Sewing in 2014, and my Weekender Wardrobe of Choice

There have been a LOT of sewing resolutions in the last few days! I have only one resolution, and it ties into my Weekender Wardrobe plans:

Take my time creating handmade items I am proud of and love to wear.

Simple, right?

One of the reasons I want to make this Weekend Wardrobe is that I want to start wearing more handmade every day, which will help me shift my \”look\” to more vintage-inspired. My challenge is balancing this with sewing more practical items that work with my lifestyle–I work in a library, so my workplace is casual and I spend some time every day walking around, bending, crawling, reaching, etc. I want to take my time and plan out my Weekend Wardrobe to maximize its usefulness. I think well all have one-off pieces in our closets that don\’t get worn because they don\’t match anything else or don\’t fit or whatever. I have been trying really hard to be conscientious and make things I think I\’ll get a lot of use out of, but I still sometimes mess up. For example:

I love my spring shift dress in theory, and I did wear it this summer–but the fit is just off. This was pre-Laurel, and I think the fit on the laurel is much better than even this modified version. I\’ll likely scavenge the trim from this dress and remake the same silhouette with a different fabric and pattern.

So, while prepping to make my wardrobe pattern, I\’m keeping in mind wardrobe-building, wearability, and my vintage inspirations.

The first choice to make is my Weekend Wardrobe pattern of choice: I bought two, and I think both have their places in my closet eventually.

I got Simplicity 7087 in the mail first and I was so excited to start I have already stitched up the pants from that pattern. But I really think that the selection of items in Simplicity 5299 will get more wear: