Fall Sewing for Yourself

Fall has officially arrived, although we've been seeing fall garments in the stores for a while now. A few days of cooler (colder!)weather brings to mind thoughts of just exactly what are we going to wear? It can be chilly or cold in the early morning when many of us are leaving for work, walking the dog (or ourselves), or standing at the bus stop to see the kids off to school. By mid-day it can be agreeably pleasant, and then later in the afternoon, back to chilly. Making the transition from morning to evening is an exercise in layering!

Layering

What garments in the layer equation are you missing from your wardrobe? Do you need something new, current, and fun? What are the pieces you like best to sew for yourself? What are the garments you enjoy investing your time, talent, and resources into making uniquely yours? A few popular suggestions from current trends are:

• an outer jacket (embroidere?), a cardigan (sweater knits for a longer-length boyfriend cardigan), maybe a sleeveless best (faux Sherpa) or a poncho/cape;
• cardigan (open front/cascading) and a simple shell;
• a tee-shirt or blouse;
• maybe a scarf or shawl over it all for more color and texture.

The possibilities are endless! And that can become the issue: what to sew? And, which comes first, the fabric or the idea? Oftne the inspiration for the next garment to sew will come from something we need (NOW) or maybe something we saw but immediately thought "I could sew that"! Browsing through the pattern catalogs or looking through our personal stash of adjusted-just-for-me patterns can inspire us to capture just the right look for what we want to wear.

Check out a few of the many online resources for fabric browsing and inspiration, such as:

www.emmaonesock.com

www.moodfabricsc.com

www.britexfabrics.com

If you'd like to belong to as sewing group, the American Sewing Guild has chapters everywhere!  A group is likely to be found in your nearby neighborhood, ready to welcome you back to sewing. In addition to monthly meetings, they also have a national conference offering classes from nationally recognized sewing instructors. To find a chapter near you, go to: www.asg.org and sign up to be a member.  You can try a meeting to to find just the right group. The membership is reasonable and offers many opportunities for workshops, an annual fashion show, and sewing retreats, plus chapter newsletters and a quarterly newsletter from the national organization.

Check out my special offers on my Craftsy class, Sewing for Yourself Again and join in on the fun!