Sewing Wins, but why?

I’m always thinking away about how to make everything I make a great fit for my life and wardrobe, but mostly I’ve concentrated on building a colour-scheme for my wardrobe, rather than the success of individual pieces.

My reason for drilling down past the colour on some of my favourite makes is basically to see if I can pick up common themes behind the success. I hope I’ll be able to apply those to potential projects and really nail the fabric and pattern combining.

Here I’ve rounded up some of my favourite and most-worn garments and tried to work out why they work for me, how I’ve worn them and what I’ve worn them with.

The wins and why

This pink linen Waikerie Shirt was my first fully-finished shirt (back before my overlocker and my cutting mat, as the insides will attest). I wear this with my bright pink pants and also with my plum pants. I like how the colour of the fabric, is offset by the boxy design of the shirt, which is relaxed and not very feminine. I wear it both in a relaxed way, and when I want to look slightly elevated.

These bright pink Glebe Pants (view B) were made on a whim and have become my go-to pants (also pre-overlocker and cutting mat). I pair this pink with lots of warm colours, letting it act as a statement to tonal pink combinations, or pairing it with muted plums or browns. I’ll wear them with sneakers and a t-shirt and with an elevated leather sevilla-smith shoe and a fancier shirt so they work for both relaxed and elevated situations. The side-split on the Waikerie makes it perfect for half-tucking and I like that the length works with my collection of Glebe Pants, sitting in a nice spot.

This recent addition to my wardrobe is a bamboo Hyde T-Shirt with the accessible envelope back. There’s something about the combination of dark plum and drapey fabric that makes this feel quite elevated, so I’ve been pairing it both with sneakers and with my fancier shoes. I like how the dark plum makes the grey around my temples pop, and the colour feels quite versatile and I’ve been pairing it with my bright and dusky pink pants and my blue tencel pants (below). This particular top ends up quite long because of the drape and stretch of the fabric. On future versions, I’d consider cropping it so that it was a better length with my Glebe collection.

These blue tencel pants are a mashup of patterns. The legs are much wider on these than on my Glebe Pants, making them a lot more voluminous than most of my other pants. These have 4 darts to give a nice fit through the back, so I especially like pairing them with shorter tops. I like this kind of almost textured tencel because it doesn’t hold stains like some others do (I’m messy) and I feel like the lack of sheen on the fabric makes it even easier to dress these up or down. They’ve got a surprising amount of wear, but not so much with the lighter pink tops I have (I basically only wear them where they’re not going to contrast a lot with the rest of the colours, like this combo).

This pink boiled wool Belmore Jacket has become my yardstick for new fabrics and potential new projects. I dress this jacket up and down, and pair it with basically all of my pants and tops. The colour is one that I don’t have an exact copy of in other garments, so it makes it easy to pair with other things without feeling like I’ve trying for a full head-to-toe musk stick look. I packed this into my little travel capsule for a small trip away for a few days last year because it’s perfect for touristing (see here) but also wearing out to a restaurant in the evening.

This hacked Tarlee T-Shirt is in a colour that doesn’t come up a lot in my wardrobe just yet, but which is well represented in my stash of fabric for future projects.. (here with the above 2 pieces). I changed the arm fit and added swing to this to take what’s usually a rather fitted tee to something a bit more relaxed. I like this t-shirt because it’s very comfortable (I don’t have to fix or adjust where various bits are sitting), and because because bamboo can read as both relaxed and a bit fancy depending on what it’s paired with. You can’t tell from the picture, but it ended up being a nice length which pairs well with wide-leg pants (including my very wide blue tencel pants).

My natural linen Glebe Pants, I’m currently making my 3rd iteration of this fabric and pattern combo because it’s such a wardrobe workhorse (and because my thighs have worn through both of them). A strange win since I’m such a messy individual, these pants are my go-to for casual outings and medium casual (like, looking nice but not too nice). They basically work with everything except bright white (which I’ve now sworn off anyway). I’m not sure why but the Glebe don’t read feminine to me- I feel very comfortable and very ‘me’ in them.

My Liberty Fabric Waikerie is a surprise win for me and I wish I knew why. Obviously liberty fabric is nice to touch and wear, the print on this is not very liberty (lots of tiny flowers aren’t really my clothing jam).. and yet, this shirt has somehow become the thing that I’ve reached for when I’m stressed and anxious about what to wear because I’m going somewhere ‘nice’. I’ve no idea why, but this has become the shirt I often settle on after I’ve discarded more than 3 outfits onto a pile on the floor.

This brown apron is a M&B Patreon Bonus Pattern, and a strange inclusion here because it’s not a garment that I wear out-and-about a lot. The colour of this when paired with most of my wardrobe is very pleasing- this shade of brown looks excellent with pinks and plums and with undyed fabrics (like my natural linen pants)! It definitely made me think about adding more brown to my wardrobe…

This hacked gathered Waikerie is another of my sewing wins. In the same way that the pink Waikerie right back at the top is the perfect mix of colour and style for me, I love how the brown mocha linen stops this top from feeling too feminine for me to enjoy it. I dress this top up and down, and it’s been my go-to to wear to places where cool people will be (to get my haircut and to cool cafes with very cool baristas).

Above and below I’ve got my dusty pink corduroy Glebe Pants. A gentle antidote to my bright pink pants, these are textured and soft and the idea was totally stolen from Sue! I enjoy these in combination with many of my tops (not the soft pink linen right back at the top), and even with my pink Belmore Jacket! Corduroy is more of a cool-weather fabric for me unlike linen, tencel or bamboo which feel more year-round appropriate. So, I won’t be filling my wardrobe with only corduroy, but I enjoy the texture of these, the look of the fabric, and wear them dressed up and down.

Above, is a t-shirt knit that I love the colour of. I made it into a Tarlee T-Shirt but I wish I’d waited and made the boxier and more relaxed Hyde T-Shirt instead. I like how the low-contrast stripes are both warm but don’t veer towards baby-ish. The colours are neutral enough to pair with most things in my wardrobe but to still give that ‘striped tshirt’ look that my inner hipster desires. If there’s ever more of this fabric, I’ll be buying it without a second thought.