First of all, I wish you all a happy new year!!!
One of my resolutions for 2012 is to cover more of my daily wardrobe with self-made clothes. To many readers the concept of wardrobe building will sound familiar. Well, at least the theory of having basic pieces that are easy to combine with each other. But when it comes to sewing your clothes, it is often difficult to focus on matching individual items. As a result there are lots of beautiful handmade pieces but still the daily struggle of nothing to wear in the closet. (Not so much for those who love to sew and wear dresses...). Anyway.
Based on a series of articles written by Australian author Lynn Cook for the magazin "Australian stitches", Julie Culshaw developed a contest around "sewing with a plan" (SWAP). Taking the main idea of those articles, the contest required making a certain number of bottoms and tops within a time frame of about 3 to 4 months that can be matched with each other. The audience (members of the Stitcher's Guild Sewing Forum) then decided who's SWAP was the best etc. Over the years the concept evolved and different twists had to be fullfilled, or number of items made and sometimes things didn't had to match but look cohesive.
I am not into contests, but I really like the whole process of planning my sewing, playing around with patterns and fabrics trying to make it work within given boundaries. (Though I rarely stick to my plans...) This year I want to sew along with the contestants, but without time constrains.
The set of rules for the official contest can be found here.
They want the participants to choose seven items from a list
One of my resolutions for 2012 is to cover more of my daily wardrobe with self-made clothes. To many readers the concept of wardrobe building will sound familiar. Well, at least the theory of having basic pieces that are easy to combine with each other. But when it comes to sewing your clothes, it is often difficult to focus on matching individual items. As a result there are lots of beautiful handmade pieces but still the daily struggle of nothing to wear in the closet. (Not so much for those who love to sew and wear dresses...). Anyway.
Based on a series of articles written by Australian author Lynn Cook for the magazin "Australian stitches", Julie Culshaw developed a contest around "sewing with a plan" (SWAP). Taking the main idea of those articles, the contest required making a certain number of bottoms and tops within a time frame of about 3 to 4 months that can be matched with each other. The audience (members of the Stitcher's Guild Sewing Forum) then decided who's SWAP was the best etc. Over the years the concept evolved and different twists had to be fullfilled, or number of items made and sometimes things didn't had to match but look cohesive.
I am not into contests, but I really like the whole process of planning my sewing, playing around with patterns and fabrics trying to make it work within given boundaries. (Though I rarely stick to my plans...) This year I want to sew along with the contestants, but without time constrains.
The set of rules for the official contest can be found here.
They want the participants to choose seven items from a list
- Button Down Shirt w/Collar
- Blouse or shirt (collar is optional)
- T-Shirt
- Vest
- Overshirt
- Dress
- Jeans
- Trousers
- Shorts or Capri Pants
- Skirt
- Jacket (jean jacket, windbreaker, hoodie, etc.)
- Coat (suit or sport coat)
- Overcoat or Raincoat
- Bathing Suit & Coverup
I hope this was kind of informative for some of you - just a short summary to reduce the head-scratching when I post my SWAP plan. More later!
Love, Ulrike
Hallo Ulrike,
ReplyDeletedanke, dass du den SWAP vorgestellt hast. Ich nehme die Idee mit den 7-4-11 Stücken auf jeden Fall auf in meinen Vorsatz mit auf und bin sehr gespannt, was hier bei dir entstehen wird.
Liebe Grüße und frohes neues Jahr!
Maria
Huh, what a cool contest/idea. Lots of inspiration on the Stitcher's Guild Forum, too! Thanks for linking, I'm definitely thinking about incorporating this into my sewing plans for 2012!
ReplyDeleteThis SWAP-idea is very cool. I have to think about it, too. But maybe not this year. ;)
ReplyDelete