Fashion Sketching

I haven’t written much about fashion sketching, because it’s just something I do when I sew. I never got that much into sketching clothes as an art form. Sure, I have a book on the subject, and I keep meaning to learn how to draw different fabrics and styles! But for the most part, unless I’m basing a work of art on a photo, the clothes I draw are usually pretty simple.

When I’m designing an upcycle though, sketching often plays an integral part in the design process! The sketches I do when I’m sewing help me to figure out the best design, fabrics and look I’m going for. Sketching comes in handy regardless of what you are sewing! I used to keep a composition book handy in the sewing room, along with Sharpie markers and a pen. And I would sketch out each quilt idea I had, or pillow or other project before it came time to sew. That way I could make the mistakes on the paper instead of wasting fabric.

Sketching fashion is great when you are struggling to decide on which elements to bring to a design. On this particular project, I had a couple of elements that were forming the basis of the design, and I was struggling to figure out what fabric to go with for the underskirt. I was also struggling to figure out which overall design to use on the top. After drawing a few different looks, it was easy to see which one I like the best!

When you sketch a design for a project you are making, let it be a rough sketch. Unless you plan on sharing the drawing as part of your process, feel free to make it scribbly and messy. I keep my sketches to myself most of the time when I make things. You don’t even need a set notebook, just grab a sheet of paper. I’ve used printer paper in a pinch!

The next time you cannot figure out what you want a project to look like, take it to the page and get visual! Try out your ideas with pen, marker and paper before you get sewing! It can help you commit to a look and avoid energy wasted.

Top Five Reasons to Upcycle Clothes

If you have sauntered through my website, you probably caught on that I love sewing upcycled clothes. I started out upcycling back in the early 2000’s. Then I went through a phase as a quilter. I always had kind of a scrappy love of using what I had on hand instead of always rushing out to buy fabric for each project. That practice of using what I had made my quilts explode with color and print as I constantly busted out my scrap stash for each quilt instead of using precuts or yardage.

In 2021 I came back to upcycling. My website was an online journal where I documented my healing journey and shared about my art and sewing. In 2021 I started over, so to speak. I got back to what brought me to sew in the first place, which was upcycling clothes. Sewing clothes is my passion! I love altering my wardrobe and constantly get ideas for fresh upcycles.

Something drew you to my website, and chances are you love upcycling clothes too, or at least you are interested in giving it a try! Here are five reasons to upcycle clothes!

1. Upcycling your wardrobe reduces your carbon footprint, especially when you stop buying so much fast fashion and embrace slow fashion as a way of life.

2. Upcycling your clothes can help you create a completely unique wardrobe. You can’t put a price tag on being able to express yourself with the clothes you wear. When I wear my upcycles out and about the city I feel like I’m confident and can take on the world. It feels so good to wear my art on my sleeve!

3. Upcycling your wardrobe is an art form! Fashion designers are also embracing upcycling as a way to express their vision, and you can see upcycled clothes everywhere from the runway to fashion magazines.

4. Personally, altering my wardrobe has increased my self-confidence by leaps and bounds. Clothes have a way of drawing your people to you! If you want to meet like minded people, wearing your me makes and expressing who you are with your wardrobe makes a first impression that is unforgettable.

5. Skills building and trying new techniques also gives you so much self-confidence, makes you more intelligent and the skills you learn build on each other. Even if you are just starting out though, your makes will be completely original and one of a kind! That is the nature of creativity when you “keep your eyes on your own paper” and just do you!

Why do you upcycle? What got you interested in giving it a shot? There are so many projects here on my website, and found across the web. Get to that sewing room and create! Then rock your makes proudly out in the world.

Clothes for the Seasons of Life

Seasons change, and people change too! Different seasons of life require different kinds of clothes.

If you have abundance of clothing, it can feel really challenging to figure out what you want to wear season by season. Now that I’m in my mid forties, I’m trending toward black and darker colors more often. But I still love florals, prints and scrappy things too! Depending on the stage of life you are in, clothes can make that stage feel great or not so much.

Here are a few questions to consider when you are putting together your seasonal wardrobe.

1. What season of life are you in? Do you work outside the home, or are you more of a home body?

2. Do you love dressing for comfort, or is utmost fashion your thing regardless of how comfortable it is? If you prefer comfort, is there a way you can be comfortable while also wearing fashion that makes you feel sassy or sexy?

3. Do you want to stand out or do you more want to fade into the fabric of life like a wallflower? What pieces make you feel most confident depending on the situations you find yourself in?

4. If you could travel back in time to any era…whether you were alive during that time or not, what would it be? Is there a way you can incorporate more of that era into your current wardrobe?

5. Do you let your age define your style? Oftentimes people feel like they have to dress a certain way in order to “look right” for their age group. Would it be possible to shake off that stodgy attitude, and wear what lights you up most?

What stage of life are you in? And does your wardrobe reflect that? As a seamstress, you can always alter the things in your closet to fit whatever stage you are in! That is one of the major benefits of sewing for yourself. I’m going to rethink some of my clothes, and transform my closet into something that represents who I am today!

Taking Selfies to Figure Out Your Style

I’ve been trying to find my style, and seriously it has been challenging! When I look at my wardrobe, I see a lot of odds and ends that don’t really match each other. I see my typical home attire of jeans or yoga pants and t shirts, hoodies. But then I see nicer clothes that get pushed to the back of my closet for those times I want to look more put together.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a mix match wardrobe! I’m not the kind of person to scrap everything and create a capsule wardrobe of thirty pieces that look nearly identical. That just isn’t me, and it probably isn’t you either. Men can pull that off rather easily, however it is very feminine to mix up your look.

Photos are so revealing! You can learn a lot about how your clothes fit by taking selfies, along with learning what you love about your current wardrobe and what would be fun to change. This is also a great project to try before a date or job interview. It gives you the benefit of understanding how your clothes look, before you commit to an outfit.

Here is my method of taking selfies!

1. Find a spot in your home where you can close the door and be comfortable.

2. If you have a point and click camera, it should have a self-timer mode. Learn how to set that in your camera manual or online. The best setting on my own camera for selfies is the auto setting, which self-adjusts focus.

3. Place your camera across the room from you, ideally on a table or shelf with a small box or stack of books under it. Aim the camera toward the spot where you plan to stand. Then press the button, and a light should come on along with potentially a beeping sound. Give the camera a few seconds to auto focus before you step into frame. Then step in the frame and get the photo.

4. Lighting is important, but with today’s editing software it is easy to bump up the brightness, to a certain extent. Make sure there are overhead lights in the room you are in. I take photos day or night, and typically they turn out great as far as lighting goes. The key is to let the camera focus before you step into the frame. Use bright light, or daylight if possible.

   5. The idea is not to take pics of yourself when you already know you look sloppy, lol! If an outfit makes you feel good, take a photo. Experiment with pairing different pieces from your closet together. Choose accessories or other fashion elements for your looks. Try to get photos of yourself in the clothes you wear the most, and what you wear for going out.

Selfies can really help you figure out what clothes make you feel the most confident in your wardrobe, and fine tune your look. You never know how clothes really look on you until you take a photo! The great thing about selfies is you can close the door and get in front of the camera without anyone else seeing you. It gives you privacy to play with your style. Once the photos are finished, go back through and look at them all! Take some notes about the things you like and what you wish were different. If there are certain pieces you want to stop wearing, do that! Bring in some things to make yourself confident and refined.

Reasons for Defining Your Personal Style

“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” - Orson Wells

Lately I’ve been giving my own personal style a lot of thought! I’ve been researching personal style by way of books and even a class I’m taking. I signed up for a suite of classes hosted by Kimberly Wilson, author of “Hip, Tranquil Chic”. Truth is though, I’m taking what she says with a huge grain of salt. She only wears black, which seems like a “safe” way to dress. It doesn’t seem all that risk taking to just suit up in black clothes every day? I might have a bias though, because I love color! And I love experimenting with clothes, because it is just plain fun.

Here are my reasons for trying to define my personal style! I’m going to document my process on the blog, with hopes that someone out there might be grappling with some of the same questions.

1. I am tired of wasting money on clothes that don’t work. It might seem cute on a model online, but once a lot of items get home and I actually try them on, many pieces just flat out either don’t fit right, are uncomfortable or wind up going unused. Also, clothes have gotten way more expensive! And I already have plenty of clothes, I don’t need anything from a store.

2. I have too many clothes. And I know the quick answer is to just donate everything extra, or give it away. Even though thrift stores are a great step in helping reduce the impacts of fast fashion, I don’t think they quite go far enough. Because really, even thrifting encourages the cycle of production. If you think about it, the more people buy, the more businesses create. I just want to buy less clothes in general. I am interested in thrifting, but I don’t rush it. Typically clothes sit for an entire year unworn in my closet before I thrift those pieces, just to be sure I won’t wear or alter them in the future.

3. It is hard to take care of a huge wardrobe. I have about ten loads of laundry to wash on any given week. So a lot of it doesn’t get done often enough. I’m looking to streamline down to just what I need to get through a week and a half, and then upcycle or sell the rest. I will not be throwing pieces away though, because storing some back up clothes is always a good idea. That way, I won’t have to buy anything for a long time to come.

4. I’m going through a transitional time. Now that I’m 45, I’ve been reassessing my wardrobe. But not quite in the way you might think! I just want to rock my upcycled clothes on a more regular basis. A lot of women get to 45 and want to dress more matronly, but that isn’t my intention. I’m not actually trying to “dress my age” at all. I more want to express myself with clothes more of the time. Life has transitions; age related, work related or otherwise. Those are great times to redefine your style!

5. I want my clothes to make me feel more confident. You know that feeling you get when you are wearing something that makes you put your best self forward? I want that feeling more of the time.

Those are my main reasons for defining my personal style! You probably have some good reasons of your own to add to the list. You just know when it’s time to redefine your personal style. Especially when you open your closet and can’t find anything you want to wear. I’ve got more posts coming soon on this topic so be on the lookout!