I fired up my sewing machine, friends! I’ve been making my own clothes, as I’ve been working out my wardrobe crisis. Riley and I spent many weekends cleaning out our closets and getting rid of everything we don’t need. We’re still in this process, yet, we’ve sold, given away, and re-purposed so much of it! So, now I’m onto rethinking what I need and finding/making it. The fun part – I think no one would disagree!
This last winter and fall I took an online class to learn how to draft my own patterns and I made 6.5 articles of clothing. Don’t I get half a point for my half-finished-and-left-to-sit-forever project?? Honestly, it feels nice to say that I made any! It feels like so little compared to my old ways. You can gain a lot more by going out and buying. Yet, so far it’s been really helpful to sew my clothes! It’s kept me from accumulating things I don’t need and don’t fully like.
Let me tell you, if you think you’re going to put the time into sewing an article, you have to make up your mind if you’ll wear it or not. The time spent just isn’t worth it if you don’t!
So here I am, moving on to my summer wardrobe, still keeping my guidelines in mind. From my wardrobe crisis post I picked these words to help me remember my style and keep order:
multipurpose, neutral in color, timeless (minimal design), and handmade (perfect fitting)
and here’s what I’ve been dreaming of…
Sailor Shorts | Shorewalk Cover-Up Pants | Panama Hat | Acorn Vista Sweep Sandals | Taj Mahal Ruana | Sleeveless Linen Blouse | Sleeveless Line Dress | Knee Length Gathered Skirt
The Plan
First off. I have the hat (in black). I’ll be hunting thrift stores for other colors or similar styles. And no, I’m not making the shoes. I just bought them! The shoes – they were $21! Great price for multipurpose shoes with style and quality. I plan to wear them EVERYWHERE. I broke both my fashion and outdoor sandals last year. No joke. So I chose a pair that is both style’n and I can garden and adventure in.
Second, I have the dress, only in a chambray that I made for the winter. That means, I’ll start with that pattern. I’ll change a thing or two and get sewing on it first. I’ll take this one in about an inch on both sides and do better interfacing. It’ll still be super fast without the design and pattern making stage.
Third, I’ll make the sleeveless top. I love this top because there aren’t any zippers or buttons, however, I might add one just for funnsies! But, it’ll be a quick sew. I plan to make it in all different fabrics. Starting with linen for casual and outdoor wear then maybe getting adventurous and doing a knit so I can wear it to Crossfit. Then a beautiful rayon for dressing up. Or Silk! who knows… I’m dreaming of a lot of them. So multi-purposeful!
Oh, and the skirt. It’ll go fast as well. I’ve done an elastic waste band on shorts that I made last summer and I’ve made a skirt with a yoke in the fall. So, I imagine just fine tuning this sucker to an ideal fit is all it’ll take and I’ll be off making a few.
Lastly, the pants and shorts. They will be a challenge for me. I’ve never done a zip fly like for the shorts. Buuuut, I found a great tutorial I evernoted from the web. Check it out here, if you are curious for yourself. Also, I’m basically just worried about the fit of the pants. I’m imagining AT LEAST three different Muslim trials. We’ll see… I’ll try to keep you posted.
Being Realistic
This is just dreaming, right?? I gotta start somewhere. I hope I at least make one of these. Ideally, I’ll make them all. If something happens and I don’t, that’s fine too. Cheers to fun, learning and wardrobe fixing!
Aaaaand I’m off…
