…or a more playful and therefore more apt title would be; Fun with Fashionary! I’ve been planning for my 11 piece SWAP and doodling and colouring-in like it’s going out of, um, fashion? 🙂
Fashionary have released a new sketch panel, which I am using to map out my autumn/winter sewing for next year. Autumn/winter seems a looooong way off, but winter stuff is generally more time-consuming, plus I reckon it’s a good idea to put in just a bit of thought. Summer is easy; handful of little dresses, bob’s your uncle. A winter wardrobe needs to be mix and match-able since you want to be able to layer everything without your ensemble looking like a dog’s dinner. Thus, planning…
The new Fashionary sketching panel contains two pads; one is for garments alone, the other has the familiar croquis marked for on-the-body fashion sketching; and I used both! A new feature is that there are some side view croquis. Although I actually didn’t make use of it this time, I think having the option of a side view could really come in handy.
The sketch panels are a workaday version of the Fashionary sketchbook; comprising loose sheets of perforated, concertina-ed pages and are an excellent tool for the sort of informal playing-with-ideas kind of brainstorming that comes with putting together a cohesive collection… particularly if you are like me and couldn’t bear the thought of ripping pages from out of your lovely hardbound Fashionary sketchbook. The panel comes in one of three different designs; women’s, men’s and there is now a children’s version. I have the women’s version, natch! Included is a card with examples of flat sketching samples, to help you in drawing realistic and well-detailed garments if, like me, you can’t really draw to save yourself, and a page on which to record an complete set of custom body measurements. Very helpful! Each set has 8 panels, with 9 pages per panel, and with the templates printed on both sides, so there’re plenty to play with. A whole tonne of really inspiring fashion artwork created using the Fashionary notebooks can be viewed on the Fashionary site, here and here
Planning a wardrobe collection way ahead is very sensible! and y’know what? I enjoyed it… I checked out my fabric stash, then sketched out each of my garment/fabric/pattern ideas, and dealt them out on the table like playing cards to see how everything worked together and see what stood out like a sore thumb. I had a couple of early definites that got discarded at this point when I could see quite plain and clearly that they were not going to work with anything else. Too often, I make something that I think is going to be omg so useful, only to find that; um, it doesn’t actually go with anything else. Mixing and matching sketches of my little collection was an educational rehearsal. I grouped and regrouped and pulled out the ideas that didn’t fit in. Once it was whittled down I stuck them onto the wall behind my sewing machine, to keep me motivated and on the right track to get them all done. Well that’s the plan!
So, the Chosen Ones are…
Two of the things in my plan are a patchworked tweed wool skirt and a mustard cropped jacket, represented as such in the top picture but drawn back to front in the above picture because I’m dithering on those and may swap those two around. Undecided on that one… but optimistic about everything else. The olive ensemble at lower left is a proposed Alabama Chanin project. Also, there are two plain lightweight white shirts in the eleven things. That might sound generic and boring, but I reach for a plain little white top a heckuva lot and so I need lots of them!
As per the swap rules I’m aiming for the eleven garments to be sewn between Christmas and the end of April. This may or may not actually happen 🙂 It’s an experiment. I may be all like, ooh this is easy!; breezing through the list happily and without disaster… or I may be like, what the heck was I thinking, everything’s totally hideous!! *bale* I don’t do that much, but I don’t wanna jinx myself here. Disasters do happen. Eleven sounds ambitious, but then it is probably no more than I would make in that time anyway. It’s doable.
Between now and then I will make a few more summery dresses and things for myself to supplement my summer wardrobe, plus there’s Christmas sewing to think about!
Good luck – I hope it all goes really well. I can definitely see the benefit of doing a planned wardrobe for winter. I love the planning but I'm not so good at the following through 🙂
One of my favourite subjects, this! Not that I sew much, but I do try to whittle down my enormous collection and that generally involves a bit of planning to make sure I still have things that work together. I've been playing with the 333 project idea in my head, but not committed in any way. Of course I would bend the rules: almost all my jewellery is sentimental, not just my wedding ring.
You've shared a couple of nuggets of wisdom about wardrobe planning lately. The one above about winter clothes needing more planning is something I never thought about before, though it makes perfect sense. Also in an earlier post about planning around a knitted sweater, because they take much longer and are a bigger investment. You know a lot of useful stuff about getting dressed!
That looks so satisfyingly fun. Enjoy and good luck. Jo x
All these pieces look great (especially the cropped jacket) and what a sensible thing to do… to plan sewing in advance. This SWAP thing sounds interesting. I'd love to know more.
You are so smart! The way you have done it makes it clear what will work with what. Love this.
I am considering participating in the SWAP this year. Considering. The sane part of me is screaming NONONO, the eternal optimist is thinking, oh it will be fun and easy and all rainbows and butterflies. Right now I am just enjoying the planning, seeing as I am not feeling up to doing much else.
Wow. You are way better at it than I am. I tried doing something similar – printing out smallish images of line drawings from patterns and putting a swatch with it…like twice. 🙂
I love those sketch pads. Love!
You're an inspiration! I bought a Fashionary and haven't cracked it ONCE, even though all my sewing ideas are overwhelming me. And can I tell you how deliriously excited I would be to see an Alabama Chanin project from you?!
I really like your colors. They remind me of Georgia O'Keefe landscapes with the shadows and shots of ochre/mustard yellow.
http://contentdm.okeeffemuseum.org/cdm/ref/collection/gokfa/id/909
I wish you good luck staying on the plan!
Thanks BMGM, and also for the link. I should adopt that artwork as my "inspiration" piece! 🙂
Your planning is so smart. I may try this fashionary and put them together as you did to see what works and what doesn't.
Great color scheme and fabric choices and thanks for reminding me we all need more plain white in our closet.
Good luck accomplishing it in time.
I love this – the artist at work! 🙂
I'm eager to see more and finished clothing.
This is amazing. I started to sew in the middle of this year, and I'm really excited to plan my future wardrobe collections. Your blog inspire me. Thank you for sharing this kind of information.
OOh so cool! I should really do something like this since I'm trying to sew myself an entirely handmade wardrobe and need to put more thought into how my clothes are going to go together.
Looks really good. I love the planning but I rarely carry it through – I get distracted by something else I'd like to sew.
I admire your organisation & it definitely shows in your fab results.
What pretty plans you have! I am not quite ready to become this organized. I am still enjoying the spontaneity of making whatever currently tickles my fancy. However, I do see your wisdom here. It would be wonderful to have a wardrobe full of all wearable things.
Yay! Someone else who can't bear to tear pages out of her Fashionary! I have just run off and ordered those sketch panels AND put them on my Christmas Wish List because I figure you can't have too many and it is an easy present idea. While I love my Fashionary and carry it around in my handbag (always at the ready for a quick sketch when inspiration strikes) the ability to lay all my ideas out will be most excellent. I am in awe of your wardrobe planning.
thanks Fashionista!
Ooh, excellent plans!!!
Love all your designs and it is a very impressive plan and can't wait to see it come to play.
Dear, thank you so much for the feature!
You make it playful and that's really nice to put the fabric beside and nice collection!!!
Great plans!!! I also have my sewing corner wall full of inspirational projects and fabrics. By the way I love the mirror!!!!
Thanks for lots of inspiration. Love the Vogue-dress. What pattern is it?
Have a nice weekend!
Ellen 🙂
thanks Ellen! The Vogue pattern is an Issey Miyake from years and years back, 
Vogue 2438 It's difficult to get hold of now unfortunately.
I hope you have a nice weekend too! 🙂
Hooray – you're doing a SWAP. I am excited to see your final results.
great !
Greetings from Poland 🙂
Katarzyna
http://www.sajuki.blogspot.com
Wardrobe planning is sometimes more fun than the sewing. My plan for this summer is coming together and I am happy with the results. Maybe it is time to look toward winter too. Fabulous plan – I look forward to seeing the garments – particularly the Alabama Chanin.
I love your planning. I just my future projects on a private page on my blog, but yours is really artistic. I love it!
I'm so thrilled that you are participating in SWAP. I have a fondness for this type of sewing and have to admit that my heart did skip a beat when I read about it. I love how you've worked out your potential wardrobe and displayed it to keep you on track. Good luck! I'm sure you will end up with 11 amazing and well coordinated pieces.
Oh wow, how cool. An entire collection of mixing and matching garments! It sounds both fun (to plan and design) and sensible. 🙂
A planned wardrobe sounds divine. I fell for a pair of store bought purple courduroys this year and am incredibly lucky they match anything at all. But then you know how great the purple bottoms can be! What kind of serger do you have there? I'm close to taking the plunge and so curious to hear from a trusted sewing lady!
thank you! I have a Janome overlocker, and it does have its moments but overall it's been pretty good really. I have almost no problems when I clean, oil and service it regularly 🙂
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