I haven’t made too many seasonal plans so far in my sewing career. In spring and summer I let myself float along on a sea of floral rayons and jewel-toned cottons as I flit around, picking from here and there. But for autumn and winter, it seems like more thought is necessary. Some of the garments (although not all) require a larger investment of time, and the materials can be more pricey. In addition, I still have plenty left on my #makenine to fulfil (see below) and a few #sewmystyle efforts left for the year. Most of all, I really want to make a dent in my stash, so I’m going to try hard to use fabrics I already own for the rest of the year. It really shouldn’t be too hard. 😀

Here’s my current thinking:

September:

Named Yona coat: This is the make for September for the #sewmystyle challenge on Instagram. I must admit that the Named styling completely put me off at first, but at closer glance and after seeing a few other versions, I could see past the fringing and colour combo. I’m planning to make this in a thinner wool to avoid too much chunkiness (I think I will also forego the belt for the buttoned option) and have a herringbone grey and a dusky textured blue that would work.

Colette Negroni shirt: I’ve been wanting to make my husband a shirt for a while and when he recently mentioned he’d quite like a few new ones for work, I jumped at the chance (he works in a very casual environment). I found this lightweight, soft grey check shirting at District Fabrics here in Seattle and am looking forward to finishing it.

Sew Many Dresses strapless dress: My friend found a fabric she liked in a sale recently and asked if I would help her make a strapless dress from it. The chance to try and fit someone else with a different figure was too good to pass up and I decided to make it using the strapless bodice and straight skirt from the Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time book by Tanya Whelan. We’ve made a muslin so far and, although it’s nervewracking to make for someone else, it seemed like a decent fit. Yay!

B6178 culottes, View D: I really want to focus a little on trousers/pants this autumn winter season. By spring I would like to be familiar with my own particular fit requirements and be able to fashion a decent pair. I’m starting off simple with this very basic pair of culottes that I’m making in a black linen. I say simple, but I’m aware that simple is sometimes the hardest (like frying an egg or grilling a steak). There’s nowhere to hide! (Sorry bum).

Pattern test: I’m also taking part in a pattern test that I can’t say much about, but I’ll be making the garment up in this crazy orange crepe. Very Halloween! (it’s not a costume)

October: 

Drapey cardigan: What’s more perfect for autumn/winter than a cardigan? In the last year an embarrassingly rich spoil of cardigan patterns have appeared on the indie scene and I’d like to make one up for the #cosycardichallenge. Something like the Seamwork Oslo or Helen’s Closet Blackwood is along the lines of what I’m thinking. I love and wear my Jennifer Lauren Juniper cardigan constantly, so it’s time for another to join my wardrobe. I have a few different lightweight knits that would be great for a drapier cardigan.

Pants Part 2: Hopefully in October I can try another pair of trousers with slightly more ambitious design lines. The #sewmystyle make is a trousers pattern I know doesn’t fit me, so I’m going to try and make something like the Papercut Patterns Guise or True Bias Lander pants and see how we go.

Simplicity 1072: A #makenine project, this is something of a wardrobe filler and should be a quick make. I’m going to do a little colour blocking and whip up this sweater and skirt combo. I have some lovely blue brushed sweatshirt fabric I got from Thread Theory recently and a gorgeous cream speckled French terry from l’Oiseau Fabrics. I have tons of potential contrast options too, so let’s see where this ends up! There’s a ton of blue and grey going on in my plans already, so this may need to be a more colourful project methinks…

Papercut Sapporo coat: I bought the Papercut Patterns Sapporo coat at launch and have since seen some very nice versions made up. Two coats in two months might be a little ambitious, but I believe that this is a reasonably simple make for a coat, so let’s see if I can squeeze it in October/November. This may be where I have to veer outside of my stash, (erk) but I will have a good rummage and see if I can avoid that.

Underwear: This is another #makenine project that I’d like to finish up. I started making a few pairs of knickers earlier in the year and paused halfway through, but need to get back to them. They’re quick to make, so I’ll just try to fit them sometime before the end of the year!

November

The By Hand London Anna dress is the November #sewmystyle project and I’m excited for this one. There are so many lovely versions out there, I’m keen to add mine to the pile. No idea which fabric to use, but since you need a ton of fabric for it, that will probably make my decision for me!

I really like the Sewaholic Crescent skirt and have the fabric I plan to make it in: a lightweight chambray denim. The front yoke of the skirt is very flat though, so I’m waiting a few months into my new sporting endeavors (see below) before making it up.

Sewcialists challenge: I really enjoyed the August #sewcialists challenge, so I’m definitely up for this one, whatever it may be! (Still TBD).

Swimwear: I just joined a triathlon team. Am I crazy? Possibly. I am so out of shape, but I thought this would be a good way to get fit! And so I really need some new swimwear. This was on my #makenine list too. I guess for the purposes of sport I need something slightly more athletic than what I had planned, so will need to take another look at patterns. I have some swimwear fabric and powermesh/lining already, so I think I can do this within stash.

December 

Silver Christmas dress: I saw this fabric on the Stoff and Stil site some time ago and snapped it up. I’ve put the inspiration pic below from the site and will be aiming to create something similar. The fabric is even nicer in real life and I hope I can do it justice.

The December #sewmystyle project is a surprise garment from the new Named collection. Now that the collection is out, I’m pretty excited to see which pattern it will be. Here’s hoping for Gemma or Agate, but I think most of them have potential.

Jeans: By December, I’m hoping I’ll have worked on trousers enough that I can get stuck into the holy grail of leg garments: jeans. I’ve actually signed up for a jeans course at Drygoods Design here in Seattle and am still trying to decide between the Closet Case Morgan and Ginger jeans. I have some Cone Mills denim already that I bought from Threadbare Fabrics in LA, so another stash win!

Hmm, looking at this little lot, I think I’ve set myself quite a challenge, particularly since we have people coming to visit and a trip to LA in November! It’s good to have a little summation to look back on though – no doubt it will still change a bit before 2017 is out. 🙂