Friday, May 28, 2021

Summer Capsule Wardrobe plans

I've been feeling more and more intrigued by the idea of capsule wardrobes, although I still think I'm rather more of a maximalist and like having lots of variety and standalone prints in my wardrobe. Still, thinking of sewing in capsules appeals to me. 

I've looked at some capsule planning guides, like the Canadian Capsule Planner by Couturious and the Mood Capsule Creator planning guide. Both are free, and downloadable and printable if you are also interested. They both gave me some really good ideas. 

And of course I've been playing with MyBodyModel since I first got my croquis back in March. So I decided to make a plan for next month's sewing using a capsule framework combined with the MyBodyModel 3x3 technique. 

I took a piece I just made, the Adrienne Blouse, as the keystone of this one, and looked at some of the other patterns and fabrics I've been wanting to make. Here is my plan, which I think is doable, to get some matching options in my wardrobe for the summer. 

I'm adding two more tops, a McCalls 4591 (a thrifted pattern c.2004) and the Edith Blouse by Maria Denmark. Both of these are stash fabrics, although I bought the fabric with the Edith Blouse in mind at least 3 years ago! Where does time go?? (But isn't this fabric fantastic?)

And I'm going to try out the Peppermint Pocket Skirt, a community hit, in a brick coloured linen that tones with all three tops. I'm going to add a fitted knit skirt (Pirate Pencil Skirt), and a pair of wide leg cropped pants from Vogue 9364 - both in black - for good measure. 


Well, at least that's the plan! I also have a big stack of dresses I want to make this summer, and with those I don't worry about matching with anything else :) I may want to make a couple of lightweight cropped summer jackets to go with the dresses but that's about as much matching as I worry about there. Dresses are a great way to be fully dressed without having to coordinate anything further than my shoes, so I love to use my bright prints and novelty fabrics for my multitude of dresses. 

Are you more into capsule planning or mood sewing? I haven't really been a plan maker in the past, usually just looking at my fabric and deciding what I wanted to make next by feel. But I'm kind of enjoying the sketching and fabric matching process, and while I don't think I'll ever plan every single make, I'm finding it fun and helpful to whittle down my huge mental queue of things I want to make into a reasonable month-at-a-time plan. I will always have more that I want to sew than time available to do it -- but this is a great process to prioritize things I need most in my wardrobe. 


6 comments:

  1. Sounds like you have a great plan!

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    1. Hope I can stick to it-- that's always my problem;)

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  2. I have always enjoyed planning and sewing a wardrobe of coordinated garments that can be worn in many different outfits. I started doing this back in the late 90's when it was called Sewing with a Plan "SWAP" and there was an annual contest on a public sewing discussion site that has since gone private. I think I enjoy the planning the most. Going through my patterns and fabric stash. It is always a thrill to find a great fabric in the stash I had forgotten about. Your capsule fabrics are a lovely mix of colors and prints, especially the typography print. And the garments work well with each other. Hope to see some of them in future posts.

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    1. Thanks so much Audrey! I am finding that I'm enjoying sorting through the stash & matching up patterns & fabrics that will go together. It's encouraging me to use some of those wonderful prints I've had for far too long :)

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  3. Melanie, you must have an amazing stash of very useable fabric. To be able to plan with existing stash is remarkable. I envy you. I think I really need to sit down and plan to make some sort of coordinated wardrobe, or make the 'links' between what I have so they are more coordinated. I had a look at MyBodyModel post a previous post of yours, and it looks interesting, but I can't get my head around using it. A capsule planner for casual clothes (not home clothes per se) is probably where I will go first - will check the links you have given. Really enjoy seeing where you are going with this!

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    1. My stash is so large -- I have a tendency toward hoarding that I have to watch out for. I've been going through my stash and pulling out the good fabrics that I really want to use, and trying to use those up. And while I'm at it, I'm putting aside things I won't use anymore, whether that's because they are polyester (which I avoid now) or because the prints just aren't interesting to me anymore. I'm trying to remove those ones from my stash responsibly, and meanwhile, to get some of the beautiful fabrics that I bought because I loved them OUT of the stash and INTO my wardrobe!

      I'm also still trying to get used to thinking in capsules, or even in planning ahead -- but I think it is helping me in my desire to get a bit more organized.

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