Mini Wardrobe Capsule Sewing 10/27/2015

Mini Wardrobe Capsule Sewing

  Danielle Kuznia   October 27, 2015   The Kisses Blog   2 Comments

Mini Wardrobe Capsule Sewing

I’ve been intrigued by the concept of “capsule wardrobes” for a while now.  I haven’t jumped in and made one for myself, but I’ve wanted to! This weekend when my mom and her bestie Dee Dee were visiting, the capsule concept kept floating into my head.  Like most women, they both grumbled when getting dressed- “I don’t have anything cute.” “I don’t have anything that fits right.” “I like these leggings, but I don’t have a top to match.”  Being the do-er that I am, I suggested we fix that situation.  Most people would think, “let’s go shopping!”  Me though?  I think, “Let’s go fabric shopping and then sewwwww!” Then the ideas started rolling.  What if we were to check out of our hotel and go back to my place (only about an hour out of the city) and make them each a few pieces?  I would tailor them to their bodies and styles and they could go home with a few new pieces to breathe life into their closets!  So, that’s just what we did.

A trip to SR Harris (our local fabric warehouse) was on our original gameplan anyway (both my mom and Dee Dee are quilters, so they also have big love for fabric), so it wasn’t a stretch to get there.  We made a pitstop at Perkins and over breakfast, discussed our strategy.  I pulled up make images and my tried-and-true patterns by my favorite designers (since we were going for speed and productivity, I needed to be familiar with the patterns to really crank out some pieces) and styles on my phone and we picked our few favorites that we’d be working with.  Then they chose color schemes.  They took down notes of what they’d decided and we headed to the store!  We hit the knits aisle hard at SRH.  We had two heaping cartloads after just the first row!  We went to an obscure spot in the warehouse and started laying out combinations and deciding what each fabric was going to become.  For me, this was absolutely thrilling!  They got to choose textures and prints that they liked, and I got to say, “Oh yeah, I can totally make that!” over and over.  Eep!  Exciting!  We were in there for something like 6 hours carefully choosing fabrics, cutting them and checking out.  No small feat!

My mom (I feel bad that I’m not using her name, but it feels weird calling my mom Melanie. Ha!) and her haul!  She’s excited!

Then myself, basking in the deliciousness of the fabric warehouse. 

After we mowed down some supper, we headed to Casa de Kuznia.   I immediately got the washer running to preshrink and clean all their precious fabrics.  While our loads ran, I took their measurements, pulled all the patterns, and pulled all of my own pieces made from said patterns. That part was so fun!  They tried on each style from my wardrobe and we found which pieces fit them best.  We decided where to mash sizes to give them the most flattering yet comfortable fit.  Raglans, dolmans, dresses, leggings, LMU’s, cardigans – oh my! 

As soon as the first round of fabric was washed and dried, we got to cutting!  We worked until almost 3am on Friday night.  Then, up-and-at-em early on Saturday, too.  We took a quick lunch and got back to work!  My hubby needs a shout-out here, too.  He cooked and took care of the kiddo related tasks both days.  Thanks, Babe! <3 <3 <3

Here are my mom (Melanie) and Dee Dee working hard Saturday afternoon. 

By 2am on Saturday night, we had 100% completed 18 pieces for them, and a couple sneaker pieces for me.  There are probably a dozen more cut out for them and ready to sew.  As well as fabric for at least 100 (I exaggerate…) more.  

Here are the pieces from my mom’s mini (it really is turning into a full-sized one…) capsule so far:
We made 4 pair of leggings using the PegLegs by Patterns for Pirates pattern (forgive my lack of legging photography skills.  Woah. Ha!).

We made two Grandpa Cardigans using the Grandpa Cardigan by Patterns for Pirates pattern (My boys and I are on the cover of that one! Eep!).

We made a beautiful, soft and drapey cardigan using the Carefree Cardigan by Patterns for Pirates pattern.

And a (lengthened) Piper Dolman (pre-hemming and coverstitching) using the Pumpkin Spice Dolman by Patterns for Pirates pattern.

A perfectly-shaped-to-flatter-all-sizes Laundry Day Tee by Love Notions Patterns.

And two adorable little infinity scarves.  One braided, one not. 

Here’s a visual of how they work together:

I coaxed her into modeling for me a teensy tinesy bit, too:

My dad took one of her wearing her new Carefree yesterday after work, too!  Yay!  I’m so glad you like your new clothes, Mama! <3

Dee Dee has a great start on her new wardrobe, too!
Two Laundry Day Tunics by Love Notions Patterns:

A flowy, drapey Carefree Cardigan – Patterns for Pirates pattern

Three pairs of leggings (I’m finding leggings to be difficult to photograph laid out this way.  Ha! I’ll do better next time…) – Peg Legs by Patterns for Pirates

And a pretty little infinity scarf 

Here’s how DeeDee’s capsule looks so far all put together.  She has more pieces coming, too.  In pinks and ivories to tie it all together.  Her finished capsule is going to be gorgeous!  …Just as soon as I can finish making Halloween costumes and Yoda hats… 

I convinced Dee Dee to do a little modeling, too.  So fun!

And both beautiful ladies together!

It felt so good to send them off with pieces for their wardrobes that we know fit them well, are fashionable and versitile, and best of all… Handmade!  You can’t beat that, baby!  The time we spend together working on this project this weekend is something I’ll never forget.  I loved and will cherish that experience forever!  Love you both! <3

If you’d like a handmade, tailored capsule or mini capsule created just for you, message me!  I absolutely LOVED doing this project, and would do it over and over again!

xoxo