Beyond the Seams – Wardrobe Culling

In my Beyond the Seams series I take a look at some of the garments I have produced to answer the question “Whatever happened to..?

This Beyond the Seams post will be a bit different. I have had a different focus this Spring, and haven’t focused so much on garment sewing. MY focus have been cross-stitching and losing some weight. As for the second point, I won’t go into detail but rather say that some clothes that never fit me before fit me now, some clothes fit me again and others are, sadly, too big for me now. That’s all I have to say in that matter.

Hand-made skirts saying bye-bye

Otherwise I’m working along my cross-stitch for Erika. One stitch at the time and for each passing day I get a bit closer to finishing. Which is good because my sewing fingers are itching. It’s not that I don’t enjoy embroidery, it’s just that I want some change, a new challenge.

Blouses that don’t look good on me

Also a focal point have been re-inventing my wardrobe. I haven’t sewn myself a good wardrobe in the past. I haven’t focused on fit, fabrics or how my pieces go together. Therefore I have had a stuffed wardrobe and nothing to wear. So, I did a serious wardrobe culling, with most of the discarded items ending up being donated (I will try to sell some of the maternity pieces). If I don’t wear the items or even like them, there’s no room for them in my wardrobe. This will give room for a new wardrobe, hopefully a more thought out and well-planned wardrobe. Let’s hope it goes well (I do have some pieces of fabric that are waiting to be turned into clothes).

Dresses I once loved, but don’t flatter me these days

It is with sad eyes I now say goodbye to plenty of my hand sewn clothes. I hope they can find a good home elsewhere. Still I ponder, does anyone want to wear my clothes? But as it is a question I will never get an answer to, I shall leave it be.

Farewell to:

Michelle, the Third
Norah Sundress
Knot Tank (never blogged)
Bow Dress
Pink Lace Top

Lime Truffle Dress (Missing from pictures)
The Sookie Dress
Blueberry Sorbetto (never blogged)
October Top
Namesake Skirt

Exclusive Skirt
National Day Shorts
Just Floral Top
“Not A Maddy”-blouse
Three Year Blouse

Plaid’n’wrap skirt
Floral and Coral Dress
Exposed Zipper skirt
Oldie, but goodie top
A green, wait black, dress

Lessons Learnt Skirt (missing from pictures)
Pink Peplum blouse

May they rest in peace.

The whole lot (3 jackets, 7 pants, 4 toppers, 4 shirts, 11 t-shirts/tanks, 8 skirts, 13 dresses and 13 blouses/tops

There are a few pieces that might still get donated or just discarded, this is the first cull. It pains me a little, but I don’t wear these things. Time to make room, mental and physical, for things I do wear and do like.

What do you do with your handsewn clothes that no longer fit or don’t fulfil your current needs?

Jag börjar året med en omfattande garderobsrensning. Kläder som inte passar, på ena eller andra hållet, eller som inte är min stil längre. En del handsydda kläder har följt med och jag får aldrig veta om de håller måttet för andra att bära dem. Nu är kläderna donerade och jag har mycket mer plats i min garderob att fylla med nya kläder, kläder som passar mig och som är mer jag.

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Beyond the Seams – The Oasis Dress

In my Beyond the Seams series I take a look at some of the garments I have produced to answer the question “Whatever happened to..?

Made: October 2011

Fabric: I am quite pleased with my fabric choice as the corduroy keeps the dress warm and I like the subtlety and colours of the print. Babycord can sometimes come off as a fabric for children, that’s how it’s mostly marketed, but I see nothing wrong in using it for adult clothing. It does attract lint, but with this print, who’s to notice? The lining of the bright green is also fun and makes the dress unique.

Pattern/Fit: Laura dress by Burdastyle. I think my main issues with this dress comes from the pattern and my lack of alterations. The shoulder straps keep falling down, which I read about in some reviews and comments online, but I failed to do something about it. The fit seems off. This was before my FBA-days, so the entire dress is cut in one size, which sits tightly around me, but probably not correct proportion-wise. I would have wanted the pattern to be a little bit higher in the neckline as to not look too small.

The dress as I usually wear it

Styling: Usually I wear it with a long-sleeve light t-shirt underneath and light stockings, with a necklace to fill the neckline. I fail to see any more variation potential. As the picture shows, at least me, it’s not very flattering over my hips.

Rotation: I do like this dress and I pull it out of my wardrobe occasionally, but I never feel completely comfortable in it and the times I do pull it out occur less and less frequently.

Verdict: I really do want to like this dress as it is warm, unusual and colourful, for being a fall/winter garments. But as I said, I never fell completely comfortable in it since the fit is off and the dress is unflattering on me. I’m not quite ready to let it go just yet, but since I never find myself reaching for it, I’m contemplating that it will move out of my wardrobe. I still like the idea of a winter pinafore and I might make one in the future, I really like Ruth’s version, so I know a great version can be made.

Oas-klänningen, sydd hösten 2011, är en klänning som jag så gärna vill gilla. Tyget är roligt och färgglatt för att vara ett höst/vinter-tyg. Men jag är inte så bra på att styla denna klänning och den känns väldigt osmickrande på mig, det känns som om klänningen inte tar fram mina bästa drag. Tyvärr då jag vill gilla den. Men risken är stor att klänningen får flytta ut.

Beyond the Seams – Plaid’n’Wrap Skirt

In my Beyond the Seams series I take a look at some of the garments I have produced to answer the question “Whatever happened to..?

Today’s garment is the Plaid’n’Wrap Skirt

Made: September 2010.

Fabric: A plaid with silver lurex threads. I think polyester is a main fabric content, it could be some cotton too. The fabric was bought in an “everybody loves plaid”-frenzy, thus I had to have a plaid skirt, however as time has gone on I’ve come to realise that I am not really a plaid person. Back when I bought the fabric I didn’t pay much attention to quality, today I would never buy this fabric for a skirt (or anything else) as it feels cheap and drapes in a weird way. I must also add that I’m quite proud of my pattern matching on this skirt.

Pattern/Fit: The pattern is self-drafted with the help of my pattern book (it comes with standard blocks and descriptions on how to alter them). Since it is self-drafted the fit is pretty god, but I always add too much ease at the waistline. I wish the overlap would be a bit longer and the length is a bit off. Yes, the length would have been an easy fix, but since I don’t care about the skirt so much in the first place it has never been taken care of.

Styling: I usually styled it in a “schoolgirl” manner with a grandfather cardigan. Looking back it was a quite boring look.

 

The skirt in its usual styling

Rotation: I wore this quite a bit when I had first made it, but after a while I started feeling less comfortable in it and all issues were so apparent to me every time I wore it and most importantly, it didn’t feel like me.

Verdict: It is wrong in colours, I don’t like the fabric and the length is off. Perhaps I shall try and find another wrap skirt pattern or just leave it be. Now I now that plaid is not for me. With the review on top I think it’ll be a surprise to hear that it still hangs in my wardrobe. It is on its way out and will be slaughtered and sent for textile recycling. Or should I donate it? Perhaps it deserves a new life.

 

Denna omlottkjol i rutmönster sydde jag hösten 2010. Rutigt är alltid inne tänkte jag och jag lockades av “skolflickestuket”. Men efter ett tag insåg jag att jag inte alls gillar rutigt och att färgerna i just denna är lite för bleka och mesiga för min smak. Ut ur garderoben ska den, doneras eller återvinnas. Synd på en kjol med egenkonstruerat mönster (ur Mönster och konstruktioner för damkläder) och så snygg mönsterpassning. Men bär jag inte ett plagg får jag låta det komma till annan nytta.

Beyond The Seams

This is how my process goes: I sew something, I write about it, I pose in various selfies, I blog about my creation. After that I may or may not wear it. It could be that I realised that the colour is wrong, a bad fabric to pattern match or a bad pattern. Sometimes I have failed to see these things while I was working on the project, due to excitement, but is it fair that the creations are always presented with a smile on my face.

Which blouses and shirts get worn?

My series Beyond the Seams will have me evaluate my creation after the initial excitement has set. Have they been worn or are they forever doomed to a closeted life, perhaps with an occasional outing during Me-Made-May? What worked and what didn’t? What would I have done differently now? What fate have they succumbed to?

In doing this I hope to learn, both about myself and my style, as well as about patterns and fabrics. What can be attributed to rookie mistakes and where should I have known better?

What clothes just take up space?

I admit that I’m inspired by Ms. Cleaver and it seemed like such a good idea I’m stealing it. I want to learn about myself and my wardrobe too!

Do your handmade garments still hang in the closet despite never being worn? Do you have a soft spot for self-made garments even though they aren’t your style or colours anymore?

Ofta är jag väldigt glad över mina nya kläder när de just har lämnat symaskinen. Men sen bär jag dem och inser att den där färgen var nog inte helt rätt på mig, passformen var lite fel eller tyget var inte bekvämt. I en ny serie, Bortom sömmarna, kommer jag att granska mina tidigare plagg. Hur ofta bär jag dem och varför, passar de, är tyget skönt och framför allt har de en framtid i min garderob?