I love the beginning of every new season. Whether it's Spring or Fall means it's time to re-think your Wardrobe. Something new to wear, peak your interest & help you want to face each new day!
If you have a large collection of Fabric and Patterns then the horse has bolted .. so you may as well giddy up and sew it up! Enjoy it while you can before the moths and silverfish get to it first!
I speak to a lot of Sewists who have stashes large and small but stashes nonetheless. One admitted she had been wearing the same Winter's coat for the last five years. I suggested, surely it's time to break out and make another...or a cape..poncho..unlined jacket... anything to change it up a and maybe use the Fabric she had. Yes there was a happy ending. A new funky jacket was made. Wardrobe up one! Stash down one! Double win.
It's fun finding Fabric & Patterns on sale and adding them to the Collection. Sometimes buying is easier than sewing but this turns into a bad habit ... buying, storing and not sewing as fast as we purchase, results in too much Fabric and too many Patterns. Overloaded and overwhelmed minds can cause too many roadblocks.
Fabric Space: the final frontier.
These are the voyages of a Sewists' Enterprise.
Its five-year mission: to explore strange, Old & New Patterns and Fabrics, to seek out new ideas and new civilised outfits, to boldly go where no Sewist has gone before.
Apologies to Star Trek
Photo credit bostonglobe.com
Our Mission: Getting the Fabric out of the collection and onto your body....
I admit to a Fabric Collection and here's what I do to give myself a clear pathway to my sewing machine!
Let's imagine that the Fabric is just in a wardrobe
Get like colours together .. rainbow time
Put all the black together
Prints
Now sort; silks, polyester, ponte, denim, cotton...
If there is too much for the Wardrobe scenario hit the floor and stack your Fabric... lock the doors and do not let anyone in! It's concentration time.
Have a good look:
Eradicate the Fabric you wouldn't buy now
Get rid of the poor quality fabric that looks cheap
Get rid of Frumpy Fabric
Grab the Fabric that calls your name and makes your eyes light up
Now see what else goes with these pieces of Fabric and grab them
Take photos of the piles if you like so you can see what you have
Write yardage notes on luggage tags and staple a sample..get some string, thread through all the reinforced holes and keep your tags together for reference
Two choices now..
1. You can really get this Fabric sorted or...
2. Continue on the journey to decide on what to actually sew ....
Get your patterns out
Sort into pants, skirts, dresses, jackets, casuals mix & match patterns
Think about what fabric you have and what garments you need in your wardrobe
Select the patterns that you really want to make
Next put the rest of the patterns away in an orderly fashion: simple white plastic bags with skirt / dress/ pants labelled with a black Sharpie
Two choices now..
1. While you're here sort your patterns into a system
Or
2. If you want to sew some clothes keep going...
Sit with the Fabric and Patterns
Look at the garments
What is obviously the one pattern/fabric combination you see, that you want to make?
Put that aside with the pattern, then choose the next Fabric...and so on
Start with simple pieces
Make them
Wear them
Feel inspired
Make more
Enjoy your fabric
Make what you need
Remember the Fabric and Patterns you have
Use what you have
Only buy more Fabric and Patterns to help complete your outfit gaps.. unless a Fabric is really irresistible of course!
Build your confidence to restart sewing by starting with a pattern that worked for you previously. If you want some ideas read my next blog post on my recent travel wardrobe I made for a 10 day trip to China.
You have what you need already
Clear the decks and let's get this party started
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