Regaining my Sew-Jo with MyBodyModel, by Pam

I used to sew for my daughters when they were little, but for one reason or another had not sewn in 10 years or more. Now I’m back, I am thrilled to discover the thriving communities of podcasts and online sewing groups! I joined the 52 week sewing challenge Facebook group, which lead me to the Love to Sew Podcast and MyBodyModel.

An injudicious fabric purchase in the spring and the resulting struggle to try and force a collection from a fabric I didn’t really love nearly killed my sew-jo. While I support the “Sewing Makes You Love Yourself” movement and really hope to get there someday, I’m not there yet. I found myself seriously depressed during my summer of sewing when I’d see a make on my real world body. Whether it was a poor color choice or a less-than-flattering silhouette, it was not what I had envisioned when looking at the pattern artwork. Those idealized images are pretty and all, but not representative of the average body.

Planning future makes with MyBodyModel has me very excited to sew again!

I like seeing a silhouette on my actual shape before deciding if that’s the piece I want to make. The MyBodyModel croquis are nothing short of miraculous in their accuracy and I find drawing my ideas takes away some of the fear factor of cutting into all that beautiful fabric. And like a lot of sewists, I am impatient!! I want to see and touch all these ideas right *now* and with the croquis, it’s like playing paper dolls. It’s also a way to “sew without sewing” when I’m too tired to be trusted with scissors and machines, lol.

Vogue 9285 blouse in sheer burnout velvet (sheer) + Colette Selene skirt in deep purple gabardine; Vogue 9135 blouse in burnout velvet on mesh + Vogue 8909 pants in olive stretch woven; Vogue 8972 dress in brown tweed.

Knowing the limits of my hairstyle creativity (it’s either loose or pinned in a twist), I coiffed my croquis that way. I love the 3-on-a-page layout and did a little manual cut & paste to get the looks and size I wanted, then photocopied enough to sketch out each look in the queue. I like to color my “paper dolls” with colored pencil because I can layer until I get the shades I need.

Layering texture with colored pencils to sketch this cozy Toaster Sweater. 

I love autumn colors and warm neutrals, like colors you would see on an early morning or late afternoon walk in the fall. There’s a lot of wine and olive, and golden hues. The older I get, the more I’m drawn to classic and/or vintage feeling silhouettes, so this collection feels nostalgic and feminine. I’m trying to balance dressier pieces with wardrobe necessities and more casual items.

My Fall/Winter wardrobe collection is a mix of casual and dressy pieces featuring warm autumnal colors and classic, feminine silhouettes. 

The weather can be drastically changeable in North Texas (a 30-degree swing in a matter of hours is common) and offices can be overheated in winter, so I tried to use layerable pieces in lighter weights and autumn colors. Vogue Fabrics has a swatch catalog service which provides coordinated fabric groupings every other month. Their Myristica collection in wines and olives will be heavily featured in this season’s collection!

One of my impulse buys was a gorgeous burnout floral velvet from Joann fabrics, which I’ve realized will make a pretty holiday dress without being too seasonally limiting.

Vogue 9265 holiday dress in burnout velvet; Vogue 8825 dress in ITY knit; Vogue 8946 dress in mesh knit.

Simplicity 1067, view C jacket in heavy cotton suiting; Simplicity 1067, view A coat in camel wool;  and McCall’s 7693, view A jacket in brown faux leather.

So far I have completed a jacket (S1067, view C) in a textured sage green heavy cotton suiting from Vogue Fabrics, which I plan to make again in camel-colored wool in view A.

I’ve also completed a Toaster sweater in a textured knit from Blackbird Fabrics.

Right now the plan is to sew a top, bottom, dress, and outerwear, and repeat until the list is complete. Hopefully this will give me a growing wardrobe of coordinates to mix and match throughout the season!

My full sewing plan – Already partway done!

I am so very glad I discovered this awesome online community and beyond grateful that Erica followed her dreams to make MyBodyModel a reality. I can’t wait to see how it develops!

Pamela Flores

Pamela learned to sew several decades ago in a high school home ec class and has dreamed of creating a handmade wardrobe ever since. Now in her mid-50s, she’s finally discovering the tools to make it happen.