One Week, One Pattern 2016

The past week has seen me wearing different variations of New Look 6217 each day as part of OWOP (One Week, One Pattern) 2016. The challenge was run this year by Hannah at Cinderellis Sews and I had a lot of fun mixing and matching garments made from my current favourite pattern.

I cheated slightly as I've made both tops and skirts from the pattern, so it wasn't actually much of a stretch. But considering the pattern also includes trousers and a kimono jacket I think I was actually quite restrained! What I like about the top and skirt patterns is the fit: they have a fair amount of wearing ease but still skim the body to show off your curves. I already had three versions of the top and two of the skirt, but just managed to squeeze out another last minute top to give myself a bit more choice. Here's what I wore:

Day 1 - Red Swiss Dot NL6217 top and Gap jeans. I was visiting the Undressed exhibition at the V & A museum with Scruffy Badger. 

Day 2 - Denim NL6217 skirt and 1960's Shoulder Tie top (without shoulder ties!) I was at the allotment pretending to help, so this combo was actually really comfortable, although a white top probably wasn't the wisest choice for picking raspberries...

Day 3 - Liberty print NL6217 top and denim Arielle skirt. I hadn't tried this combo before now and was surprised how much I liked it.

Day 4 - Denim NL6217 skirt and Gingham Granville shirt. The Ginghamalong went live today so I wore my new gingham shirt with my New Look denim skirt. It's a bit of a polka dot/gingham clash but I think they look good together! This photo was taken outside my local boozer, complete with splendid old tiles.

Day 5 - Ivory Crepe NL6217 top and Liberty Carline Delphine skirt. This is a new, unblogged version of the top made from a 80cm remnant of prestige crepe from the Fabric Godmother sale. The drape is perfect for this pattern and I loved wearing it on its first outing. Being off white, it's also useful for pairing with garments that are difficult to match things to (like this skirt!) 

Day 6 - Black crepe NL6217 top and Bamboo skirt. Suitably smart attire for visiting the Buckingham Palace state rooms with my mother-in-law!

Day 7 - Black Crepe NL6217 top and Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers. Here I am meeting the lovely Mark from Girl Charlee UK at the Handmade Fair in Hampton Court (more on my visit in the next blog post).

A few reflections on the challenge:

• I'm sooooo pleased I chose this pattern, everything I've made from it feels like such a natural part of my everyday wardrobe. 
• The top is a simple shape and easy to make, but I think fabric choice and colour are key to wearing them often. The fact that I had three solid, neutral colours tops meant they could be paired with anything. Plus the lovely quality of the fabrics made them feel just a bit more special than a T shirt or cotton top in the same colours.
• I love the slim silhouette of the skirt and the quirky little side split - I'll definitely be making more of them.
• I'm still not very adventurous with accessories!

Thank you to Hannah for hosting the challenge and I'm looking forward to seeing what everybody else has been wearing for the past week! Have a great weekend. x

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OWOP is back!

Hands up who remembers OWOP (One Week, One Pattern)? Of course you do, it's the group sewing challenge where participants wear variations of the same pattern, every day for a week! The original challenge was created by Tilly in 2012, I resurrected it in 2014 and now Hannah from Cinderellis Sews is hosting a new challenge for 2016. Hoorah! 

My favourite part of both challenges was working out all the different mix and match combinations with my chosen pattern. In 2012 I chose the Colette Ginger skirt, a high waisted A-line skirt that proved to be endlessly versatile. For the last challenge I went for a vintage pattern - Simplicity 4238 - a 1950's button up blouse that's become a real wardrobe staple.

The big question is, what to choose this time round? You may have noticed I've been more than a little obsessed with New Look 6217 of late (I have three versions of the top and two versions of the skirt), so that's currently the strongest contender. However, I also absolutely LOVE my Sewaholic Granville shirts and although I only have two versions (here and here) they're both solid colours, so they match absolutely everything. The Granville shirt would certainly be a greater challenge, but may be a bit too similar to the last pattern, what do you think?

If you'd like to join in, One Week, One Pattern 2016 will run from Saturday 10th September until Friday 16th September. You can sign up and find out further details about OWOP on Cinderellis Sews. There will also be a series of exciting guest posts on her blog over the next few weeks (including ME on August 6th!) and fabulous giveaways for every day of the challenge. Wahay! x