Fall sewing plans

This summer has been unusually cool for Indiana, so it hasn't been hard to turn my thoughts to fall sewing (except for the last two weeks, it's suddenly 90 degrees again!). I'm wrapping up everything I had planned for the summer so why not?

If you recall, I used Sarai's (from Colette Patterns) Wardrobe Architect series to develop a spring color scheme and silhouette preference. It taught me a TON about my own style and I was excited to go through a similar process for the fall (images from my Wardrobe Architect Pinterest board).

My fall colors are the same as spring, except I eliminated pale pink (a nearly neutral) and a more bold coral (a statement color). Pale pink is a color I can only pull off with a tan, and bold colors are hard for me to get behind in the winter for some reason. Probably because winter is depressing. I want to limit my palette so that it's easy to layer without a lot of competing/clashing colors.

Silhouettes were a little harder. Fall/winter requires so many layers that it was difficult for me to envision and choose the proper proportions. Did I mention I usually hate cold-weather clothing? I'm pretty particular about long sleeves and sweaters and don't like feeling constricted. But I hate being cold. Honestly, the above photo is just kind of my rough go at it. Footwear can also play a huge part in silhouette, and in the fall/winter the weather usually dictates what goes on my feet. I often start at the bottom and dress my way up!

Once I had my silhouettes worked out, I went through my closet and took stock of what I have already that worked. I picked a random number of items from each category that seemed ideal, then I looked for holes so I could decide what to sew.

In general, I need skinny jeans, warm dresses, and long-sleeved tops that I'll actually wear. Once I knew which pieces I needed, I could go through my patterns and plug in styles and fabrics. (Click the photo to make it bigger.)

I'm sure this all looks very ambitious! But that's what I said in the spring and I managed to get most of my items done. I am worried about the three pairs of jeans I've given myself to sew...not scared of sewing them, but worried that my machine won't deal. It may not be able to do fancy topstitching but I think it can manage general construction. In the meantime I'll be daydreaming about a vintage Singer 15-91 (more on that coming soon!!).

Soon to be jeans!

Soon to be dresses!

As I look over these plans, I'm a little concerned about overall warmth. Last year we experienced record-breaking cold with temperatures going well below zero. Like, don't leave your house kind of cold. I've got one or two wool knits in my stash and some sweatshirt fleece; the rest is medium weight cotton knits. Any other recommendations for winter fabrics? I hate defaulting to a big ugly sweatshirt just because I can't put together a "real" outfit.

I'm sure my plans will evolve over the season (for example, I already found a new pattern I can't live without). What about you, have you started planning for fall? For my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, are you ready to be done with your cold weather?