially reduced the sizing.

The lace is so beautiful that I also self-drafted an all-over lace cardigan on the basis of the jumper – the Blossom cardigan pattern exists but the lace sadly appears only on the back, definitely not enough for me! I knitted a white and a coral version, both reviewed on the blog; and also a duck blue one, more on this later.

Favourite designer: Andi Sutterland

My absolute favourite designer of the year is Andi Sutterland, creator of Untangling Knots. This year I knitted nine Untangling Knots cardigans: Belladonna (x4), Salal (x2), Agatha (x1) and Wainthropp (x1); and two jumpers: Chuck x2.

I had been eying Andi’s patterns for many years, solely for their style: they have this consistent 50’s fitted-and-cropped shape that goes so well with my staple fit-and-flare dresses. But when I started using the patterns, I had a big surprise: they are so amazingly clear! Everything is written down line-by-line, in the most simple manner, it is truly amazing! After that, it is really hard to follow other more convoluted instructions. And the fit is always spot-on, so no bad surprises on sizing. I am definitely a fan.

And a few flops obviously…

In case you are wondering, not everything went smoothly this year. My major disaster was at the beginning of lockdown 1, when I re-knitted three times a cardigan in size 3 needles, to realise it was far too big and my knitting was completely irregular. No picture for this one, it went directly to the bin.

A smaller-scale disaster was a recent baby project, for which I knitted the entire body and a full sleeve but then in a moment of madness pulled on a string… and unravelled everything… Arrrggghhhh!

My other fail was my red Salal cardigan, for which I did not use the right wool – it ended up too big and with a very irregular texture I abhor. This one went to the charity shop.

And a semi-fail: a Blossom cardigan for my daughter, longer than mine and in the colour she asked for… and which hasn’t been worn a single time! Oh well…

Conclusion: my most relaxing hobby

Knitting is such a different hobby to sewing !While I’m so focused on the end when sewing, when I knit it is more the process than I enjoy. Projects take so long anyway that there is no point counting the hours spent! If you haven’t tried I definitely recommend you give it a go!

Yes, I’ve done it again… I’ve sewn another version of the Magnolia dress by Deer&Doe!

Magnolia Old and New

You will probably remember my previous versions of Magnolia, all in stretchy velvet, sewn compulsively last autumn and reviewed in this article. They are among the dresses I have worn most both last and this Autumn, as they are so comfy while looking so stylish. The purple version actually got a chop and is now knee-lengh.

For my new Magnolia, I used velvet again, but this time thicker and non-stretchy. I bought this beautiful fabric from SewMeSunshine last year and had a Magnolia in mind all along. With it golden touches and its long skirt, this dress would be particularly appropriate for Christmas…

… but I mostly wear it casually to be honest, as my vision of casual is… well, very extensive! It works particularly well with one of my latest knits, my black Belladonna cardigan. The thickness of the velvet and the length of the skirt also mean it’s warm enough for the London cold.

Pattern Review and Modifications

As for the pattern, I already reviewed it extensively here and to be honest there is not much to add .

I cut a size 38, which fits perfectly my 36 FR/ 8 UK/ 2 US. And the ultimate joy is that I don’t need an FBA: it fits my E-cup without any adjustment, hurrah!

I made a few changes to the dress though:

• To make the sleeves puffier, I lengthened them by 5cm and reduced the wrist elastic to 19cm.
• I used the skirt of another of my favourite dresses: V9253, because I like its shape so much. I just checked that the width would match the Magnolia bodice and I was good to go.
• I fully lined the bodice (except sleeves) to make the neckline finish easier – I did not feel the need to line the skirt for once, which is a nice change as I usually line all my dresses in winter.

Overall it was a quick and rewarding project. I am now on the lookout for similar velvet to make a twin dress to this one – because of course I really need a fifth velvet Magnolia!

In Spring 2020, I had what I call a “knitting revelation”: I discovered that I could easily follow a pattern, after years of being terrified by what looked like indecipherable code. And since then, my designer of choice has definitely been Andi Satterlund, creator of Untangling Knots. I had been admiring for years her 50’s inspired designs, a perfectly match to my wide collection of fit-and-flare dresses.

Obviously as soon as I managed to understand Andi’s patterns, I got very excited – I am not even sure how many I’ve knitted over the past 9 months…

Although the Chuck jumper (wine version above and another pink version not shown) was my first ever Andi Sutterland knit and will as such always have a special place in my heart, I have a clear preference for cardigans. I have already presented in this blog my two Belladonnas (pale blue here and royal blue here); but I have also knitted two versions of Salal (pink beloved version above, as well as a failed red version due to the wrong wool choice); and a yellow version of Wainthropp.

In the middle of this rainbow of colours, I was really missing neutral cardis, especially as my wardrobe is definitely more subdued in winter than in summer. Problem solved now: let me introduce you to my two new makes, my black Belladonna …

and my off-white Agatha:

Both cardigans are actually quite similar in many respects: they are knitted in a similar way: bottom up and seamless, with A LOT of lace.

• The construction starts from the back, which you knit from the top to the underarm. Then you cast-on each front side at the shoulder and knit them separately down to the underarm. At this stage all three pieces are joined and knit together to the bottom. The sleeves are cast-on around the sleeve openings. The construction finishes with the button and neck bands.
• The joy of knitting comes from all the lace inserts. They are two lace charts for the body of Belladonna and Agatha; and a third for the sleeves of Agatha. They are impossible to fully memorise (for me anyway) but very easy to follow line by line – if you count your stitches all the time! (which I personally enjoy)
• And the fit is just perfect! There are regular decreases from mid-body, which make the cardigans perfectly huge the waist. And I absolutely adore the cropped length, which not only perfectly compliments my dresses but also makes the project much quicker to knit!
• Both patterns use a similar gauge, which works well for my favourite combination of Drops Kid Silk ad Drops Baby Merino knitted as a double strand. For my black Belladonna I used 21 black baby merino and 02 black kid silk; and for my off-white Agatha I use 01 white baby merino and 01 off-white kid silk. I knitted both cardigans in the smallest size offered (but my knitting is quite loose).

Here are more pictures of Belladonna – sorry for the poor quality but black is so hard to photograph! My only deviations from the pattern and from my previous projects is that I substantially raised the neckline and did not do any decreased for the sleeves. It makes the cardi much more versatile and comfortable to wear.

As for Agatha, this was my first time knitting it so except for making the sleeves larger by not making any decreases, I religiously followed the pattern. I particularly like the leaves design of the lace; but I am less a fan of the ribbing lines – although I like them more on the pictures than while wearing them (don’t ask why!).

Overall I m very pleased with these two new knits – the black Belladonna in particular has been of so much use since finished! I am seriously thinking of making another black cardi as this is such a useful colour for me in the winter. In the meantime I am considering more basics: pure white and navy would be good additions to my cardi collection. Too many projects, too little time as usual!