Patterns & Patterns And How to Choose

Creatively speaking, last week was absolute bliss. As I said at the beginning, the energy gathered from re-fashioning the cardigans was both familiar and welcome.

Being both creative and practical isn't always a good mix. For the past few years, I've found it increasingly difficult to create textile art pieces because even with an exhibit opportunity, the majority do not sell. Eventually, they come home and are stored in a closet. This doesn't work too well for a person who prefers to avoid excess stuff and wants to be financially responsible. Textile art is expensive to produce.




Last week, I realized that sewing fashions could truly provide - in an entirely different way - as much creative stimulation as creating textile art and that a creatively challenging studio life is just as possible now as it was a year ago. YES YES!

By allowing my imagination the freedom to experiment, I can sew unique, individualized, and one of a kind garments and if I love the piece, I can keep it and wear it and if not, pass it along. That in itself is good enough but what a bonus that sewing fashions is way less expensive than creating textile art - especially when shopping in the bargain center. It's a more for less, win-win, situation.




As I mentioned on Friday, jeans are at the top of my need to/want to sew list. Above is the muslin fabric I used on Friday to test Burda 7590. What was I thinking?

Even if I bought this yardage the minute that stretch denim started showing up in the fabric stores, it's still not all that old - 10-15 years max. Either way, daisies on a 47 year old behind is NOT the look I'm going for. Instead of sophisticated, it would be a case of butt measles!

I'll talk more about how the jeans are working out tomorrow. Meanwhile, how completely un-ME that fabric was - and yet still in my stash - had me thinking about patterns & patterns and how to choose. By that, I mean the pattern on the fabric and the pattern style since both are major contributors to the impression we give through our clothes about who we are.




Apparently daisies were on my mind because here's another one in this pile of not likelys. The motif is too big and there is way too much contrast with the background for me to wear this comfortably. Together, they scream I AM A DAISY. If I remember right, I bought this for a summer dress. Summer jammie pants maybe. The fabric on the bottom? Big dots on a white background? HELLO BULLS EYE! Probably not although possibly as a flirty skirt.

The top fabric in this pile of maybes is a knit and the bottom one is a rayon challis. Both were bought for the paisley print more than anything. I am such a sucker for paisley. You can see that the knit will work well with my denim (personal neutral) jean (pending) wardrobe. The possibility that I'll sew and wear it is high. The other one looks a lot busier, I'm not sure it would get worn a lot and it's not calling my name too loudly unlike this grey paisley below. Yummy.

This is a pile of favourites. The top is a tone on tone paisley and the bottom a monochromatic knit. LOVE them. Both have patterns however, they're not busy or overpowering. They are quite likely to get sewn soon. The knit was bought with my 30th high school reunion in mind and that's this summer. The middle fabric is one that I've had for quite a while. I like it and yet I wonder if it's too high contrast. I'm waffling. If the design was more abstract and less defined, I'd be more comfortable with it although I can see it as a dress.

Pulling these prints out of my fabric stash made me really look at what was there. Since I'm working on the Basics & Bonuses List of garments. I thought about each fabric as a basic or a bonus fabric. What I discovered is that my fabric collection is as unbalanced as my sewing has been. I'm heavy on the bonus - dress-up - types of fabrics and low on the basic - daily activities - types of fabrics.

The same lack of balance is evident in my pattern stash. My patterns are sorted into CD baskets. The blouses, skirts, and dresses baskets are full. T-shirts are in with the blouses except there's very few of them. There's barely anything in the pants basket. Either I need to change what I wear at home and sew to match that decision or I need to change what I'm buying because it doesn't match what I actually wear - or a happy balance of the two - which is really what I'm going for by taking my wardrobe up a notch.

Even though I cleaned out my fabric and pattern stash not too long ago, I'm ready to go through them again with fresh eyes, eyes that are aware of the information I've been writing on the Basics & Bonuses List about what I actually wear and on the Fashions Pros & Cons list about the style lines I'm drawn to. As I expected, the lists are proving interesting.

Things like V neck, 3/4 sleeves, waist defining, close or semi-close fitted, and softly flowing are on the Pro side while things like crew neck, ruffles, loose fitting, and tailored jackets are on the Con side. Information from the lists can be combined resulting in garments that I will wear on a daily basis as well as a few for dress-up. It also means that some fabrics and patterns need to move along. They don't work for ME anymore.

I bet many of them - especially those not likely prints - were bought before I read The Triumph of Individual Style by Carla Mason Mathis and Helen Villa Connor. The big take away from that book was that since my features are soft, small, and close together, those are the types of prints I should choose. I've paid attention to that idea ever since reading about it and, in my life, it's true. When I stray into larger, bolder, more defined prints, I tend not to wear that garment or not to sew that fabric. Knowing why helps me to avoid buying the wrong things.

Next to sewing, I love reading. One of my favourite subjects is sewing and personal style - obviously, LOL - and I have a small collection of favourite books on the topic. Each seems to come with a quiz of its own. On the weekend, I re-did the quiz in Looking Good which is - IMHO - not the greatest of quizzes. My answer was often none of the above which wasn't an option so I went with the most likely answer and came out classified as a dramatic just as I did in the quiz in Staging Your Comeback although it's much better written. The quiz in Nothing to Wear classifies me as a Chic-Avant Garde which is a little calmer than a dramatic and much nicer sounding than an aging dramatic.

I love personality type testing of any kind. I'm always intrigued by what I learn. The Meyers-Brigg test helped me understand why I need so much personal space and that I'm introverted even though it appears to many that I'm extroverted. It was fascinating. By reading the findings, I can determine if the statement is or isn't valid. Like my lists, there are always surprises that make me sit back and think. Truths that create an ah ha moment and help me understand a part of me better or truths that I didn't think were, or don't want to be, truths. These sometimes mean work and sometimes means self acceptance.




spottedroo wrote - ... Working on jeans and other basics sounds good but it's also good to experiment with what counts as an everyday piece. You seem to like sewing richly detailed tops and I bet a lot of these would work great with jeans. Or maybe you'll find that a long simple skirt can be dressed down as jeans and can become a new basic for you. Just a thought!

sdBev wrote - ... Once I realized that I had the freedom to determine what I wanted to wear at home, my sewing took off and I've never regretted it, never looked back. Please sew what you would enjoy wearing. It's okay to wear the clothing you truly love at home.

What lovely comments. Thank you. I don't wear shorts (except to garden) which means that I'm already comfortable wearing simple skirts almost full time in the summer and occasionally in the winter. I love details and enjoy feeling both unique and feminine which will help me to transition my wardrobe up a notch now that I'm sewing fashions again. The jeans and t-shirt had become a safe and familiar rut but were never what I really wanted to be wearing every day. They were easy and inexpensive since I didn't have the time to sew clothes or the money to buy the ones I really enjoyed. Having time to sew now is amazing. It means there's a whole new world of possibilities before me.

While I realize that I don't have to sew only practical garments and that I can sew whatever appeals to me, reality is that after losing so much weight I have next to nothing to wear. That means that what appeals to me right now is a combination of practical and pretty. My current exploration of self is helping me to connect the dots and bring together a wardrobe and a sewing adventure in which the end result will - I hope - be clothing that I really enjoy sewing and wearing. That's the journey I'm on - one that allows me to determine the details so that I can actually sew those garments so that I can actually wear them. What fun!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - I can see that my research into, and attention to detail around, fashion sewing is going to result in both a more wearable and a more creatively satisfying wardrobe. That's exciting. Even though I'm still bringing it all together, over the last few months I have felt more like myself, that the disconnect is narrowing, and that my clothes are beginning to outwardly expressing my inner self. YES YES

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Personal Growth - Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other and always do your best to bring it out. Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. - 1 Thessalonians 5

One of the things I really enjoy is the way in which God encourages us to be uniquely ourselves. While as a Christian I am one part of the bigger family of God, individually I have a purpose and a way of expressing myself and a set of talents, gifts, and abilities that is customized. I am not a carbon copy; I am uniquely me. That suits my personality well. It's also a struggle.

As much as we might like to believe that society accepts individuality, I don't actually see that as the norm. What I see is the acceptance of individuality extended toward those who excel in their area of expertise such as a fashion designer or business mogul - those who have done well for themselves out on the edge.

Otherwise, society tends to classify people who are different within the average flow of humanity as weird and try to bring them back to "normal". What is normal (and acceptable) is a big subject and certainly there have to be standards of behaviour to help people to get along however more than there is acceptance of and striving for individuality, there are trends in almost every area of our lives - clothing, hair styles, colors, architecture. If you're not "on trend" you're "outdated".

Some individuals who walk to a different drummer are able to do that with absolute confidence. Others find it divisive and isolating. If I had to pick a group, I'd say I was in the later one because along with being uniquely me, I'm a straight talking person. I will deal with what comes up and I'll say what others might only be thinking. When you're holding someone accountable (such as warning freeloaders and encouraging stragglers implies) and questioning their actions, it's not usually well received. That's something I've had to come to terms with. On a good day, I do well. Not always.

What is, is. This has been a huge area of acceptance in my life. When something happens that I find unfair or just completely wrong, I have a choice to fight against it or to work with it. Depending on the situation, I have learned that there are times when it's much simpler to accept that this is a battle I don't want to fight. Usually, it's another persons area of authority and I realize that they are going to do whatever it is they are going to do. I rarely like that idea so I'm learning - attempting to learn - how to work with it.

I refer to these types of situations as "the break-up call". What these calls have in common is that the person calling is only concerned with their personal agenda. They want something that doesn't include you and how you feel is not critical to the decision. In letting you down gently (or not), there's always a story, a "let's be friends" version that is either believable or not. Typically the next time you meet that person, you'll know. If they can't look you in the face, something is off. That makes me angry and I'm working on how to "get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part" when someone has just changed the scene and taken my part away without asking what it means to me or caring about the impact.