There have been a few mentions of the 2014 Stitcher’s Guild SWAP on my blog, but no real evidence of any planning. You know, the P part of SWAP – Sewing With A Plan. However, behind the scenes there have been many plans afoot! First, I’ll remind you of the SWAP “rules”.
3 “3 packs” + 2 “wild cards” = 11 garments.
Each three pack will be:
2 tops + 1 bottom
or
1 top + 1 bottom + 1 outer layer
or
1 dress + 1 top + 1 bottom
The “wild card” options can be just about anything you like, but they must be “garments” not accessories (hats, bags, blankets, etc.)
A “top” will be any shirt or blouse worn on the upper half; a “bottom” will be any garment worn on the lower half, and it shouldn’t be obscene to wear either without another layer.
A “dress” will be any garment that covers both upper and lower halves, and again, it shouldn’t be obscene to wear it without an additional layer.
An “outer layer” will any jacket or sweater that is intended to be a second layer, over a top or a dress. If it can also be worn alone, that is fine.
A “bib” garment will considered a bottom, unless it can be worn alone without a top under or over it.
One garment may be previously sewn; another may be purchased.
If you have an item you’re working on now, you may include it, OR you may stitch up one item from scratch before the official sewing date of December 26.
There’s no requirement that every garment match or every top match every bottom. However, all the individual pieces must form a cohesive collection -they should all look like they belong together in the closet.
I really wanted to use patterns and fabric that were already in my stash for this SWAP. After some thought, I have come up with the following plans. Some are patterns that I have used before, but most aren’t. Time to turn those unused patterns into garments!
Style Arc Lola pants, in navy/rusty tan printed viscose woven from Darn Cheap Fabrics. This was cut out before the SWAP start date, as were a couple of other garments. I thought that it would make sense to incorporate things that I had already cut out into my plan.
Style Arc Lu Lu tunic top, in a textured navy linen woven from Darn Cheap Fabrics.
And this is where things get more difficult. Either Vogue 8791 (the sleeveless version) or Style Arc Dotty blouse. I need to purchase fabric for this – something very drapey in a rusty tan colour to match the pants. However, I’ve just made a Lekala blouse that might swap in here. We’ll see.
Style Arc Charlotte dress. I will use the above three fabrics for this. Lime green linen from Spotlight, gold foiled white linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics, navy printed cotton brought back from Japan as a gift from my lovely sister-in-law. Still working out which fabric will go where – time to get out the coloured pencils!
Vogue 8655 sleeveless top. I’m planning on colour blocking this with two of the fabrics from the Charlotte dress, probably the green and white.
Grainline Moss Mini, in navy textured stretch woven from Darn Cheap Fabrics. I’ve used this fabric before for pants, and know that it has loads of stretch, so I’ll need to be careful sizing wise when I make this.
Vogue 8805 in striped ponte knit from Rathdowne Fabrics, shortened to top length (who gave me that brilliant suggestion?) – there is only 70cm of this. And actually, I sewed it up last night.
Style Arc Floating Fran cardi in cobalt blue knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics. Cut out and ready to go!
Style Arc Mindi skirt in orange stretch denim from Crafty Mamas. I need to go through my zip collection and see if I have just the right ones to set this off. I will possibly need to muslin this one first and increase the waist size.
Style Arc Zara dress in lime viscose woven from Darn Cheap Fabrics. This has been cut out for a month or two. I am doing the cap sleeved version.
Vogue 8819 long sleeved jacket in green/metallic/black knit given to me by Tanya.
So, I’m hoping that not only with this work in the 3 pack groupings, but I should be able to wear the tops and pants from each grouping with at least one other option from another grouping, and the jacket should work with lots of the garments. I started the planning process with the patterns, then went through my fabrics to match them up. I made a couple of changes in the process once I pulled the fabrics off shelves and out of boxes and laid them out together, but now I’m quite happy with the overall 11-piece wardrobe. If I do get this sewn by the deadline I’ll work on another SWAP for the depths of winter! I am still sewing non-SWAP garments as well, however I’ve been keeping these 11 pieces in mind and have been thinking along the lines of 3 pack as I go along.
By the way, I need a name for my SWAP. Any suggestions?