Karen cardigan by Sarah Hatton + my sewn Hollyburn skirt
When you knit a sweater to match an item in your wardrobe, there are a lot of advantages. You’ve worn the garment for a while and understand its proportions. Understanding the style and shape you need to complete an outfit is key. I was thrilled that Myrna suited my purchased vintage dress as planned:
However, my other project was not so successful. I had originally thought, “How hard could it be to create a sewn outfit to go with my new cardigan?”
Because the official design photo of Myrna is styled with a V-neck garment underneath, I figured I 'd sew a V-neck top and skirt at the same time I knit the cardigan, and it would all go together
Since I was knitting the cardigan at the same time as I sewed accompanying pieces, I waited until all the garments were done to pair them together, which yielded surprising results:
I’m not saying this outfit is terrible, but it reminds me of a three-layer cake. Clearly, I should have remembered Tim Gunn’s words from Project Runway—matching colors don’t make a collection. It’s the match of the proportions of the pieces! The top is too long for the cropped cardigan and then the skirt flares out in a pouffy 3rd tier. Despite my disappointment, I wore the outfit to work. The Belgian father of my writing students raised an eyebrow and said, “You look Swiss today!” Hmm. Not sure my intention was to create a Swiss National costume. I don’t think I’ll be wearing Myrna with that red and white garb any time soon!
I've also tried to sew a dress that complements my new Willowwood sweater. My first dress attempt (and I will add the first dress I’ve sewn for 32 years) was the Simplicity pattern 8231.
While 8231 makes a great house dress, the proportions are all wrong when paired with Willowwood. Without a distinct waist band to the dress, the cropped sweater meets the skirt just where it starts to flare out, creating the illusion of no waist.
See how much better the cropped sweater looks with my waist-hugging, store-bought dress:
Refusing to be discouraged, I next sewed the Dahlia dress which is a popular Colette pattern and was on sale for $8. I also chose Dahlia for the distinct waist band which defines the figure better than the Simplicity Pattern:
I’m super proud of this dress. The shoulders fit well since I tried the pattern hack that my wonderful friend Andrea helped me find here: It's also a classic style I can wear to work. However, go with the Willowwood crop it does not:
Guess which sweater does go perfectly with Dahlia?
Note my look of dismay in the photo above! None of my plans are working out! On the bright side, I did randomly create a cute outfit with Myrna and Dahlia!????????
I wear the Dahlia dress so much that I sewed up a second version with some Liberty poplin I found at a huge discount on Bluprint and a contrasting blue quilting cotton.
Something is working well, but it's not my outfit pairings, that's for sure! As Cher admits in the Clueless movie based on Emma by Jane Austen, there’s only one conclusion to be drawn-- the clueless one is me!
Do you readers have any advice? Until I figure out what I'm doing wrong, here is the plan:
1) Limit sewing and knitting projects to items matching what I already have.
2) Wear each completed item for a month before I attempt to sew/knit a piece to match. By that point, I should understand what proportions will work. Or perhaps I won’t need to make another garment because the completer piece is already in my closet!
After all, the intention is not to pile up a bunch of random clothing but create a capsule wardrobe of things I want to wear, that go together and look good on my body type.
But perhaps some of you readers, being more advanced sewists than me, have a better idea?