Design Your Wardrobe
About Design Your Wardrobe
Design Your Wardrobe (DYW) is a workshop class by Seamwork that helps you identify your style and plan out sewing projects to create a collection of clothes. Over the course of three weeks, you get to gather inspiration, define your style in words and pictures, and figure out what to sew that fits your style. There’s an activity filled workbook and video tutorials that helps to guide you through the process.
I participated in the Design Your Wardrobe workshop in Fall/Winter 2019. I was interested in the program because I wanted to plan out my sewing projects as a cohesive collection, rather than jumping from one project to the next.
Research
This was my first time trying to plan out my future sewing projects with a common theme in mind. Before I got started, I wanted to see how other people approached the Design Your Wardrobe process. Seamwork had some articles that helped me understand how other people approached the full DYW process from gathering inspiration to making a sewing plan.
I also looked at how different designers organized their ideas as mood boards on Pinterest:
Philo K is a ceramics artist and jewelry designer that I admire
Grainline Studio has pinterest boards that highlight different details and seasonal wardrobes
Closet Core Patterns also has pinterest boards focusing on different wardrobe pieces
Getting Started
I got started by making a pinterest board. I collected images of details, moods, colors, clothing and accessories that inspired me. Being able to see all of the images together helped me quickly identify some common themes among images- black with red highlights, geometric shapes, interesting details, folded pleats and clean lines.
I also took a look at the clothes that I wore the most. From my closet I pulled out all of my go-to outfits - the ones that I don’t think twice about when I’m running late in the morning. The colors within my favorite outfits were mostly dark basics (navy, black, forest green) with bright accents and bold prints. I decided that I wanted my DYW projects to follow along with this existing color theme.
Takeaways from the DYW Workbook
I wanted my wardrobe to reflect who I was as a designer. My ideal wardrobe would include classic tailored silhouettes, special attention to details, and playful prints. The 2-3 word concept that I came up for my Fall/Winter wardrobe collection for wearing to the office was Bold Detailed Classic.
I made a physical moodboard by printing out some of my favorite pinterest images, adding photos of patterns I wanted to make and swatches of fabric. Finally, as an additional technical goal, I decided that I wanted to focus on fitting pants and skirts for my body.
Fabric Shopping
One of the steps in the DYW course that I appreciated was encouraging you to consider the fabrics in your stash before going out to shop for new fabric. I have a habit of buying fabric without any specific project in mind, but now that I had defined a color palette for my collection and had some idea of what I was going to make I was able to identify fabrics to use from my stash.
I didn’t end up buying any new fabric for my Fall wardrobe collection! It felt good knowing that I was also going to whittle down my fabric stash, which had been growing ominously under my desk. I did buy some trim for the fun details I was planning. For my birthday, I had received a book on couture techniques, and it inspired me to add details like ribbon and piping to my projects.
Project Planning
I came up with four types of outfits that I wanted to wear, not stretching too far from what I already was comfortable wearing. My go-to outfit has been slim pants with a button down shirt and sweater, but I also added new outfits such as a pencil skirt with a chic jacket, wide leg pants with a blazer and blouse, and a jumpsuit with a long coat. My planned projects ended up being almost all Seamwork patterns. Included as part of the DYW workbook, were outline drawings of all the Seamwork patterns. I sketched over these drawings to compose different looks and color combinations.
Sewing and Successes
By the end of 2019, I had completed 9 of my planned projects from my DYW Fall 2019 work plan. My most successful makes were sewing pants. I made two pairs each of the Seamwork Callahan and Colette Elaine and wear these pants all the time. I also made the Seamwork Christina skirt twice, but it turns out that I don’t like wearing pencil skirts that much. I also made a backpack (the Noodlehead Making backpack) from leftover fabrics to match with any of my planned outfits.
It wasn’t all success though; I had some failed projects. I cut out all the pieces for a boxy top without realizing the monkeys on the print were upside down. I made a pair of Seamwork Channing pants without making a muslin, which were too baggy and ended up getting donated to Goodwill. I also bought a jumpsuit pattern (Vogue V1647) but lost interest and never ended up making it.
I would definitely recommend the Design Your Wardrobe course and would do it again. I did participate in the next DYW Spring 2020 season. I found that my first time working through the program was the most intense because I had to think a lot about personal questions relating to my lifestyle and desires. Once I had defined my core concept Bold Detailed Classic, I felt like I could apply it to multiple categories of garments to make for many seasons.