Early SWAP thoughts

I really like the fabrics I chose last year but never sewed up, so my thoughts are:-

Adapt what I planned last year to a simple plan for this using many of the same colours and fabrics (drop the black as I dislike it).

Have 3 main styles - trousers with slant pockets, a cardigan jacket and knit tops - which are sewn multiple times.

So it could look something like

Choose two neutral colours

I could choose Brown and Teal

Make at least three garments from each neutral colour

1              Brown trousers

2              Brown top

3              Brown cardigan

4              Teal trousers

5              Teal top

6              Teal cardigan


two accent colors and one print , make at least one garment from each print – woven jacket

I could choose Burgundy and Turquoise

7              Woven jacket of Burgundy and Turquoise (uses great tweedy fabric)

8              Burgundy top

9              Turquoise Top

10           Other choices from this colourway

11           Other choices from this colourway

The last two items could be free rein in my four colours and one 'print' (actually a textured tweed) depending on what else I want at that stage, could be brown skirt and teal skirt to make two core 4s, it could be a teal dress, or another brown top or a skirt in the tweed if there was enough left over.

Planning wise.  

I just finished a burgundy top which could go in at number 8. I don't want Burgundy as a neutral as I already have loads of burgundy pieces, so I'm treating it as an accent here.

The tweed cardigan jacket is going to be my print/multiple colours item, so I fancy making that between now and December 26th.

I don't want to use a purchased piece if I can avoid it, but I'll reserve the option!

I need to make a trouser pattern fit me well. So I can spend some time on test garments before sewing starts. I know exactly the style I want to make so that should be just fitting work. Once it fits I plan on sewing a brown one and a teal one (and maybe more but let's not get too excited).

I plan mostly simple knit tops and knit cardigan jackets. I'll sew by colour as I like to work like that.

I will share as I go.

SWAP (Sewing With A Plan) rules announced on Stitchers Guild Reloaded

The SWAP (Sewing With A Plan) ruls for next year on SG have been announced:-

From Mudcat the SWAP Co-ordinator this year

2018 Seasonal Designer Collection SWAP Rules

You are the Designer. Create a cohesive seasonal collection of eleven garments of your choice.

Concept
Consider designer collections like Eileen Fisher, Karen Kane, Kaliyana, Bryn Walker,  Eskandar, etc  and how they work with a few neutrals, add an accent color or two and some prints.  Multiple styles of pants, tops, jacket/cardigan, dresses, accessories, etc are made from the limited color/print palette. New seasons bring new items that work with some of the garments from prior seasons. Your goal is to create a collection that looks like it belongs together and that you can easily add new pieces to in the future.

This plan will work quite well with 3 pack or 4 core concepts but provides more flexibility. If you primarily make separates you could plan out your outfits using the Sudoku grid by including extra accessories and/or shoes to fill the gaps.  If you prefer mostly dresses or pinafores you’ll need some pieces to layer them with even if you are able to wear the garment as a stand alone.

Plan:
Choose two neutral colors
Add one accent color and two prints OR two accent colors and one print
Make at least three garments from each neutral color
Make at least one garment from each accent color
Make at least one garment from each print
Create multiple outfits of at least two garments that work for your personal style
Each garment must work with a minimum of two outfits

Optional Accessory: add one self-made accessory as a signature piece that works with at least two of  your outfits

Rules
Sewing begins on 26 December 2017 and ends 30 April 2018
One garment may be started on 1 November 2017 and completed prior to 26 December 2017
One garment may be completed prior to 1 November 2017
One RTW garment may be included
Garments knitted, crocheted or woven by you may be included (limit of two since we are a sewing site)
Garments such as poncho, cape or wrap must include at least two pattern pieces, be one of your knitted, crocheted or woven items or have stitch work done by you to be considered a garment (otherwise it’s an accessory)
Neutrals do not need to be the same fabric, however, they do need to work together  **

Prize
I will award a $25 gift certificate to EOS or another online fabric store to the winner

Guidelines (not required but recommended)
Use TNT patterns as much as possible
Limit the number of patterns used since Designer Collections include the same garments made in different colors/prints
Consider using some textured neutrals to add more interest especially if you are a print person
Consider including one trend item based on your chosen season

Terminolgy:
garment: an article of clothing: pants/trousers, skirt, dress, pinafore, cardigan, camisole, tunic, leggings, jacket, shorts, poncho, vest, cape, etc
accessory: an object that is not essential in itself but adds to the beauty, convenience or effectiveness of something else: scarf, jewelry, footwear, wrap, bag, belt, etc
print: a non-solid color such as geometric, novelty, floral, plaid, check, stripes, multi-colored hand dyed/batik, multi-colored brocade, polka dots, etc
neutral color: typically black, gray, navy, brown, cream/white/oatmeal but you are the designer so it’s your choice (denim blue, plum, teal, etc)
accent color:  a color that pops but still works with your neutrals such as golden yellow, safety orange, bright red, lime green, etc
stitch work: for the purpose of SWAP this means beading, adding trim, hand embroidery and/or Alabama Chanin type techniques

** Regarding neutrals: Using 2-3 different fabrics in the same neutral color is fine however they do need to be roughly the same shade and work together.  While this is easy to do with typical neutrals such as black, navy or white it may be more difficult with other colors so plan carefully.


Fall 2017/Winter 2018 Trends
checks, neutral plaids
florals/garden prints
denim
silver/metallic, sparkles/glitter
red, gold
americana: folklore, patchwork
trench with a twist
feathers or fringe
black leather
polka dots

Spring 2018 Trends
yellow, lavender, orange
bold graphic prints
geometric cutouts
more denim
tassels, sequins
sheer fabric
matching or coordinating fanny pack/bum bag

Other
I suggest photographing outfits as items are completed.  Judging/photo rules will be the posted at a later date but they will be similar to what has been done in the past.  Muslins, pattern fitting, cutting, interfacing, and other preparatory work may begin right away. As usual, individual threads are optional but all comments should go to the main thread.

http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php?topic=1082.0

Burgundy cotton tee

Same pattern as before but in a cotton t shirt fabric with not much stretch so feels different again.

This was originally orange but overdyed with cerise pink became this lovely even burgundy colour. I really love it.

Here's all three tops together.

Jersey knit top

Traced off a drop shouldered scoop neck sweater.

A nice print, should be good for work
And I didn't have to change the thread colour from the last top!

Christmas stockings for charity event

A colleague and I are hoping to do a charity event in mid to late November and so I wanted to sew some Christmas stockings for sale.

Here they are, quite simple, with contrast cuff (and two with linings, which I prefer). They are about 15" tall and 10" across the foot. I didn't have any more of the dark burgundy fabric.
I'm hoping to do several other colour ways fabric permitting, doing a few every week until the event.

Voilà and muslin or toile

I see these two mistakes quite a bit on blogs, posts on sewing sites etc, so thought I would set them straight as they make me pull a little face every time I see them.

Voilà
The first is the many misspellings of voilà. As variously Vwa-lah, Wa-lah, Wa-la, Wal-lah

This word is from the French From vois (“see!, look!”), second-person singular imperative of voir (“to see, to look”) and là (“there”), literally meaning "look there!".
It is used to call attention to or express satisfaction with something that is presented or something that has been accomplished: 

Choose the pattern and fabric, sew up the project, and—voilà!—a lovely new garment to wear.

Completely appropriate for presenting a new sewing project on your blog but it would be lovely to see the french spelling!
 
Muslin
When sewing clothing, a dressmaker may test the fit of a garment, using an inexpensive muslin fabric before cutting pieces from expensive fabric, thereby avoiding potential costly mistakes. This garment is often called a "muslin," and the process is called "making a muslin." In this context, "muslin" has become the generic term for a test or fitting garment, regardless of what it is made from.

Please do not use muslim which is an alternative spelling of moslem and means a person who is a follower and believer of Islam. 

Back to the fabric used for checking the fit of a new style - but which additionally confusingly means different things in the UK and the US.
 
In the UK, Australia and New Zealand:

• Calico – simple, cheap equal weft and warp plain weave fabric in white, cream or unbleached cotton.
• Muslin – a very fine, light plain weave cotton fabric.
• Muslin gauze – muslin.
• Gauze – extremely soft and fine cotton fabric with a very open plain weave.
• Cheesecloth – gauze.

In the US:

• Calico – cotton fabric with a small, all-over floral print
• Muslin – simple, cheap equal weft and warp plain weave fabric in white, cream or unbleached cotton and/or a very fine, light plain weave cotton fabric.
• Muslin gauze – the very lightest, most open weave of muslin.
• Gauze – any very light fabric, generally with a plain weave
• Cheesecloth – extremely soft and fine cotton fabric with a very open plain weave.

Printed calico was imported into the United States from Lancashire in the 1780s, and here a linguistic separation occurred, while Europe maintained the word calico for the fabric, in the States it was used to refer to the printed design.

Toile
In the UK in sewing classes I have heard more the word toile used for a test garment rather than muslin which I've read more online.

In Australian and British terminology, a "toile" is a version of a garment made by a fashion designer or dressmaker to test a pattern. They are usually made in cheap material, as multiple toiles may be made in the process of perfecting a design. Toiles are sometimes referred to as "muslins" in the United States, named for the cheap, unbleached cotton fabric available in different weights.

Toile is a fabric, from the French word meaning "linen cloth" or "canvas". The word "toile" can refer to the fabric itself, a test garment (generally) sewn from the same material, or a type of repeated surface decoration (traditionally) printed on the same fabric. The term entered the English language around the 12th century.

So there you have it, and I promise I will be back to sharing projects I've sewn in my next post!
 

Burgundy Sweater Knit Top

I traced a pattern from a favourite purchased jumper (sweater), then lengthened the sleeves slightly and added a neckband and cut from a remnant of sweater knit fabric bought from the Monday Market Man for £1.00!

I still need to decide on the hem treatment but I like the shaped hem a lot.
Probably not going to get back into the sewing room until Tuesday evening, so thought I would share it now.
------------------------------------------------
Update
I cleared off the table around the coverhem machine, bought some more burgundy thread, measured and pinned a 1/2" hem on the sleeves and bottom of the top and hemmed it on the machine. Photos another day.
I will now want to sew lots of things which use all that lovely burgundy thread.

Autumn Berries

I used Berries as a theme in 2006 and in Autumn 2015, and I still like them. I seem to have entirely got over the fact that my school uniform was Maroon.

So I have just started sewing some more Berry themed pieces to wear this Autumn, as apparently they suit me better than Orange and Rust which I wore a lot last Autumn.
I will share once I have something constructed!

Last bit of summer sewing

Here's the last item from my summer sewing, a plain navy tee.

This was originally orange fabric which I dyed with dark navy blue Dylon machine dye. It has taken the dye wonderfully and is very soft so I think its probably 100% viscose (rayon). It has a slightly slubbed texture and as you can see its very drapey.
The pattern I used is an adapated version of the free Kirsten Kimono tee. I shaped the sides, altered the neckline and extended the sleeves slightly.

The Pattern is available here.

Now to decide what to make next.

Here's the whole Summer Collection put together.

Summer Sewing and regaining motivation

Back in the summer I made two tops to go with a navy maxi skirt but never shared them.
Here's one which is made from a remnant of cotton print.

I added a little beaded detail at centre front.

Works well with the navy skirt, navy trousers or with blue jeans.

I've another top to share and then hopefully I will have my sewing motivation back and can start to share some new things.