I’ve been through the Wardrobe Assessment and Inspiration phases of the Love to Sew Dream Wardrobe worksheet and have now arrived at the best part – sewing plans! If you’re just hearing about the LTS Dream Wardrobe project, it’s a great little exercise with a free, downloadable worksheet for cultivating a better wardrobe. In my last post I wrote about going through my wardrobe, identifying gaps, donating and recycling unloved items and gathering inspiration. It was good to go through the process, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to get to the planning stage! I haven’t made any hard and fast decisions, but I’ve got some exciting ideas for tops, sweaters and a few little extras.

Blouses

While there are likely patterns to directly replicate each of my inspiration images (like the new Tilly Indigo), I’d rather not purchase anything new since I have so many blouse patterns in my stash. I’ve chosen three that will give me the basic shape and I can add details like cuffs and peplums if I so choose. Each of these patterns has several variations and more importantly cup sizes!! Since each of these patterns requires less than 1.5 meters, many of my remnants would work nicely. I have so many options!

The first one is McCall’s 7900 which is described as a fitted peasant top. I love version C and don’t see myself making any design changes. McCall’s 7542 is a woven tee with five crazy sleeve variations. I like the sleeve add-ons, but I also like it just as a woven tee pattern. I toiled it back in April and found I need to make some adjustments. The last pattern is Simplicity 1316 which is out of print, but S8883 is very similar. I love the princess seams and there are pretty collar and cuff options.

I have so many gorgeous viscoses in my stash at the moment. My first priority is to make a solid top that will match my fall skirts before it gets too cold. Even then, I’m not sure how I’ll choose – I have a basics like black and white that would be great wardrobe workhorses, but I have a lovely mauve and a beautiful dusky blue. Not to mention the navy swiss dot and gingham remnants! So many choices!

Sweatshirts

All last winter I reached for my RTW french terry, drop shoulder crop sweatshirt. I’m actually wearing it right now. As much as I love it, it needs a little break. What I love about these sweaters is that they all have something a little bit special – a pretty detail that elevates a cozy garment from at home wear to something a bit more put together.

Unlike my blouse plans, none of the above pictured are in my stash, so it might be a couple months before I get to sewing up a sweatshirt. I love the simplicity of the Grainline Studio Linden. It’s a cult classic and the perfect base to experiment with trims or embellishments or go for a special, textured fabric. The drop-shoulder feature of the Jarrah sweater by Megan Nielsen is really similar to my current favorite RTW sweater. Again, this pattern is such a beautiful template for experimentation. I’m picturing attaching a gathered rectangle to the end of the grown-on sleeve for some fun volume. Itch to Stitch’s Busan Top is so beautiful and pretty much a dead ringer for my inspiration photo. I love the narrowed shoulder and the length of the cuff.

The Stoffen Spektakel is next month and I can hardly wait. I saw this fleck fleece back sweatshirting there last year, so fingers crossed it’s there this year! I’m also hoping the market will have a good range of French Terry, but I might not be able to wait because these ones from Stoffen Hemmers are so beautiful. They have such a great color range. The organic cotton and modal terrys look so pretty and squishy!

Other Possibilities

While I’m going to focus on tops and sweatshirts for the most part, there are a few other items that have been calling my name.

Seamwork Bryn caught my eye and it was love at first sight. I’ve been looking for a dress that I can wear all go over my Rowan bodysuits after my massive Francoise fails last year. I love that Bryn can be worn as a dress alone in the summer or layered up in the colder months. I’d love to make it up in a cotton twill or a linen, or in something special like this textured cotton linen jacquard from Blackbird Fabrics.

I’m hoping to thrift a basic cardigan, if I can’t find one, I’ll have to make it! The question is Nikki or Blackwood? The Nikki Cardigan by Athina Kakou is a cozier wrap style, where the Helen’s Closet Blackwood is a open cardi with pockets. I think the Blackwood would look better with dresses, but the Nikki looks more snuggly.

These aren’t definitive sewing plans, as I’m hesitant to set deadlines in stone with all I’ve got going on these days. Still, I’m really happy to have some goals on paper. I loved the LTS Dream Wardrobe project. I feel I’m a few steps closer to a more cohesive, put together wardrobe. Thanks again to Helen and Caroline of Love to Sew Podcast for putting such a wonderful tool out into the sewing community! Til next time, happy sewing!