Category

The Self-Made Wardrobe

27
Mar
2015

some thoughts on 15 minute projects – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 34

The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels –
it’s a year about noticing patterns, trying things, and observing what happens.


Day-232

Day 232 – Friday, March 20th
purple sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // brown boots // pocket watch necklace // various rings

Day-233

Day 233 – Saturday, March 21st
Archer button up // black tank top // jeans!!
pocket watch necklace // various rings // sneakers

Day-234

Day 234 – Sunday, March 22nd
handspun sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // brown boots // robot necklace // various rings

Day-235

Day 235 – Monday, March 23rd
Versio sweater // black tank top // jeans!!!
black heels // robot necklace // various rings

Day-236

Day 236 – Tuesday, March 24th
purple sweater // black tank top // black maxi skirt
black tights // black flats // long necklace // various rings

Day-237

Day 237 – Wednesday, March 25th
Versio sweater // black tank top // jeans!
black heels // robot clock necklace // various rings

Day-238

Day 238 – Thursday, March 26th
black sweater // black tank top // jeans!!
black flats // long necklace // various rings // bracelets

Why is it, that small projects often take more time from start to finish than many larger projects do? Why does it sometimes take longer to put buttons on a shirt, than to complete a skirt (or a sweater, or all the previous steps of that shirt)? Why do we live with the little annoyances that could be solved with a super quick fix – missing buttons, straps to cut off, pants to hem?

Why is it so easy to procrastinate the 15 minute project, while diving head first into the 5 hour one?

Some thoughts on little projects this week – no answer required, just a question to ponder.

20
Mar
2015

jeans!!! – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 33

The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels –
it’s a year about noticing patterns, trying things, and observing what happens.


Day-225

Day 225 – Friday, March 13
purple sweater // black tank top // black maxi skirt
black tights // brown boots // long necklace // various rings

Day-226

Day 226 – Saturday, March 14
boring black sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // brown boots // robot necklace // various rings

Day-227

Day 227 – Sunday, March 15
handknit sweater dress // black leggings
long necklace // various rings

Day-228

Day 228 – Monday, March 16
blue & green Archer // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // brown boots // bicycle necklace // various rings

Day-229

Day 229 – Tuesday, March 17
deconstructed sweater // black tank top // black maxi skirt
black tights // brown boots // various rings

Today was the first day I didn’t wear my giant alpaca coat!

Day-230

Day 230 – Wednesday, March 18
purple sweater // black tank top // jeans!!!!!!!!
black booties // robot necklace // various rings

(after I took this photo I actually changed into my Versio sweater, and wore that for the rest of the day…)

Day-230-2

Day 230 (what I actually ended up wearing)
Versio sweater // black tank top // jeans!!!!!!!!!!
black booties // robot necklace // various rings

Day-231

Day 231 – Thursday, March 19
handspun & handknit sweater // black tank top // jeans!!!
sneakers // robot clock necklace // various rings

I think it’s going to take me awhile before I stop putting exclamation points after jeans(!!!) They’re done! Finished! Worn!

I took some super quick photos before I left the apartment on Thursday (in keeping my “projects aren’t done until they’ve been photographed” experiment), and I’m going to try and get better photos this weekend, then I’ll write up a proper post. For now though – jeans!

The fit is… a little quirky – and so far each day I’ve worn them, I’ve spent the day mucking out a costume shop – ah well.

They’re jeans!

!!!

13
Mar
2015

I guess writing down goals really does work… The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 32

The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels –
it’s a year about noticing patterns, trying things, and observing what happens.


Day-218

Day 218 – Friday, March 6th
purple sweater // black tank // black maxi skirt // bead crochet bracelets
black scarf // black tights // brown boots // various rings

Day-219

Day 219 – Saturday, March 7th
archer button up shirt // black tank top // cascading flowers skirt
bead crochet bracelets // various rings

Day-220

Day 220 – Sunday, March 8th
purple sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
bead crochet bracelets // various rings // black tights // brown boots

Day-221

Day 221 – Monday, March 9th
archer button up shirt // black tank // black maxi // bead crochet bracelets
black scarf // black tights // brown boots // various rings

Day-222

Day 222 – Tuesday, March 10th
boring black sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // black shoes
bead crochet bracelets // various rings // robot clock necklace

Day-223

Day 223 – Wednesday, March 11th
handknit sweater dress // black tank top // black tights

Day-224

Day 224 – Thursday, March 12th
archer button up shirt // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black scarf // black tights // brown boots
bead crochet bracelets // various ring

When I started the self-made wardrobe I had a few loose goals in the back of my mind, but I intentionally didn’t set any super specific goals.*
*because my wardrobe & I are grand adventuresses!

I knew at some point I’d need jeans, a winter coat, and some sweaters. But other than that I wanted to keep things loose.

And 7 months in, with no specific plan, I’ve accomplished 2 of those things. Yay!

Having said that, I’m setting a couple loose flexible goals for the last 5 months of the self-made wardrobe. I talked a briefly about most of these goals in the January wrap up over on the selfmadewardrobe.com blog, but I wanted to expand on them and add a couple more here.

Goal 1: another chunky sweater. Kind of like my deconstructed sweater, I want something chunky, warm and cozy – that will work over other sweaters for the rest of the winter, but that will also act as a spring jacket once it gets warm enough to put my alpaca coat away (soon, I hope.)
In the interest of time, I want to sew this instead of knitting it and in the interest of versatility I want it to be a cardigan. (This could also be a straight up spring jacket – but in the long run, I think I’ll get more wear out of the sweater.)

Goal 2: another light, thin, long sleeved pullover. The purple sweater I’m finishing now will fit this bill quite nicely.

Goal 3: another 3 − 4 quick, easy, simple, wonderful skirts. I haven’t felt the desire to sew anything for awhile, this winter has made me want to curl up and knit more than anything else. But with the promise of spring I’ve started sitting down at my sewing machine again.

Goal 4: jeans. I know – damn bloody record over here. But I have the pattern. I have the fabric. I just need to sit down at the machine…

Goal 5: looking forward to summer. Skirts. Dresses. Tank tops. Yes please! (This isn’t really a goal, it’s more like a “yay summer!” thought.)

It’s funny. I originally wrote out these goals a couple weeks ago, and since then have made substantial progress on both my purple sweater (it’s ready have the ends woven in!) and my jeans (they’re constructed! so now they just need a waistband & finishing!)

I guess writing down goals (when they’re thoughtful, aligned, centered goals) really does work…