At the end of last August, after three months of intense sewing and with 1000 ideas in mind, I decided to actually plan for fall and winter. I was trying to solve a couple of issues.
The issues:
- buying more fabric that I could actually sew
- my sewing shelf was getting overcrowded (we live in 550 sqf, 2 people, working from home = no space)
- I made 4 dresses, really liked them, but then wore jeans every day
My objective was to sew with a purpose, and not just buying fabric that looked great but without a project in mind. I wanted to reduce my remnants/leftovers and buy only the fabric that was needed for the specific project. I guess, it kind of worked, but not fully.
The approach:
I started with Pinterest, pinning everything I was inspired from (here’s my pinterest board) and then analysed it. I tried to find patterns, colours, themes. I love to play with Photoshop 🙂 Then I started to match the fabric that I already had and that could be integrated into the color scheme. Without really keeping attention I was already buying fabric that was matching. Pat on the back to my old me.
The plan of attack:
At this point what was left to do was only to decide what to make, and browse for some pattern (one of my favorite activities :D). I choose 14 pieces, 6 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 overalls/dresses and one coat. The only two fabrics that I had to buy were the wool for my coat and a sweater knit for the Lane dress by Seamwork.
My plan went quite well and by the end of October I made 9 pieces: the Danielle dungarees (République du Chiffon), Wide leg pants (Peppermint Magazine), Marett pants (Seamwork), Pietra pants (Closet Core), Liseron shirt (Atelier Scammit), Zenith blouse (Maison Fauve), Orlando tee shirt (Seamwork), Anderson blouse (Sew Over it) and Suun blouse (PM Pattern) [Overtime I will post pictures on Instagram wearing these pieces]. Then I started with the Christmas gifts, and it took me quite a while to finish them. So here we are, months after my last project of this plan, starting again.
Edits:
I decided to change a few things from my original plan. First I don’t need two dresses, while I realised I really need a loungewear set (some sweatpants and a top that are comfortable and warm). I will use the sweater knit that I bought for the Lane dress to make it. On a similar note, I don’t need another blouse right now (I mean honestly I don’t need anything :D), so instead of the Elisabeth blouse I’ll make the Ace top (Seamwork) in a sweater knit, leftover of some Christmas gifts. I also decided to move on the Dawn Jeans to spring, because I wear white jeans more in that season. The Emmie dress is in progress.
But I really want to make the coat ASAP. It is my first coat, and I postponed it because I was kind of terrified. It’s been 3 weeks that I’m doing research on how to make a coat, and I feel way more ready now, so I’ll post some updates soon.
The end?
I loved the planning phase and creative process of thinking about a cohesive “collection” that is only for me [while re-reading this sentence I can only laugh a bit]. I didn’t impulse buy new fabric, and I wore everything I made these past 3 months. What I realised though is that it didn’t really solve the leftover issue. Even if I bought only the fabric that was suggested on the pattern I always have more. So I will try to implement a new approach to try to save some fabric/money/space for spring. Because yes, I’m thinking about the spring summer one already!
Happy sewing!
Francesca's fold 