Tuesday 3 March 2020

sewing plans: spring 2020

Spring! My least favourite season to sew for! I've been trying to fix this for years and I'm no closer to understanding what Spring Jen looks like. Also my failure rate is always much higher in spring regardless of how carefully I plan. So I'm going to take a different approach this year: focus my seasonal plan on stashbusting, and spend the next three months quietly stealing ideas from people so that I have a better chance of success with my spring plan next year.


Me next spring, maybe.

My intention is to not buy very much for this season. I'm not going no-buy or anything (I deeply envy people who can do things like this but I have never successfully given up anything in my entire life. Working to establish a healthier relationship with, yes. Cutting out entirely, nope) but I don't want to acquire more than 25% of what I get rid of. Everything on this plan is for fabric I already own, and if I can get it all done then that's 20-25m out of the stash.

On to spring!

Jackets

Trying the godforsaken black leather jacket again

I need this stupid jacket. The idea of wrestling with fake leather for a fourth time is filling me with dread but I a) actively need this specific thing and b) am determined not to let this defeat me. I'm not going back to the Burda pattern, so what I want to do is attempt to mash together two other patterns. I have a Kwik Sew pattern which is the exact style I'm after, but it's unlined and I think too long. A few weeks ago I bought a McCalls cosplay pattern which doesn't quite have the collar/asymmetric zip front I want, but it does have a lining, a shorter length, and most excitingly of all, cup sizes. There is a very real chance that my first attempt at this will go wrong and I will be trying to find more black faux leather (the place I bought it from suddenly shut down), but I'm hoping it will give me enough of an idea of what I need to change in order to make...

A petrol blue biker jacket

This is a Minerva project this month. Hopefully after I've made the black one I will know exactly how I want to go about it. I have more of this fabric than I need, so my intention is to use it for both the jacket and the main fabric of my Portside travel set. Yes, I am planning two biker jackets in three months. No, that's probably not the best idea for a season I already struggle with. Please pray for me.

A bomber or other light jacket

Literally everyone I've asked about my terracotta wool twill has said, "No, it needs to be a jacket, you were right the first time", so I'm planning for three jackets this season. I'm not sure what pattern I want to use here; I'd hoped that the Amelia would be the one but it's clearly not, and the other two patterns I use and like (the Lupin and the Kommatia J005) aren't quite right for this fabric. This might be another mash-up situation. Honestly three jacket projects in three months is a terrible idea, but I really want this Walthamstow fabric out of my stash.

Skirts

A wrap skirt

The white/navy/black viscose twill is becoming a wrap skirt this year. I still haven't found a wrap skirt pattern that seems right and I'm this close to frustrating myself further by trying to make one myself. I'm considering trying the CCP Fiore and the DP Studio 4001, but neither of them are exactly what I have in mind. We shall see.

A denim skirt remake

I made a Cashmerette Ellis skirt last year and the denim was actively terrible. It somehow managed to fray through the flat fells. I do like the skirt, though, and I've missed having it available to me, so I want to have another go with some slightly more well-behaved fabric. I also made a resolution to get a grip on decorative topstitching this year, so I'm going to do that this time too.

Trousers

A pair of trousers from my personal block

My trouser-making class went a lot better than my bodice-making class, so I'm actually inspired to try and use the block. (For my proper class review I will attempt to use the bodice block too.) I'm not going to do too much to it for my first go, just draft a waistband or facing of some kind and decide where to put the zip.

Tops

A test run of M8003

I've always wondered if I could get one of those boob-window tops to work for me, so I'm going to have a go. The first run is going to be a dark grey viscose jersey that I keep not using because the items I want in that colour won't work in that type of fabric. A few months ago I hit on something that would work for both, then very stubbornly refused to acknowledge for months that I don't actually want to make or wear that thing. So I'm going to use it for this and get it out of the way.

A sweatshirt

Two sweatshirts, hopefully. The Named Gemma sweatshirt has been calling my name for some time and it's time to try it out. I expect I'm going to need to tweak a few things to get exactly what I want from it (definitely the neckline and waist finishing, also possibly the fit), so my first version is going to be a loungewear one made from a piece of questionable camo sweater knit I got from Abakhan based entirely off of how soft it was. Once I know what I'm working with, I want to make a black version using leftover scraps of black leather from my jacket as the contrast.

Dresses

A lined silk dress

I just want the multicoloured silk to be something at this point, so I'm going to make a lined Anna dress as I said originally. I've got a few weddings coming up this year so it'll be useful to have a dress in reserve. I'm not sure if I have suitable lining, so that might be the one thing I need to buy for this plan.

A batwing dress

There are a couple of fabrics I've been holding onto for ages because I know they want to be drapey dresses and I just can't imagine that such a thing would suit me. But as I'm at my wits' end trying to work out what to do with the stupid poppy fabric, I'm going to have a go and see what happens. I have a few optimistically purchased batwing patterns in my stash (and also a couple that I'm certain I never would have bought but there they are nevertheless), and I think I'm going to try Kommatia DR305. There is a VERY high chance that the end result will be too horrific for me to share publicly, but it's one of those things I gotta try.


Most of my planned projects this time are reasonably simple, once we get out of the jackets section. Patrick surprised me with an actually functioning overlocker for my birthday, so if I can get to grips with that it should speed everything up even more. I'm hoping this will give me time to finish up some of the things I didn't do from my last plan; the leggings and shirt are underway  and I want to use leftovers from one of my jackets to make the bag set. I'm not planning to do the fancy pyjamas anymore because my tests didn't work - I don't think there's anything wrong with the actual pattern, but it's not right for my shape or my style of lounging. Eventually I want to repurpose that fabric for another piece of swanky loungewear, but not during this set of plans.

I'm currently working on several things at once so I'm not entirely sure what will be up next. I still have a few things I haven't taken pictures for; I made Patrick two hoodies for Christmas but he's not been well enough for me to photograph him in them. It's his birthday in a few weeks and we're having an "everyone dresses as Patrick" party, so what you may end up getting is me wearing the hoodies in a long wig and fake beard. I promise to warn you in advance.

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