Winter Sewing: My Capsule Wardrobe for Winter 2025

I had so much fun planning and sewing my fall wardrobe that I decided to continue with Seamwork's Design Your Wardrobe for winter. I have scraps of paper with patterns and projects I want to make posted all over my studio bulletin board. When a new season rolls around, I have my reminders right in front of me. These are my priority makes, my dream projects. My list obsession made it relatively easy to decide what I wanted to add to my winter wardrobe. I also live in a part of the country that experiences very cold winters, so that factor figures quite a bit into narrowing down the list. January in Chicago is not the time to make that Sicily slip dress. 

So what did make the list? Two midi skirts, one pair of pants, a sweater, a blouse, and a vest. 

My Winter Wardrobe Plan

The Patterns:

• Seamwork Emmie Blouse
• Seamwork Oliver Sweater
• Syd Graham Ruby Vest
• Simplicity 9180 Skirt
• Neighborhood Patterns Plain Jane Skirt
• Seamwork Noah Pants

My color palette is blue, gray, and white, and I have named this collection Outside In because I want to make cozy pieces in a wintry color palette but pretty much stay in. If you know anything about winters in Northern Illinois, they are nothing like the ones in a Hallmark movie. 

At the moment, I have the Plain Jane Skirt and the Emmie Blouse finished and have cut out the Simplicity skirt. I have set a goal for myself to have this collection finished by March 1st. This season I want to focus on great layering pieces. Right now I am all about thick tights, warm scarves, and faux fur-lined boots, but some of these pieces will transition well into spring and possibly into summer, such as the Emmie Blouse, the Plain Jane Skirt, and the Noah Pants. 

If I haven't frozen to death by then, I will post another photo of this collection when it is done. 

Happy sewing, friends!

Hello, 2025! I Have Some Goals

As avid sewists, we always have goals, don't we?! Our want-to-make lists are fifty miles long, and our fabric stash... uh, yeah, let's not talk about that. But the first day of a new year is different. It's a moment to stand back, look at the whole picture, and decide what we want to be our biggest I-DID-IT moments at the end of the year. 

Sometimes not everything happens, and that's okay, too. When I made my list of big goals this time last year, I wanted to make a structured navy blue Parisian-style blazer in 2024. Didn't happen. And it still may not happen in 2025. I also wanted to make most of my new clothing for the year. That happened, I am proud to say. I added 25 new pieces of clothing to my wardrobe. I still can't get over it. I am sewing my own clothes, and I am not stopping anytime soon. I enjoyed every minute of the planning, fabric buying, and construction. Well, there were a few seams I didn't enjoy ripping out, but that is part of this journey, isn't it? And lessons were learned in the process. 

But this is a new year. A fresh start. No wonky seams to be ripped out...yet. 

And here in the dawn light of 2025, my overall goal is to continue to make most of my own clothes. And as I look at my want-to-make list, I see some special projects that I definitely want to tackle this year. Here is the official must-make-this-year list:

• I absolutely must have a matchy-matchy denim outfit, and I am looking at Seamwork's Audrey Jacket and Helen's Closet Brooks Jeans. 
• I am an older woman, but I want a slip dress. There. I'm not apologizing. Maybe I will even wear it on my 60th birthday. 
• A black leather A-line skirt. So classy. So versatile. 
• A Chanel-style jacket. Timeless. And the details are everything. 

Beyond my must-make list, I want to focus on fitting issues. Mainly, I want to conquer the rise when making pants. I have been avoiding pants for this very reason. And I want to delve a bit into patternmaking, not as a business venture but in order to begin designing my own clothes. (It's the Project Runway effect.)

At the moment, I am finalizing my winter wardrobe (I will be posting about this soon) and currently am working on a Seamwork Emmie blouse. 

Have you set forth some sewing goals, or do you prefer to let your creativity flow organically throughout the year? I like to have goals, but I definitely like to leave a lot of room for an organic creative process. Sometimes one thing just leads to another, and the flow of that process can be pretty amazing, too. 

I would love to hear about your 2025 sewing plans. Feel free to share in the comments. 

And aside from goals, I wish you a very Happy New Year.