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Seamwork Sew Along Check In — Early March — Getting in the Mood
It's time for our first check in for the Seamwork Sew Along! February was all about Seamwork's Design Your Wardrobe course! Did you join the spring class? If not, you can still take it anytime at your own pace, as a Seamwork member. (Find out more about Seamwork, my plan to sew 10 garments in 2025, and how you can win a year of Seamwork membership by sewing up a Bingo, HERE.)
I took the course and wrote my goals and style story to guide my wardrobe sewing over the next year. Now, yes, the recent Design Your Wardrobe class focused on designing a spring collection, but I've planned to sew one garment a month throughout the year. So, I may pivot a bit as the seasons change, but I'm really happy to have this outline and vision to get started.
Above is my mood board, condensed down to just 7 clothing images, a color palette, and a few mood words to guide me. It's full of ruffles, lace, eyelet, and soft muted creams, pinks, blues, mauves, and greens. Eek! It's just so pretty! And inspiring. And that is totally the point. I'm calling it "Spring Meadow." I love how it makes me think of soft breezes, blue skies, wildflowers, and warm sunshine.
You can see my Pinterest board I used to collect style inspiration here. It's divided into 2 sections: "Edited In" and "Edited Out." I chose the 7 images for my final mood board from the "Edited In" section.
What I Learned From Design Your Wardrobe
First of all, the class asked us to think about the life contexts where we will be wearing the clothes we are designing. It also asked if there are any life events that are shaping the wardrobe. At first, I thought of this as “weddings, granduations, vacations, etc.” Big events where you might purchase a new outfit or 2. But when I got to writing, I realized my current “life events” are actually different from these.
For me, it's not a “calendar” event, but a change of season. My kids are 5 and 2, and I have really let my wardrobe become “sweats and tees” to the absolute max. While that is super comfy, I have a real lack of “pretty” when I'm reaching for something to elevate my look a bit…which I'm finally interested in doing again!
Besides the kids getting a bit bigger, we have moved recently. We went from an area in TN where we were honestly a bit isolated. Now, we live in my husband's hometown in GA where he knows everyone and I get introduced to like 10 people a day! I'm new here, and I'm quickly becoming a part of the community, and I see people much much more frequently than I did before the move. I love that, but the sweats aren't cutting it in this new environment for me!
I want prettier clothes. Rather, I want to feel pretty again! And simple, pretty clothes just lift my mood. I want to project a certain image. We all do. I'm coming out of the infant mama season, and I'm feeling more interested in style and fashion again. That's not to say that I'm into the trendiest most current fashions. I'm really not. No thank you low-rise jeans...I'm into beautiful fabrics, gorgeous details, and lovely silhouettes. And I just want to reach for pretty items more often, and sweats and tees less often.
I love that the Design Your Wardrobe class led me to realize these are the "life events" worth considering right now. I honestly hadn't thought of living in a new place and getting out more as changing the type of clothing I reach for. The class helped me articulate my "why." I want prettier clothes because I'm in a new stage and mixing with more people now, and I want to feel put together.
I'm still working to turn my mood board into a plan. But I'm really enjoying the whole process!
Moving — Again — and Brighter Days Ahead
Speaking of life events...another life/season change is about to happen. We're moving again! Not to a new place, but to a new house. We moved to this community last June, but we've been living with my in-laws while we looked for a house. We finally found one and closed this week! Now we are just doing a few light projects before we actually move in.
Since June, I've been sewing in a basement which has really limited lighting and has honestly just depressed my desire to sew for months. I really cannot express how excited I am to set up my big table again in a big bright room and get back to sewing again.
Right now my sewing queue/backlog includes my daughter's ice cream quilt, a June's Pinwheel quilt I'm in the middle of piecing, an Alpen bag for myself, and then all the pretty Seamwork clothes I'll be planning!!! Oh I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!!!
Check out my new sewing room HERE. We call it “The Bloom Room," because it's a room where ideas and dreams come to life! It's a total blank canvas, but I can already see it coming together in my mind! I can't wait to bring you along for the adventure!
Up Next
I'll be deciding what to sew in March very soon. My March garment may take a bit longer to plan and sew because of the move to the new house, and especially getting my sewing room set up again. Hopefully future months will go more smoothly, but I'm just rolling with it right now!
As soon as I know my plan for March's piece, I'll let you know which pattern I'm sewing and what fabric I'm using.
You are welcome to choose your own pattern and plan for this month. You do not need to do exactly what I do in order to "sew along."
In Case You Missed It
Here's a link to the first Seamwork Sew Along 2025 blog post with all the getting started details, email sign up, and Bingo card so you can enter to win some prizes. All the details are on the first blog.
Did You Know?
And did you know I'm running a second Bingo board context for quilting in 2025? Get all the details about it and find out how to win an Oliso smart iron or a 40 yard roll of Warm & White Batting from The Warm Company HERE.