Building & Wearing a Hand-Made Wardrobe - Back to Basics

Friday, February 7, 2014


I'm so glad so many of you enjoyed my first post in this series of Building & Wearing a 
Hand-made Wardrobe!

Today I wanted to talk about going back to basics in our hand-made wardrobes, to talk about those items that we can make in a few hours that can form a base for several hand-made outfits.

Basics are pretty amazing things when you actually think about them. They take very little of our precious sewing time to make up, but open up a whole host of different hand-made outfits that can then be worn because of them.



Today I'm wearing a Colette Patterns Sorbetto (free to download!) that I've turned into a little peplum blouse. There are so many free basic patterns out there that are easy to sew up, to adapt and that can provide the means to wear some of the more outrageous items in our hand-made wardrobes that may otherwise never get worn because nothing else goes with them. 

As I discussed in my first post in this series, sewing basics doesn't have to be boring or mean doing the same techniques over and over. Basics provide the amazing opportunity of interpretation, customisation and personalisation of a garment. They also provide the perfect platform to try more complicated construction techniques and to test out different design ideas, while also letting you try out new styles without too much heartbreak if they just don't work out.



This little Sorbetto took me about 3 hours to make all up (if that), has french seams and the obvious addition of the peplum. I can wear the peplum out as I've done here or tucked in (and I've found that tucking in the peplum means I have a perfect distribution of 'pouff' out of the top of my skirt, which means I'm not forever adjusting my blouse). This little blouse also goes with so many things in my hand-made wardrobe and is the perfect summer staple being made up in a navy gingham cotton which is both affordable and easy to wash and wear.

Throughout the year I'm going to be showing you a few different things you can do to jazz up basics, including how to make your very own Peplum Sorbetto coming next week (it is so easy)!

So, if you're one of those people who loves sewing bright, complicated garments that never get worn, then maybe try sewing up a basic to go with it! You never know, it might get worn a whole lot more and become a staple go-to outfit.

xx
Jen

12 comments on "Building & Wearing a Hand-Made Wardrobe - Back to Basics"
  1. I do love the Sorbetto pattern :) Yours is lovely in the navy gingham.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sarah! I love the navy gingham too - so easy to style in any number of ways :)

      Delete
  2. This is a neat version of Sorbetto, first peplum version I've seen! I have sewn many versions of Sorbetto too, it's my all time fave pattern.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I love the Sorbetto too, such a great pattern to modify!

      Delete
  3. Really cute! This is such a fun version of the Sorbetto!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Can't wait for the tutorial! As i'm just starting off dressmaking i am attempting a complete wardrobe overhaul, so all this work on building handmade wardrobes is giving me a lot to think about

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely outfit!
    I was just thinking yesterday actually, that when spring comes, I want to sew up a WHOLE lot of Sorbettos! They are so great for builing up an outfit, whether it is a neutral colour or many colours and patterns :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. This looks great - I didn't recognise it as a Sorbetto. Looking forward to the tutorial

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lovely! I need to sew the sorbetto. Your version is simple and elegant.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've made up the sorbetto before, but didn't take enough time over it and it too became a don't really wear. The darts finish too high and the drafted sleeves aren't right. I've been dragged into a mass of trying out different patterns instead of keeping to tried and tested. This means I've a wardrobe with handmakes in which I don't really like the shape anymore. More circle skirts would be great, but in windy Wellington? I'm not so certain :-(

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm a Sorbetto fan and I should absolutely try this method soon. Thank you for sharing Jen!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by to leave me a comment, like most people, I really do appreciate them all!

Due to the large amount of spam I receive here, unfortunately I have had to turn comments off. If you'd like to get in touch with me, please send me an email :)

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Auto Post Signature

Auto Post  Signature