Wardrobe Planning

Further to my recent post about wardrobe planning, and remembering posts where other sewists actually plan what they are going to wear each day, I thought that I would put some planning into action.  My new resolution is organize my clothes for work for a week, including jewelry and accessories, in an attempt to vary my wardrobe (no duplicates within a two week period), reduce the amount of clothes in my wardrobe that I just don't wear and identify gaps in clothing that I can then make (the really fun part!).

This week seemed a good week to start - it is a short week due to Good Friday and I am off work on Tuesday - so I only need to plan for three days (I like to ease myself slowly into new challenges!).  So here we go:

Lilac cotton/lycra cardi, grey linen Sorbetto, black linen TNT trousers.
 

Green Ponte cardi (McCalls 6168), black TNT vest top, cotton 'target' skirt.

Lipstick red cotton long-line cardi, white linen Sorbetto top, black pinstripe TNT trousers.  Although I am wearing the same style cardi for two days running, I will be out of the office on the second day so my colleagues that see me one day will not see me the next!

I have also set up some partitions in a drawer with my jewelry, so that I can mix that up as well, as I find that I tend to wear the same items all the time, and I have rather a lot that just never gets to see the light of day.

So, what have I learned from this so far?  I need to replace the green ponte cardi as the fabric is pilling.  I have purchased some lovely cotton/lycra so will get that made up quite soon,  I also need a a plain black jacket cardi as the one I made recently was rather a failure, although I am wondering about putting a band around the waist to make it look as though I am wearing a belt - that might draw in the excess fabric.  Also, vest tops.  I love my Sorbetto's to bits, but I do need some jersey/knit vest tops - time to pleay with my new machine!!

How about you?  Do you plan ahead, or run round in a panic deciding what to wear as the time ticks down in the morning . . . . ?

Confessions from My Stash

Whilst mooching through my lovely fabric collection for some more fabric to make some work trousers, I came across some grey wool fabric.  It is quite soft, about 3.5m in length, and I started thinking about it . . . . and when I purchased it.  Let me tell you my story - then you can tell me your fabric confessions!

I knew that I bought it from the Birmingham Rag Market (UK) when I needed to make some office appropriate clothes for a new job.  I knew that 3.5m would make me a jacket and a skirt, possibly trousers.  So far, so good.

Hey, I hear you say, so you didn't get to make a suit then - that's not so bad.  Until you put some dates to this. . . . . . First of all, I moved to Canada nearly 10 years ago - and I know I brought the fabric across the pond with me.  I joined the Police in 1996 - and I certainly didn't need any suits for that.  My previous job was office based, and I was there for about three years - yep, I'm thinking 1993.  At the earliest.

The trousers are my usual TNT pattern and this time I added a very thin tuck in the centre of each leg piece to make them look as though they have very sharp creases!  I actually did this with my uniform trousers when I was a Police Constable and was warned that I could be put on a charge for damaging Police property ::sigh::  It meant that I could was my trousers and as soon as they were dry - they were ready to wear - no starching and pressing, making the fabric all nasty and shiny for me!

The purple velvet is also of an age - but I don't remember when I bought it.   would say at least 15 years ago . . . . . . !  Wow!  So - how do you like my new vintage outfit?!

Whilst I am here - let me share one more pair of trousers that I made recently.  I only wore them once and as the fabric was so loosely woven, they tore apart along the centre front seam.  I should have added a thin strip of interfacing along the centre front and centre seams prior to sewing up - and I will remember that for whatever garment I make from the leftovers.  Here are a few pics for you - I wore both of these pairs of trousers whilst modelling my jackets here.

Can you see the repair above?!

And how about you - are you carrying any vintage fabric in your collection?

TNT Houndstooth Pants

My TNT pants pattern (based upon McCalls 5239), is probably the hardest working pattern is my arsenal!  I picked up some lovely brown/black houndstooth fabric (rayon/poly) in the sales and made up a lined pair for work. 

The houndstooth is so tiny, the fabric looks more like a tweedy brown.
 

I will probably wear them with this cardigan - smart enough for work!

My heels were sinking into the carpet . . . . !

The trousers are lined with some mid-grey Bemberg.  I like my linings to hang loose, and it makes them feel very luxurious!

What are your most popular TNT's?

Does Size Matter?

There are a number of answers to that question.  As I am clearly plus sized - my answer is comfortably 'no', however, when it comes to sewing.  It does.  In a big way.  Let me explain . . . . .

This weekend I had the pleasure to attend a 'Fit for Real People' sewing class held by the lovely Janice in her home.  There were just two other ladies present so there was lots of one-on-one assistance.

 

The course is based upon the Pati Palmer and Marta Alto book of the same name.  Oh boy - what an eye opener!  Following a (very) interesting exercise where we drew round each others' bodies so we could 'see' what we looked like and compare ourselves to' standard' proportions we tried on upper body slopers.  Now this is where the fun started.  I have always purchased patterns based upon my bust measurement - it is the largest measurement and I can always take in the other areas.  Right?  Well, no - actually not.  Turns out that this is where I have been going wrong for so many years.  Turns out that I should have been using patterns based on my upper bust measurement - in other words, using a pattern THREE sizes smaller.  And guess what . . . . all the fitting problems that I have had in the past magically disappeared.

I have avoided fitted sleeves for as long as I can remember - not because I cannot set them in, but because I always looked like a line backer.  I recently bought a number of '80's sewing patterns because of their dropped shoulders - they would fit me, no problem. 

The same with the backs of tops and jackets - they were waaaay too big.  In fact, this can be seen in the back view of the cardigans that I have recently made, but I just passed this off as being 'casual'.  Janice showed me that I needed a FBA (Full Bust Adjustment) - I had heard of these but never really understood why they were required or when.  Oh, and one of the most irritating issues was that tops would slide down my back, raising the front neckline.  I was constantly pulling the front of my tops down.

And this is what my pattern pieces look like:

 

I should mention here that my dressmaker's dummy is somewhat smaller than the 'current me' - I think that I will have to trade her in for one more my size!  Anyway, there are a few adjustments made that will now have to be added to most of the patterns that I use in the future - but now I know what those adjustments will be:

• 3" FBA
• Drop the bust point 1"
• 1/2" and 3/4"  back adjustment.

There are a couple of other minor adjustments that will make a 'perfect' fit of the sloper, and we will be refining them next week.  It was very interesting and helpful, commenting on the fit issues of my classmates and 'seeing' where the problem areas are and how to handle them.  I am just so pumped up with enthusiasm following this class, and look forward to the next one where we will also be fitting skirts.  It will mean a total change in my approach to sewing - as well as opening a whole new world of patterns as I now fit into mainstream patterns, and despite being plus-sized, the patterns don't have to be!! 

I plan to make some really great TNT patterns just like my heroine Carolyn - I would love to make some dresses and she truly is an inspiration.

The funny thing is (and you know, it is not really funny - it is quite obvious really) but my RTW clothes also have the same fitting issues.  Fancy that! 

The lovely Janice will be holding more classes (I think that I will just pay a retainer and attend them all!) and wants to set up a 'drop in' for us so we can discuss ongoing projects, get advice etc.  I really can't recommend this type of class enough.  Reading through the 'Fit' book this week it is clear that Janice has been following a set training schedule that is similar to a really good franchise such as using specific pins/tape/paper (all for very good reasons), following a step-by-step measuring process that gives accurate results etc., - and she is on first name terms with Pati Palmer - I'm smitten!

So you see - size does matter!