Not Again!

I have been playing with muslins and they just are not working out. Too big. I tried on the jacket and skirt that I was planning to build my wardrobe around, and they are too big. I am going to have to dig out some smaller clothes and see what I can wear now.

I learned something about measurements. Even if you are not loosing weight, if you start exercising, you have to take frequent measurements, because the measurements do change much faster than one might anticipate.

Change of Plans

I have had a terrible time getting motivated with the mini wardrobe sew along. After looking at the fabric again last night, I realized that I don't like the fabrics, or even the skirt that was the center of the wardrobe. The dressy fabrics also do not fit my current lifestyle. Even though they were just meant to be muslins, they did not inspire me to sew. I decided to dump the entire plan and start over.

I found out that the Stitcher's Guild was having a wardrobe sew along, so I am going to try to complete a mini wardrobe by their guidelines. It involves making an accessory, an area where I have a huge gap in my wardrobe, so if I complete it, I will have all that I need to look put together.

I checked out my closet and found in the dark corner a denim jacket I love, but have rarely worn, because I have nothing the wear with it, and the way I am loosing weight, I will never get to wear it if I don't make something right away.

I went through my stash and found these fabrics that will set it off.

I haven't decided exactly what I am going to do with it, but I am looking forward to sewing this wardrobe, and I think it will get a lot of use. The three fabrics on the left are knits that will be made into shirts. The fabrics on the right are a tan twill and a plaid seersucker. They will probably be skirts, as I wear mostly skirts during the summer.

Mini Wardrobe

Pattern review is having a mini wardrobe contest this month. There is a sew along for those of us who do not wish to participate in the contest, but need to sew a coordinated wardrobe. It is supposed to consist of 4 pieces that can be worn together and one item from our closet. I still haven't decided on all the pieces, but I have selected patterns and fabrics. I do not want to buy any fabric, so all the fabric is from my stash. I am hoping to make some wearable muslins from the fabric. Since I haven't sewn for myself in over 5 years, and my body has changed in those years, I will need to do a lot of experimenting. I chose a 6 gore turquoise skirt with a navy blue stripe from my closet. I will be making navy linen pants and jacket.

The available fabrics from my stash in addition to the navy linen are a hot pink polyester bengaline, a polyester silky print with navy, turquoise, hot pink and lime green, and a cotton sateen with a floral print with navy, pink, turquoise and about every other color in the rainbow. I have five yards of the bengaline and sateen, and three of the poly print. I could really use some help deciding what to do with the fabric. What do you think? Click on the photo for a larger image.

S.W.A.P.

Today I learned a new sewing concept, S.W.A.P., Sewing With A Plan. The objective of the plan is to sew a wardrobe that is appropriate for your lifestyle, so you will have the clothes you need.

The plan recommends evaluating one's lifesyle, then sewing 11 garments out of 2 basic colors and 1 complementary color.
2 pairs of pants
2 skirts, one solid, one print
6 tops, matching and coordinating
1 jacket

Here are some links about this concept:

Sewing with a Plan, Planning the wardrobe

Sewing with a Plan Update

Casual Wardrobe Planning

Stitches Article

Sewliz's Template

Jemima Bean's Tutorial on Storyboards

Another suggestion that I read was to organize fabric into containers with coordinated outfits, and sew one container at a time so that one would have something to wear when the container is empty, instead of a bunch of mismatched clothes.

After reading about SWAP I remembered my mother's wardrobe. After retiring, my parents bought a travel trailer and traveled around the country for years. My mother's entire wardrobe had to fit in 2 feet of closet space. Everything was red, white or blue so that she could mix and match everything she wore. My mother made everything she wore. I guess she was ahead of her time.