Sewing plans for autumn!

 

It's the beginning of September already! I'm looking forward to autumn - my favourite season - and I can't wait to share my sewing plans for the upcoming season with you.

I'm planning to do a blog post for each of my fall projects, and choose those projects to stretch my skillset and abilities. I read, somewhere, someone describe their self-imposed dressmaking improvement plan as "dressmaking homeschool" - well, that's basically how I would describe what I'm hoping to do! By Christmas, I hope to have improved in many ways, and also to have had a lot of fun in the process.

First of all, I want to make a simple circle skirt, using my good old Simplicity 8462 pattern:

I've mentioned this pattern before and I've now made a couple of versions of it. This time round, I'm going to make a version in black needlecord (I know black is not very autumnal, but it's more versatile!). I also want to try and adjust the waistband slightly (as both of the versions I made beforehand don't sit on the waist, but on the hips) but happily, that's an easy adjustment to make, as it's a very forgiving pattern. 

Then, I want to make a version of the blouse from the above pattern. I have this gorgeous cotton fabric, black with dainty pink flowers and green leaves, that someone gave me a while ago, and this might be the perfect use for it! If I like the first version, I might even make another version in some yellow gingham I have. The blouse should be challenging but not too difficult to make: it has tucks along the front (something I haven't tried before) and buttonholes down the back, but no complicated sleeves or unusual construction processes.

I'd then like to make a dress. My mother has a pattern she let me use, for a lovely princess-line dress with various sleeve variations; for the first time ever, I made a mock-up in an old sheet so I could test the pattern/my ability to use the pattern before I used more expensive fabric. When I finished the mock-up, though, I concluded that it didn't suit me that well. However, I have another sewing pattern that should be a good substitute:

Isn't it lovely? Hopefully I can learn how to sew sleeves from this project, and also make a belt and do neat binding at the neck. In terms of fabric, I'm trying to find something that's affordable but still suitable for winter - lovely winter dress fabrics like wool tend to be rather unaffordable. 

I think that that's as many sewing projects for autumn as I have planned. However, I have a few knitting projects I want to make:

Some cute knitted pumpkins:

A knitted waistcoat:

Some cosy socks:

And a few secret projects that will be included in my end-of year crafting round up.

Hopefully, I should be posting about either the blouse or the skirt soon. What's your favourite of the projects here? Do you have any crafting plans for autumn?