Getting Skills Challenge

By anilia - July 05, 2010

The other day I had this crazy idea: What if I didn't buy any clothing for myself for one year? What if anything I wanted I had to make? I immediately wanted to try and do this. No second thoughts at all. And so here we go. This is my rule and you are going to hold me to it:

1) No buying any clothing item for myself for one year, July 4th, 2010 to July 4th 2011. With two exceptions:
a) Bras. I can buy bras since I am in the middle of weaning and things are changing rather dramatically.
b) One emergency clothing item buy in case of lost luggage, unexpected freezing temperatures or something like that. Hopefully not to be used at all.

That's it.
I'm going to call this the Getting Skills Challenge. I want to be able to make all basic items of clothing for myself. I want to use my button hole foot and my zipper foot without fear. I want to make patterns that fit me. To help with this I picked up a copy of Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified to work through. I already have some experience with skirts made from my own pattern (that is funny. apparently I feel like this every year at this time. I almost named this post the same as that one but I had the deja vu feeling when I typed it. heheh)and that is where this book starts so I will likely be making them soon. I also just finished a blouse from Simplicity 2599 and will get pictures up in the next few days. I have another blouse pattern to work up soon. I'd really like to to finish this year with a closet full of my own items that I love to wear.
To be clear, this not buying anything isn't so crazy, I mean, I don't work for money and don't spend a ton on clothing anyway. But I am terribly guilty of grabbing a t-shirt or skirt off a sale rack at every chance. So that will be a little bit of a hard habit to break. And this making my own thing will not be a money saving thing. Because I can buy a t for half the price I would buy the fabric for. It is, of course, a whole year. There is nothing like the change of seasons to make you want the new it thing.
In preparation I bought one pair of jeans, one pair of shorts and a package of undies.
So, lets go get some skills!