Sewing a Winter Capsule Wardrobe Part 3: Finished Garments
Forgive me for the radio silence. Someone under the age of 6 dropped the laptop onto its side and I was without a computer for several weeks. It's back and I'm out $150 and I still love my children although they may have to pay me back by going to bed early and without complaint for the rest of the month!
I did finish and have been wearing my winter green capsule wardrobe and am really excited to show you what I made. Working with a collection of fabrics was really fun because it drove me to think about what I want and need in my wardrobe and to more thoughtfully plan for it. I wasn't 100% successful in completing my items, but isn't that how it always goes? Let's get into the show and tell part, mkay?
My first make is probably the one I wear the most. I love it so much that I made TWO MORE exactly like it in different fabrics. It is a pattern mash-up of two of my favorite top patterns. The shoulder and bust is the Plantain Tee by Deer and Doe Patterns. It's been a really long time since I printed off the pattern but I think I've made a size 52, which is the top size of their pattern range. The Plantain Tee is a free PDF pattern available on the Deer and Doe website in French or English. For the waist and hemline I used the Pony Tank by Chalk and Notch. I also got the Pony Tank for free when C&N had a promotion running, but it is currently for sale and I would 100% recommend it. Last summer I made a bunch of Pony Tanks and I'm already planning on making a bunch of new tanks for this summer. I like the wide, swingy hem and the relaxed fit. It's also a slight tunic length, depending on the drape of your pattern, and I occasionally wear this shirt with leggings and feel like my bum is mostly covered up (my preference with leggings).
The cowl neck was an addition I added through some simple measuring. I laid the neckband on my fabric and made a large rectangle that I would fold over and sew in place of the neckband. Would you want a tutorial on adding a cowl neckline to any t-shirt pattern? Let me know. It's really simple and anyone could do it.
The fabric for this shirt was an end of bolt cut from LA Finch Fabrics. It was a bamboo blend knit with no spandex, so I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I LOVE it. Love isn't really even a strong enough word. This fabric and I are in a relationship. It's extremely soft, just like all bamboo knits, and after wearing it for a few hours it relaxes like a favorite t-shirt. This fabric is by far my favorite find in the end of bolt section from LAFF.
The next two items I made are kind of a bonded pair, as I can't see myself wearing one without the other!
You've already seen my Winterberry Pine Trevi Top (or if you haven't you can read about it here) but I haven't shown you the Seamly Wrapped Cardigan I made to wear with it. This is the third Wrapped Cardigan I've made (I will get around to sharing the other two here on the blog eventually). I used four yards of this Glacier Grey rayon jersey knit from Cali Fabrics. If you are looking for a website to find affordable knits for large projects or making a toile of a new pattern, Cali Fabrics is a great place to check out. My machine wasn't loving twin needle hemming this slippery knit fabric so if I could go back in time, I would have used some wash-away hem stabilizer like Wonder Tape. I did hem the sleeves with the twin needle also but have used a long cuffs for another version and am happy with both options. As you can see, this pattern is very, very long. For reference, I am 5'4" and it covers my bum and even a little beyond. I shortened my first version of the Wrapped Cardigan but then decided it might be nice to be longer to wear with leggings or skinny jeans and provide more coverage. So I kept this one long.
The final garment I made was my Fauntleroy Raglan by Straight Stitch Designs. I tested this pattern and I really do love it. This is the third version of this pattern that I've made and I changed it slightly by adding a very subtle split high/low hem. The Fauntleroy is interesting because it has a shoulder dart and two neckline options: a slouchy turtleneck and a relaxed cowl. The fabric is a spruce green melange sweater knit from Blackbird Fabrics that is sadly out of stock right now. This sweater was incredibly warm during the month of January when we were experiencing frigid temperatures and I wore it a lot. There are more pics of this shirt in my instagram feed if you want to see it on me.
So that's four garments...what about the other 2 fabrics you say? Well, I used the floral poly woven to make a shirt that ended up gigantic and just overall a hot mess. I set all of that aside in my "I can't handle this right now" UFO box until further notice. The floral poly fabric is still available at my local Jo-Ann Fabrics store so I may try again another time. The tencel twill was going to become a skirt, but I got distracted by a new pattern test for Straight Stitch Designs (a skirt that I will post about here soon--but not the perfect pattern for my tencel twill). Loni is peer pressuring me to use my tencel to make a Joy Jacket so we can be jacket twins when I see her in a few weeks in Columbus. What say you, readers? Should we twin in some Joy Jackets?
I have a backlog of things I've been making to share the rest of this month, including my next #letssewthistogether project for February/March. Speaking of Loni and my monthly sewing challenge, I suggest you check out her new page all about #Letssewthistogether for more information and to see what is coming up soon! (Hint: March/April is bags. Join us! It's fun!)
