Wardrobe Architect - Sketchbook

I made myself a small sketchbook to help make my capsule wardrobe. It's basically just some A4 print-outs of my capsule chart, capsule palette and my croquis for planning individual garments. I printed two pages per A4, which I then cut down the middle (to A5 size), and folded along the middle to form A6 pages. I cut a cover out of a cereal box, with little notches at both ends of the middle fold, to hold the elastic bands which 'bind' the book for me. Finally I added an extra elastic to keep the book closed.

My garment planning page. I made that croquis in Paint, starting with a picture in my undies which I traced bit by bit. I'm quite pear shaped and not exactly long-legged. I do have slender wrists and a nice face (which you can see in the last picture of this post).

My capsule sketchbook, with my palette on the cover (names of colors are in Dutch).

Hand sewing antique lace to my tunic.

Lace detail.

Planning a pleated skirt. When I go shopping for fabric and notions I know exactly what I need.

Once I've bought the fabric I add a swatch. This is a crunchy knit, to make a cardigan.

Ideas to pimp plain pants. I bought a polyester with a suede feel for this. New and exciting!

Center page of my sketch book gives an overview of the capsule and my progress.

In the back I keep my bills for fabric and notions, so I can calculate the total cost of each garment, and I keep notes on my progress.

You can't see the handstitching near teh neckline, because I hid it under teh facing, but the stitches of theouter rim of the lace show on the inside of the tunic.

Almost finished, just hemming to go! More (clearer, less cluttered) pictures will follow when the weather gets good enough to take this tunic outside!

I had fun sewing this tunic. It's my first time working from a Japanese pattern (Tunic A from Happy Homemade Sew Chic by Yoshiko Tsukiori) and I must say I like the diagrams. It helps me find my way around a pattern more easily. The fit of this tunic is very nice, it's wide and comfortable. The shoulder seams lie a little to the back, so the lace trim flows over the shoulder nicely. One thing I would alter in a next make is to add some darts to create a better fit around the bust. It's not that it pulls or anything, in fact it's so comfortable that I'm considering re-making it as a night gown, but I don't like the look of the folds around the bust 100%. I guess Japanese ladies have rather small busts and don't need darts? Or I could just stop breastfeeding and my breasts will go Japanese-sized! And then we come to the issue of finding an A cup bra for bust circumference of 95 cm... don't get me started.

Muts

Een zelfgemaakt mutsje, op een heel schattig peutertje van eigen kweek.

 

Wardrobe Architect 2015 - updated shopping list

I updated my shopping list (more of a shopping chart) with pictures of the stuff I already own. As you can see I already have a lot of accent color pieces, and white as a neutral. So now I need to add neutrals in khaki and charcoal to make my wardrobe capsule more versatile.
I think that is the most surprising thing I take away from the whole Wardrobe Architect experience: planning a wardrobe like this means I'll be buying clothes and fabric that would otherwise escape my attention. I always go for the bright, cheery accent colors, and left to my own devices I certainly would have bought or made more accent pieces coming season. But now I can consciously look for good foundation pieces. I sometimes see beautiful dark grey fabrics, but I have never bought any, because it seemed boring, not worth the effort of making something out of it. But now that I know I will wear it, because I have lots of possible combination to make with other items in my capsule, I am going to go for it and make a good basic piece of clothing! And I'll probably get more wear out of it, too, than I would another accent piece!

Wardrobe Architect 2015 - February

I am totally in love with Wardrobe Architect at Coletterie! I finished the assignments up
until week 10 in record time, and now I reworked my capsule scheme into a a
shopping/making scheme.

I know it's anal-retentive, but this is who I am, deep down inside. This side of me
rarely surfaces as I live a very full life and share my house with way too many
small people! I mean, if I wanted my whole life this organized, I'd go crazy, and
I'd drive my husband and kids crazy, too. But here I can be my true, crazy self for
a few minutes a day! So I went all out and made myself this chart. There's a little
square for each item of clothing in the capsule. If the square is crossed that means
 I already own the item. If it's barred (half crossed), that means I own the item, but
it could do with replacing. And if the square is open that means I should make or
buy this item. The small crossed squares remind me of items of clothing that I have
and would go well with the capsule, even though they weren't included in the original
 capsule plan.
I also added accessories, because they are essentials to me, at least light
scarfs and earrings are. Then I went on polyvore and made this overview of items I
need to acquire.

The top row, I plan to make. The middle row is somewhere in the middle (hah!):
maybe I'll make them, maybe I'll buy. The bottom row, I plan on buying. The idea is
to print out my palette and my shopping list (the chart above) and make a little
booklet I can keep in my handbag. I also want to add the patterns I choose for at
least the top three items, with their fabric requirements. For the khaki jacket I already
have an idea from Happy Homemade Sew Chic by Yoshiko Tsukiori , and for the skirt
I found something in the latest Knipmode. With this little buying guide in hand, I'll
know what to look for when buying clothes or fabric.


Actually, this is quite a big list of things to buy for me. I don't buy a lot of clothes. I
live in a village and don't shop for entertainment, so I usually just go to a shop when
I need something. So, unlike most, my aim is to buy a little bit more than is my habit.
That way I won't have to spend Saturday in PJ's while I launder my only pair of jeans,
or wear things I just feel uncomfortable in, simply because it's the only clean thing in
my closet that fits... Wish me luck on my journey to a proper wardrobe!

Wardrobe Architect Week 9 - Capsule Wardrobe

Ja, ik heb eerst week 10 van de Wardrobe Architect Challenge gedaan, en dan pas week 9, zo kon ik mijn garderobe meteen in kleur maken.

Week 7 en 8 ben ik snel overgegaan. Week 7: ik zie graag solids (volle kleuren) én prints (motiefjes). Ik kies tegenwoordig weinig kleding in volle kleuren omwillen van de kinderen. Of beter gezegd omwille van de vuile handjes, plakkerige snoetjes en snotterige neusjes van de kinderen! Op een drukke print zie je namelijk minder snel vlekken en vegen, zo simpel is het. Mijn haar en make-up (week 8), daar valt niet veel over te zeggen. Ik kom meer dagen buiten zonder make-up als met, en daar voel ik me goed bij. Als ik al schmink gebruik, is het een beetje eye-liner en oogschaduw. Mijn haar zit meestal in een staartje, hoewel ik het vorige maand eens liet knippen zodat ik het ook los kan dragen en dat bevalt me wel. Nu ben ik nog op zoek naar een shampoo die het droog, kroezerig aspect een beetje onder controle kan houden, zonder het zwaar en vettig te maken.

Ik weerhield uiteindelijk 3 silhouetten voor mijn capsule: met tuniek, rok en broek. Om daar 20 kledingstukken van te maken, ging ik heel analytisch aan de slag, met een overzichtelijk schema, zoals op de blog van IntoMind wordt uitgelegd. 

De voorbereiding voor mijn capsule, in Paint.

Daarna ging ik weer aan de slag in Polyvore, om al de vierkantjes in mijn schema om te zetten in echte kleren. Dat lukte vrij goed, hoewel het weer niet gemakkelijk was om me te beperken tot 20 stuks. Maar het is natuurlijk niet omdat je een capsule maakt, dat je geen andere kleren meer mag hebben of aandoen, denk ik dan maar.

Mijn polyvore-capsule.

En nu kijk ik ernaar uit om dit schema in te vullen met mijn kleren, dingen die ik al heb, die ik nog zal kopen en vooral plannen wat ik ga maken! Dankzij deze oefening zit het erin dat ik een antraciet-grijze rok zal naaien, en een khaki vestje. Zo'n fel-roos pulletje heb ik al, zelfs 2, als je mijn 'hoodie' meerekent. De bottines, sandalen en hakjes ook, maar iets ballerina-achtig ontbreekt nog, nu weet ik dat ik naar oud-roze, of grijze exemplaren op zoek moet.

Als extraatje heb ik nog geprobeerd een paar outfits samen te stellen vanuit deze capsule. Ik heb er nog oorringen en sjaaltjes aan toegevoegd. Ik heb ze in aparte posts gezet omdat ik niet weet hoe ik ze samen in één post kan krijgen deze post al lang genoeg is zo!

Wardrobe Architect Week 10 - The Capsule Palette

Niet gemakkelijk, maar ik heb mijn palet gereduceerd tot 7 kleuren voor mijn garderobe capsule!

PS. Ik maak die mooie overzichten van kleuren gewoon in Paint. Nadat ik allerlei sites om kleuren-paletten te maken afzocht, bedacht ik dat Paint vaak gewoon het gemakkelijkst is!

Het was niet gemakkelijk om zo veel kleuren niet te kiezen. Ik moest mezelf ervan weerhouden om niet vooral felle kleuren te kiezen. Maar ik probeer de adviezen van IntoMind te volgen.

Wardrobe Architect Week 6 - Organize Your Palette

Hierbij mijn georganiseerd kleuren-palet.

En weer valt op dat het me vooral ontbreekt aan neutralen in mijn garderobe. Dus: ik moet schoenen kopen, en kleding in neutrale tinten maken of kopen!