Rating My Early Sewing Makes

My Early Sewing Makes: From Wonky Zippers to Wardrobe Favourites

How bad was my sewing 15 years ago? Let’s find out! Today I’m taking you on a trip down memory lane, rating some of my earliest sewing makes. If you’re just starting out or battling imposter syndrome about your handmade projects, I hope this encourages you. Everyone begins somewhere — and looking back can be a wonderful reminder of how far you’ve come.

Over the past 15 years I’ve made hundreds of garments, samples for photo shoots, and even three wedding dresses (not all for me!). Now I teach, write for magazines, and share tutorials online.

This post proves that everyone starts somewhere. We are our own harshest critics. You can probably make a few mistakes without people even realising when they look at your clothes. And you’ve got to celebrate every little victory that you can.

If you want to see INSIDE the garments with all their dodgy construction, jump into the YouTube video that accompanies this post:

The Second-Ever Dress (2010)

I don’t have the very first dress I made (it’s long gone), but I do still have the second Butterick 5351…. proof that your second project is always better than your first.

This is a Butterick sundress pattern. I made this on an evening course – I did an adult learning ten-week intro to dressmaking course and made a tote bag and two dresses.

Made from cotton poplin with a contrast band, darts, spaghetti straps, and a centre-back zipper, it looked surprisingly cute from the front. But the back? A total disaster. The zipper was badly topstitched, the darts were in the wrong place, and the inside construction was chaotic. The facing wasn’t finished properly, the hem was uneven, and the straps had basting stitches running down them pretending to be topstitching.

And yet, I wore this dress to death. From the outside, no one could see the chaos within. That was my first real lesson: perfection inside your garment doesn’t matter nearly as much as how it feels to wear it.

The Satin Polka Dot Party Dress (2012)

By 2012, I’d gained more confidence and tackled satin for the first time. This polka dot number was made for a Christmas party, and I felt incredibly chic in it. The fabric felt luxurious, the fit was flattering, and I was proud of the progress I’d made.

But the flaws were obvious inside: a poorly installed zipper, uneven topstitching, and a lining that was only half-secured. I’d clearly been in a rush to finish. By then I’d also bought my first overlocker — a tiny three-thread Singer serger I found online. It made seam finishing easier, but it didn’t solve my tendency to cut corners when excited to wear something new.

The Aeroplane Dress (2013)

Ah, the dress that “put me on the map” in the blogging world. Back in 2013, before “Sewing Instagram” had taken off, I posted this viscose aeroplane-print dress online and it got so much attention. Made with Simplicity 2444, it had a flattering boat neck, angled darts, and a gathered skirt. I was obsessed — I made at least ten versions of this pattern!

From the outside, it looked great. But inside? Not so much. My first attempt at a lapped zipper looked neat, but the zipper tape wasn’t secured and kept poking me. I’d also bodged the lining around the zipper and “fixed” stretched-out shoulders by stitching them shorter in the laziest way possible. Still, it was a beloved dress — and the confidence boost from the online sewing community meant the world to me.

The Birthday Lace Dress (2013)

I’ll end on a high. For my birthday in 2013, I made Simplicity 1755, a design by Project Runway winner Leanne Marshall. I took my time, gave it real care, and the results showed.

This dress used lace underlined with crepe, a carefully matched centre-front seam, and a beautifully neat finish inside. The invisible zipper wasn’t perfect, but overall it looked professional. It remains one of my proudest early makes, and I’d happily make (and wear) it again today.

Looking Back (and Moving Forward)

So there you have it. A few of my early makes, I’m still cringing about some of the things we just looked at, but you know, it proves, like I said, everyone starts somewhere. I’m kind of proud at how far I’ve come in 15 years. And, this was quite a nice little trip down memory lane. I’m proud of them all and I really feel like you could see the improvement of skills on show. And isn’t that nice? It’s nice to see how far you’ve come. You know, even when you’re only a few years into your sewing sewing journey. And then you can look again. And I look at some of the things I make now and I think, gosh, Beginner Amy / Past Amy would have loved this.

If you’re still a relatively new sewer, I promise no one can see the mistakes that, you know, you feel are so obvious. No one can see them when you’re wearing the outfit. And don’t be your own harshest critic. That little voice in your head is just trying to pull you down. You’re making amazing things and and I want you to keep sewing for years and years and just think about looking back in another five, ten years and seeing how far you’ve come.