The Sewing You Already Own

Today's post is about the sewing you already have. Yes, the closet full of clothes that has spilled out onto the floor.

"But I didn't sew that!"

True, you didn't, but someone did. Someone else designed and manufactured every item in your closet and then you bought it. You were only involved in the last step, acquisition. By learning to sew, you are consciously choosing to take responsibility for the design and manufacturing of at least some part of your wardrobe. This means that you need to learn something about what you already have.

Many people shop for clothing without a real sense of purpose. They wander through the department stores looking at clothes until they spy something they "just have to have." We've all done it. Combine the "Oohhh look! That's pretty." with "OMG, it's 60% off!" and "They have it in MY size!" and we are all doomed. It can be a lovely way to spend an afternoon, but if we do it all the time we end up with a closet stuffed full of clothing and nothing to wear.

So the first step in learning to sew your own clothes is learning about the clothes you already own. Many wardrobe clean out advice columns begin with emptying the whole closet and making piles around the room of "give aways" and "charities" and "trash". I find this doesn't work very well for two reasons. The first being if all the clothes are piled about what you end up with is a wrinkled mess. Secondly, you also end up with multiple piles of clothing to go out the door to new destinations at the same time. They don't make it out the door that day....they languish in the corner until the weekend and the weekend becomes next month and then half or more of what you have discarded is back in the closet.

Below I have a seven step process for find your true wardrobe. Don't do it all at once. It's should be done in multiple sessions with the goal of each session being the removal of the discarded items from the house that day. Your time and decision making process are most valuable. Plan your discard action before starting to weed your closet. Having cast-off's crawl back into your closet through second guessing yourself is being disrespectful to yourself and your time. You can make the right decision up front. Prepare to back your decision with action.

The first step is to look carefully at the list you made from the previous post, the one about your various roles in life. Have this available to you as you begin to evaluate your closet. Have also an index card with you for any new clothing you may desperately need after you are ruthlessly brutal with yourself. Yes, at the end you may get to go shopping.

STEP ONE: LONG TERM STORAGE
Remove from your closet all items of clothing that would be better off in long term storage. These are usually things that are too sentimental to part with but you'll not be wearing them again. Your closet space is too valuable for things like wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, old boyfriend's flannel shirts and your precious signed Grateful Dead tee shirt. Vintage items that are too fragile to wear also fall into this category. Take these items out and store them appropriately elsewhere.

STEP TWO: THE TRASH
Remove the trash from your wardrobe. The stuff that is so torn, stained, and old that you would only wear it when changing the oil in the car, nursing vomiting children and or applying fake tan for the first time in the privacy of your own bathroom. Be ruthless....trash the underwear too!   Put it all into a trash bag and get it to the curb today. What you don't want it is to have this stuff sneak back into the closet. You are better than that and you deserve clothes that are not rejects from a charity shop. Throw it out! There is one caveat here....look at your roles list if you need trash clothing you are allowed to keep some of it. Be very honest with yourself. If you renovate old houses on the weekend, you need two to three complete outfits for painting and plumbing, but not sixteen. If you work in an office, live in an apartment and are able to keep your nails manicured 365 days per year you'll need nothing in this category. Remember keep only what you will wear between being able to wash.

STEP THREE: RECYCLE
Remove from your wardrobe anything that doesn't fit but is still nice enough for someone else to wear. If it is too small, remove it. If is too large, remove it. If you don't like, remove it. If it was a gift that just wasn't right, remove it. If every time you wear the item, it just doesn't seem right, but "oh well, I've got nothing else", remove it. Do this step by yourself. Don't rush this process. Use the mirror and your camera to get a good idea if you really should be wearing an item. If in doubt, throw it out. Now, depending on your local resources, all these items need to be taken to charity or a consignment shop right away. Get them out of the house. There should be no second guessing your hard work a day or two later.

STEP FOUR: WHAT'S LEFT
What's left? It should fit and you should feel good about wearing it. There's one more round of weeding that needs to be done. Fitting your wardrobe to your lifestyle. Take a look at what's left. Have you got 15 little black dresses and you really only need two. Keep only the two you love the most. Do you have 30 pairs of jeans and only need 3 pairs? How many tee shirts can you wear in one week? Eliminate the excess, even if it fits keep only the items you really love and balance the number of items against your specific lifestyle activities. Take these items to the appropriate charity right away also.

STEP FIVE: OFF-SEASON CLOTHING
What's left now? It might be painful is a few spots, but we are not finished yet. I mentally divide my clothing into three groups, the core, summer clothes and winter clothes. My core wardrobe stays in the closet year round. This includes things like blue jeans, white tee shirts, white blouses, ....a navy cardigan sweater. There are real basics that I wear weekly and year round. This is where I spend most of my clothing dollar. My summer and winter clothes are just that, clothes that get stored for half the year, anything from sundresses to ski sweaters. Remove these items from your wardrobe and store your off-season clothing.

STEP SIX: WHAT'S LEFT?
Now you should be left with clothes that fit, you feel good about and what's in season. You may also feel that you do not have enough to wear. More than likely you have just what you need, but there may be a few items that need replenished. Examine your lifestyle list against the clothes that you have remaining in your closet. It's time to make a list for shopping and sewing. You will need to carefully and conservatively make your list. Err on the side of too little. Remember, as you learn to sew, you will add to your wardrobe as easily as shopping for ready made items. At this point, you may need to replace underwear and bras, jeans, basic tee shirts and specific clothes needed for your job. Write up your list on the index card. Do you need the back of the card or multiple cards? Re-examine the shopping list and think about the minimum you need. At this point you should need only one card for your purse. Shop at this time only for these items.

STEP SEVEN: YOUR WARDROBE
You've got it. Just what you need and want in your closet. Take a step back and look. What's there? Can you identify a color palette that you are naturally drawn toward? How about cut and fit? Fabrics? Easy care or dry clean? Write these down in your idea book and compare them to the images you've collected. Reflect on what you have learned and refocus your idea book.

Mirror, Mirror ... on the wall...

Sewing begins and ends with reflection. In a very basic way, you have defined your end by choosing to learn to sew. The next question should be do you want to descend into the home sewing hobby in controlled flight or uncontrolled chaos?

"Uncontrolled chaos sounds fun"....Oh, it can be fun and for some extremely rewarding. You may already be on the path to sewing chaos by being the person who received a sewing machine and not a mirror for Christmas. Congratulations! Have fun! But many experienced sewers will also hear from you in a month or two.

"Help! I've got this project and I can't finish it. Will you help me?" ...and in a crumpled paper bag you will have the remains of your first sewing project. It will be consist of $80, $10 or $400 worth of crushed rayon velvet, Goodwill purchased poly/cotton sheets from the 1970's, or uneven woolen tartan bought by your mother-in-law on her one and only vacation to Scotland. You will need to have the party dress, curtains, or suit finished in two hours, two days or two weeks.  You will have cut the dress front with the velvet nap going up and the back with the nap going down. The curtains are in good shape except for the last panel which is seven inches too short and you are out of sheets. The suit is cut but the plaid is unmatched and you did make it through constructing the skirt but the waist is too tight. Can I alter the skirt to fit?

Believe me, I've seen it all. I'll make you a mug of tea and listen to your tale of woe. I'll let you tell me all about your aspirations and then I'll be harsher that you can ever imagine. I'll tell you in the kindest way possible. "The only place for the contents of that crushed paper bag is the garbage bin."  I cannot help you. I will not help you and our friendship is probably doomed.

Nearly all first time sewers make these mistakes, they fail to match their level of ability to project difficulty and fabric appropriateness. It happens. It happens most frequently to new sewers, but even experienced dressmakers have "wadders." Have two or three disasters in a row and real self doubt sets in. But have something come out as a smashing success, that feeling will be there with you every time you wear the garment.

Are you ready for flight school?  It's assignment time.

Assignment #1:
Have you started your "Idea Journal"? Pull up a chair, a mug of tea and some day dreaming time and take a look at what you've collected. Do you dream of high end fashion? Do you want to push the envelope of conventional clothing definitions?   Do you prefer home decor? Crafty items? Knitwear? Do you dream of silk cocktail dresses or tweed suits? Do you want to recreate vintage items? Do you want clothes that fit better?  What are your interests? Try and identify some trends. Write six to eight sentences about what you dream about doing.

My sentences would be.
     
I want to sew clothes that fit me.
I want to have really nice clothing, that lasts for years.
I like classic lines, and traditional fabrics.
I am drawn to vintage clothing especially items from the 1930's to the mid 1950's.
I want to include vintage ideas into my wardrobe without becoming costume or campy.
I want to save a ton of money on home decor because I have designer tastes and a thrift store budget.
I want to be able to sew some of my clothes but also be able to buy quality RTW at all price points.

Assignment #2:
Take an honest look at your lifestyle. What kind of activities, jobs, or roles to you have in your life? Define each one. You may be a parent or care giver. You may have a job that has specific dress codes. Your hobbies might have clothing requirements. A parent of two year old twins might wish for clothes impermeable to grape jelly and craft paint. An office worker dresses one way and police officer another. A gardener wears one thing and museum docent another.

Make a list of as many of your roles as you can. Try and quantify how large a part of your time you spend in each roles. It is from this list that you will begin to guide your sewing and wardrobe. From each of these activities or clothing needs you can direct you project choices.

Here's the beginning and end of my list. I want you to write your own.
My largest role is housekeeper. I need clothing that is tough and comfortable and classic and washable.

My smallest role is bar hopping party girl. I need only one versatile outfit for this one that is worn once per year or less.

From this list, the vast majority of my clothes consists of sportswear separates and no sequins.

You should use these two lists along with your own geography and climate to help you choose your wardrobe pieces and sewing projects. I should be making easy wear tops to go with jeans, shirt dresses, and active wear and outerwear for all kinds of variable weather. I should not be making party dresses, office wear, Hawaiian shirts or Edwardian reproductions no matter how much I like the patterns and fabric. Even if you decide sewing is not for you, knowing how much of what kind of clothing belongs in your wardrobe is cost saving. (I don't always follow this advice 100% of the time, but 9 times out of 10 it works.)

Soooo....You want to learn how to sew.....

Warning: I am very opinionated about the topic of learning how to sew and I can be quite abrasive with my remarks. If this sort of thing offends you, please understand I want to save you from catching the disease of sewing. It's not a deadly disease, but it can not be cured. Sewing can lead to lifelong consequences, such as investments in expensive machines, cutting and tossing gorgeous fabric, hoarding supplies, needing an extra room in your home and having a ghastly aversion to RTW fashion. But gosh darn it, sewing can be so much fun!


I've decided to write a series of posts about learning to sew, because I got one of the Christmas questions nearly every experienced sewer dreads to hear. 

"I want to learn how to sew my own clothes and my husband/partner/mom/generous patron is going to buy me a sewing machine for Christmas. Can you suggest which machine they should buy?" 

This!...Two weeks before Christmas!

My universal answer is... "Put the credit card down and slowly back away from the machine. You will either over or under spend and the recipient will never get the  machine they need or want."



My gift suggestions for this situation are as follows:

1. Choose something very nice from the jewelers.
2. Pay for some lessons from a locally owned sewing store where basic machines are provided.
3. If you completely insist on starting your collection of sewing tools, begin by purchasing a full length mirror.

A FULL LENGTH MIRROR!  You've got to be crazy to suggest that for a gift at the holidays. After eating all that Christmas turkey and drinking all that booze, no one will appreciate a mirror. It's like giving a vacuum cleaner to your spouse as an anniversary gift.

Yes, a full length mirror is your very first investment in learning to sew. Buy the best one you can afford and mount it somewhere that you have enough space to "model" for yourself and where there is good lighting. The back of the door in a poorly lit cramped bathroom is not a good place, neither is the corner of a damp and dingy basement or attic where you someday envision  a "professional" sewing studio. It won't happen, at least not yet. Hang that mirror somewhere near where you dress every morning and begin to use it. Oh, and by the way... Are you thinking of using a large bathroom vanity mirror or mantle mirror in the living room as a substitute?  No! Just don't even think about it. Buy a proper full length mirror. Trust me on this one. Even if you decide that sewing is not for you, your mirror will still be a good investment.

 If you can not bring yourself to make the investment in a proper mirror, then sewing clothes for yourself may not be your thing. Don't worry, it's not a deal breaker at this point, there is quilting, home decor and crafting all of which use sewing skills. There is also knitting, crocheting and all sorts of other handcrafts that can satisfy one's need for creativity.  But please take note, this should be a warning sign. Persevere through the next couple of lessons before making your final decision. I will be clearly giving you exit points during these beginning lessons and there is no shame in waving goodbye. The shame comes from buying and then storing an unused sewing machine in the attic, not from saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Okay...got it? Now have a great time with Christmas and don't worry about sewing until the New Year. I'll post the first sewing lessons during the holidays and the assignments can be done in January.

In the meantime, to satisfy your sewing bug, here are some inexpensive suggestions

1.) Go to the local library and check out some sewing books. Read them for fun. Don't worry about not understanding everything or getting lost with the directions. Look at the pictures and take note of what really interests you.

2.) Use the Internet to read other sewing blogs.

3.) Look at a site like Amazon and use the "See Inside" feature to look at currently popular sewing books. BUY NOTHING! Don't even put them on a "Wish List."

4.) Visit your local book shop to look at sewing books. Are you tempted to buy? DON'T! Reward yourself with a double latte at the coffee shop and return home to reflect on what appeals to you.

5.)  If you are very lucky to have these resources, visit your local sewing store or stores. Browse. Get a feel for their inventory and their level of service. Leave the credit card at home!

6.) Visit your local "Big Box" hobby/sewing center. Browse. Get a feel for their inventory and their level of service.  Leave the credit card at home and don't sign up for their mailing list, at least not yet.

If you insist on completing an assignment, start a "sewing idea journal". Use a found notebook, a old loose leaf binder, a paper folder or a virtual bulletin board. It is not necessary to buy anything to start this assignment. Start collecting images of things that appeal to you as a sewer. Don't limit yourself to just things other people have sewn. Include fashion photos, home decor and soft furnishings photos, quilts and crafts....anything and everything that appeals to you. Only by creating a collection will you begin to see trends for yourself. This will become that basis for making some decisions about what kind of sewing you'd really like to learn after you've mastered the basics.

Cost of this lesson: Your full length mirror, if it's not a gift, and the optional coffee latte at the bookstore. All other gift suggestions are at the reader's discretion.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.....

I've fallen into a giant sewing hole and I'm battling my way out. Let's just say that drafting this pattern has become a nightmare. I should have made at least 2 more muslins, but nooooooo....I thought....3 is enough....I can do this.  HA! The karma in my sewing room has risen up from the threads on the floor and linted up my brain and taken more than a few pegs out of my sewing hubris.

"Needles" to say there have been tears and frustrations. I am battling on and I promise there will be a garment out of this yet. In the meantime, I'm keeping my eyes firmly on the pattern drawing and out of the overflowing waste basket in the corner of the sewing room.