::Sewing:: Reflection on 2013 S.W.A.P and Sewlution Part 2

As I was writing a post about my ambitions for 2014 I realised that it was morphing into a follow on from the post I wrote reviewing 2013. That post was more of a review of the results of 2013 and not about my headspace when it came to my ambitions for 2013 and how things panned out.

My idea about what my 2013 S.W.A.P. has changed. Initially I thought that I would sew an entire wardrobe in one year. Bahahahaha! :D I was never going to complete my S.W.A.P. in one year.
I do think however, that it was an important tool for me in my sewing journey in 2013.

It acted as a 'map' for my sewing to make sure that I make things that suite my colouring, body shape and lifestyle. Therefore, I hope, lower the chance of me making clothes that I'd not finish or not wear.

I kicked off my 2013 S.W.A.P. before I committed to Sewlution 2013 and it ended up that they worked really well together. When I was thinking about what to sew next for my Sewlution I just looked at my S.W.A.P. to find the next project to sew. This meant there was some flexibility in my sewing because the S.W.A.P. wasn't strictly a queue of projects. It is a 'bunch' of things that I want to make and so I'd pick a S.W.A.P. project that appealed to me most at the time.

I think this worked really well and after reviewing 2013 I think I was far more productive than I would have been if I had not had a S.W.A.P. or a Sewlution.

[source]

It's like the 2013 S.W.A.P. is my master plan and the Sewlution was a milestone in my journey from getting from point A (and entirely RTW wardrobe) to point B (a mostly me-made wardrobe).

What inspires you? Do you strive for quantity, quality or the journey? Or is it something else entirely that compels you?
I'd love to hear from you, leave a comment below :)

Until next time,

::Sewing:: Reflection on 2013 S.W.A.P and Sewlution

Where the heck is 2013 going? How is it nearly December?

So have I gone with my 2013 S.W.A.P and Sewlution. After all that thought and planning have I fallen flat on my face? I've ticked a couple of things off my S.W.A.P. list and I've reached my Sewlutions goal ;)

Some quick notes about how I've done...

S.W.A.P.

After review several factors like colouring, body type and lifestyle I wrote a Wardrobe Plan
I think I was very ambitious considering how little I sew.
Nonetheless the plan was as follows:
4 work tops

• Colette Sorbetto
• Portrait Blouse I made one, but it wasn't a great success I haven't posted about it
• Colette Violet 
• Taffy Blouse 

4 work bottoms

• Drndle Skirt DONE-Post here
• McCalls 5591 - View A  DONE-Post here - Gave it to my mum.
• Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt 
• Ginger Skirt 
• Maybe: Jenny Skirt 

1 work dress

• New Look 6723 - View A 

2 casual tops

• Colette Sorbetto 
• Scout Woven Tee DONE-Post here

2 casual bottoms

• Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt DONE-Post here 
• BurdaStyle 06/2011-Skirt with front pleats #117A

1 casual dress

• Dixie DIY Ballet Dress

1 sleep top & 1 sleep bottom & 1 slip

• Colette Sorbetto 
• Tap pants (Lazy Stitching's Tutorial of adapting the Free Madeleine Bloomers into tap pants)
• Ruby slip (Pattern Scissors Cloth Free Pattern and Sewalong)

And a few bonus items

• 1 bolero
• 1 singlet
• 1 undies Well kinda done - I made a test pair-Post here

So that's a total of 17 garments (not including the maybe or bonus items).
How did I go? Well I made 6 items, but I'm only wearing 4.
But.....

Sewlution

The challenge I set for myself was to sew 9 garments in 2013. To help keep my eye on the prize I made a poster for my Sewlution (I think I'll make one for my S.W.A.P too)

So how many garments have I sewn?

1. Casual Hollyburn Skirt (in high rotation in my wardrobe)
2. Portrait Blouse (not blogged and not worn)
3. McCalls 5591 - View A (gave it to my mum)
4. Craftsy Knit Shorts (not blogged, Wasn't on my S.W.A.P. list but I wear them frequently)
5. Undies - Test pair
6. Casual Scout Woven Tee (in high rotation in my wardrobe)
7. Pyjama bottoms (Wasn't on my S.W.A.P. List, and wore them frequently in winter)
8. Olive Drndle Skirt (in high rotation in my wardrobe)
9. Knit Scout Woven Tee (in high rotation in my wardrobe)
10. (ETA 28Dec2013) Grey on Grey Knit shorts 

I've sewn 910 garments, not all of them are being worn, but that's ok. You can't win them all!

I'm hoping to sew more before the end of the year, but we will see as the silly season is upon us!

How have you gone with your creative goals this year?

Until next time,

V xoxo

::Sewing:: S.W.A.P. - Stage Two: Wardrobe Planning

Stage Two: Wardrobe Planning

Wowzers! This whole S.W.A.P. thing taken me aaages to round off. I'd intended to get these planning posts done by the end of Feb, but life got in the way. Meh... I got there in the end :)

[image source]

I've done a lot of analysis! I've looked at my colouring, my body shape, lifestyle and style. That's heaps to think about. So now what?

Well lets start by having a look at where the gaps are in my wardrobe. Based on my lifestyle analysis a third of my wardrobe should be work appropriate and I am well under that. At the moment I only have enough work clothes to last me about a week. Ideally at this stage I want enough work wear to last me a fortnight. That means I need to make a week's worth of clothes. So that means the following:

• 4 work tops
• 4 work bottoms
• 1 work dress

I want these to be interchangeable so I can mix and match the tops and bottoms.

Now what about my casual wardrobe? Well to start off I'll make a couple of outfits

• 2 casual tops
• 2 casual bottoms
• 1 casual dress

My sleeping wardrobe isn't a massive priority right now, but as a starting point

• 1 sleep top
• 1 sleep bottom
• 1 slip

And a few bonus items

• 1 bolero
• 1 singlet
• 1 undies

I have heaps of 'home' clothes. So I won't worry about them for now.

19 garments (or 22 with the bonus items) Heck! I've got a lot of sewing to do! All very boring practical I know, but these would be the clothes that I'd be likely to wear the most.

At this stage I'm not going to worry too much about seasonal wardrobes. Queensland is generally pretty mild during winter and if I make clothes suitable for summer I can just layer in the winter with scarves and throw and things. (Eventually I'd like to knit a vest or cardigan, but that's for another time =D )

Pattern Alterations

I'm not expecting to get a fantastic fit for most items straight off the pattern. Based on my body analysis the following are some possible alterations I'll need to make.

Tops
Full Bust Adjustment; Tapering to larger size at the hem; Swayback (maybe)
 

Bottoms
Swayback; Full Derriere Adjustment; Swayback (maybe)

Dresses
The same as for both tops and bottoms

Ideas for Garments (The Nitty Gritty)

In my planning I'm trying to take into account my colouring, my body shape and style. I've already looked at my lifestyle to get my list of garments to make.

4 work tops

Colette Sorbetto 

Portrait Blouse 

from Gertie's Book for Better Sewing

Colette Violet

 Taffy Blouse 

from Colette Sewing Handbook

- Fabric - Colour? Weight? Patterns?
I'd prefer natural fibres that breathed for the Queensland climate. Lighter colours would be good too to emphasise my top half. I'm ok with patterned fabric from my blouses.

	Soft White
	Pewter
	Primrose
	Emerald Green
	Cornflower

- Pattern Variations

Coletter Sorbetto - I'd like to have some sleeves on this top some possibilities are set in sleeves, kimono sleeves, floaty Taffy Blouse sleeves, tulip sleeves
Colette Violet - might have to add some waist darts to give shape.

4  work bottoms

Full Gathered Drindle Skirt - with side seam pockets

Gertie's Full Gathered Skirt (Part 1 & Part 2)

McCalls 5591

Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt

Colette Ginger Skirt

Depending on how I go I'd like to also make a BurdaStyle Jenny skirt and maybe some pants

- Fabric - Colour? Weight? Patterns?
Base on my figure analysis I think it's best that I have dark colours on the bottom.
As I want a wardrobe that is easily mixed and matched I think I'd like mostly neutral colours for my lower half. So I think mainly Chocolate, Black-Brown, Black, Charcoal and Dark Navy. Preferably not patterns, just solid colours.

	Chocolate
	Black-Brown
	Black
	Charcoal
	Dark Navy

- Pattern Variations
I'd like to have pockets in all my bottom half garments.

1 work dress

New Look 6723 - View A

- Fabric - Colour? Weight? Patterns?
Preferably black breathable fabric

- Pattern Variations
As above I would like pockets. Probably side seam.

2 casual tops

Colette Sorbetto

 Grainline Studio Woven Scout Tee

- Fabric - Colour? Weight? Patterns?
Light and breathable fabrics as it gets cooler I can layer something over the top or wear a singlet underneath.

- Pattern Variations
I might make a size slightly smaller than recommended for the Woven Scout Tee

2 casual bottoms

 Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt

 

BurdaStyle 06/2011 

Skirt with front pleats #117A

I'd like to draft some palazzo/gaucho pants

- Fabric - Colour? Weight? Patterns?
Perhaps I can make a Hollyburn skirt our of Seesucker.
I'd like to make the Skirt with front pleats out of a linen perhaps.

- Pattern Variations
None that I can think of now.

1 casual dress

Dixie DIY Ballet Dress

I'd like to try a Sorbetto and drindle skirt hybrid

- Fabric - Colour? Weight? Patterns?
The Dixie dress will be my first go at knits.
So a sturdy knit might make sewing this easier.

- Pattern Variations
I'd probably make the dress longer.

1 sleep top and 1 sleep bottom

Sorbetto

Tap pants (Lazy Stitching's Tutorial of adapting the Free Madeleine Bloomers into tap pants)

I'd like to make a Ruby slip (Pattern Scissors Cloth Free Pattern and Sewalong)

- Fabric - Colour? Weight? Patterns?

Rich red colour would be nice, or black in natural fibres. Maybe a little bit slinky ;)

- Pattern Variations
Sorbetto - remove the front pleat from the sorbetto
If I make a ruby slip, make the top part out of fabric and not lace.

Bonus items

If I manage to make everything else I want to or it I feel like shaking things up I'd like to make a bolero/short jacket, singlet and try my hand at undies.

I have Simplicity 1780 in my stash

So Zo's Free Downloadable PDF Pattern: Vest / Camisole / Singlet

So Zo's Free Downloadable PDF Pattern: Pants / Undies / Knickers.
Plus, How to Use This Pattern

Work and Casual Clothes Capsule; Summer and Winter Wardrobes

One day I might explore the ideas of clothing capsules, and different wardrobes for each season. But for now I think what I've got outlined in this post so far is heaps of food for thought.

Until next time, I hope you're getting you've got a wealth of inspiration,
Vanessa xo

::Sewing::FO:: Hollyburn Done!

I did it! I finished my first wearable garment for 2013! I signed up to participate in My Messing's Hollyburn Sewalong.

When sewing I didn't even look at the instruction sheet that came with the pattern I just looked at Rachel's fantastic instructions!

I was a little slow to get started. I didn't start until after the sewalong posts finished. I sewed most of the skirt last weekend and finished it up in the last few days. I wanted to wear it to a lunch I was having with friends yesterday for my birthday.

I did have a little hiccup. When I went to attach the waistband there was a difference in length between the waistband and the top of the skirt. Half the waistband measured 19 3/4 inches and half the top of the sewn up skirt was 20 3/4 inches.

Half the waistband measurement

Half the top of the sewn skirt

Luckily I had enough fabric to cut another waistband. I simply cut and spread the pattern for the waistband and recut the waistband.


I did make a few changes though...

• When sewing the waistband down I overlocked the raw edge before sewing it down by topstitching around the bottom of the waistband.
• I used in invisible zipper instead of a dress zipper 
• I made a very narrow hem by overlocking the raw edges and then simply turned the fabric up just enough to hide the overlocking and then stitched it down by machine.

Skirt Front

Skirt Back

Now lets take a look on the inside....

Inside skirt front

Inside skirt back

Close up of the inside skirt front
and the different kind of seam finishings.

Things I would change.

• I'd staystitch the top of the skirt pieces as soon as I cut them. This might stop the top of the skirt from stretching out, which is why I suspect there was a difference in measurement between the waistband and the skirt top. The skirt is a little loose. I should have shortened the top of the skirt top instead of lengthening the waistband.
•  I'd overlock all the raw seams instead of using a bound seam finish. It would be a lot quicker than bound seams and I want garments that I can throw in the washing machine (on a gentle cycle of course)
• My mother and I measured the hem to it would sit parallel to the floor, but it looked a little like a mullet hem when it was hanging up because the skirt sits lower at the front when I'm wearing it, but I ended up just hemming it as is. I think next time I'll cut the hem so that it sits parrallel to the floor instead of what I did this time.

And this is how I styled it for a lunch with friends.

Final word...
I love the skirt design. POCKETS! (need I say more) It's a very flattering cut and I love the colour.  I'm not entirely sold on the length, I may shorten it in future. But all in all I'm very pleased this skirt fits in with my S.W.A.P. and is a garment that counts towards my Sewlution pledge.

Until next time I hope you are making headway with your goals too,
Vanessa xo

::Sewing:: S.W.A.P. - Stage One: Self Analysis - Lifestyle and Style

Stage One: Self Analysis

What do I spend my time doing? When it comes to schedules and numbers I'm a very visual person, I like seeing what's going on when I'm dealing with figures. So when I needed to look at how I spent my time I opened up excel and did a rough time table. I wanted enough detail to accurately reflect what I do each day so I created 30 minute scale to the left and each day across the top.

This is what I ended up with. I probably went a little too much into detail, but that's how I work. (Sorry for the rubbish image). The table shows that my weekdays are mainly taken up with commuting to/from work or being at work. When I get home in the evenings I schlep around the house making dinner then watching telly. I'm not sure that what I've put in the weekend part is accurate, as my weekends are always different. But It think it's a good enough guess-timation for this purpose. From the table I created the pie chart below. It tells me I spend far too much time watching TV and not enough time crafting and reading.

However, how does this help me when I'm looking at wardrobe planning? So I broke time table down into more general terms. Work, home, sleep and outings. This helped with the function of the clothes I should have in my wardrobe to suite my lifestyle.

Based on the pie chart 31% of my wardrobe should be work attire. 33% should be leisure/lounge wear for home. 2% should be smart casual for casual socialising and 2% should be nice evening wear for evening outings.

Now some people would wonder why I've included sleep. Well I spend so much of my time sleeping that I think it would be great to wear nice things as I do. At the moment I wear ratty singlets to bed, so I'd like to change that. However, 32% for sleeping may be a bit much but I'll roll with that for the minute.

What does that mean for my wardrobe planning? I can tell you now that my wardrobe is definitely not distributed that way at all.

What is my style?

CMB has a quiz to help you find out what style you are. The options are Creative, Dramatic, Romantic, Classic, Natural and City Chic.

I took the quiz and the result was that I have a Natural style. This means that I prefer comfort above all other factors when choosing clothes. It also means that I prefer more streamlined dressing, less clutter.

That sounds accurate to me. I don't like being uncomfortable in my clothes and I don't like to wear a lot of accessories. So with my style it's about feeling comfortable, looking good and not too much faffing about with details.

How about you? What's your style? Here's a fun style personality quiz for you.

Until next time, I hope you are loving the skin you're in and the clothes that cover it,
Vanessa xo

::Sewing:: S.W.A.P. - Stage One: Self Analysis - Body Shape

Stage One: Self Analysis - Body Shape

 After my colour self analysis post I'm going to move on to body shape. So the point of me looking at my body shape is I can make better informed decisions about what kinds of clothes will make me look good and give me an idea of what pattern alterations I may have to make when sewing garments. There is no point spending a load of time sewing a garment if it is never going to suite my figure nor fit properly.

[image source]

Now just letting you know this may be a TMI post for you as I will be posting a croquis of myself. Don't say I didn't tell you!

WHAT GARMENT FEATURES WILL FLATTER MY FIGURE?

When I was looking at Colour Me Beautiful (CMB) the closest body shape to my own was the Triangle - heavy set on the bottom half and smaller on top. However, I didn't feel like this best described my figure. It wasn't detailed enough.

I have The Body Shape Bible by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine and decided that I'd have a look through to see if there were any body types in there that better suite my physical characteristics.

I couldn't decide if I was a Pear or a Cello.
The characteristics of a Pear are Small Bust, Long Waist, Flat Tummy, Saddlebags, Heavy legs.The characteristics of a Cello are Big Bust, Short Waist, Big Hips, Big Bottom, Big Thighs, Slim Lower Legs.

Now here comes the TMI part. If you are uncomfortable at looking at me as a line drawing in all my glory then I suggest that you avert your eyes and press the page down key a couple of times.

Front View	Side View

None of these suite me quite right either. So I had a look at CMB again. Hmmm. I took a look at myself in the mirror in just my unmentionables and I noted my body characteristics. (Sidenote: I don't consider any of these characteristics good or bad, they are just ways to describe my body.)
I have sloped shoulders - like a pear
I have a short high waist - like a cello
My top half is a smaller size than my lower half - like a pear
I have big hips, big thighs - like an cello and pear
I have big bottom, and slimmer lower legs ( I have large calves, but I have slimmer ankles) - like cello


I'm not too sure about my bust. I wouldn't consider it to be large or small. I had a professional fitting and was told that I'm a 16C/D - so I'm at the high end of a C cup and the low end of a D cup, depending on the cut of the bra. Sooo I guess I'm on the larger-ish end of the bust scale-like a cello.

I have finally come to the conclusion that I am a Cello  with the shoulders of a Pear.

[source]

[source]

That is a heap of food for thought. I think that's enough now. Otherwise this really will turn into a planning only exercise.


You can find the 12 Body Shapes from the book here.
What shape are you? Or do you not believe in body shapes?

Until next time, love what you see in the mirror,
Vanessa xo

::Sewing:: S.W.A.P. - Stage One: Self Analysis - Colour

Stage One: Self Analysis

As a first step of my wardrobe overhaul in 2013 I've done a lot of self analysis. So this is a warning to you this is going to be a post very much focused on me.

The book that I referred to the most while doing my self analysis was Colour Me Beautiful (CMB) by Veronique Henderson, Pat Henshaw. It is a pretty good book and covers a broad range of topics regarding wardrobe. So the main things I wanted to cover off in this stage were colours, body shape, lifestyle and style.
I think these are the main factors that determine whether clothes suit someone or not.

[image source]

WHAT ARE COLOURS THAT WILL FLATTER ME?

Determining which colours suite me best will help me make smarter fabric purchasing decisions. There is nothing worse than buying fabric because you like it only to take it home and have the realisation that it is going to look terrible on you.

According to CMB there are two factors you need to take into account when determining your best colour palette - your colouring type and your skin undertone.
I have dark hair and dark eyes which makes me a Deep colouring type.

To determine what undertone I looked at the underside of me arm (as the book suggests). I have a sort of yellowy tone to my skin. To make sure I compared to the Mr's skin and he is definitely a pinky toned person. So that means I have a Warm undertone.

Put them together and I'm a Deep Warm.

Now here are the colours (these colours aren't a 100% reflection of what is in CMB but they will do as an example) that people with a Deep colouring type can wear (at this point it doesn't matter whether I'm a Warm or Cool toned person):

	Soft White		Emerald Green
	Ivory		Pine
	Stone		Forest Green
	Taupe		Cornflower
	Chocolate		True Blue
	Black-Brown		Dark Navy
	Black		Royal Purple
	Pewter		Purple
	Charcoal		Damson
	Primrose		Blush Pink
	Lime		True Red
	Olive		Scarlet
	Fern		Bittersweet
	Turqoise		Burgundy
	Teal		Aubergine

The only parts of this colour palette I'm not really excited about is the Pink. I've never really thought about wearing yellow, but I'll give it a try.


Now as a Warm here are the secondary set of colours I can add to my palette:

	Mustard		Evergreen
	Camel		Salmon
	Golden Brown		Salmon Pink
	Mahogany		Tomato Red
	Coffee Brown		Rust
	Moss		Pumpkin

I'm loving the idea of mustard. I'm not to so keen on the Salmon colours, but I won't say never. I find that I'm naturally drawn to blues and greens at the moment. Which is kind of in line with the types of colours recommended by CMB.

I was going to talk about the other topics of Body Shape, Lifestyle and Style as well. But I think it would be too long a post.

Until next time, love the colours your in and around you,
Vanessa xo

::Sewing:: S.W.A.P. - Time for Change

Sewing With A Plan (S.W.A.P.)

I read the other day that you should have two weeks between wearing the same outfit. I was horrified. I wear the same thing every week. Eeek! In fact if I don't do my laundry every weekend I quickly start running out of clothes :( That old 80-20 rule is very applicable to me. As in you wear 20% of your wardrobe 80% of the time.

I have a wardrobe full of clothes, but not a lot that I want to or can wear. I really need to have a wardrobe overhaul. I've got a couple of weeks off over the Christmas break and I want to use some of that time to 'improve' my wardrobe situation.

So many clothes. So little that I wear!

So I have a goal for 2013 - I want to seriously sew clothes for myself. To do that I need to have a game plan to make sure that I sew things that I'm likely to wear because they suit me and my lifestyle. Hopefully, this won't turn into a planning exercise that doesn't go anywhere. (During the last #SewingSocial on Twitter I mentioned that "I'm guilty of being an 'over' organiser and an 'under' sewer. I'm forever starting projects" :-P)

Stage One: Self Analysis
What are colours that will flatter me so I don't purchase fabric that I like but doesn't suit me. What style of clothes will suit my body shape, so I avoid spending time sewing something that won't suit me. What is my style? What clothes suite me style? What sorts of clothes should I made based on the activities I do.

Stage Two: Wardrobe Planning
What garments do I want to sew? What sewing patterns do I have? What colour should they be? What fabric do I have? Making sure that my work clothes are as mix-and-matchy as possible. What clothes am I likely to wear in winter or summer?

Stage Three: Sewing and Wardrobe Cull
Start sewing and and blogging my experience. Once I've made a few things start culling my RTW wardrobe. I'd prefer to start making clothes before I do a cull of my wardrobe. I'm a person who likes options ;)

So there are my aspirations for my wardrobe and sewing in the new year.

Until next time, I hope you have some meaningful aspirations too. Have a fantastic New Years!

Vanessa xo