planning, prepping, drafting, sewing – Summer Wardrobe Infusion Update #1
Whenever I teach students who are first learning how to sew, they always comment on how much time we spend on prepping & finishing, with comparatively little time spent in front of the sewing machine. It’s true, sewing is all about planning, prepping, pressing and pinning.
And the planning & prepping stage is kind of also where my summer wardrobe infusion is hanging out at the moment.
I have all my fabrics, and am starting to print, draft & cut my patterns.
Tank Tops & Camisoles
The Fabric: 2 yards of a solid black organic cotton
The Pattern: my own self drafted go-to tank top pattern
The Plan: re-draft pattern. cut. sew. wear.
Status: in the works
I redrafted my go-to racer back tank top pattern a couple nights ago, and whipped up a first tank top from it. I have a couple minor adjustments I want to make to the pattern, but nothing major.
I’ll be glad to get these made so I can start concentrating on other projects.
Over-Shirts
The Fabric: 1.5 yards of a burnt-out cotton jersey & 1 yard of a black/white/lime green graphic print silk/cotton blend & 1.5 yards of a black & white graphic print jersey
The Pattern: self-drafted/traced tees & possibly a hacked up Anna Dress
The Plan: make something… then wear it.
Status: in the wings.
I’m holding off on starting these until I get my planned tank tops & camisoles done. Though I did pick up a black & white jersey to add to the pile along with the black jersey and the black/white/green cotton/silk print.
Anna Maxi Dress
The Fabric: 3 yards of a lightweight blue & white print cotton.
The Pattern: the Anna Maxi Dress from By Hand London
The Plan: squeeze pattern out of fabric, sew & wear.
Status: in the works
I did go back (in the same trip I picked up the black & white jersey, and the upcoming yellow lining), but they had sold out.
So. The plan is still to squeeze this dress out of this fabric.
I printed & cut the pattern a couple nights ago, and I think I can make it work.
If all else fails I can always take some fullness out of the skirt.
San Francisco Plaid Maxi Dress
The Fabric: 3.5 yards of a cotton gauze, bought in SF. A yellow rayon lining.
The Pattern: a copy of my current favorite summer dress.
The Plan: find a lining. Draft, cut, sew, wear.
Status: in the wings
I ended up choosing a beautiful, rich, yellow lining – and I’m really curious to see how this project turns out.
Like my Versio sweater, and my hand-knit sweater dress, this dress will probably end up being something I would never buy in a store. But like both of those sweaters, my guess is, I’ll end up loving it.
(Or totally despising it, but that’s always a possibility with anything.)
That no-longer neglected, lace weight sweater.
The Yarn: 2 cones of “Ito” picked up in San Francisco
The Pattern: my own top down raglan pattern
The Plan: knit. block. wear.
Status: mere rounds away from done
I’ve put in a handful of knitting hours here, and a handful of knitting hours there, and I think I’m only a round or two + a bind off away from having a finished sweater!
And my guess is the moment I finish my bind off is the moment this dreary weather we’ve been having on the east coast will break.
So really…
I have to ignore this list of errands in favor of my knitting – it’s a public service.
May is a month of making, and forgetting about making, and remembering about forgetting
Each Wednesday, I take stock of the projects I’m working on, and where my brain is at.
There are some weeks when I come here to write my mid-week brain dump, I wake up with words on my tongue and a phone overflowing with photos.
While other weeks, I wake up positive that nothing has happened since last Wednesday, nothing new made, nothing new observed, or thought – but I come here only to find that this isn’t the case at all.
This morning was one of the latter mornings.
…
I woke up forgetting about: the pair of jeans I mended on Saturday, finishing up photographing the Shawl Geometry swatches(!), the first day of Me Made May, a couple late night knitting sessions & a finished sweater sleeve(!!), and printing off & taping out the Anna Dress pattern for my summer wardrobe infusion.
This morning I woke up having forgotten about all those things. Plus all the things that I didn’t photograph – moving, starting to create the schematics for the Shawl Geometry Books Update, writing a couple bonus articles for the Shawl Geometry Books Update, regular client work, having something of a social life, etc. etc.
Not to mention that May is the month for Me-Made-May – which every year I mean to pledge & participate in, and every year I never quite get around to it. And this year it is also the month for Mend It May, and #makermay over on Instagram.
So much making this month, and we’re only on the morning of the 4th day.
…
On mornings that I wake up with no words on my tongue, no recollection of any photos taken, or anything made – I wonder why I write this each week.
Then I come here and find myself with a plethora of things, and wonder how I could ever forget everything that has happened these past seven days.
And I remember, that I write this each week, to stop in and say hi, to find out what I have to say. I’ve had something to say every Wednesday morning for almost two years. This week probably isn’t the week of nothing.
And then I find myself promising to remember this pattern – promising to remember that I always have something to say – forgetting that forgetting this is the very next step.
when did making clothing by hand become the path of least resistance in my life?
Each Wednesday, I take stock of the projects I’m working on, and where my brain is at.
The main “making activity” of my week has been wet blocking Shawl Geometry swatches – which is turning into a rather large project.
Normally, this wouldn’t be such an endeavor. I’d block them on my bed, and it would probably take two or three round to get all the swatches wet blocked, but then that would be that.
However, I’m currently subletting and rather than sticking a whole bunch of pins into a mattress that is not mine – I’m blocking on a cork-board.
This has the added benefit of being able to block swatches overnight (the main drawback of blocking on a mattress is not being able to leave it overnight), but the downside is that I can only block a handful of swatches at a time. So, the whole process is taking a while. Le sigh.
So, I’ve been distracting myself by planning an infusion of summery clothing into my wardrobe.
But of course, when I was packing up the clothing I wasn’t taking on my trip with me, I didn’t really think this far ahead. I was more concerned about maximizing space efficiency over ease of unpacking. So everything is packed in vacuum seal bags, and nothing is packed by season.
So rather than going on a clothes hunting mission in my storage unit, which could very possibly be fruitless and just might end in tears – I’m planning an easy and breezy handmade summer wardrobe infusion.
Sort of like an extended Me-Made-May, or a truncated Self-Made Wardrobe Project, either way, a not “normal” way of adding clothing to your wardrobe.
And I’m sitting here wondering, when (for me) did making clothing by hand become the path of least resistance?!
Also! I scored the jackpot on recycled pattern paper – old theatrical lighting plots. Because of course, all my patterns are also in an unknown box in my storage unit…
Oh and! I am not forgetting about my laceweight sweater – it is sitting right next to me on my desk and getting a couple rounds added at a time. Luckily I’m working on the sleeves – so the rounds are short, and a couple rounds at a time for the past couple weeks, has resulted in getting about halfway down the second sleeve!
