Project Wardrobe: The Three R's

This is part two of my Project Wardrobe post, this time focusing on the results of my clear out.
The three R's are removals, refashions, and remaining, and there will be some pie charts and graphs folks, I just can't help myself!

First up, the removals. This is two sub categories because some items will be donated to charity, and others will be dumped in the rag bag. I will post at some point about what I do with my rag bag(s) in case anyone is looking for a good way to use up those scraps.

How many items went to the rag bag or to charity

So the pie chart above shows that 31 items were evicted from my wardrobe, and this includes an underwear clear out too. The primary reason the rag bag got so lucky is that I have a work uniform I no longer need, and it has the company logo on it so I can't donate any of it (which makes me sad!). So 7 items in the "other" category are old work polo shirts, trousers, and a jumper. This is not a typical event so I will try and not be too bothered about it! I have had it all for over 3 1/2 years so it has had a lot of usage. One pair of trousers had worn through at the thighs so are counted in the bad condition category. The other three are knickers that were wadders. Not really cool with giving my undies to charity even if they are unworn. They aren't anything special, just scrap jersey so were probably originally pulled out of the rag bag.

The bad condition speaks for itself, 5 were pairs of past it panties, I will remove zips, buttons, and any other reusable part from the rest of these items.

The charity shop stuff is self explanatory too. Most of it is the wrong colour rather than it being crappy. I tried to inject a bit more colour in with some lighter blues but just made me feel a bit uncomfortable. One of the items is a dress I made to go to an event that was WW2 themed, it just made me feel like a nurse! Looked better when I was a bottle blonde too.

Next up, the remaining items.

Below is a chart detailing what is left by category. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the amount of hand made, refashions, and RTW items for each category. Considering I have only purchased one dress, one pair of shorts, and one coat from the charity shop over the past year, and then one dress (that isn't included below as it fell into the refashion pile), one nightie I refashioned as a petticoat, and one pair of trousers from the charity shop the previous year, the rest of the stuff is really old! Most of the RTW is at least 4 years old, and of that lot, over half of it falls into the category of at least 6 years old.
I did make some leggings but since I do not consider leggings to be pants, they are not included here and are considered underwear like tights are. If you rock your leggings as pants, good for you, just do be sure they aren't see through - I cannot even begin to count how many butt cracks and knicker patterns I have witnessed through leggings whilst I have been out and about in public.

Remaining wardrobe items.

And because I wanted to see how much of my wardrobe is in regular rotation, I made another bar chart. Just 'cause I can.
So what does this tell me? First of all I should clarify that worn regularly is considered to be something that when averaged out across the whole year, is worn at least fortnightly. Obviously summer items like shorts are not going to be worn in winter, I am not quite that insane (yet).

The other point to note, is the reason why something is unworn. It could be because it is something that is occasion wear, like a party dress, or a suit jacket. It could also be because I may not need to wear it all the time, such as a slip/petticoat. Or perhaps it is just a bit too small. Finally it might just not be loved enough to be my first choice when getting dressed.

Worn regularly Vs Mostly unworn

I can tell you off the top of my head that 4/6 dresses unworn are party dresses, one other was made for a specific occasion. 2/6 skirts are petticoats/slips, and 2/6 skirts are formal attire. Both trousers are a little bit snug. The tops unworn are half formal ones, half not preferable over others. The cardis are a 50/50 split of too small and not preferable. Lastly the one coat is too small, the other is a suit jacket.

I don't know about you, but I think that having 50% of your wardrobe in regular rotation is pretty good! I may give away some of the too small/ not preferable items in my next clear out, especially if they are replaced by items more preferable.

The one burning question I have is: Is 60 items of clothing (not including pjs and undies here) a lot, or not a lot? I look in my wardrobe and think it looks pretty empty, but the number 60 sounds like a lot!

Last but not least the refashions. There are only three, all dresses. One is a grey kimono sleeved jersey dress. Shapeless. Sack like. Hippo costume. I am going to see if I can get a vest top out of this, or a very short sleeved tee. I did wear it periodically through the year but I felt a bit self conscious in it. The neckline was also too large and slipped off my shoulders all the time. I also don't like the kimono sleeves. They suck for my shape. I do not need extra shapelessness at my armpit/boob merging area! I would give it to charity but the jersey is very slinky and nice to touch so I would rather re use it.
Another one is a black ponte dress. The only RTW item of the three. I have worn it a fair bit over the past two years but it isn't the most flattering cut. So I'm going to do a quick and dirty chop and elasticate for a skirt. Which will get significantly more use, especially as it has pockets!
The final one is a gingham dress. It is super twee, with heart shaped buttons and everything. I don't dislike it, but I also don't wear it. Except one time, that is all. I will try to use the fabric to make a blouse from. Aaaand I will probably re use the buttons, so twee, so many fucks not given!


After going through all this (congrats if you didn't go into a coma before reaching the end) I now have a clear picture of what I will be sewing in the coming months. I don't think I have a problem with too many generally un preferable items, and I will be trying to replace some of the more holey items I have been hanging on to.

Anyone else have similar wardrobe maintenance? And do you find you throw out more handmade or RTW?

Project Wardrobe

So what is project wardrobe? And why am I going to blather on about it to you?

Project wardrobe is the pretentious name given to the management of my clothing situation. It allows me to make sure there aren't any wadders lurking beyond their necessary time span (i.e. it will have to do until I have made a new one), cull clothing that is in a very bad shape (a few holes won't necessarily put me off wearing something!), donate anything that is fine but not worn, see what can be recycled into something wearable, and spot any gaps I have in my clothing needs.

Once or twice a year I have a thorough inspection of my clothes. I try to do it when most of the washing has been done so there is a more accurate picture emerging.

It is pleasantly surprising to see how much of my wardrobe is handmade, and that when in season so to speak, a good proportion of it is worn regularly.
Without going to the uber nerdy lengths of writing down what I wear each day, I can make a very good guess at my most popular items. Without a doubt the grey leopard print ponte dress is worn at least once a week, perhaps twice if I'm quick with the laundry. It is perfect for summer and winter and I personally think it bridges casual wear and occasion wear pretty well. I bought the fabric with some Christmas money, so would hazard a guess that this was sewed up January, and it is still in good nick with no bobbles or fading.

Photo taken on holiday in Switzerland

 In the latter half of the year my Ginger jeans have almost never left my butt, I don't have a photo though, you'll just have to trust me! I usually pair them up with a black t-shirt, or if I'm feeling fancy perhaps with a blouse. They will see me though the whole year too, except for the hottest days when only shorts will do.

Borrowing from the Wardrobe Architect series over at Colette, I have a set of colours that (I think) suit me and if an item is sewn up in one of the colours, it has a better chance of being a hit even with other flaws. My set of neutrals are black, grey, navy, and khaki/olive green.

My accent colours are red, purple, and white, although for white it is usually just the colour of the polka dot, or the stripe rather than being a white cardi or anything. Purple is usually just relegated to party wear, and the red is a more comfortable addition with cardigans and accessories, not to mention the lipstick and nail varnish colour of choice.

I should also add that leopard print is a neutral....but I don't typically go out in "natural" leopard all over, the Bet Lynch look is being saved for when I reach my 50's ;) I have a coat that is sadly a bit too small that I will crack out when it fits but otherwise I stick to accents of "natural" leopard. But I have no problem with a leopard print in grey like my ponte dress, I have a skirt in the same fabric, and also two RTW relics in a lighter grey leopard print too. I guess I am just not that rock n roll anymore folks!

So there is the basis of project pretentious, I look at my stuff, and get rid of some of it - genius huh?!

I will go through the cull in my next post, this post is more to do with an overview of the process (pointless maybe, but I blog for myself and I wanted to do it so whatever really!).

2015 Aspirations

Aspirations is probably the most cheesy word I could have picked, but I can't be bothered to go change it at this point in time!

Having reflected on my past year of sewing, I could easily see where I wanted to go with it, and the steps I need to take. My last project of 2014 was a version of New Look 6723, and for the first time I installed (Is that really right? Sounds a bit techy to me...) an invisible zip by hand, and hand sewed the hem and sleeves. It wasn't as horrific as I was expecting, and the zip did not dramatically split open halfway through wearing it as I was worried it would. I also pattern matched tartan for the first time, and did pretty well despite it being a squeeze towards the end fitting the pattern pieces on.
Anyway, long story short is that dress has influenced my sewing goals for the year.

With some Christmas cash I purchased Claire Shaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques, and a Singer guide to Tailoring.

                                                                                                        Both images via Amazon

This year I want to focus on improving my technique to make longer lasting, better finished garments. I need to refocus and slow down my processes, instead of wanting it finished in 10 minutes. Not only did I hand sew that dress hem, I also did all of those other time consuming things like hand basting and hand gathering, and I didn't die from doing it. I aim to make a nice jacket this year, and hope the tailoring book (which was recommended somewhere I can't remember, it was during a late night blog reading binge) will give me some pointers on how to do a good job.

As well as improving my sewing techniques, I also want to use up my stash. I have plans for most of it, but to ensure I don't just buy all the things, I am going to instill a 20 m limit on new fabric purchases until I have used up at least 3/4 of my stash. Old bed linen is not included in the limit unless I am getting it specifically to wear myself. If it is for muslin purposes then it doesn't count as I am making the effort to make these up in order to improve fitting. This may all seem unnecessary but I have too much, and I want to move house one day and packing sucks big time without having a room rammed full of stuff.

A similar situation is in order for yarn, I have a shocking amount, most of which given to me. I have yarn I have bought for specific projects set aside, but most of it is kinda random assortments of colour and weight. I will be trying to make more hats and scarves for the homeless as I have done previously, and also more hats/mitts/booties for premature babies since I have yarn perfect for it. I am not the world's fastest knitter so my already decided queue of projects will likely last me the year, but I will be able to get through a good chunk of the stash yarn with the smaller items made.
I might document the lot of it in a shameful blog post when I sort it out properly, it is currently in boxes underneath my pressing table and piled up in corners. I nicknamed it yarnia...possible to lose a small child amongst it!

Before this becomes a mega long boring/more boring post, I will cut it here. I don't want to be to specific in setting targets such as x amount of items made, and you can never tell what life will throw at you. I have quantifiable resolutions outside of sewing, I want my hobbies to remain a pleasure not a chore though!

2014 Year In Review

I suppose that a year in review for a new blog is kind of odd... But I have been sewing and creating during this time so why not. 2014 has been a year of learning, and of experimenting. It has been a time of figuring out online fabric ordering, resolutely deciding that better quality is definitely worth the extra money, and further deciding what is right for me.

As I am unashamedly nerdy, I made a pie chart -

As you can see, in total I made 38 items. Very few of which were for the long suffering OH!
I will address the failures first. Outright wadder territory goes to one dress (no photos as I took it to the charity shop already.) which I even tried hacking into a skirt but it was just wrong fabric, wrong pattern. It was some kind of knit that reminded me of staticy nighties from my childhood. Just wrong.
Lesser wadders were 3 of the tshirts, one too big (and crudely over locked down to size - its for sleeping in so it is passable), two too small, although I will be holding on to them as they may come in handy later in the year. The undies were also wadders, the woven pair (Amerson undies) looked like a nappy. I am intending to scale the pattern down in size in some areas and have another go, I suspect woven knickers are better suited to the slim (less sumo wrestler). The knit ones just have poor fit, but each pair improved and so learning from them means they weren't a total waste of time.

The remaining items are mostly all in regular use. Other than my current employment having a work uniform, I am usually wearing at least one self made item every day. I will be going through my wardrobe and discussing the annual cull in another post. The misc items include a clutch bag, tote bags, and a mini pouffe to wedge my bedroom door open with (so her ladyship can come snooze on the bed/ be a nuisance at her whim).

I have found some pictures of my outfits in the wild, I don't seek out photos so they are quite random choices!

Some hits and misses, and one off wacky items!

Evidence I have a sense of humour...there is a collection of pics of me and the cat sleeping in the same position, my OH's hilarious hobby....

Surprising favourites included my Ginger Jeans, I pattern tested them, and they have barely been unworn since. I had no idea I would, or even could, look nice in skinny jeans. My pair has a bit of twisting going on because I need to do a full calf adjustment but I can live with it enough to not waste fabric by throwing them out. I will be looking into other jeans patterns towards autumn/winter to try out a new style. Another favourite is my Bruyere rip off inspired blouse. Wearable muslin so was made using cheap polycotton, but ok to wear still. I will eliminate the tiny pleats nearest the button placket because they aren't altogether flattering (and I don't think they are always flattering on the real deal either).

Other than sewing, I also made 2 crochet cardigans, one giant crochet Puppycat, and some WI related projects like Big Knit hats.

Puppycat, Alice for Tea and Tents (I made the body, apron and face), Lincoln WI's Christmas Wreath (Green knitted base by my friend Sarah), and Strawberry fascinator for Tea and Tents

All in all a good year, and many positive lessons learnt for the future. I will be doing a post on my tartan dress, as this was a very valuable learning curve for me, and a frustrating but satisfying result. Maybe a few other things not pictured will get a separate mention too.

I will be posting my 2015 aspirations later on in the week.

Hello, And Welcome.

"Black is modest and arrogant 

at the same time. 

Black is lazy and easy - but mysterious.

Above all black says this: 

'I don't bother you - don't bother me'." 

           Yohji Yamomoto

This is one of my favourite quotes - I'm not one of those people who go crazy for the inspirational, life affirming, nauseating bullshit quotes littering Pinterest. "She believed she could, so she did" well cross your fingers "she" didn't have the ambitions of Icarus....*rolls eyes*.

If by some miracle you have stumbled here, and obviously ended up reading this, I would like to go off on a tangent about my previous blog before I get back to the quote above. I would apologise, but I'm a tangenty person, so you'll just have to deal with it or leave ;)

My last blog was active in fits and starts for over 5 years. I desperately wanted to have a blog with a decent amount of readers so I could interact with other sewing people, and also do fun things like swaps and giveaways. I upped traffic by posting patterns linked up to free pattern sites, did a tutorial that led in considerable traffic from pinterest each month, but never really got people to hang around beyond the page they clicked on. Clearly my crafty hodge-podge was lacking in some way or another, and it frustrated me. I eventually worked it out - it was just rubbish! A collection of crap. However the SBC is way too polite, and people I talked to about my frustrations were never brave enough to even hint that it was the terrible content. I was urged to make an effort to comment loads on other peoples blogs, and that people would start to check out my blog from there. Well sorry to say but I tried, and it was exhausting and pointless. It never gained me followers, it just wasted my time leaving the same generic comments which whilst nice and ego boosting for the recipients ("beautiful dress, that colour looks fab on you" etc etc) made me feel like a massive fraud and really fake. Don't get me wrong, they weren't normally lies, and I'm not an overly horrid person, but I never did much care for the whole lets hug and compliment each other routine.

So anyhow, I packed up that nonsense, and felt like I must be some kind of cretin because I wasn't able to fit in and be liked. I found another part of the online sewing community (GOMI craft) much more appealing, and lurking there made me feel like less of a freak. Constructive criticism is good. It is how we learn and grow. People call it snarking when it is aimed at themselves, or their friends, as it is accepted we will all do the "we're all so nice" thing. I have gleaned so many useful things from the guys over there, and found some new blogs to follow too. If my admission to this puts you off reading then that is your choice. I also do not wish to debate the merit/flaws of it, everyone is free to have their own opinion.

On this blog, please don't be afraid to say when things are sub par. You do not need to be rude, or criticise things like my weight/unphotogenic face as I am mean enough about myself without any additional grenades launched. If you can see something I have made a mistake with, or know of an easier way to do something I have struggled with, then for goodness sakes say so!

If you just don't like something I have made then you may keep it to yourself, I have a very narrow range of styles I like, and I probably don't like things you make either. So thems are the rules mmkay?

Back to that quote. I love black. It makes me feel comforable. I like to stay co-ordinated, black aids this. I'm not so hot for bright colours and crazy prints, or anything too wild. It is like a soothing security blanket that lets me feel inconspicuous when out and about, not attracting attention to that which I do not like about myself. In order to keep this blog true to myself I am only going to make what I like, and chances are it will be dark coloured and difficult to photograph. I am not a sweatshop, I produce items on a basis of needs, and the proverbial cake wins out over frosting. This blog therefore may not be the most active in terms of clothing, and I won't apologise for it.

I intend to also discuss things I am reading, that may or may not be to do with sewing/knitting. I hope to include posts about how I use up my scraps, sew with recycled materials, and my wardrobe policy. I like to do philanthropic crafting, and will talk about it if only for the hope that it inspires one person to do something themselves. Obviously cat photos at opportune moments too.

I would be lying if I said I don't care if nobody reads this, I still after all want to have some kind of exchange with others - I don't really have any friends into garment sewing, or even sewing regularly.

I am telling the truth when I say I will not ass-kiss, post things explicitly for the intention of gaining followers, or post things that are not true to myself just to keep to a schedule. I accept this will probably be a lonely place, but as they say, quality over quantity.