Category: Wardrobe Planing

Sewing in 2018

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Happy new year.  Hope its a good one!

I must also confess that I’m not the best at sticking to my sewing plans. So many aspects of my day are the ‘have to do’ and my sewing is my ‘want to do’.  But there are a few things I’d ‘like-to-do’ in 2018.

1. Reduce my fabric stash

This year I’ve bought a lot more fabric than I had planned or needed to and it is starting to overflow its allotted space. So my main goal for 2018 is to make some space. My plan of attack sounds simple, but in reality it will take a bit of willpower on my part

    1. do a bit of culling – weed out the fabrics that are the wrong colour, wrong fibre, poor quality, wrong lifesyle. Basically, if I’m not going to use, rehome it in some way. I don’t like throwing things out so I’ll need to do this job when I’m feeling very low and I can be more ruthless.
    2. Get stuck into those ‘gunnawundae’ fabrics – I have some great fabrics that I love. I must get over feeling like my sewing isn’t good enough to do them justice. Surely the injustice is in leaving good fabric in a box, never to be worn.
    3. If I do buy fabric…. it needs to be for a) immediate use (there will always be new shiny fabrics) or b) bulk buy staples ( eg black cotton lycra or dyeables that will get used). Consider the “30 wears test” before making impulse buys. Think about the fabric quality, suitability and durability. Will this fit into my wardrobe? Will it last? Will I wear it to death? Is the print that complex to layout that I’ll be too chicken to use it?
    4. I’ll be participating in The 50 yard dash on Patternreview.  The aim is to sew 50m (or y) over the course of the year. Should be a fun sew-along.
    5. Apply the same to my patterns.

2. Track my purchases and stick to a budget

I’ve never really needed to do this but I’m curious to know how much I do actually spend, where it goes and what gets used. I usually record the cost of fabrics, but not the notions, patterns, subscriptions, classes, books etc. I expect that I’m in for a bit of a surprise as to how much the ‘extras’ add up.

No weaving purchases unless for immediate use. I weave far too slowly to stash yarns that I’ll never get to use. Plus I still have a lifetime’s supply of rug yarn that I was gifted last year.

One of the things I need to review are my subscriptions – to magazines like Threads, Knipmode, Handwoven; but also web subscriptions. Do I really need all of them?

3. Specific projects

  1. Participate in SWAP 2018  I’m quite excited about my planned wardrobe(s) for this year and I really enjoy seeing how other people put their plans together.  You can track my progress on this page.
  2. Work on my TNT patterns  Which patterns do I keep going back to, or need to go back to? Adapt these to draft new patterns rather than purchasing new ones. Esp Big 4 patterns, so many of these look the same or with minor variations. I do need to work to regain my confidence in pant fitting. After the dramas with the pant sloper I’ve been put off sewing pants but it’s time I got over it. I had thought about doing a pattern audit/cull but we’ll see how we go.
  3. Sew a handwoven fabric. I’ve had this on my list since I got the loom. It is going to happen!!!!
  4. Tour de France sewing frenzy. I watched live stage of the TDF this year – mostly in the small hours of the morning – and got a lot of sewing done at the same time. It coincided with the pattern stash contest on PR, so it was very productive. I plan to sew along with the tour again. So for this year – possibly a French jacket, AC style garment, or winter wardrobe?
  5. More activewear – my general exercise and cycling gear are almost had it and need to be replace. My ankle has come a long way and is coping with cycling and starting to handle 1/2 day walks. Playing soccer with the dog or yoga is still dodgy but I plan on being a lot more active than in 2017.

SWAP 2018 planning

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Potential SWAP fabrics ( shopping the stash)

I’ve been looking forward to start of SG’s 2018 SWAP next week. I am a fair way into the planning phase with two possible wardrobe plans. I dived into my stash and surfaced with a colour scheme of whites, pinks and greys. The colours of a Galah – and hence the working title of “What a Galah”. Continue reading “SWAP 2018 planning” →

Sewing Inspiration: Winter 2017

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I’ve been chasing my tail trying to decide on what to sew next. The main things I need are active-wear and everyday clothes that I won’t mind getting dirty. So many ideas, but where to start? Sound all too familiar?

So I thought I’d make a mood board of my wish list. While I was doing this, I decided to scale the inspiration photos in size based on how much I wanted/needed to make the item. It was a good way to try to come up with some sort of prioritised list.  I’m mainly looking at the styles here, the colours are likely to be different.  Mostly shades of grey, pink, olive and brown – depending on what is in my stash – along the lines of the colour palettes in the last board. Continue reading “Sewing Inspiration: Winter 2017” →

Summer wardrobe planning

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To put my fashion flats drawings to the test, I’ve been using them to plan my summer sewing.  Two possible wardrobes are emerging with the colour scheme coming from the choice of swimsuit fabric.  One is a colourful ink-blotch print and the other is a striking digital print.

After doing the tech drawings, I’ve scanned them in so I have a digital copy that are all the same scale.  It was fairly easy to identify a few of the designs which didn’t suit me.  I also printed a reduced scale version that I cut up like playing cards to match with the fabrics I had in mind.  It made mixing and matching the patterns a lot easier as I could compare the proportions of a top with a bottom. Continue reading “Summer wardrobe planning” →

Craftsy Class Review: Drawing fashion flats

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One of my New Year’s resolutions is to watch and make use of the Craftsy classes I’ve accumulated.  I’ve also stuffed my ankle so I’m looking for more sedentary things to do at the moment (twiddling my thumbs for 3-4 months is going to test my patience).

Anyway, the first class I’ve watched has been Drawing Fashion Flats: Designing Construction Details   I often do sketches when I’m trying to knock off a garment I’ve seen or see how a pattern’s proportions work on my croquis, so I thought I’d give this class a go.   I have been working on plans for a summer wardrobe, so I could put the class to work by drawing out my plan. Continue reading “Craftsy Class Review: Drawing fashion flats” →

2016, the year in stitches

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It is hard to believe that the year is almost over.  Time to have a quick look back at my original goals for the year and see how the year went.

I’d have to say that my 3 favourite things that I made this year was the swimsuit (Merckwaerdigh BAD24), the knit biker jacket (My Image M1459) and the pixel plaid wool shirt (Knipmode).  All three have had a lot of wear and I’m planning another version of the swimsuit very soon.  A close runner-up was a hand-dyed T-shirt – just love the colours.  Probably the most challenging has been the hut booties for DH.  I’m hoping the weather is a little cooler next week so I can finish off the second boot before I forget how it was done 🙂 Continue reading “2016, the year in stitches” →

4 patterns => 11 piece wardrobe

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I’ve been following the speculation thread for the 2017 SWAP on Artisan’s square.  One of the suggestions was to use four patterns to make the 11 piece wardrobe.    This afternoon, I put a pen to paper and came up with a couple of quick options for a casual wardrobe and a sport one. My first impression was that four patterns would be fairly bland – but it is actually not too bad if you change collars, lengths of sleeves or add some colour blocking.  See what you think. Continue reading “4 patterns => 11 piece wardrobe” →

Winter sewing – the complete 12 piece wardrobe

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As today is the last official day of winter, it is time to checking on my progress with my Winter SWAP plans.  The format for the SWAP is the same for my previous swap.  This format helps me focus on the colour and the wildcards allow a bit of fun as the don’t have to be worn will ALL of the other pieces.

Some of my pieces are for work, some business-casual and others for the weekend.  Mostly I've used patterns I've used before which meant I didn't have to worry about fitting.  Two patterns, both from My Image magazine, have been on my stash for too long and I'm so glad I tried them.

Pack 1 Black silk knit shell,    bengaline pants,    denim jeans
Pack 2 Cream / Brown Knit blazer,     rayon knit shell,      stretch sateen pants
Combo All wrap front top,     colour-blocked top
Wildcard Red knit biker jacket,     utility jacket,     rayon knit shell,     canvas pants

 

What I wanted to achieve…

☑Main colours:   black, dark brown, cream and red.

☑Expand options for these jackets (black wool jacket  from 2015, brown leather jacket from 2014, Tosti jacket form earlier this year

Really need:

  • ☑plain knit tops to wear under a jacket, esp cream and black
  • ☑black jeans and dressy pants
  • ☑red jeans to go with the Tosti jacket

Nice to have:

  • ☑dressy knit jacket
  • ☒ hand-woven jacket - sadly I didn't finish this project.  I made the body section of a Chanel style jacket - complete with quilting.  But shelved the project because I accidentally cut one of the front pieces from the sampling section.  -> My check pattern was wider on one front than the other.  I may come back and re-cut the piece or re-dye the fabric

Overall I think it has been a success.  My favourite pieces are the biker jacket and utility jacket. The other solid tops and pants mean I have plenty of options to wear them.

Winter Wardrobe Planning

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Following on from the success of my Summer-Spring SWAP, I decided to use the same formula for a winter wardrobe.  Here are the bones of what I’ve been working on. Continue reading “Winter Wardrobe Planning” →

‘Start with a skein’ SWAP: Finish with a scarf

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Since my SWAP wardrobe was inspired by the colours in a skein of yarn, I should show you the finished scarf.  After a few wrong turns learning experiences, the end result was a featherweight scarf that really showed up the colour variations in the dying.  Continue reading “‘Start with a skein’ SWAP: Finish with a scarf” →