Confession time. I am slightly obsessed with capsule wardrobes at the moment.
It started when I realized that I really needed to do something about my clothing. I’d been making do for awhile. Mostly depending on jeans and whatever I find that will work at the thrift/second hand stores I visit a couple times a year. The issue here is that unless you are willing to shop frequently at thrift stores, sometimes you have to make do with what you can find. This has led to a flurry of sewing because it really is my favorite way of building a wardrobe. I get to choose exactly the clothing I want.
What I want:
To wear jeans less. They aren’t as comfortable unless they have spandex and if they have spandex they wear out quickly. Inseams are hard to repair and still have be comfortable, at least for me.
To wear skirts more. They are more flattering, more comfortable, and I love them. They also last forever and are easy to repair.
Colors I want to choose as the core: red (it makes me happy, always), blue (indigo and all the shades it will make which include turquoise), and brown. This was tough. I like colors, I like a lot of colors. I chose the blue and brown because these are colors I can dye with easily as well as ones that I love. Also brown wool is natural. Knitting will certainly play a part in this.
Me, age seven? And Fritz.
Less prints that limit my choices. Prints catch my eye, they make me smile but unless I’m careful I end up with too many prints and only jeans to wear them with. Oh I might as well confess to this too, to be more brave with mixing prints. I love some of the combinations others come up with but just haven’t reached that level of comfort yet.
Things that layer well. This works best for the climate I live in. I am in love with the combination of a tank top and a cardigan. It works well for summer, the cardigan comes off as soon as it’s warm enough. it works well for winter, the cardigan stays on all day. And for spring and fall I can adjust layers as needed on any given day.
The right amount of clothing. If I wear it to work it’s wear once and wash. I work with infants and toddlers primarily and I think that says it all. Second issue, no dryer. Except for on the hottest summer days it takes 24 hours for laundry to dry.
Ethical choices. Reclaimed fabric, organic/sustainable, locally purchased or from a small business.
This weekend's project. I've had this cotton/hemp blend in my stash for a couple years. Lots of back and forth about what to make. I think originally the plan was a t-shirt.
I started with the skirt. It's a self-drafted pattern. I wish I'd made it a long time ago. I'm going to be wearing this a lot. I think I will dye it though.
The tank top is my standard pattern. I wanted to see if it would work as a knit. As I was using what was left over from the skirt, a bit of piecing was needed. It was cut as four pieces, with a seam up the middle for back and front. I did away with the facing, rolled the edges in for the neckline and arm holes and hand-stitched into place. It's super comfortable and covers all bra lines (a dress code must for me). It works! My next experiment with this pattern is to draft a sleeve pattern.
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A random thought: prints are more forgiving for beginning sewers. They hide minor mistakes better. Seams are much more obvious on solid colors.