Planning My Spring Wardrobe

Since I took The Seamless Pledge I decided to make my wardrobe for spring. My goal is to use fabric from my stash for all my projects.  I want to make 1950's vintage inspired dresses, skirts. blouses etc.

STEP 1: Find what colors I want to use.

This floral fabric gave me my palette. Nice, springy, feminine and vintage inspired. I have 5 yards to work with.

From JoAnns

STEP 2: Make my Spring Wardrobe Inspiration Board on Pinterest.

I guess you probably could have just looked at Modcloth.com since most of my pins are from that site =) Some of my favorites are:

Pink Me Up Dress

Grass Court Dress

Soda Fountain Dress

Sundress Of My Life

I chose mostly solid colors on my inspiration board because I want my clothes to be coordinated with my accessories made from the floral print. Once I went through my stash, however, I found that I have mostly printed fabrics. Hopefully I can get enough coordinating pieces to make at least some of my items interchangeable. So far I have chosen the floral print, pink gingham, yellow gingham, a solid pink embroidered linen/rayon blend, white eyelet (I got green fabric dye for it since I have no green fabric) and a violet gingham eyelet.

STEP 3: Choose sewing patterns. 

• Pink Me Up Dress - Butterick 5209, view A. Just add some ricrac and some buttons.

B5209 View A

• Sundress Of My Life - New Look 6699, E + J + L

That is as far as I have gotten at the moment. I want to make some sketches and experiment with some pattern/fabric combinations. More soon!

He is helping me organize my sewing patterns.
This is why I absolutely must have my boxes of craft stuff all over the house. 

They make great baby toys =)

The Seamless Pledge Plus

A few weeks ago I took The Seamless Pledge. Today I decided to add to my previous list of restrictions. I am only going to sew with fabric from my stash. I can buy lining fabrics and muslin but nothing else. I have such a huge stash that I don't think it will limit me to much =) I am going to try and make some coordinated purses, hair bows, fabrics flowers and other accessories. 


I am still going to shop at thrift stores, buy new panties and bras and shoes. 

The Exceptionally Festive Dress

This is the dress I made for Christmas this year. I used Simplicity 2176. I used 100% cotton Christmas fabric I found on clearance at Jo-Anns.  Instead of hemming the bottom I used white bias tape. 

I designed and crocheted my little white shrug.  

(I was dramatically eating chocolates while Mom was taking pics.)

Back view. Next time I will use an invisible zipper. On this dress it blended well with the main fabric, but really popped out at the contrast band.

I am very happy with the fit of the bodice. I was not so excited about the drape of the skirt. I think I need to use a more flowy fabric next time. Overall I am pleased with the finished product.

I am such a nerd =)

I was quite happy to have an excuse to wear a pair of cute shoes and show off my snowflake toenail polish!

The Seamless Pledge... Except for Underwear

Taken from: http://seamlessblog.wordpress.com/the-pledge/

THE RULES

1. No buying new clothes for the duration of your pledge. By new, I mean any new mass-manufactured clothes.
2. You can buy second-hand manufactured clothes – so be prepared to get to know your local charity shops awfully well.
3. Vintage clothing is a-ok!
4. Anything you’ve made by hand is definitely allowed. Get your sewing machines and your knitting needles out, because handmade is definitely in!
5. Get involved! Join in on the Flickr group and like our Facebook page. I’ll be looking to feature pledgers on the blog in the future. I’d love to see your second-hand finds, refashions and hand-made creations!

I, Brittany Cole, take the Seamless pledge until 3/31/2012. I will abstain from buying any new clothes until the end of my pledge. I will find ways to be fashionable without breaking the bank and without contributing to the cycle of fast fashion consuming the high street. I will trawl through charity shops, I will attend clothes swaps, I will look for second-hand items on eBay and I will craft my own clothes with my own two hands. 

I am going to take this pledge for my clothes. However, I am still going to buy new clothes for Billy and Brian. I will try this for 3 months and see how it goes. I don't think it will be to difficult for me because I already get most of my clothes at thrift stores anyway. I also love to make my own clothes. So here goes!

Rose's "It's Not a Date" Dress

I drafted and sewed this dress for Rose to wear on her "not date" with her "not boyfriend." It is made from 100% cotton polka dots fabric from Hobby Lobby. It is actually Christmas fabric that was on clearance for $3.50/yard. The dress used 3 yards. It has a full circle skirt and a fitted bodice.

The bust is a wee bit big at the sides but it is not to bad. I will have to tweak it a but for the next version. Overall I am happy with it, considering it is the first pattern I have ever drafted.

Crafting

I am so happy that I am finally getting into a regular routine with Billy. I can even make time to craft! I sewed 2 dresses. One I designed myself and the other is Simplicity 2176. I will post pics as soon as I can get Brian to pin the straps so I can sew them on the back. Other than that they are complete. I also need to make a petticoat for the red dress with white polka dots because the full circle skirt does not hang properly. I have found a few good looking tutorials and I also have a Simplicity pattern that has a petticoat. I am not sure which one I will use yet though.