Loving What’s In the Closet (and a Sewing Surprise!)
One of the books I’m currently reading (and loving) is Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. I highly recommend it! I stopped in my tracks when I read this:
What if everything hanging in your closet were something you loved — something that made you look beautiful or made you feel wonderful when you put it on? Think of how good you would feel every day.
Wow.
Being a girl who actively chose to stop buying clothes almost two years ago, that idea made me freeze.
How many of the clothes in our closets are things that we just feel kind of ehh about?
So I’ve been thinking. A lot.
At our house, our favorites are always handmade. Quilts. Dinners. Teensy kitchens. It only seems natural that my passions of no clothes shopping and handmade merge, right? I think many of you have been patiently waiting for this day. ;) It’s here. It’s HERE!
I made this top:
(Yes. I climb on the tire house walls!)
It took me two Sunday afternoons to measure, sew, and occasionally resew. I used this awesome tutorial.
I haven’t been this excited about clothes in a long, long time.
Now I’m wondering…
What if I started sewing some of my own clothes? (I’ll be honest. I’m kind of scared to take a leap like that.) Would love to hear your thoughts.
How is it that we can fill our closets with only things we love?
March 30th, 2011 at 6:15 am
I LOVE IT! I freakin’ love it! It looks great, you look great. Awesome job.
I absolutely believe that you should only wear clothes you love. If we strive to only bring into our homes what we truly love, then why wouldn’t we want to dress our bodies following the same principle?
Of course, I’m a fashion nut, so I have a biased answer.
I’m not quite a fashion designer yet, though, so I’m sticking with transforming old clothes into new for the time being.
Although maybe I’ll tackle that shirt, too.
March 30th, 2011 at 6:43 am
Katie,
That is so awesome! I am so proud of you for making your own clothing. I know this is a just a start for you. I am really short and skinny. My whole life I have said that I ought to just start making my own clothes, because the only places I can shop are in the juniors section. Have you seen what teenagers wear these days? I am 33! I cannot dress like that. Consequently, shopping is hell and involves many stores just to find one item that fits. I must not be a normal woman because I hate this. My mother even encouraged me in my desire to make my own clothes and bought me a sewing machine, but I am sad to say it is the beginner kind that only makes one kind of stitch and it is a beast to thread.
This has put a stall in my own clothes making aspirations, but you may just have restarted my motor with this post. Thank you!
March 30th, 2011 at 6:45 am
Looks great Katie. You did a great job sewing !!Thanks for posting the closet comment from the book.
March 30th, 2011 at 7:03 am
LOVE the shirt, Katie!!!!
March 30th, 2011 at 7:13 am
Completely agree and I love love the shirt! Must.make.one.for.me :-)
March 30th, 2011 at 7:16 am
Awesome! It looks fantastic, and you’re clearly really happy with it.
I’m half-tempted to ask you to go into business making these. :)
You asked “What if I started sewing some of my own clothes?”. I think you just did!
March 30th, 2011 at 8:02 am
that is one cute top. way to create!
March 30th, 2011 at 8:43 am
Sewing is the greatest. I love working with my hands and it feels so good to pull on an article of clothing you made yourself. This looks really cute on you. Don’t give it up. :)
March 30th, 2011 at 8:55 am
Hey Katie! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and for your sweet comment on the dress refashion! I LOVE the top you made, it is so beautiful and just perfect for Spring! I completely agree, we should wear what we love. I really try to get rid of things that I don’t wear often because they just take up space and prevent me from seeing the things I DO love to wear.
March 30th, 2011 at 9:11 am
The top is amazing and something I wish I could buy! It just looks like happy summer. Awesome job.
March 30th, 2011 at 9:12 am
Go for it! That shirt looks great. I need to learn to sew!
March 30th, 2011 at 9:22 am
Victoria – I may just get you sewing yet ;)
March 30th, 2011 at 9:22 am
Thanks so much for the lovely response, you guys. Means the world!
March 30th, 2011 at 9:28 am
Katie, your top looks lovely and you look so happy in it! I’m so glad you posted it because I have been thinking about this a lot lately — about loving everything in my closet. My body doesn’t fit a lot of standard-size patterns, so I’ve been resistant to sewing my own clothes (I suspect it will be difficult), but I have done a lot of shopping recently. I realized, after years of dismissing my love for fashion as frivolous, that it’s actually very important to me. So I had a date with my closet (three hours of really carefully looking everything over), a date with a fashion handbook with fabulous advice on my proportions and silhouette, and then went shopping. Now I am much closer to having clothes I love, and I hope that means that I won’t have to go shopping again for a while. :) And maybe someday I’ll sew my own clothes too!
March 30th, 2011 at 9:33 am
Satsumabug,
This note you left is awesome! I suspect you will be sewing your own clothes very soon, too. ;) I’m trying to be patient and wait until Sunday to experiment a little more.
The thing I’m most nervous about is how I don’t fit standard sizes, and I can’t try on before I make things. But I can alter and change pieces as I go. That’s at least how I’m trying to overcome my fear. Maybe a cool way to start would be to alter clothing you have to fit. Just a thought for a little love.
Katie
March 30th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Katie, you did a great job! So beautiful and sweet :-)
I love the Simple Abundance book, too. Lots of gems in those words, aren’t there?
Best wishes!
March 30th, 2011 at 10:30 am
gorgeous! I got a sewing machine for my birthday so I’ll be trying this. :)
March 30th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Oh wow ! I love it ! Amazing !!
I am so scared to make my own clothes !
XO
Frenchy
March 30th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Wow! I love the shirt, Katie! Great job! I wish I could sew my own clothes. Sewing frustrates me. Maybe someday………….LOL!
March 30th, 2011 at 11:55 am
That is so cute! Also, I am totally jealous of your wall-o-aloes. Making clothes totally goes with your clothes challenge, and could be a great way to maybe phase in/out some things without ‘breaking the rules’ ha! I read through Simple Abundance last year, and I loved it. I hope you’re loving it, too!
March 30th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Lovely ‘Spring Top’, I made this for my daughter, I love that you make it to fit your own measurements.
Sewing clothes is a lovely way to have clothes that you like! I am sewing a shirt for my husband at the moment.Keep up the good work.
March 30th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
I adore it! Looks great. And go for it – I’d love to read more about making your own clothes!
March 30th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Well, I didn’t make any clothes today, but I did hem two pairs of jeans and make two headbands. :) (http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/mad-men-headbands) Yay! Thank you, Katie, for the inspiration!
March 31st, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Nice work, Katie! I love it!
March 31st, 2011 at 3:03 pm
There are some really great resources for basic patterns where you use your body’s measurements instead of pre-made pattern pieces. I know I liked the Sew U books, but I honestly just poked around my library’s sewing crafts section until I found books that I thought had patterns that looked right for me. I must have checked out every book in the whole county on sewing, but it gave me great lessons in figuring out the shapes that are easy for me to sew and easy for me to wear.
And everyone should learn to make muslins! I buy vintage sheets and the like at thrift stores and use those to try out patterns that I’m thinking through. That way if I end up with something I love it’s great, but if I end up with something that needs some tweaking in the fit department I haven’t used an expensive fabric to learn my lesson!
March 31st, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Katie, You should make more of those shirts and sell them on Gadanke. Awesome!
April 1st, 2011 at 7:02 am
Your shirt turned out so cute that you have inspired me to pull out my sewing machine. Thank you for sharing such a lovely project.
April 2nd, 2011 at 9:06 am
SO CUTE! Looks great on you! I’m trying to get up the guts to make some kind of top…kinda freaked out about making CLOTHES, specifically arms. Will do, thanks for the encouragement!
April 3rd, 2011 at 8:56 pm
Chloe, do you have suggestions for the kinds of books you mention? I was very annoyed when I used Sew U because the patterns do not go up to my size! :(
April 4th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Wonderful! I discovered sewing and got a machine while pregnant with my now 8 month old. I love/loved it but don’t currently have much time to pursue it. Plus, I don’t have a space to leave my machine out so little bits of time here and there can’t be combined into anything useful. So, I’ve recently taken up knitting. I really enjoy it so far and it’s easier to fit into nap time.
I would love to be able to sew more, especially clothing for myself. You should completely go for it!
April 6th, 2011 at 6:50 am
I can not tell you how much I adore this shirt. It is amazing. I too have never sewn my own top but you’ve totally inspired me! Thank you for linking up to Sew Woodsy. I’ve featured your shirt today! Make sure you stop by and grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog!
April 6th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Adorable! It looks lovely on you. You’ll be great at sewing, too, I have no doubt. It’s not a hard thing to do. Just take your time, think it through, and you’ll be zipping along in no time. I’ve been sewing for almost my entire life. I made my first outfit (with help from my mom) in 6th grade. I made my own wedding dress. Although the hardest thing I ever made was a lined, tailored suit for my husband. Ten times harder than my wedding dress. I haven’t sewn clothes in eons, but I still love to make bags and purses and other such accessories. :-)
April 8th, 2011 at 7:17 am
Looks really great! :-)
April 8th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
LOVE it!!! Yay!!! Are you going to sew along with the Spring Tops this year? Would love to have you!
April 12th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Hi,
Love the shirt. I use to sew all my clothes in the late 80′s. My mom and aunts use to sew or crochet our dresses and shirts. When we were little they sewed entire outfits.
I stopped sewing when I lost the footpetal to my sewing machine, and because it was cheaper and left me more time for college, work, and my family by buying my clothes secondhand or on sales.
Kinda miss my awesome compliments from what I was wearing and I could say thank you it is one of a kind or I made it.