The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 14 – a new sweater!
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels.
DAY 92 – OCTOBER 31th
Boring Black Sweater
Khaki Scarf
Black Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Flats
Long Necklace with Spinning Pendant
Various Rings
Halloween! I’m not a huge dressing up for Halloween person, I figure I made things for every other day of the year, and so I just can’t get myself excited about October 31st. But I did go with all black, and those shiny things on my shoes are skull beads… so we can pretend that was intentional, and not just coincidence.
DAY 93 – NOVEMBER 1st
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Black Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Black Shoes
Various Rings
This sweater is new, but not quite finished. I wore it all week because this week has been particularly cold and rainy, and this sweater is pretty warm (especially if I actually cover my shoulder.)
DAY 94 – NOVEMBER 2nd
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Black Tank Top
Striped Pirate Skirt
Black Flats
Various Rings
This sweater is sewn out of a nice thick, cushy, sweater knit, so it’s warm and cozy. However the exposed seams do have a tendency to shed, I’m continually sweeping up yarn pills (but that’s nothing new). The original plan was to stitch down all of the seams, but I think I want to over-lock them instead.
I must not be the only person who wears a new handmade garment multiple times in a row. I do it partly because its new(!) and I want to wear it. And partly to get a sense of how it’s going to hold up, and if there’s anything I should go back and fix/rework (like finishing the seams on this sweater.)
DAY 95 – NOVEMBER 3rd
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Boring Black Sweater
Black Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Sneakers
Various Rings
This sweater is acting a lot like a fall jacket would, since I didn’t have time to make a proper fall jacket. And with another sweater under it, in this case the boring black sweater, it becomes particularly cozy.
DAY 96 – NOVEMBER 4th
Colorful Knit Sweater Dress
Black Tank Top
White Underskirt
Black Tights
Black Flats
Bead Crochet Bracelet
Various Rings
I spent one of the only warm sunny day this week sitting at my desk, looking longingly out the window…
DAY 97 – NOVEMBER 5th
Boring Black Sweater
Khaki Scarf
Black Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Tights
Black Flats
Bead Crochet Bracelet
Various Rings
Back to black. I definitely prefer this skirt without tights, since they kind of negate the effect of the side slit. It’d probably work better with different tights in a different color.
DAY 98 – NOVEMBER 6th
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Jade Cropped Sweater
Black Tank Top
Cascading Flowers Skirt
Black Flats
(I actually turned around at my front door and changed into boots.)
Various Rings
The Jade Sweater was one of the first things I made for this project, but haven’t worn until now because of a dropped stitch that needed fixing.
This was the perfect day for staying inside with tea. But I didn’t. It was also the kind of day that turns you around at the front door to change into boots. Cold, rainy, and grey. Perfect for brightening up with some flowers. I’m never quite sure how I feel about wearing a skirt with flowers in the middle of fall, but I think for this particular day it worked.
Also! We’re almost at day 100 of the self-made wardrobe project!!!
The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 12 – the weather couldn’t quite figure out what was up
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels.
Week 12 of the Self-Made Wardrobe:
the weather couldn’t quite figure out what was up this week, and neither could I.
DAY 78 – OCTOBER 17th
Blue Kimono
Khaki Scarf
Black Racerback Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Flats with Skull Beads
Princess Necklace
Various Rings
I actually ended up taking off the scarf as soon as I walked out the door – and it was far too hot for the sweater I was originally planning on wearing.
DAY 79 – OCTOBER 18th
Blue Kimono
Khaki Scarf
Black Racerback Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Sneakers
Pocket Watch Necklace
Various Rings
I ended up going to Rhinebeck at the very last minute, and needed something that would work well with sneakers. It turns out that not too much of my wardrobe works well with sneakers, this skirt does, and maybe my gingham skirt, but not much else.
DAY 80 – OCTOBER 19th
Moonstruck sweater
Black Racerback Tank Top
Red & White Pirate Skirt
Nude Booties
Bicycle Clock Necklace
Various Rings
I figured out the name of the pattern for this sweater! It’s the Moonstruck Sweater by A. Karen Alfke, available from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I couldn’t remember the name of this sweater last week. I really love wearing this sweater, it’s one of the few sweaters I have where the sleeves are just the right length.
DAY 81 – OCTOBER 20th
Hand-Knit Sweater Dress
White Maxi Underskirt
Grey Tights
Brown Boots
Spinning Necklace
Various Rings
It’s the dress that I’d never wear if I hadn’t made it. I think next time I’m going to try it with black leggings.
DAY 82 – OCTOBER 21st
The Perfect Transitional Sweater
Black Racerback Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Sneakers
Princess Necklace
Various Rings
This really is the Perfect Transitional Sweater. I’m not normally a fan of short sleeved sweaters – on this one I think it works, and I love it!
I do have a couple finishing touches I want to put on it (reinforcing the ends of the zipper, and adding a line of twill tape along the back of the neck for stability), which I’ll try and get to soon.
DAY 83 – OCTOBER 22nd
Moonstruck sweater
Jersey Wrap Dress
Tights
Various Rings
It was cold and rainy outside, and I didn’t need to leave the house, so I hid indoors all day (hence no shoes). This is a day when I desperately wanted a good flannel button up shirt. I have a store bought one that I absolutely love and adore to bits, and this was one of the first days when I really, really, missed a specific piece from my old store bought wardrobe. So, there will probably be a button up in my future.
DAY 84 – OCTOBER 23rd
Versio Sweater
Black Racerback Tank Top
Black Maxi with a Slit
Black Flats
Bicycle Clock Necklace
Various Rings
It started out a really cold and rainy day, and then ended up turning kind of beautiful – in an overcast and chilly kind of way. I ended up also putting on a scarf, and wouldn’t have regretted a pair of tights either.
The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 11 – mystery patterns & shrinking sweaters
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made, for one year.
Sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without labels.
You can read more about the project, and catch up on past posts, here.
I’m trying something different this week, more of a diary-style-type post.
We’ll see how it goes…
DAY 71 – October 10th
Blue Kimono
Black Racer-back Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt
Black Flats
Long Necklace
Various Rings
I’ve completely lost track of how many times I’ve worn this outfit. It’s easy to put on, and easy to wear, and easy to run around in. Win-Win-Win.
DAY 72 – October 11th
Knitted Dress
Black Racer-back Tank Top
White Maxi Skirt
Black Flats
Various Rings
Trying something different with the photographs. While it takes more time to set up, I like the results a lot better, so I’ll probably be sticking to it for a bit.
This is the sweater I (finally) blocked the other day – and it grew to a proper dress length, instead of a dress/tunic thing, which makes it much easier to wear, and is making me like it even more.
DAY 73 – October 12th
Blue Kimono
Khaki Scarf
Black Racer-back Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Sneakers
Princess Necklace (barely visible)
Various Rings
Every time I think it’s getting cool enough to retire the blue kimono, a day pops up where it’s *just* too warm for a sweater.
I’ve had this scarf for years, and had never worn it before. I got it from a friend who picked it up traveling somewhere, and I could never work it into an outfit before this one. It adds an interesting layer under the somewhat sheer blue kimono.
DAY 74 – October 13th
Moonstruck Sweater
Black Racer-back Tank Top
Red & White Pirate Skirt
Black Flats
Princess Necklace
Various Rings
And into the sweaters! I knit this sweater years ago, and when I went looking for the pattern name – it would seem that I never blogged about it, or put it on Ravelry – so I’m going to have to do a bit of sleuthing to figure out what the pattern is. If you have any ideas, I’d love a clue.
DAY 75 – October 14th
Boring Black Sweater
Black Racer-back Tank Top
Cascade of Flowers Maxi Skirt
Black Flats
Princess Necklace
Various Rings
The boring black sweater is finished! (sort of…)
I blocked it in the morning, and wore it that evening, and I think I must have put it on before it was quite finished drying. Because when I wore it on the 14th the sleeves were about an inch too short…
DAY 76 – October 15th
Boring Black Sweater
Black Racer-back Tank Top
Red & White Pirate Skirt
Black Flats
Long Necklace
Various Rings
…and when I wore it on the 15th, the sleeves were 2 inches too short. So I had to wear them pulled up all day. Sad face.
DAY 77 – October 16th
Boring Black Sweater
Black Racer-back Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Sneakers
Long Necklace
Various Rings
And then when I wore it on the 16th, the sleeves were still to short. So it would seem that the finished boring black sweater, is not quite finished.
I’m going to open up the sleeves, add two inches to the length, and then block it again. I wouldn’t mind the sleeves being an inch or so too long, but I can’t stand them being too short.
(Yep, I wore this sweater three days in a row, and I’m not apologizing.)
Thoughts?
If you know anything about the pattern for the sweater I wore on Day 74, I’d love any ideas you have. I know it was a Blue Moon Fiber Arts pattern, and I think the name was something along the lines of “Moonstruck” or “Moonlight” or “Moon-something-or-other.”
