5 things that are inspiring me now

Today I’m sharing with you 5 things that are inspiring me now. You see, there have been all sorts of thoughts and ideas going through my head this last couple of weeks and I thought that I would go through them here in more detail…if only to stop my head from bursting! Plus I think it helps to write things down. Firstly, to make ideas become reality and secondly, documenting ideas is great as even if you don’t think you will use them straight away, they can help with projects much further down the line too.

I have actually been sewing a bit over this last week or so, but it’s a behind the scenes project that I’ll be able to share properly with you in a while. Of course being the organised person that I am (not)…I didn’t have a blog post already pre-planned for last week. Still, it gave my typing fingers (all two of them!) a rest 🙂

Anyway, onto the meaning of the title of this post and as is often the case when we move into a new Season, I’ve had a gazillion-and-one ideas sparked off by all of the inspiring images that I’ve been seeing online. Does this happen to you? All of those thoughts mentioned in my first paragraph were on bits of paper or images randomly saved on my laptop. So here are some of them consolidated and for your viewing/reading pleasure :):

1: Layered sleeves

My first inspiration is from a Vogue pattern that I came across in my stash and it also made me think of some runway looks that I saw recently too. It’s a layered sleeve idea.

You see the long slim sleeve under the looser fit one on the jacket? That’s actually fixed and is part of the jacket, yet it looks like an under sweater. Now I know that you could easily just layer a slim sleeved sweater under a shorter sleeved one or a jacket but you have to make sure it tones with the colour and it could feel too bulky around your body. I often get cold arms but would probably only need a cami vest as an underlayer for a sweater. To cut a long story a bit shorter, I had been thinking about some fabric that I have in my stash left over from this dress and saw that it went nicely with a rib knit that I have. I’m planning on sewing a panelled, shorter sleeved waist length sweater for my October BurdaStyle project and had a lightbulb moment when I decided to make removable slim fitting sleeves for wearing under it. I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to do it yet, but stay tuned for a couple of weeks time… By the way, talking fabric stash…  I’ve been pretty good at using up mine this year and I’m now down to about 14 pieces, which brings me nicely onto the next thing that I’ve been thinking about…

2: Slow Fashion/Styling

Secondly…Well it can’t have escaped your notice that we just started October (how can it be??). Anyway, there are a couple of themes and challenges going on around the old interwebs and the first on that came on my radar is Slow Fashion October that my pal Alex (love her blog) told me about. Slow Fashion October is the brainchild of a lady called Karen who I just discovered and she has a website with blog and shop etc over at Fringe Association. Here are the details of the month-long theme. I’ll be reading up a bit more about it all myself because as I start to assess my Autumn/Winter clothes, I want to make sure I make the right choices with my wardrobe and my fabrics.

Another sewing friend of mine, Kate from Time To Sew and her pal Pilar are running a hashtag on Instagram called #slowfashionstyling (check out the hashtag on IG) and each week a different garment is highlighted for us to take out of our wardrobes and to re-evaluate by trying different ways of styling, or even to refashion. Kate says the ultimate goal is to value the clothes that we already possess. I’ve already started to take stock and I’m just about to refashion an unloved tunic length sweater. I’m in the middle of bringing my cooler weather clothes back into my wardrobe so it’s the ideal time. How about joining in?

3: Terrific Tartan

Next up…The Tartan trend has been on my mind a fair bit lately. Tartan is one of the few patterns that I adore. I saw this image on Pinterest yesterday and whilst I don’t think I’ll be wearing two tartans together myself, the image did jog my memory about a UFO that I have.

Longtime readers of my blog may remember back to when I spoke about the fact that I’d been given a pattern taken from an original Vivienne Westwood Bettine jacket and I’d bought some lovely wool tartan. I even cut it out….but that’s as far as it got. Since then It’s sat in a bag in my cupboard, unloved and un-made. I fancy the idea of wearing it with some mid-toned jeans and a sleek sweater to let the jacket be the star, so I think I would like to get back to sewing it but perhaps it’s the sort of project that would be nice to do as a slow one. I’m also thinking that it might be nice to dedicate about 3 blog posts on it to show you my progress…what do you think? Could be fun to share over several weeks.

4: All The Fun Of Fur

Another trend that I quite like the look of is embellishments of faux fur …I mentioned it in this trends post. I’ve actually seen fur features put on sweaters and I have a few fur oddments in my cupboard, so I’m game to try the idea out as I’m a sucker for a bit of cuddly fur. I’m thinking neck trims or cuff trims. Or maybe use some down the centre of a sleeve? So many ideas so little time! I guess the best thing is to sketch a few ideas down and wait for the appropriate project to come along.

5: Ankle Details

Finally, a detail that’s been catching my eye also is ankle detailing on trousers. I love how it can add a unique touch to an otherwise plain pair of trousers. I love the idea of a split, a tab, a vertical placket with buttons, zips, pleating, tucks etc.

Here are a couple of ideas to whet your appetite:

The vertical placket and buttons detail is similar to what you would see on a shirt sleeve, so I’m guessing you could easily find a placket tutorial to help emulate this look. On trousers that come in a little at the ankle width, worn with ankle boots and a couple of the buttons left open it would look really cool. Again, seeing these ideas has reminded me about the fact that I have a length of burgundy Rio crepe that I got from Sewisfaction with the intention of making zippered ankle detail trousers that have pleats to bring in the width like a jogger shape. I must dig that project out too as I had originally planned to make them back in February. Please tell me I’m not the only one that makes plans that seldom come to fruition…! Perhaps I’m just a slow sewer.

How have you been addressing the onset of a new season? Are you like me and have a change around by switching out Summer wear for Autumn/Winter wear? I feel as though I’m looking at everything with fresh eyes and that can only be a good thing. I want to try to think more about how many items play well together to make outfits. I’m a separates kind of gal so this is an important aspect of my wardrobe. I want to eliminate wardrobe orphans and to make new items that work with more than just one thing. I don’t want to waste time standing in front of my clothes saying that I have nothing to wear!

Also, why not tell me what’s inspired you lately, curious minds want to know.

Thanks for stopping by for a read, it means a lot to me. Oh, and enjoy the new season.

Catch you soon xx

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