A list of 10: Inspiration from autumn fabrics

I love autumn. As the weather cools down you’ll get to create more interesting outfits and can start planning what to wear when the weather gets even cooler. The warm autumn colours suit particularly well with my skin tone so I’ll end up stashing a lot of fabric for the following seasons. My Sensible Sewing Challenge completed (yes, I still have to make the last post of that!), I will still try to use the same ideas when I plan additions on my wardrobe. Join with me to go through my stash and plan some autumn projects!

1. Florals for dresses

My first idea of an autumn outfit is always a floral dress with a cardigan. These florals have amazing colours and prints. I have promised the plum coloured one to S, but I’m still debating whether to make a pair of pleated trousers or a dress for her.

The dusty pink one is for me. I have an idea of revisiting the 1940s tea dress by Sew Over It. The last time the bodice didn’t fit and then later I managed to rip the dress in an ugly way by accident. As I still like the style I want to try again.

The topmost fabric is polyester crepe that I have had for years. I have a definite plan for it but it always gets postponed due to more pressing projects: I want to make the Sewaholic Nicola dress. I have made it once but I made a wrong choice with the material. Furthermore, my sewing skills weren’t really up to the task at that point. Now I feel like I should make it again since the dress pattern really is lovely.

The blue floral cotton above shall become the Shirtwaist dress from the wonderful book of Gretchen Hirsch: Gertie’s new book for better sewing. I love that pattern since it has shirring at the back that makes the dress super comfortable while it still remains form fitting. However, I think I will need to draft long sleeves to replace the short puffed sleeves. I seem to have an excess of dresses with puffed sleeves and I think I want to add some variety, if not only because it is easier to wear cardigans over smooth shoulders.

2. Ramie – a new acquaintance

Ramie is a fibre that is not very well known to people, even sewists. It comes from the similarly named plant that belongs to the nettle family. The cloth made out of ramie resembles linen but is slightly less shiny and a bit hairy. As it is a natural fibre it is breathable and comfortable to wear, although it does wrinkle.

I got my ramie from Ompelino. On a whim, I bought the whole 5 m roll of it in order to make a wide hemmed midi-length dress. I am a great fan of Son de Flor dresses after seeing pictures of them online and it will be interesting to try to create the look by myself. I think of using the bodice from the Sew Over It Kate dress from their new e-book: Work to Weekend and then add a circle skirt and long sleeves. Well, see how that goes.

3. Green cable-knit wool for a sweater

I found this lovely wool knit fabric that I want to turn into a sweater. I would need one since my thicker sweaters are either worn down or too small for me. I am thinking of actually unravelling some of this and perhaps finishing the edges with some knitting. This shade of green is something I adore and I cannot wait to be able to wear it!

4. Easy crepes for skirts

I also need some easy to maintain, wrinkle-resistant skirts in autumn colours. Most of my skirts are for the summer and they require ironing. As I spend a big part of my time sewing and kneeling on the floor pinning and cutting fabrics, I need a skirt that does not need to be ironed every single time I want to step outside. I bought this deep blue fabric already in spring but the mustard yellow one is a recent buy.

I am still debating on the pattern for these. At first, I thought about making another 1940s skirt out of the blue one. That would be an easy project but do I want some more room for my legs? Then could I make a circle skirt? I also have my trusted pleated skirt patterns Colette Zinnia and Sew Over It Lizzie… And there are probably dozens of amazing patterns in the magazines I own. Choices… so many choices…

5. Oh, what do do with this wool!

Talking about hard choices. This wool was not cheap but I’ve had it for about 2 years. I was planning for a dress but then thought that it might be a bit too dark for it. At least the masculine check and dark colour would require some ruffles or something to make it pretty. If you happen to know a pattern for this, suggest it for me! I believe I have about 5 metres so I can make almost any pattern out of it.

6. Black and red dragons for my son

My son asked for a dragon hoodie and I do not want to say no to him since he doesn’t generally get as many hand-made garments as his sister. Throughout the colder seasons, he hardly wears anything else than hoodies and well… dragons are simply cool.

My challenge with this is not really with the basic hoodie but how to incorporate the dragon theme into it. I do not want to make a childish thing with spikes in the hood and through the seam at the centre back. Nor I want to make a Halloween costume out of it. I have already done that when he was about 2 or 3 years old, although with an overall and a hat. Right now I am thinking of adding dragon wing applique that wraps around his shoulders in a subtle manner.

I haven’t yet chosen a pattern but I have a pile of Ottobre design magazines with several good options, so that’s not going to be a problem. The fabric will be probably black sweatshirting with a brushed wrong side.

The red jersey will make a basic long-sleeved tee that I’m also planning to decorate with the dragon theme. The local library has a vinyl cutter and a heat-press that can be used for free and the only thing I need to make a cool t-shirt print is a good drawing. I have enlisted my husband to help me with the drawing since he’s very good with it.

7. Green silk for a blouse

I have wanted to make a proper silk blouse but the idea sort of terrifies me. I have now got to the stage where I have already cut my green silk crepe-de-chine and I only need to sew it. I’m using the In-house patterns Diana top pattern that I have previously tested thoroughly.

This silk is from Beckford silk and I can really recommend them if you are looking for silks. Their colour selection and the amount of different silks they offer is amazing. And they promise that you can wash your silks at home, unlike many other retailers. (This is not an advertisement. I’m just a happy customer.)

8. Orange needlecord for my daughter

There’s no autumn without corduroy. It always appears when the weather cools down. This orange one is going to make a pinafore dress for S. The August issue of Burda style had this amazing fox dress that I just need to make for her.

9. Stripes

Stripes are always in, aren’t they? This jersey remnant just begged me to buy it. I think it might make a nice Edie top from the Sew Over It Work to Weekend e-book. The fabric is pretty thick so it won’t wrinkle easily and is probably a very easy garment to maintain.

10. Coatings

I have no picture of this one since I’m still searching for the fabric. I’d like to make a lovely wide hemmed fit-and-flare coat for myself. The local fabric shops are just starting to stock their shelves with coatings and lots of more wools are still to arrive. I have also ordered swatches to check the fabrics that are available online. I’m planning to use something like wool melton, perhaps a slight amount of polyester or cashmere weaved in. If I can find deep forest green like the cable knit fabric above, I will be super happy.

What are your favourite autumn fabrics? What inspires you? Do you have suggestions on what to make out of these fabrics in my stash? Please share them in the comments! In any case, thank you for reading and see you soon! Happy sewing!

Katja