Thursday, August 16, 2012

Is a minimalist wardrobe possible for one who loves to sew?

Minimalism has been a round for quite a while and there have been those who have designed minimalist wardrobes.  The styles tend to be without much detail, but attention to quality and quantity.  The simpler the better and easier to dress up or down with accessories.

Styles are individual and how they look depends on preferences.  The variety ranges from very casual in knits to tailored in linens, wools, and different dress/suiting fabrics depending on the season. 

Using the colors that look best on you can enhance the whole concept of mix and match to your advantage. 

I once made a summer cotton mix and match with tops and skirts and got a lot of mileage out of them.

The challenge will be to find the patterns and fabrics that will work best together and also to not have to put out a lot of money and find that they don't work as well as planned.  This will require some concentration on what my needs really are, what kind of mileage I will get out of them, what limits to have on total pieces, and what I can use from my present wardrobe. 

I  love to sew dresses but find skirts and tops more practical for everyday.  You might prefer the opposite. 
Pattern companies offer coordinated patterns.  If you can't find the all-in-one-pattern-envelope, then find individual ones and make a notebook page with pictures/sketches to give you ideas and then when you have finalized your thoughts and have written them down, make sure to keep the yardages needed for each piece in  both measurements of  45 inch and 60 inch widths of fabric.  A lot could be done on the computer and just print out the pages when you need them.

I will be adding more to this post.  In the meantime, be looking for ideas that will work in your wardrobe.

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