Sew It Begins!

I am not sorry for that pun.  (I will never be sorry for any sewing pun henceforth!)

I'm posting this on my last day of allowable shopping!  Guess what?  I actually haven't bought any clothes for over a month... but alas, today is the day.  My one full year of sewing (almost) all my own clothing starts tomorrow, and I am really looking forward to what this project will bring.  With this blog, I'm going to keep track of my progress through this year, and post all of the things I make.  I'll be trying a bunch of different patterns, so I hope to have some recommendations and reviews up here eventually too!

I've been super busy sewing up a bunch of things over the past couple weeks (again, starting this a bit early!) since it's been chilly here in Ottawa and my fall work wardrobe is severely lacking.  Luckily my office is pretty casual, and I've been able to wear jeans for most of the week - I don't own any dress pants and none of my skirts are very fall appropriate!  I just finished up a knit dress I can wear tomorrow (will post more on that likely this weekend), so I'm even starting off the project in a me-made outfit.  I'm also in the process of sewing up a trench coat, which I'll hopefully have done this weekend, as the weather is definitely not getting any warmer!

For those of you new to the blog (uh, all of you) check out the goal of this project, about me, and the tools I'll be using for more information!  Feel free to leave a comment or a question below.

First Fall Make - The Lark Tee by Grainline Studio

Getting a bit ahead of myself here... it's not even October and I've already started sewing parts of my fall wardrobe!  I wanted to give a possible staple a try, and use my serger for an actual project and not just testing it over and over again.

Anyways!  I made the Grainline Studio Lark Tee boatneck & 3/4 sleeve version and I am SO pleased. It's far from perfect, but it's the first real top I've ever made with a knit.  This pattern was so dang easy, and there are so many options (16 in total!) for customizing your shirt.  Do yourself a favour and buy this pattern ASAP!

I will absolutely be sewing more of these... I just need to sort out what colours I need and actually buy the fabric.

The Great Closet Clean-out

In preparation for this project, I went through all (and I mean ALL) of my clothing items to figure out what I really need to sew for myself over this coming year.

This also involved getting rid of anything that no longer fit, didn't look good, things I didn't like, and things I just don't wear any longer.  Since having a regular income after graduating university, I've had a bit of what you might call a shopping addiction.  Yeah, not great.  I would stop by the mall on my way home from work, and more often then not come home with a new clothing item (or three).  It is certainly not something I'm proud of, and my bursting closet was getting out of control.  Apologies for the low-quality photos... it was the evening and I was in a sorting mood - good lighting be damnned!  Here are the before photos with (almost) all of the clothing items I owned pre-purge:

Still working on it...

I have a couple things planned for this blog for the next couple weeks, but unfortunately I'm super busy in the mean time!

While you're waiting, check out the goal of this project/ blog, more about me, and the tools I'll be using to complete this project.

Hopefully things will get moving sometime next week!