The challenges

Tomorrow is the start of Sew for a change. 75 points to spend on clothes and shoes. Plus it will be possible to earn 10 more points in the monthly challenges. Can’t wait to see what Malin and Alexandra have in store for us. February’s theme is de-clutter. Am hoping it is to de-clutter the wardrobe. Started with the undies drawer after the Holidays and the rest must follow.

Sewing or knitting your own clothes should cost less points than buying and I am hoping to be able to avoid buying any clothes . I won’t make any shoes and probably not undies either. I will definitely consider making my own bra later, but for now I don’t have the time. Nor should I need any more this year; I bought 4 at the end of December. But I do need new boots and maybe a pair of shoes, will see when spring arrives. So I think 15-20 points must be reserved for shoes and possibly underwear. That leaves 55 points to be used for fabric, which equates to 17 to 55 metres of fabric. The higher number is for organic natural fibre and the lower for synthetic fibre.

Hmm, doesn’t seem to difficult. What am I missing?  Plus, I am hoping to stick to my stash diet to try to get back to my original plan of not creating a fabric stash. Thus I need to control my tendency to shop whenever I feel blue and only buy just before I will start a project. Will have to see if a compromise is necessary. I buy online and since I plan to buy more ecological fabrics I suspect most shopping will be online thus inferring a shipping fee and usually cost less if buying in batches and not separate. Anyhow, lets get to the point. I think it is OK to have fabric for three projects at home and that’s not counting scraps. So until there’s only three unused fabrics in the house I shall follow this diet:

Fabric stash diet

*Sew 4 projects from stash before buying new.

*Use at least 2 patterns before purchasing a new.

*My Exclusions:
-Notions, muslin and lining fabric – to be bought on a project by project basis.
-Fabric or patterns bought to make specific gifts – unless of course these can be made from stashed fabric.
-Gifts of fabric or patterns I receive from family or friends – this includes gift certificates to venues that sell such items.
-Fabric bought during travels – while on vacation I will try and refrain from visiting such tempting places as fabric stores. Should I find myself at such places due to forces beyond my control (ha!), I will allow myself to purchase a maximum of 3 new pieces of fabric per vacation destination.

The exclusions are copied from Stitch parade, except I changed the vacation allowance to only 3. Even though I am allowing gifts they still count in Sew for a change.

Buliding my wardrobe

I wear a fraction of the clothes currently in my closet. This probably means I need way less clothes than I think. But ultimately I’d like to look and feel more put together and not buy or sew clothes I’ll never wear. I began my journey in that direction when I joined a Facebook group dedicated to sewing a 6PAC – 6 piece autumn collection – or SWAP as some say, i.e. sewing with a plan. My first plan is below. I only need to finish the trousers. I’m not doing a plan for spring since I want to focus on accessories and need to do some toile fitting.

6PAC fall 2013

So when Sarai of Collette patterns posted about her coming series on building your wardrobe I felt that was perfect for me. So I’m definitely gonna try to do that. Then there is Stitch parade’s and Today’s agenda’s stash diets. Haven’t decided on that yet but I will try to make the Sew for a change challenge. I will have 75 points to spend on clothes or fabric and there is a list of how much every thing cost in amount of points.

Not a garment in sight

Last year I mostly made garments. I’ve learnt a lot and am now at a stage were I realise I need to alter the patterns to get a fit that I’m happy with. Coupled with the fact that I’ve reached a dead end trying to fit my pants – I wanted to sew something else. Looking through my wishlist on Craftsy I found the Suzi purse insert. Off I went to Stoff & Stil and bougth some fat quarters, a cutting mat and rotary cutter.

Purse organiser

Oh the bliss. Alone one evening in my sewing room/our spare room with the cutting mat, cutter, rulers, fabric and pattern and audio book on the Nexus. Listening to The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis on Storytel. It was very relaxing and definitely something I want to do again. Another pattern and another book of course.

Purse organiser, other side

The pattern is very nicely laid out with plenty of photos to guide even a beginner like me. I did the larger size in order to fit my Nexus 7. The clip for my keys and loops on the side are my additions. Quite easy to add in the top seam. Other than that I think I followed the instructions to a T.  Oh, wait that’s not entirely true. I added a thin interfacing to the inside pockets, because it was too see-through.

Adding straps to the organiser

Supplies:

• Pattern – Suzi purse insert
• Fabric – Four fat quarters from Stoff & Stil
• Thread – Off white and turquoise polyester from Stoff & Stil
• Interfacing – Hobby from Stoff & Stil

 

Inside of organiser

Cost – 200 SEK, £18.5, $30.5 or 22.5€

 

My story

My current passion for sewing began in early 2013. I don’t remember how or where I came across The Dress. But I saw it, fell in love and wanted to make one for myself. This is the dress I’m talking about:

Eva Dress from Your Style Rocks

Except for hemming a curtain or two I have barely sewn a stitch since school. But I got a course on Craftsy about sewing knits on a regular machine and just jumped in. Fortunatley for me I ordered way more fabric than needed for the dress. Since I poked a hole in the top piece when ripping one of the shoulder seams, I had to make the top part twice. The finished dress is by no means perfect but I’m still proud of it! I’ve sewn a few more garments in 2013 and as with the Eva dress there are some issues with fit. I’ve sewn a few more garments for me during the year. As with the Eva dress I’ve picked a size and made no changes to the pattern so mostly the clothes are all a little bit on the large side. I’ve learnt a lot during 2013 and this year I will focus more on getting a good fit.