One of my favorite sewing-related activities is to plan a mini wardrobe capsule for each season. I like to plan the patterns and fabric ahead of time to see how everything will go together. This strategy is also a time-saver because I always have the next project ready to sew. Now that summer is here, I’ve been working on my summer sewing plans.
Selecting Patterns
I’ve been incorporating more dresses into my wardrobe for the last couple of years, especially for the summer. I want to add the Camp Dress and Enmore Halter Dress this year. For separates, I just completed the Tribeca Knit Cami, and I would like to pair the cami with a pair of Lisboa Walking Shorts. That gives me a nice 4-piece capsule!
Selecting Fabric
For fabric selection, I try hard to pull from my fabric stash. Some seasons I do better than others! For this season, I have already sewn the Tribeca Cami in a black jersey, so I decided that I would coordinate the whole capsule around black. I found a black and white Ikat woven fabric for the Lisboa Shorts. I decided on an olive lightweight wool/Lycra gabardine from my stash for the Camp Dress. I found a great cream and black rayon/silk striped fabric for the Enmore Dress.
Seeing it all come together
I like to mock up how the fabrics and patterns will look in the finished garment. Sometimes when I do this, I decide the fabrics aren’t working together and make a swap. I think the plan for this summer will look great!
What about you? Do you like to make a sewing plan, or do you prefer to wing it? What are you planning on sewing this summer? Do you start with patterns or start with fabric?
Love it, how do you mock the patterns and fabrics? A particular program?
Hi Ava! I use Keynote on my Mac but there are windows tools available, too. I almost wrote a post on how to do it but decided no one would be interested! If you think a post would be helpful, let me know.
Yes, I’m a Mac user and feel it would be a great post.
I’ll work on it!
I love this, but my reality is that there are last minute additions for growing kids, suddenly needed zany costumes and the whole co-ordinated plan ends up looking like an explosion in an inspiration factory! Your plan is much more magazine worthy!
I’d be really tempted to cut that Enmore dress on the bias with the stripes doing a chevron thing down the centre.
That happens to me, too! I used to plan 8 pieces but too much of life got in the way. I’ve cut down to 4 which is a better balance for me. I also give myself grace when it comes to when it is sewn. If I only get three pieces finished, then I have a project ready for next year.
I would also like to see how to mock the fabric and patterns! And I am also a Mac user. This whole idea is inspiring to me… I’m still at the just-sew-something-pretty-at-random phase!
Nothing wrong with that phase! I’m just a planner. I like to have a plan!
Love this idea, I would really love to create a capsule for myself as well. The stumbling block is finding good apparel fabrics that I would want to wear.
Good apparel fabric is a challenge for me, too! Out of these four fabrics, the green wool I bought six years ago while I was traveling, the black jersey is Robert Kaufman Laguna Jersey which is my go to for solid jersey and can be easily found, and I had an inspiration pic for the striped fabric so I scoured the online fabric shops until I found what I was looking for. The last print was the “easiest” bc I already had the other three picked out-I just needed a print to coordinate. Good luck!