Pattern Review Mini Wardrobe Contest 2019: The Ideas

When the 2019 list of contests was released on Pattern Review I tagged a number of them as being of interest to enter. However so far none of them have eventuated, partly because my sewing fixation at the time did not fit in with the competition rules.

First contest not entered was the Sewing Bee. This would always have been a bit of a struggle to do assuming I got past the first round but the constraints for the first challenge didn't appeal. The round one challenge was to sew a knit cardigan inspired by the colour of the year - Living Coral. Whilst living coral is not in my colour palette the words were inspiring and could have been used to justify the chosen red wool fabric. What put an end to the fantasy of entering was for the cardigan to be between waist and knee length. My Papercut Fjord cardigan was lengthened considerably to be mid calf and therefore ineligible.

The second contest not entered was the Jeans and Pants Contest. Having achieved a TNT non-stretch jeans pattern with Silhouette Patterns Lana's Jeans this should have been an easy contest to enter. The problem - I had become fixated on making a pair of In the Folds Darlow trousers. Of course this pattern needs to be muslined first for fit, but the real barrier was the fabric a double sided ponteroma knit, when knit fabrics were expressly excluded. The other challenge is the pattern itself which only comes as a PDF and whilst it has been purchased and printed out it is not yet taped together. There is of course fabric in my collection which could have made a very nice pair of Lana's jeans for the contest but it didn't happen.

Is the mini wardrobe contest third time lucky or just another dream?

I'm really comfortable with this challenge as the wardrobe concept is typically how I create my sewing plans, to produce a selection of clothing that co-ordinates and can be worn together. My whole wardrobe very much follows this philosophy as it makes getting dressed effortless, as well as providing me with many capsule wardrobes for efficient travel packing for the working week in Wellington.

The possible fly in the ointment for the wardrobe contest is the coat which has been floating around in my head for a wee while and may be ready to come to fruition. The coat will coordinate with this mini wardrobe but isn't needed for the contest and may distract my sewing time away from what I should be concentrating on.

The rules

The rules for this mini wardrobe contest are pretty simple and the garments will also fit into my larger black, white and red Minnie Mouse wardrobe.

1. Between 15 April and 15 May 2019, sew 5 garments (3 tops and 2 bottoms).
2. Each top must be able to be worn with each bottom, to create two outfits per top. A total of 6 outfits for the wardrobe.
3. Tops need to be able to be worn with the bottoms and still be wearable in public.
4. Bottoms need to be able to be worn with the tops and still be wearable in public. Tights are excluded unless the fabric is thick enough to be worn as leggings which can be part of the entry.
5. No additional items can be made and included as part of the contest entry. Dresses are excluded unless worn as a top.
6. The wardrobe can be for any person (adult, teen, baby, etc).

Top one - TSW Frankie Street Smart Shirt

I am slightly anxious about using the Street Smart linen for a Frankie shirt. It is not a pattern I have used before and I consider the linen to be quite precious. However the shirt has the right style lines. Not that it will be a shirt in the finished product as I'm not a fan of buttoned shirts and collars. Both of these will be eliminated and the neckline altered so the top goes over my head.

Top two - Style Arc Maris Flower Power Top

The red flower silk is a scrap from a garment that may never have been finished it certainly isn't in my wardrobe. I chose a light silver grey silk (from The Fabric Store) to go with it as both the red and white proved difficult colours to match. How I use these two fabrics will depend on how many pattern pieces I can get out of the left over silk. Ideally I would like the back and centre front panel in the red flower silk with the front top and bottom bands as well as the sleeves in the silver grey silk.

Top three - TSW Zayn Dotty Top

This Japanese cotton double gauze from Marcy Tilton is delicious. I am really keen to take advantage of both sides of the fabric. Hence my choice of The Sewing Workshop Zayn top which with its cut up front and back gives plenty of room to play.

Trousers

Haven't yet decided whether to make both pairs of trousers using Silhouette Patterns Lana's Jeans or change it up slightly with the Megan Nielsen Dawn jeans pattern. The deep red fabric is a linen metallic blend from The Fabric Store whilst the black and cream micro check was unearthed from deep in the fabric collection and I have no clue either where it came from or what it is made of.

Both of these fabrics are going to feature in the coat that is gestating.

The extras

I have a gorgeous piece of black silk kantha fabric (from Marcy Tilton) which I am quite keen to make into the Issey Miyake shirt in Vogue 2761. This could be worn as a shirt with either pair of trousers but also as a jacket over the other two tops giving me ten outfits from the five pieces. This shirt will take longer to make as the pattern has not been used before and I want it to be reversible. The inner black cotton fabric is as nice as the outer patchwork silk. If it can be made reversible this would provide sixteen outfits from the five pieces - the kind of versatility I like!

There is also a piece of glen plaid poly cotton stretch fabric which may become part of this entry as In the Folds Darlow trousers, view B. We shall see which of the three pair of trousers eventuates.

2018 Wardrobe Contest 6-in-6 easy as 1-2-3... or not

I had planned to enter the 2018 wardrobe contest as sewing six garments in six weeks seemed extremely achievable. I took the Madrid blouse away with me, as the beginning of the contest coincided with a holiday weekend, and still didn't manage to complete all garments by 15 March 2018. The six garment mini wardrobe didn't qualify for the contest, being completed well outside the six week time frame, they did however become part of my larger 2018 travel wardrobe plans.

I created a little mood board for the patterns and fabrics such was my confidence about entering this contest.

The topper: V2056 Issey Miyake Poppy's Patchwork Jacket
The bottoms: Lana's Caesar jeans; Megan Nielsen Flint Lydia trousers
The tops: left and right Cut Make Trim Tees; centre Oki Style Isle of Wight Madrid blouse