The plan fizzled out...

but I've done a lot of sewing between my last post and now.

I sewed my son's Halloween costume (he was the Wolf Man):



I started out working on the SWAP plan, but as the end of my pregnancy got closer and closer I was less and less motivated to sew maternity stuff, so I found myself tinkering with what I should sew rather than actually sewing. I made the Burda maternity pants, which came out great, but the fabric I used did not hold up well and ripped at the seam. I did manage to get some not-so-great pictures before they went into the rag bin:




And numerous other projects: curtains, crib sheets, cloth diapers, soft toys, Christmas gifts, etc. I really should have posted pics to my blog as soon as I finished each project, but instead I posted some to forums, others I didn't even photograph. I'm definitely going to make an effort to post more about the stuff I make - I've also applied to join the Wardrobe Refashion blog which will hopefully serve as a bit of a reminder that I need to post more.

I'm going to Sew With a Plan!

Well, a plan of sorts. I need a winter maternity wardrobe, as in pretty much a complete wardrobe - once the weather turns cold and I get very round I'll have very little to wear outside the house.

Some people on a message board I'm on were talking the other day about how they were intrigued by Timmel Fabrics' SWAP contest, but thought that sewing 11 garments on a deadline was a bit daunting. Others (like me) needed clothes sooner than the rules of the contest would allow them to start sewing. So we came up with an informal, pared-down version of SWAP where you make 8 garments and have enough combinations to wear a different outfit every day for a month (more or less).

Here's my "SWAP storyboard" so far:



I'm using a couple of patterns that are basically free online tutorials: the Thai Fisherman's pants and One Seam Dress with the modification of an attached tube top replacing the waistband for more coverage discussed in the comments and in this gargantuan thread on Craftster.

I resized the line drawings so that they are very roughly proportioned to my shape to get an idea of how they'll look. I also changed the drawings on some to change details where I want to alter the pattern, such as the third top from the left, where I want to add ruching in the front of a regular (non-maternity) drape-neck shirt pattern. Some of the drawings were pretty small to begin with, so they look a little distorted now.

My sticking point is the last top/jacket (it's not even in the storyboard). A "requirement" for the smaller SWAP I'm doing is that the jacket should be able to do dual duty as a top on its own. At first I was just going to do a maternity button-down shirt, but I don't think it will layer well with some of the more flowy tops I've chosen. So I was looking at this Vogue cardigan that can be worn as a wrap top:



The other choice is a jacket from Burda - I already have the magazine, while I would have to buy the Vogue pattern:



The problem is that it can't exactly be worn on its own without anything under it. I'm tempted to make it anyway because I could just throw it over a maternity tank and wear it anywhere, and I have a ton of tank tops.

Who knows if I'll actually get this all sewn before the baby arrives? That's not really the point, anyway - a lot of this stuff can still be worn afterward.