At the start of the last few years I've made detailed lists of goals for my sewing, but I'm abandoning that this year. Some of the things I previous set goals about (being careful with my spending, tracking what I wear and discard, managing my stash) are now established habits, and I don't need to really focus more than minimal attention on maintaining those things.
I've also decided that the Burda challenge that I've often tried to do in the past just isn't a useful organizing principle for me or my wardrobe so I won't be trying to do that this year.
Overall this year, I am really committed to continuing to sew the wardrobe I want to have and will most enjoy, for the life I actually lead. I feel more confident than ever in 2020 that I know what that means and what I want to own and wear. I know it's not for everyone, but having an actual written wardrobe plan, a set of colours I (mostly) stick to, and even a set of expectations/guidelines for how long I can expect different garments to last, in terms of number of wears, has been transformative for me. So really, all I want for 2020 is to keep doing all the things that I already do, and continue to see some incremental wardrobe improvements.
(I will definitely also keep blogging even though I know it's fallen out of fashion these days. I didn't blog much in 2019, but that is not down to me switching to a different platform or anything. (I am on Insta, but I didn't even do the "Top 9 posts" meme for 2019 because I am not convinced I posted more than 9 times!). The dearth of blog AND Instagram posts just reflects that I didn't really make all that much and the things I did make (PJs, easy repeats) were not really very interesting to write (or read!) about.
That said, I still have plans for the year! I wouldn't be me without a whole BUNCH of plans.
I am pretty set for clothes in the first quarter of the year (Jan-Mar). I had a small but significant set-back in my return-to-work plans, so I am holding off on making an officewear wardrobe until that is resolved. I therefore don't have a flurry of new things to make for immediate wear. However, thinking ahead:
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| The Wedding Guest Dress: My fabric, a navy stretch lace with a scalloped selvedge (left); an inspiration image of a lace dress with a contrast under layer (centre), and a dress patttern inspiration photo (right) |
The Wedding Guest Dress: I have zero pieces of occasion wear in my wardrobe, and a family wedding to go to in April. It's the perfect excuse to make something out of the ordinary for me that is hopefully suitable not only for that event but that I can pull out in any situation that calls for a nice "special event" dress.
My current plan is to use this navy stretch lace (shown here over a white background) that I bought a couple of years ago. I'll wear it with a separate underdress -- part of me wants to go for contrast and wear it with turquoise or mint green, but maybe navy would be better, I'm not sure yet. I am also not sure about the patterns to use but for the lace dress I do know I don't want anything more complicated than a simple dress with a full skirt. I want to use the scalloped slevedge for the skirt, so I may need to do a pleated skirt rather than a circle skirt.
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| The Wedding Guest Coat. My fabric (left, looks a little yellow in this shot but that is the crappy after-dark photo. It's a silver/blue combination). Some inspiration images: the style I want with a full skirt (middle), a style I probably actually could make with the amount of fabric I have (left). |
In the second quarter of the year, I know for sure I have a couple of wardrobe replacements and additions for summer, and so I already have some plans in varying degrees of vagueness: I want to do some more work on trousers; I want a casual summer blouse in white; I need to replace some t-shirts that I discarded at the end of last summer, and so on. And I do have pretty specific plans in mind for a work wardrobe (The Suit I talked about but didn't make last year, lots of tops and blouses, skirts and trousers, and so on) but until I am less sick again it seems premature to really start binge-sewing officewear.
I'll be back with updates as and when, but in the meantime I hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year and may you all have a wonderful 2020. :D
I always appreciate your posts and your thoughtful and deliberate process of planning, making, recording, and analyzing what you produce. I like the idea of having fewer goals and focusing instead on using the skills you've developed to create the exact items you want and need. I haven't paid much attention to the Make Nine challenge in the past, but this year it seems like it might be useful for me. There are a handful of styles of tops and jackets that I like and over the past 5 years of sewing I've made quite a few muslins and finished garments of each type from several different patterns. These fall into groups like fitted knit sleeveless top, fitted woven sleeveless top, loose knit long-sleeved shirt, woven button front overshirt, shop jacket, tailored jacket, and so on. This year I want to review these styles and patterns and refine them to real TNT status so I can focus on sewing garments that I will actually wear, from fabrics that in most cases I already have, without the stress of testing and fitting new patterns every time. Of course there will be tweaking, mostly based on fabric choice, but that doesn't take as much time or mental energy as starting with a new pattern from scratch. It might not be nine totally different garment types in the end, but that feels like a manageable concept to begin with in January. Thank you for continuing to blog, and In any case, good luck with your health, your job search, and your creative productions!
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes. Yes to that navy lace. It's so beautiful! I bet it would look amazing over turquoise or a very pale mint!
ReplyDeleteGood idea to keep it simple. That almost always works best. Happy New Year!
So exciting! Can't wait to see more!
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