WOOT!
It's over! Self Stitched September 2010 was an interesting experience. Every day throughout the month of September, I wore an outfit that was entirely self-stitched by me, with the exception of underwear, socks, shoes, and accessories. I took photos of every day, except Sept 3rd, when I was sick and spent most of the day sleeping in my self-made PJs. ;)
This project was conceived by Zoe, immediately on the heels of Me-Made-May earlier this year. She posted a participant list, started a Flickr group, and off we went.
My personal challenge was to move beyond my favorite garments, those that I wear over and over, and to delve deeper into the recesses of my closet.
Here are some of my observations about this experience:
- Everything I wore was made in the last 13 months, when I returned to sewing. Yowza, I've made a lot of clothes in that time. :)
- There were several self-made garments that I didn't get a chance to wear. o.O
- I do not have enough clothes for hot weather, which is not too surprising, since I live in a climate that has very few hot days per year and I don't really like sewing, or wearing, that sort of clothing.
- The photos are very helpful to see how an outfit is working. There weren't too many unfortunate outfits, but there were a couple. I have already started a Goodwill bag and have placed several items inside. I'm not going to say which ones, because I don't want anyone trying to talk me out of it.
- A few garments were worn over and over: my black Teagarden T, my black ponte Marcy Tilton pants (V8397A), and my new Jalie Jeans. Thank goodness I made those jeans just before Sept 1st! I generally wear jeans very rarely but these were so comfortable and flattering that I wore them over and over!
- I am not a person who likes to dress up, sit on the couch, and work. I guess I'll never be that sort of person. I prefer to work in my PJs and get dressed if and when I need to go out.
- Some outfits emphasize my bust much more than others!! Not in a good way. ;)
- Structured jackets are my friend.
- Accessories that divert attention from my bust are my friend.
- More fitted tops (rather than long, loose tops) are my friend. I'd pretty much figured that one out already, but sometimes I'm gonna wear those tops anyway. :)
- As so many other participants noted, taking a photo of oneself every day is a pain. And it's a bigger pain if you have to rely on someone else to take the photo. I'm glad I can do it myself with a tripod and my camera remote, but still, it gets old. Because the photos are so useful, it's worth the effort. I'm getting better at taking photos of myself. It's actually less embarrassing to pose for a camera when no human is behind it, but I wonder what my neighbors thought about it. :)
That's all I can think of for now. Feel free to post your own thoughts, if you want to go peek at my Flickr album.
All week I have been working on a wool coat in the evenings. It was very hot earlier in the week, so it was very slow going. But now, our wonderful, blissful, cold fog has returned and it's become more enjoyable to sew with wool. The shell is mostly constructed and tomorrow night I plan to cut out the lining. I'm hoping I can finish it this weekend and can hopefully blog it before Monday.
Yesterday I took advantage of the BMV sale and ten new Vogue patterns are winging their way to me, including the new Marcy Tilton jacket that is so cute.
Three cheers for Fall Sewing. Yay. Yay. Yay. ;)