So I cleaned out my wardrobe last week and I had a few realisations. Not world changing revelations but interesting none the less. And they are all centred around point number 2 of The Craft Sessions Manifesto.
“Beautiful things can be made with very simple techniques and skills.”
I truly believe this is true.
A large part of my wardrobe is handmade and I wear something handmade almost every day. What was interesting (when I pulled it all together after the cleaning out) was that it became clear that I rarely sew anything complicated. Very occasionally I will sew a skirt with a zip (I found 2 zips in total that I've sew in the wardrobe) or a shirt with a placket (the last one I made for my son was three years ago) but normally the trickiest thing I tackle is a gather. The takeaway from this is that simple sewing at it's simplest can take you a long way*.
Please don't think my wardrobe actually looks like this normally. I wanted to show you the handmade top section rather than the everything jammed together in a total mishmash reality.
Without further ado, the realisations were;
1. All the tops that I've made that I love involve super simple sewing and about five patterns.
1a. Not relevant to you but relevant to me. I may have an issue with colour…..Ha! I mean c'mon. Look at that colour palate. It is getting rid-ic-ulous.
2. I realised that the things I sew actually involve a tiny number of skills.
3. And that as a capsule wardrobe they are actually a "get good at sewing 101 post" waiting to happen.
So on Friday I'll be posting "How to go from sewing a straight line to sewing a simple everyday wardrobe you love" in six easy steps*. And then I'll be back sometime in the following week to show you some superdooper simple modifications I make to make things fit my non-pattern-standard shape. The tricks will probably have actual dressmakers totally cringing, but they work like a charm. So hey - It's all good! - am I right or am I right?
Felicia x
*if you are a fan of simple clothes.
P.S. I seem to be playing "idea snap" with Karen today - I'd already written this post when I went wandering around my favourite blogs on the weekend :). Maybe it is great minds think alike? She has some great ideas on a very similar topic in that post.
