THE Q & A SERIES
CREATING A CAPSULE COLLECTION
I love the idea of creating a spring, summer, autumn and winter collection as the great couture houses do.
Have you ever done this and what would you include?
Thanks
Georgina
- Baildon, UK
Hi Georgina,
What a great question to kick off the new year! Are you like us and see the new year as a time to feel inspired and plan projects? It was this feeling that inspired us to create the Slow Sewing Planner.
For us, rather than designing a whole new capsule collection and hoping it all works well, we like the idea of taking it more slowly. Taking time to assess what's in our wardrobe already - what's working and what isn't, and then building our wardrobe slowly and intentionally.
With the Slow Sewing Planner, you can go as in-depth as you like through this process, but today we thought we'd guide you through the basics.
Pause & reflect
Before getting started with the planning, it's a good idea to take some time to reflect. This is about reflecting on your handmade wardrobe, the way you feel in it and the skills you have learned and would like to learn in the future.
What are the pieces in your wardrobe that you get the most wear out of? What helps you feel the most like yourself? What are you most proud of and why?
It can be easy to get caught up in the next sewing trend and feel like you need to make what everyone else is making. By taking time from the outset to work out what is important to YOU, you will be able to keep these things in the back of your mind as you assess your wardrobe (that's coming next) and start making plans for the future.
Work out what’s working and what’s not
By knowing what is in your wardrobe, what you wear and how often you wear things, you can begin to get a sense of gaps in your wardrobe and select projects to fill these gaps. Although many of us might dream of sewing a whole new wardrobe, or a capsule wardrobe, the reality is that by sewing pieces that fit into your existing wardrobe, you will have a better chance of getting a lot of wear out of it. You will be amazed how just one perfect piece added to your wardrobe can open up a realm of possibility. It's about being clear about what you hope to get out of your wardrobe and selecting pieces and projects that meet these aims.
Before thinking about what you’d like to sew next, it’s a good idea to get organised. When it comes to sewing your own clothes, there are a few places to keep organised to ensure you are making the things you need, as well as using the things you have. This is your wardrobe, your fabric stash and your pattern library.
At this point, things can get overwhelming. Remember, you don't have to do it all at once! If you struggle to say goodbye to clothes (especially the ones you have made yourself), we have some resources in the Slow Sewing Planner that will help you with the letting go process. We know that there is not a one-size fits all approach to organising your wardrobe, so we have given you 4 different exercises so you can decide what works for you. From nice and simple to delving in and tackling it all!
You then need to get really honest with yourself and work out what's working, what's not working and why. We have some worksheets in the planner that guide you through this process.
Organise your stash
While you're in an organising frame of mind, we'd suggest organising your pattern library and fabric stash too! We love the approach detailed by Helen's Closet in this post. Well worth a look if you are looking for a way to comprehensively organise your fabric and patterns!
Make a plan
Now that you've had a good look at what you have, what you're enjoying wearing (and not enjoying wearing), we hope you are feeling inspired and ready to plan for the future!
There are many ways you can plan your makes. You can plan for the year, the season, or just as you go. Whatever works for you!
This is the point where you need to get clear about what you want from your wardrobe and start filling those gaps! Do you need more clothes for work? More clothes for working from home? How can you select projects so they work in multiple areas of your life?
We suggest you make a mood board and refine it a number of times so you have a very clear idea of what you'd like to make. We have some resources to guide you through this process in the Slow Sewing Planner. At this point it's also a good idea to start thinking about your ideal colour palette and how your plans for your wardrobe fit within this palette.
As you think about what you'd like to make, think about how it's going to fit within your wardrobe and adjustments you can make to ensure it fits in. For example, do you want to make a dress longer or shorter so it works with a particular jacket? Would you get more wear out of a pair of pants if you substituted an elastic waistband for a flat-front waistband. Ask yourself what you'll wear each new piece with and what skills you would like to learn from the project.
We've loved seeing our community gain more pattern hacking skills with Curated by ITF and grow in confidence to get exactly what they want out of each pattern.
This email just gives you a simple run-through of the steps we suggest you take when planning new pieces to add to your wardrobe. If this is a process you're interested in diving into, we suggest purchasing the Slow Sewing Planner, as it guides you through this process (and lots more) with worksheets, exercises and additional resources. We'll also be working together through the process in our Mighty Networks group, so if a bit of external accountability is just what you need to get that wardrobe sorted, we'll be right there with you!
We hope your wardrobe dreams come true in 2022!
Happy sewing,
Emily
For more issues of the Q & A series, you can check out the archive here.
