What if, my wardrobe and I are grand adventuresses?
I had a thought about wardrobe planning the other day, and since Friday was the birthday of Winnie-the-Pooh,* this (probably kooky) thought seemed pretty appropriate – since adventuring is quite a Pooh Bear thing to do.
*or at least one of the birthdays – February 13, 1924 was when the poem “Teddy Bear,” which featured Pooh, was originally published in Punch magazine. The original Winnie-the-Pooh teddy bear was actually given to A.A. Milne’s son on August 21, 1921.
A small (but rather insistent) part of me has been feeling like I should be better at planning my wardrobe. That I should be sketching & swatching, picking out patterns and matching up fabric. But I have a pretty good record of NOT doing that for my self-made wardrobe – and so far things have (mostly) worked out.
And then I had a thought.
What if, my wardrobe and I are grand adventurers?
Or grand adventuresses?
My wardrobe and I are adventuresses.
On a grand adventure. Together.
And what fun would a grand adventure be if you pre-planned it?!
How would you even go about pre-planing an adventure?! Unexpected things always happen on adventures! That’s kind of the point of adventuring!
Is it a little anthropomorphic? Yes. Is this a kooky idea? Probably.
Does it feel a lot more fun than sitting down, plotting my entire wardrobe out, and sticking to a carefully laid plan? To me – hell yes!
“When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.”
―from Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
So, here’s to the rest of a grand adventure!
I’m racing through a new sweater, and living in my purple sweater – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 28
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 190 – FEBRUARY 6th
Transitional Weather Sweater
Black Tank Top
Cascading Flowers Skirt
Grey Tights
Various Rings
I’ve said this before, but this is the perfect sweater for days spent working at home. I originally knit it for spring & fall, but it’s turning out to also be a fantastic sweatshirt substitute. The weight is just right, the zipper is fantastic, and the hood makes it feel that much more cozy.
DAY 191 – FEBRUARY 7th
Not-So-Straightforward Basic Purple Sweater
Black Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Long Necklace
Various Rings
I’m going to apologize in advance for how much I wore this sweater this week, but it’s pretty much perfect for this weather.
DAY 192 – FEBRUARY 8th
Transitional Weather Sweater
Black Tank Top
Birds & Wheels Flare Skirt
Grey Tights
Various Rings
This skirt is one of the 1/2 a dozen or so pieces I came into this self-made wardrobe challenge having already made. It’s not my usual style, and I haven’t worn it much in the past couple years, so it feels good to pull it back out every now and then.
DAY 193 – FEBRUARY 9th
Not-So-Straightforward Basic Purple Sweater
Basic Black Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Robot Clock Necklace
Various Rings
This sweater is perfect for this weather, because it’s thin enough to work amazingly well outside under all of my “standard winter layers” (coat, scarfs, mittens, etc.), and at the same time it’s not so warm that I’m over heating when I get inside.
DAY 194 – FEBRUARY 10th
Blue & Green Archer Button Up Shirt
Black Tank Top
Black Scarf
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black & White Striped Tights
Various Rings
New tights! (and kind of crazy hair). I’ve been trying to play catch up with finished project photos, and finally figured out a way to make a matte black maxi skirt look a little more interesting – add striped tights! So you can expect a post about my Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit sometime next week.
DAY 195 – FEBRUARY 11th
Not-So-Straightforward Basic Purple Sweater
Black Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Various Rings
Again, I know I’ve talked about it before, but the combination of simple shaping, and knitting with two strands of lace weight yarn, really is what makes this sweater so amazingly wearable.
DAY 196 – FEBRUARY 12th
Not-So-Straightforward Basic Purple Sweater
Black Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Long Necklace
Various Rings
Since I’m basically living in this sweater, I cast on another sweater using the “simple shaping + 2 strands of lace weight + excellent color” formula, and I’m racing through it. Wednesday I was to the waist, last night I finished the body, and I’m hoping to start the sleeves tonight. Basically, I’m hauling ass through this sweater.
How to Sew a Straight Seam – which is not always as easy as it feels like it should be
(Background: Two weeks ago, I spent most of the week sewing through 3,000+ yards of thread, for fifteen 5ft by 15ft pieced drapes as part of a theater project. I taught a handful of people a true sewing fundamental – proper pinning – and spent most of the time sewing super long straight seams & thinking. This is one of the things I thought. )
I’ve taught a dozen or so people to sew over the past couple years, and as it turns out there are tons of things that can screw you up when you first sit down at a sewing machine.
There are lots of new things to learn, no motion is entirely intuitive, and it turns out, that sewing a seam in a straight line is not as easy as it feels like it should be.
Intuitively, you watch the sewing machine needle. It’s the most eye catching part, it moves up & down, it’s the piece of the machine actually creating the stitch.
Except, watching the machine needle is not how you sew a straight seam.
When you’re sewing, by the time the fabric meets the needle, you have very little control over your seam. You can make a sharp adjustment, (like turning a corner), but that’s about all you can do.
The only way you have control over where your seam is going, is by focusing on the path the needle is taking instead of the place the needle is.
If you’re focused 2-3 stitches ahead of the needle, you have time to make slight adjustments and sew a straight seam.
If you’re focused on the stitch that’s being created, you don’t have time for those slight adjustments, you only have time for something drastic. Like sewing a corner, or breaking out the seam ripper.
