Happy New Year!

Yes, I know it's February.  Today, however, is the Lunar New Year.  I had a friend over on the weekend for a Sewing Day and we got to talking about how we didn't really live up to our expectations for ourselves for this year (aka we totally sucked at some of our plans only one month in).  We decided to use the Lunar New Year as a turning point to reassess and make some adjustments in our plans for the coming year.  We also decided we're going to be accountable to each other for some of our plans.

The past six months or so for me have been somewhat of a blur.  An amazing blur, but a blur nonetheless.  Work has been crazy busy, with a change in positions. It's been an adjustment but it's working out very well.  I enjoyed a vacation that saw my entire family together celebrating the wedding of my brother to my favourite sister-in-law.   My daughter and her spouse announced that they are expecting their second child, and my first grandchild has grown in leaps and bounds (literally and figuratively).  I travelled A LOT. I spent one weekend in September at Disney for a very close friend's birthday.  I spent the following weekend in New Orleans for work. I also travelled a lot for work in my home province, essentially I only spent at most two nights in a row at home through the entire month.   As a result, I was sick as a dog in November with sinusitis, bronchitis and an ear infection that took a lot out of me.  As soon as I recovered, December was in the full Christmas spirit swing, seeing the usual round of social activities, parties and family get-togethers.  I rang in January with what is now happily becoming my traditional Sewing Retreat.  In all honesty, I'm not really sure where January went, but it's been cold and snowy.  And here we are, February and all caught up.

I've been sharing some of my makes on Instagram (I have a private account, but if you've got sewing or knitting or something related in your profile, I will approve your request to follow me), but am very aware of how little I've shared on this blog.  I'm not going to apologize, but I really do miss the accountability factor that sharing my goals and planning blog posts bring to me.  I can't promise how much I'll actually be posting, but I really do enjoy interacting with my sewing friends online.  So...let's get on with the most recent post!

I have been sewing like someone obsessed, because...well...I am! Ringing in the (calendar) New Year with a sewing retreat reset my creativity and made me really want to spend some more dedicated time in my Atelier.  I'm currently working through some planning that I did a few weeks ago and have almost finished the capsule that I planned. 

There are a lot of options for planning a capsule wardrobe.  For this one, I chose the Sewing Sudoku method as the basis for this wardrobe.  You can find a free printable here:  Melly Sews Wardrobe Sudoku Planner. I have a work trip at the mid-to-end of February and thought this would make the perfect opportunity to work a few new things into my wardrobe.  The Sudoku method sees four tops and four bottoms coordinated with four pairs of footwear/shoes and four accessories.  For this plan, I am including all layering pieces rather than accessories as it is COLD in Canada in the winter and I need the extra pieces in my wardrobe to stay warm. I LOVE my accessories and will be adding them in, but not in a formalized plan.

My plan is this:

WARM WINTER SUDOKU WARDROBE

Tops
Top #1 - Butterick 3124, Sandra Betzina Today's Fit with cowl neck (view A), in olive green stretch lace


Top #2 - McCalls 5536 Twist Top (view C & E), in espresso brown rayon/lycra jersey


Top #3 - Butterick 3124, Sandra Betzina Today's Fit shell (view B), in cream stretch lace


Top #4 - Sew Over It Pussy Bow Blouse, in cream lightweight polyester textured crepe


Bottoms
Bottom #1 - Vogue7607 asymmetrical skirt, in olive green textured faux leatherette


Bottom #2 - Vogue 8202 wide-legged jeans, in espresso brown fine wale corduroy


Bottom #3 - Simplicity 4596 pleated skirt (View A), in greige textured faux leatherette


Bottom #4 - Closet Case Ginger Jeans,  in rust orange lightweight stretch denim


Layering Pieces
Layering Piece #1 - Vogue 7764 military style jacket, in olive green cotton velveteen


Layering Piece #2 - New Look 6013 vest, in a heavyweight sueded olive green knit


Layering Piece #3 - Vogue 1517 jacket, in brown wool blend suiting

Layering Piece #4 - McCalls 7257 cardigan jacket in loosely woven fabric in cream, rust orange, khaki, and burgundy


Shoes
Shoes #1 - Brown faux alligator heeled pumps
Shoes #2 - Khaki boots, similar in styling to faux Doc Martin
Shoes #3 - Cognac low heeled riding boots
Shoes #4 - Cognac suede booties

I'll have to buy a few notions but this plan uses mostly items from my stash - even some vintage stash! 

I love planning wardrobe capsules.  I love new clothes and I love being able to have a highly wearable wardrobe when they're completed. 

Spring Travel Plans = Spring SWAP plans

Even though we've passed the spring equinox, our days aren't feeling very spring like.  The sun is shining brightly and longer, but it's still cold out.  Despite that, when the days get longer and sunnier, my thoughts turn towards spring.  And to me spring means a bright fun wardrobe.  I'm almost done the first phase of my current SWAP, with only two more items to go (a skirt and a jacket).  I've finished the pants but haven't blogged them yet.  BUT...I've also just booked plane tickets to go to Prague in June.  #soexcited

Travelling to me means SWAP or capsule wardrobe.  I travel with only a carry on bag, which means new SWAP is in order.

My first order of business when planning a SWAP or capsule wardrobe is always to browse - magazines, online, Pinterest, photographs, books.  In this case, I searched Pinterest for "Spring Wardrobe", "Spring Outfits" and "Prague Outfits".  When something catches my eye, I start my own board, specifically for that SWAP or season.  I keep pinning more and more outfits or photographs of anything that catches my eye.  When I have about twenty or thirty, I again take a closer look at what it is that catches my eye - in this case it was a combination of the colours coral and olive, and that the clothes were relaxed yet pretty and feminine.  Here's a perfect example of a colour palette I found on Pinterest:

The next step is to go digging through my stash.  My stash is expansive, so this always takes some time, but I always have so much fun stash-diving.  This time, I combined this with a bit of a sewing space clean out and donated/tossed some fabrics I know I won't be using (ever!).  I do the same thing with my fabrics as I did with Pinterest, just pull things that catch my eye, that fit the colour palette and fit the feeling of the collection that I'm going for.  I don't organize specific fabrics to specific patterns until later.  I found some good stuff:

 

The next thing I do to plan my travel wardrobe is to write the list of events I'll be attending, activities I'll be doing, as well as do a bit of research on the anticipated weather for the time of year I'll be travelling.  Am I travelling for work?  Am I travelling for pleasure?  Do I need certain clothes to do certain activities (swimming, hiking, biking, city walking, attending meetings or parties, etc.)?  I write an outline of the clothes I think I'll need - this is based off my travel  experience, my sewing experience with SWAP and a lot of research.  I have a standard formula of clothing items that seems to work really well (highlighted in bold below).  This formula can be suited towards any type of vacation, simply change the style of clothing required.  For example, the jacket can be either a suit jacket or blazer, or an athletic waterproof fabric, or a relaxed and cozy cardigan.

On this trip, I'll be doing mostly European city touristy/vacation type things - museums, in-town walking tours, art galleries, but I also like to dress for dinner, and there is the possibility of an evening reception or two.  So, I'm going for a business casual wardrobe with a dress or separates that can be dressed up a bit.

Here's what I'm thinking:

1.  Jacket, olive green cotton motorcycle style jacket, Kwik Sew 3764 (one of my Make Nine!)

2.  Pants #1 - Tan textured cotton Lander Pants, view C (another #makenine2018)

3.  Pants #2 - Vogue 8330 slim cut jeans in blush stretch "denim"

4.  Skirt #1 in a solid colour - Vogue 7805 in olive cotton

5.  Skirt #2 in a print or check - I'm switching this out to a pair of cropped wide-legged trousers in an olive medium weight linen/cotton blend - I'm thinking if the Lander Pants above is a success, why not use the same pattern but the cropped length (view B) for these?

6.  Top #1 - blush pink rayon jersey drapey tee, Sandra Betzina Vogue 1291 OOP

7.  Top #2 - coral pink cotton/lycra jersey drapey tee with 3/4 length sleeves, M7249

8.  Top #3 - creamy white cotton/linen shirt, Butterick 5678

 & 9.  Top #4 - tropical print cotton shirt, Butterick 5678, sleeveless

10.  Top #5 - ITY print in brown and cream, sleeveless tee/tank

11.  Top #6 - flow-y sleeve loose tee, olive jersey, New Look 6913

I'm also throwing in an easy jersey dress which can be dressed up or down, and a pair of leggings and a lightweight hoodie in brown knit technical fabric.  I'll need the dress for dinner out one or two nights, and the leggings and hoodie will be my pjs and yoga gear.   For the dress I've chosen the infinity dress pattern from Butterick, in an olive green jersey, which will give me lots of different looks.

I have also found a cozy cardigan and a lightweight rain jacket to layer over everything are necessary items.  I have a really unique wool sweater knit fabric in an olive-y/tan/brown colour for a Blackwood cardigan.  I haven't figured out what fabric or pattern for the rain jacket yet.

Accessories will include scarves, a few cheap but gorgeous statement necklaces, hoop earrings in gold, and two pairs of supportive shoes (one casual pair and one dressier yet just as comfortable pair, perhaps sandals of some kind).

As you can see, this SWAP has absolutely nothing to do with my previous SWAP - the colours I've chosen aren't immediately noticeably cohesive with the previous capsule wardrobe I've sewn, but I think there will be the ability to mix and match some of them together.  Regardless, I am blessed with a large closet, a large stash of fabric, and loads of patterns.  And I'm sewing (and eventually wearing) what will make me happy.

FO, Christine Jonson Patterns Travel Trio One, Center Seam Pants

I've been feverishly working away at my Queen of Dots SWAP plans.  With four items already finished, I'm using the momentum I'm gaining with the excitement of each finished object.  I was reminded of Christine Jonson Patterns by their recent pants sew-along in their Facebook group.  I have always liked Christine's patterns - Christine offers a wide range of paper patterns that work so well together.  A lot of these can now be purchased as a PDF as well.  Christine focuses on using knit fabrics for her patterns, and as a result her line of patterns makes the ideal solution for a travel wardrobe.  Spring is always a busy time for me, with a lot of travel for work to regional tradeshows.  My Queen of Dots SWAP was planned with these tradeshows in mind, which is why I included some knit separates.  My next choice was the Christine Jonson Travel Trio One, Center Seam Pants out of the same medium weight black ponte that the Christine Jonson Basewear Two Tapered skirt was made out of.

My measurements placed me in the size 16 waist and 14 hip, however, when I did the stretch test, I was worried the fabric wouldn't be stretchy enough.  I was hoping to avoid a compression legging/sausage casing style pant, and wanted more of a flared trouser style, so I sized up to size 18 for the waist and size 16 for the hip (and lower).  I scooped out/lowered the back crotch curve by about 1" to get rid of the standard wrinkling that I get pooling under my buttocks/at the tops of my hamstring area.  I also scooped out about 3/8" from the front crotch curve to get rid of the camel toe look I commonly get (so my crotch seam now looks more like a U than J).  I'm not sure that makes any sense, I can add some sketches to show you more details on this if you like - just let me know.  I also lengthened the pattern at the lengthen/shorten line by the knee by 6".

I made sure to carefully label each piece - right side/wrong side, as well as inner front/outer front vs. inner back/outer back.  I find when I'm sewing I end up not paying attention to these things and need visual reminders of what piece goes where.

I ended up taking in about an inch off of each side seam - this is consistent with the changes I had to make to the Tapered skirt, also from Christine Jonson Patterns, and also out of the same fabric.  In hindsight (see what I did there, lol), I should have all of the seams equally across the back.  As a result, my centre seams at the back are more on the side back than the centre back, but if anyone is looking that closely and comments on it, I'll have something else to say to them about what they're looking at ;)  I love how the yoke looks, but when I tried it on once I had sewn it together, the waist came up really high - around my natural waistline.  I have long legs (34" inseam for flats, 35-36" for heels), but I am also shortwaisted and dislike a seam line hitting me at the natural waist.  So, I lopped off the yoke and attached a stitch and turn elastic waist instead.  Maybe I should have called this SWAP The Queen of Lopping instead?!

I really like the finished pants.  They feel like very flattering secret pyjamas!  The weight of the ponte is great for a bootcut pant, and doesn't show every lump and bump!  You'll have to take my word for it because right now I only have these photographs to show you.

Taking photographs is quite difficult for me.  I don't have access to a photographer, I'm a bit lazy about taking my own pictures and end up using my cell phone camera at night.  The lighting in my Atelier is not so great during the day, and even worse at night.  I hope to take some pictures later this week with a better camera, a tripod, and in a different location during the day so you can actually see how these pants fit me.  But until then, you'll have to make do with these photos.

Up next on the sewing table:

Queen of Dots, an Dotted FO!

For my second item for the Queen of Dots wardrobe, I decided to sew the top from Image Wear 1002.  Image Wear is a printed pattern line by Made by Oranges, who also publish the Image Wear magazine.   I'm pretty sure I got this pattern for free when I bought one of their magazine packs of back issues.

I really like the pattern photograph - bows are still a big trend and I thought it would work really well with the lightweight crepe I had chosen for this pattern.  The pattern pieces are given on a pattern sheet that looks like a Burda Style magazine pattern sheet.  I traced the size 42 based on my measurements, and made my standard adjustments, which are a 3/4" dartless FBA (from the Fast Fit book by Sandra Betzina), a 3/4" swayback adjustment, and adding 1" to the sleeve length. There are no seam allowances included on these pattern pieces, which makes the alterations a bit easier to manipulate.

The bow and collar are two separate items on this blouse, not a continuous collar that you tie in the front.  As with many European patterns, the pieces for the collar and bow are given as dimensions you need to cut out, no physical pattern piece is given.  The layout diagram shows the collar and bow being cut on the cross-grain.  I briefly considered how the collar would look as I didn't think it would drape around the curve of the neckline very nicely if it was cut on the cross-grain.  That being said, I also figured the pattern drafters would know better so I ignored the niggling feeling I had about the collar and plowed ahead.  

I'm pretty sure you know where this is going.  Here's what happened when I attached my collar.  

Not the look I was going for.  I tried folding it under like a facing or binding, but it puckered the body of the blouse like mad.  I unpicked it and restitched it with a different method and had the same result.  So I hacked off the collar, tossed it in the bin and used commercially made single fold narrow bias tape to finish it instead.

The rest of the construction was easy.  Initially, I decided to leave off the bow given the issues I had with the collar but then decided to finish the bow, and attach it with a safety pin like a brooch for a removable accessory.  It gives me some flexibility and I can also use the bow on other pieces of my SWAP if I like. 

If I make this again, I will draft collar pieces either to be cut on the bias or use a facing instead.  I really like the blouson effect that the elastic finish at both the lower hem and the wrists gives.  I think it's a pretty, feminine touch.

This will go well with the remainder of my planned Queen of Dots SWAP wardrobe.  More to come!