Sew Altered Style is hosting it’s FIRST Mini Capsule Style Challenge
Katie and I are blown away by the amount of effort and determination y’all are displaying in the effort to build clothes that fit (both your bodies and your lifestyles). We want to celebrate that and figured, what better way to do so than with a mini capsule style challenge! We have cooked up a challenge that we are hoping EVERYONE can participate in – using a mix of handmade and store bought items!
Sewing (and Wardrobing) with Purpose
Jalie Eleonore Pants paired with the Itch to Stitch Chai Shirt
Jalie Eleonore Pants paired with the True Bias Ogden Cami
Jalie Eleonore Pants paired with the True Bias Ogden Cami and Helen’s Closet Blackwood Cardigan
Last month, I attempted to complete a 10×10 challenge (blog link to my post on Harper+Lu), and failed MISERABLY! If I attempt to diagnose it, there are five specific reasons it was hard:
- Not accommodating the weather – turns out, winter in Virginia means entirely TOO MUCH VARIABILITY! During the week of the challenge, my layers and options were just wrong – like ALL WRONG
- Not enough handmades – I LOVE wearing my handmades; yet I didn’t feel equipped to wear handmade clothing head-to-toe for 10 days in the winter… So I filled my capsule with a heavy mix of RTW (ready-to-wear) and handmades – and then wore all my handmade loungewear instead – go figure! Clearly comfort is king in my book!
- Non-cohesive color palette – Everything went together in theory – but the palette wasn’t tight enough to encourage me to wear the same things day after day – it all felt more disjointed than I originally planned.
- Not enough bottoms – turns out, I like to wear lots of different bottoms throughout the week – depending on my mood. Unfortunately, I didn’t make enough room for that tendency (to accommodate layers).
- Not comfy enough (see point 2 above) – I work from home, so the idea of wearing jeans to sit at my computer for a series of conference and video calls was less than appealing
Despite not successfully completing THAT challenge, I felt like the EXPERIENCE was awesome! It made me think about which clothes in my closet do double duty, and which are just the kinds of things that will only get worn by themselves – every once in a blue moon. This my friends is the birth of this challenge – and I can’t wait to see what you all come up with.
Celebrating Community Building
Hey June Charleston paired with the Helen’s Closet Blackwood Cardigan
Hey June Charleston paired with the Itch to Stitch Chai Shirt
For the months of January and February, we have been hard at work in our Facebook Group (Sew Altered Style Society) and on Instagram, focusing on “casual pants.” The participation and encouragement has been AMAZING! We have seen ladies diagnose fit issues, recommend fabric resources, celebrate successes (hello beautiful and well spaced topstitching and perfectly placed pockets), and help lift each other up when things didn’t turn out as expected (we have ALL been there – and it’s nice to share that with others)! It is moments like this that make Katie and I so excited (and encouraged) that we are doing SOMETHING right – thank you all for jumping in head first (whether you actively participated or are following along and planning for later in the year!).
What is the Mini Capsule 7×7 Style Challenge?
True Bias Hudson Pants paired with the True Bias Ogden Cami and Helen’s Closet Blackwood Cardigan
True Bias Hudson Pants paired with the True Bias Ogden Cami
True Bias Hudson Pants paired with the Itch to Stitch Chai Shirt
Ok – enough blabbering – so what is the challenge?
- Create and photograph a 7 garment “capsule” that includes 2 handmade items (1 of which has to be a bottom, not necessarily pants)
- Post your capsule in our Facebook Group (Sew Altered Style Society) and/or on Instagram – tagging @sewalteredstyle and #7x7stylechallenge – each post will qualify as a separate entry
- Store-bought AND handmade garments qualify – the goal here is to practice the art of making a capsule – if you can do all handmade – that’s icing on the cake, but NOT a requirement!
- For newbies – you are welcome to complete a smaller capsule based on 4 items and 4 outfits (ok, you can add 1 extra item if you REALLY need to for 4 outfits) – we really want to encourage participation vs. being super strict! I have shown a quick handmade 4×4 below:
Mac shares a mini 4×4 handmade capsule wardrobe – a great alternative for beginners
For this capsule, I selected 4 garments:
- Hot Pink Jalie Eleonore Pull On Pants (blogged here on Harper+Lu) **This month’s challenge sponsor!**
- Checkered Black and White Grainline Archer (sewn by Katie) (Blogged here)
- Black Hey June Charleston Dress (blogged here)
- Olive Itch to Stitch Chai Shirt (blogged here)
You could make this even easier – just pick two tops and two bottoms, and you’ve got four outfits!
Prizes? Who said Prizes?
We wanted to end the month of February with a challenge, and our sponsor, Jalie, has offered to GENEROUSLY supply one 25 Canadian Dollar gift card to a Facebook Group winner and one 25 Canadian Dollar gift card to an Instagram Participant! Winners will be selected based on a random drawing.
Mac shares her capsule wardrobe collection for the Sew Altered Style Mini Capsule 7×7 Style Challenge – Pants Edition
I know I’ve shared pictures throughout this blog post, but if you are interested in knowing what 7 items I added, I have added them below:
My formula includes 3 bottoms, 2 tops, 1 dress and 1 layer:
- Hot Pink Jalie Eleonore Pull On Pants (blogged here) **This month’s challenge sponsor!**
- Blush True Bias Ogden Cami (soon to be blogged)
- Light Grey Helen’s Closet Blackwood Cardigan (blogged here)
- Olive True Bias Hudson Joggers (blogged here)
- Black Hey June Charleston Dress (blogged here)
- Olive Itch to Stitch Chai Shirt (blogged here)
- Floral Patterns for Pirates Sunshine Dress (hacked into a skirt – blogged here)
Do you LOVE the idea of capsule wardrobes and want to take it to the next level? I made a capsule prime template that you could give a try – you can check it out here! Also, we will be adjusting our calendar, and moving into a group choice for March and April – and it’s all about BASICS! Seriously – our FAVORITE garments to sew!
Will you be joining in the mini capsule 7×7 style challenge? Are you starting to plan for basics sewing during March and April? Drop us a line below!
Mac
