Hello sewing friends and assorted other internet dwelling creatures! I was staring at the buildup of fabric scraps in my sewing room this morning and realized that I had actually finished my spring wardrobe capsule! I’d gotten a little sidetracked with piles of silk and and new look prairie and lo and behold I had my capsule! Jeff and I got busy with the iPhone (that sounds way more exciting than it should) and we got pictures of all 10 outfits. I haven’t blogged each garment yet, so you nosy nellies with an unquenchable thirst for details and pattern notes are going to have to wait. In the meantime, let’s review!

I decided to do a wardrobe sudoku just a little over a month ago, you can read the full details here, but here’s my original design board. Cliff Notes version: put together 16 items, arranged in 4 lines and 4 columns. Each ‘line’ consists of a top, bottom, accessory and footwear. Ten of the 16 items need to be handmade. The rules are based on a current contest on Pattern Review, plus there’s a non-related Facebook Group where a lot of the members were talking about doing it, as the entry rules for Pattern Review barred some folks from entering. 

The Original Design Board

My original plan was based on fabrics and thrifted garments on hand, so naturally over the course of the project, I made some adjustments. Some changes, like swapping #16 from an upcycled tank dress to a silk Tina Givens Patricia Skirt, were made completely on a whim. Others, like replacing the purple #15 ‘top’ for a more girly pink and purple gingham dress were made to better sew for the season — my original fabric for #15 was a nice wool nubby weave — not overly practical for a spring to summer wardrobe!

The Revised Design Board

And here’s the design board with the ‘real thing’ instead of the line drawings. Clothing looks so sad hanging on a hanger!! I’m tagging the outfits here for reference 🙂 

The Finished Design Board

So here we go! As I write posts for each finished make I’ll hop back and link up…

Outfit One

Black Dansko’s, Tiptoe through the Toile slipdress, the Grape Plaid Petticoat and the Lavender Lounge Duster

Outfit Two

Black Dansko’s, The Not-So-Sugary Sugar Slip, Prison Pinstripe Patricia Skirt, and Upcycled Forest Sprite Cardi

Outfit Three

Black Dansko Mary Janes, Perfect Pantaloons, Tiptoe Through the Toile Slipdress and my trusty denim jacket

Outfit Four

Lace up boots (Torrid, sold out), Green Homespun Plaid dress, the Grape Plaid Petticoat and the Granny Duster

Outfit Five

Very old, worn Me Too black flats (similar here – I own these as well – comfy!l!) Blue Jean Baby Bloomers, Lavender Lounge Duster and Linen Mint’n’Toile Patricia Tunic

Outfit Six

Torrid laceup boots, Linen Mint’n’Toile Patricia Tunic, Prison Pinstripe Patricia Skirt, and my trusty denim jacket

Outfit Seven

Danskos, Linen Mint’n’Toile Patricia Tunic, Perfect Pantaloons, and the Granny Duster

Outfit Eight

Torrid laceup boots, Tiptoe through the Toile Slipdress, Blue Jean Baby Bloomers and the upcycled Forest Sprite Card

Outfit Nine

Me Too ballet flats, the Not-So-Sugary Sugar Slip, the Grape plaid Petticoat and my trusty denim

Outfit Ten

Dansko Mary Janes, Lavender Lounge Duster, Green Homespun Plaid dress, and Prison Pinstripe Patricia Skirt

That’s a lot of makes, amiright?

Some I love – the Prison Pinstripe Patricia skirt has proven quite versatile, plus it makes me feel like the hamburgler when I have it on. For those of you who read up on the Not-So-Sugary Sugar Slip, I’m sure you can see immediately how conflicted I feel wearing the two pieces together, what with the Grimace-nature of the unbound Sugar Slip.

The Blue Jean Baby bloomers are also a current favorite and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Grape Plaid petticoat, although need to make a silk slip for it because I don’t care for the poly blend against my legs. I’ve also already worn the Perfect Pantaloons quite a bit — they are a perfect blend of rayon and linen in a great taupey grey.

While the Granny Duster was a fun experiment (it’s made from an old tablecloth)  I don’t really love it. I wear cardi’s (or, er, dusters) for warmth, not decoration, so a crocheted duster that doesn’t do much for warmth doesn’t float my personal wardrobe-needs boat. I’ll probably end up putting this one in to the shop. Likewise, I’m on the fence on the Linen Mint’n’Toile Patricia Tunic. It’s sort of like an apron pinafore dress with the split on one side all the way up to the waist and I personally don’t care for a bodice with zero shaping — there are no darts in this puppy. While it might look not that much different from one of my self drafted slipdresses (like the Tiptoe through the Toile Slipdress) it feels different to me, so that might be destined for the shop as well. 

Overall, most of the pieces I made for the wardrobe are fun, functional and will get a lot of wear. I really like sewing with a plan every now and then and it feels great to have actually finished this plan! 

What’s your favorite? Are you working on a wardrobe capsule too? Fill me in. I love to see other peep’s sewing plotting!

---

Outfit & Shoe Index

#1 – Linen Mint’n’Toile Patricia Tunic {post coming soon}

#2 – Blue Jean Baby Bloomers

#3 – Very old, worn Me Too black flats (similar here – I own these as well – comfy!l!)

#4 – Lavender Lounge Duster

#5 – The Granny Duster {post coming soon}

#6 – Torrid boots (sold out, similar here)

#7 – The Grape Plaid Petticoat {post coming soon}

#8 – Green Homespun Plaid Dress {post coming soon}

#9 – The Perfect Pantaloon

#10 – Tiptoe through the Toile Slipdress {post coming soon}

#11 – Trusty Denim Jacket from Avenue (similar here)

#12 – Dansko Annie Mary Janes

#13 – Dansko Sam Ankle Strap Clogs

#14 – Forest Sprite Upcycled Cardi

#15 – Not-So-Sugary Sugar Slip from Tina Givens

#16 – Prison Pinstripe Patricia Skirt {post coming soon}