Designing the Fall/Winter Wardrobe of My Dreams, by Sarah

Today’s guest blog post is by Sarah, who used her custom croquis from MyBodyModel together with Seamwork’s Design Your Wardrobe templates to plan her fall/winter wardrobe. She shares the five looks that she created for her fall/winter collection – Complete with gorgeous inspiration images, fabric swatches, and pattern choices!

Design Your Wardrobe is a program hosted by Seamwork Magazine that takes you through the process of planning a cohesive wardrobe from inspiration to a sewing queue. I completed the first round and created a spring/summer wardrobe that I absolutely loved, so I was excited to complete the process again for fall/winter. At the end of week 3, I have a series of 5 looks planned that give me the fall/winter wardrobe of my dreams and coordinate with my spring/summer pieces.

I am a self-proclaimed terrible drawer, so I skipped the sketching step during the first round of Design Your Wardrobe. When I heard about MyBodyModel, I was motivated to finally give sketching a try. I watched Erica’s tutorials on YouTube, then sketched the looks for my fall/winter collection using the Tracing app on my Microsoft Surface, which allows you to draw over the croquis image. I’m so happy I decided to give sketching a try for this collection because I feel like it gives me a really good idea of what the final outfits will look like. After sketching each look, I imported it onto the Looks pages of the Seamwork sewing planner, then added inspiration and fabric details using the Drawboard PDF app.

One piece I knew I wanted in this collection was an emerald green tailored coat, so that’s where I started with look 1. The By Hand London Rumana Coat is exactly what I envisioned, so I’m planning on making it out of an emerald green wool, lined with a floral cotton lawn. To complete the look, I’m pairing it with a navy, wool/Tencel blend Just Patterns Linda Wrap Dress. I love the neckline of this dress, so I wanted to go with something similar for look 2.

The Parker Coat from Style Arc has the perfect notched neckline, so I used this as my jumping off point for my next look. I wanted this to be more of a duster cardigan than a coat, so I’m going to make it out of a linen/viscose slub. Because the floral fabric I plan to line my Rumana Coat with is so beautiful, I knew it needed to be a top on its own as well. I’m planning on making a Seamwork Adria top and finishing the look off with navy Closet Case Jenny Trousers. This look will be perfect for work or a night out, and the pieces can easily be mixed and matched with other pieces in my wardrobe. I think the Sew Over It Silk Cami I made as part of my spring/summer collection will be perfect with it.

I’ve always wanted a cape coat, so I’m planning to make a wool tweed Seamwork Camden cape for look 3. I paired it with The Gathered Dress from The Avid Seamstress  that I’ll make out of some grey linen from my stash. I wanted to include a simple, comfortable dress in this collection… something perfect for Thanksgiving dinner.

To add something a little more casual, I decided to make Closet Case Ginger Jeans for look 4 in some Cone Mills denim I’ve been saving. I paired them with a Sew Over It Anderson Blouse in floral crepe… I’ve had this pattern on my to do this and this fabric in my stash for a while, so it will be nice to finally get them made. I also wanted to add a casual coat in a statement color, so a burgundy Tessuti Fabrics Berlin Jacket  will be perfect. I feel like this coat will be great to pair with all sorts of outfits and will also look great over the Seamwork Addison blouse from my spring/summer collection.

For my last look, I knew I wanted a knit top, so I’ll be making the Freya Top from Tilly and the Buttons: Stretch. The stripe bamboo knit I chose for this looked really great paired with camel, so I’m going to make Sew Over It Ultimate Culottes in a camel wool suiting.

During the last week of Design Your Wardrobe, I’ll be taking these looks and making a sewing queue. Seeing them all drawn on a model of my body makes me so excited to wear them. I think I’m most looking forward to making the Rumana Coat from look 1, but I know it will challenge me, so I think I’ll be starting with some of the easier projects. Look 5 will be a great starting point because the Freya top will be a quick start, and the Ultimate Culottes will be perfect to transition into fall.

Sources for Inspiration Photos
Look 1: Burberry and Vintage Vogue 1952 / Look 2: Vintage Vogue 1956 and Revelle Collection / Look 3: Vintage (from Pinterest, original source unknown) and Vintage (Photo taken by Regina Relang, Florence, Italy 1955) / Look 4: Revelle Collection and Pinterest (I think originally from Sea of Shoes)/ Look 5: Lady Moriarty in Paris and Vixen by Micheline Pitt

Sarah Joiner

Sarah teaches college students organic chemistry by day and sews all night. She first learned to sew when she was young on her grandmother’s old machine, but started sewing regularly when she was in graduate school because it turns out – it’s great stress relief! Now she’s working on sewing her dream wardrobe and is an ambassador for Seamwork Magazine.  Sarah lives in New Hampshire with her husband and Labradoodle, Charlie T. Doodle AKA Doodes AKA Bubby Doodle AKA Chardog. When she’s not sewing, she loves to take aerial classes and explore local breweries. You can find her on Instagram @thelilacelk and on Etsy.