I had nothing to wear, warm mug in hand, around the wintery campfire after a day of outdoor adventure.
So I made something.
Okay. Maybe I had “something” I could wear. Something that would keep me warm and do the job. But not THE thing. The thing that would take that moment and elevate it. Elevate me.
Something that would set the stage and let my magic shine even more brightly.
Because that’s the power that clothing has. The power to support (or drag down) who you are on the inside. When we dress in a way that lights us up and is in synergy with how we feel…how we want to feel…we’re authentically walking through the world. Allowing others to see our magnificence and allowing ourselves to own it.
We’re not talking fashion here.
We’re talking about the elements that we love, on any given day. For me, in winter, that’s almost always a capelet, cowly shoulder covering (ask me how many knitted versions I have!) and close-fitting, comfortable knits, and if they have a vintage, pin-up flair or woodland elf vibe, all the better! Clothes I can don with delight, and then promptly forget they exist because there’s no shifting or pulling or…gasp, fiddling.
And so a cozy, warm tunic with princess seam pockets, a cowl neck and long, textured cuffs was just the vision I had for a starry night by the campfire, with snow falling gently down and steam rising from my mug. Body tired from 7 trips too many, up steep impossible hills before cross country skiing down in the brisk afternoon sunlight. With friends gathered around and maybe, if I’m lucky, someone strikes up a sing-a-long.
GAH! Do those things really happen? I don’t know, but if so I’m here for it!
The first altered garment in our next season of With Ease is just that garment.
I started with a desire. A desire to have a garment for said campfire singing or maybe an evening alone curled up with a good book, glass of wine and candle (always with the flame!). A desire to use a cushy french terry and some matching waffle knits.
I almost always feed that desire by creating a mood board. Or sometimes it’s an individual picture that sparks a design feature I want to play with. But in this case…a board.
After I get inspired, I consider the parameters. I wanted to use my raglan-sleeve tunic pattern, with it’s comfortable shoulders, as a base. I wanted the garment to be close-fitted so the wind wouldn’t blow the hem into the passing brush. I wanted to use a luscious french terry and maybe a waffle knit or rib knit…I’m always a lover of texture. And I wanted to experiment with a sleek, but supported pocket. Which in a knit fabric, is not always easy.
Then I get out my sketch pad and bring the elements together.
Then I alter the core pattern (or block, as is also often the case), taking measurements and my best guesses to create the elements I want. It rarely materializes exactly as I want in one try, but two and three and EUREKA! I’m there.
And because I started with a base that fits me well, tries 1 and 2 are often happily wearable. But sometimes they’re not, and that’s good too.
This process is what I’ll teach you in With Ease 2.
We’ll get the basic raglan dress (or tunic or top) fitted to your body and then I’ll show you, step-by-step how to create 3 new garments, the one above is first up, all as a way to learn new skills and give you confidence in altering a pattern, any pattern.
Because learning how a pattern works will seriously up-level your entire sewing game!
Come on!
We start March first.