Black, Light, And Bright

Although I'm already a firm believer in T & T patterns, yesterday I had a clear example of their value. Instead of sewing and completing a t-shirt, I spent most of my morning hour tracing and sizing view B of Vogue 9057. Near the end of the hour, I cut out the sleeves - with the fabric folded - because the main pieces are cut single layer. Apparently, that was the wrong choice. When I then tried to cut out the front and back, there wasn't enough fabric which left me with sleeves in need of a garment - LOL. Too funny. And not a problem. I picked a different body to go with my sleeves and I'm working on that this morning.





Yesterday afternoon, I worked on my wardrobe plan. I've chosen black, light, and bright as my theme after analyzing the garments and fabric stash that I already have. Light may mean white or denim and black may become grey in some instances. I'm not sure yet. We'll see how it goes.





I started by printing out the images of the full collection of clothes, the full collection of accessories, and the color chart from Janice's plan and pasted the images to index cards as an easy reference. I'll layer my actual color choices on top of the color chart. The cards fit into the front pouch of the...





... journal I'm using for this project. On the first page, I made a checklist of the thirty-one garments on Janice's plan. Starting with her list makes cross referencing easier and I can write my substitutions beside the original garment as I begin to fine-tune the plan. The list includes garments like shorts that I don't wear and cover-ups that wouldn't get enough wear to warrant the work if you consider that I've owned my swimsuit for almost eight years and have never worn it in or out of the water. The last time I tried it on was at the store which means I should probably try it on again - VBG. The shorts are likely to become skirts or funky pants and the cover-ups are likely to become casual dresses.





For each garment, I've set up a two page spread with the picture of the original garment as it appears in Janice's chart. I can add either a picture of the RTW garment that fills this position or information about the fabric, pattern and plans for sewing the garment. I'm excited to talk to Diane about this project as part of our coaching sessions. It'll give me the opportunity to spice up even the simplest garments with lots of fun and learning.





At the beginning of the journal, there is a two page spread of the garments and another of the accessories so I can paste an image of the actual garment or accessory over top as I complete the pieces. This will help me to see how cohesive the wardrobe I'm building actually is. Not everything will go with everything but if I'm careful most everything will go with most everything AND... I doubt I'll need thirty-one garments BUT... it's fun.

I've had zero success with the sewing with a plan challenges in the past, most likely because there wasn't a sufficiently motivating factor to getting it done. Completing a cruise collection is sufficiently motivating and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to personalize each garment and make them more creative and Myrna-like.

It will be in interesting to see if the enthusiasm for this project is maintainable. Hopefully there are enough boundaries to help me work effectively and enough freedom to hold my interest. I'm not one for highly detailed plans when it comes to what I'm sewing but I can see why it's a good choice for this project AND.. you never now... maybe I'll find it so valuable that I learn how to incorporate this type of planning ongoing.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a clear path forward