Category: Styling My Handmade Wardrobe

My Friday Night Dinner Outfit

The start of September feels like the start of the Gilmore Girls season. Probably because it used to start airing around this time of the year, but also the show follows a seasonal structure. Usually beginning before or during the school year as Rory embarks on her next academic chapter. A key aspect of Lorelai and Rory’s life is the Friday Night Dinners at Richard and Emily’s house, every week. Emily and Richard, being rather formal people, expect a dress code for their family dinners being formal. It reminds me a bit of dressing up for church as a kid.

There is also a silhouette to the outfits each of the Gilmore Girls wear. They wear a lot of dresses with small cardigans over top, but they also pair fitted blouses with a knee length skirt, usually flared for Rory or a pencil skirt for Lorelai. Rory dresses with a more demure style, that reflects her academic personality where as Lorelai is a bit bold with her patterns, textiles, and colors. It matches her personality of being independent and need to separate her life from her parents’ world.

I thought this combination married both the silhouette of Rory’s style with the bold and playful textiles of Lorelai’s personal style. The blazer is not a Potato Technology piece, I ordered it from YesStyle, but the bustier top and skirt are my own designs. The Floral Print Grafitti Bustier Tank, I designed in 2023 from 1/2 a yard of fabric. This piece was draped and cut on the form. I wish I had known about making craft paper patterns at the time because it’s going to be a challenge to reproduce. The Expressions and Lines Skirt is a new design from this summer. It is a satin graphic print that for the first time, I was able to cut out the pattern directionally without any mishaps! I’m so pleased. 😀

I think the combination of pieces look a bit 2000s, mid 2000s for sure, and capture the essence of the time period. The blend of Lorelai and Rory’s style is a reflection of how I consume the show now. Which character I relate to is a blend as I get closer to Lorelai’s age when the show begins instead of Rory’s age, which is so weird to realize. I’ve truly grown up with this story, being just 12 when I first watched it. Lorelai’s story finds me more each time I watch it.

What I’m Wearing Summer 2024 – A Cohesive Wardrobe

I’ve been sewing my clothes for nearly four years now, which had some unexpected results. I knew I would like the clothes I made better than those off the rack once my tailoring skills caught up to my ideas and that has happened. I didn’t expect the rocky period of making things I liked that didn’t fit into my wardrobe. This has been a problem over the last two years. I think because my style was changing. I think the clothes I was buying at stores were not really me but more a trendy persona to blend in. Going into 2024, I wanted my clothes to be more cohesive.

I’ve been more intentional with what I sew and how I will wear it with the pieces already in my wardrobe. I’m also less afraid to upcycle and repurpose existing clothes I’ve bought or made into something that will work with my current clothing and accessories. This summer I’ve felt like I every piece has had a purpose in my wardrobe and everything feels like an accurate reflection of who I am. It’s been a lot of fun to mix and match pieces, even dabbling in layering garments in ways I may not have tried before. With how busy this summer has been unpacking, I’ve been less likely to reach for my accessories, which I’d like to get better at because I know that would truly bring an outfit together.

In the meantime, I think this has been a successful season of making and wearing because I reached for my pieces more than anything else in my wardrobe. It feels good to know they are getting used and can easily mix and match with other garments in my closet to get as much use out of the items I made as possible.

I started keeping track of my outfits because of my Instagram and blog, to catalog my makes and it has been a fantastic way to see what I am wearing and what I should repurpose or re-home. If you are feeling stuck in a style rut I’d highly recommend keeping a record of what you wear and how you wear them. It’s been a helpful tool to find my personal style.

Designing clothing has been a journey of learning how outfits come together within an existing wardrobe. That is my biggest takeaway from the last four years and what I’m excited to apply to my future creations as a designer and maker.

Potato Technology’s Version of a Vintage Shirtwaist Dress

You will recognize this fabric if you’ve been here since I shared my Spring/Summer 2023 collection. I originally purchased it for a Christmas present project as part of my Autumn/Winter 2022 Collection for a pair of pants. I happened to not share it on the site. With the extra yardage, I made a blouse and a matching skirt I styled in 2023 as separates and a set.

This got me thinking, should I just make it a dress? So I did, I sewed the two together with mixed results. I liked the dramatic drape of the shoulders in contrast with the defined waist but the fabric is thin and I knew I wouldn’t wear it as a long sleeve garment. So I chopped the sleeves to a flutter sleeve option.

This felt even worse when I wore it as a short-sleeved dress. The dress was constructed well, the fabric of good quality, and the color scheme flattering but I did not reach for it. The sleeves made me feel weird and wide instead of cute. I didn’t feel like me. Have you ever experienced that with a garment or a project you have made? There’s nothing technically wrong with what you made or what you tried on, but it feels off. This left me with one more option. No sleeves.

So I chopped the sleeves entirely and that’s when I felt like I struck gold! It looks like a dress my Grandma used to wear. Shirtwaist dresses were her staple dress and I see why. They are versatile and practical. I can dress this up or down. I can layer over or under for different looks. It’s a dress I know I’ll be making again with a proper button placket and pockets for sure.

2000s Style Off-The-Shoulder Sweater and Tutorial

In middle school, I had a black off-the-shoulder sweater with a wide fold-over collar and a coordinating skirt in gray and black stripe. It was the first skirt outfit I tried wearing over pants, a trend that has come back in popularity over the past few years along with the 2000s style. All of this has made me nostalgic for my old sweater, but not interested in buying one like it because I don’t love the new take on 2000s fashion with our current-day fabrics and fast fashion construction. It’s just all off-kilter from the original subject material.

So, I had an idea. What if I tried making one with the yarn in my stash? I had several skeins of this navy tweed from Big Twist that I didn’t buy with a specific purpose, and it took up space. It seemed like a fun color I could coordinate like I did with the Houndstooth Denim dress worn as a maxi skirt. It was an ambitious make.

I’ve only been making sweaters for a few years and had no experience designing a pattern with no collar or shoulder seams. There was a lot to think about. How could I incorporate the big fold-over collar? How do you add sleeves with the new style lines? How do you keep it on the shoulder enough so it doesn’t fall down? As with most of my makes, I dove head first into the project ready to fail if that meant I learned something!

The first obstacle I found was not having enough yarn, shocking right? I was surprised I had multiple skeins of this blue, but it wasn’t enough to get the longer length, so I had a choice to buy more or get creative in this stashbusting project? I decided using what I had was more important than keeping the original vision so I chose this gray yarn I also had in my stash from the Bunny Hat project. It brought an interesting contrast to the tweed and I actually loved the color blocking once it was done.

The arm holes were such a challenge. As I was knitting this piece top down, I first knit the ribbed collar and then reduced down for the body section, leaving enough of the collar on the edge to insert an armhole after I was done with both the front and then back. All was seamed together and for a first try, I’d say it was a success. The geometry definitely worked. I had a free range of motion. It was a win!

What was not a win was my over-calculation when it came to fit. I forgot to accommodate the size needle I was using, a US size 8, which knits up with a larger gauge. I had been using US size 7 more recently and I sized like I would have for this gauge. My second mistake was not accounting for the stretchiness of this yarn. It is an acrylic and nylon blend that gets roomy with wear leading to a sweater that simply didn’t fit.

After the move, several months after this project was done, I tried this on again and realized that I had toned up more than I thought carrying all those boxes because the sweater slips right off my shoulders and off my hips too. It’s a total size failure! Now I’m not sure what to do with it. I’ve already taken in the collar back in April, I don’t think I can take it in again and it is constructed well so frogging this project is not going to be easy. It’s a shame because I think I had a good design here.

I think my only option is to potentially re-home it and make another one following the tutorial that I shared on Instagram which was my first time doing that. I felt such imposter syndrome! To my surprise, it was met positively even though it was not created for circular needles. It showed me that sharing my craft and creating tutorials is becoming a calling, free tutorials, and free knitting and sewing tips because I just want people to do this too.

Potato Technology’s Spring Summer 2024 Collection Part Two

L to R: Main Sails Billow Tank with Updated Houndstooth Shorts (2023)

Star and Moon Sanderson 1693 Vest with Dungaree Buttons

Vintage Fabric ‘I Just Adore Puff Sleeves, Marilla’ Blouse with Tie Back (Deadstock)

Purple Set Sail Tank with Peplum in Sheer Cotton Gauze, Fishing Tackle Chambray Mini Skirt with Matching Belt,

Vintage Fabric Green Thrill Blouse with Flutter Sleeves (Deadstock)

Koala Empire Waist Tank Repurposed from PJ Pants

Rabbit in Thicket Camisole Repurposed from Shorts (2023), Map Skirt Repurposed from Map Dress (2023)

Dressing Like Elizabeth Swann and Hocus Pocus

If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?

At the moment I would choose this combo because it makes me feel like I’m Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean. I love the way the vest turned out so it looks like a 17th-century men’s waistcoat but over this mini dress, it transforms and has a shift and stays kind of vibe. I feel like I am ready for an adventure!

This vest was inspired by Dani’s costume from Hocus Pocus. It is made from a cotton print with a buttoned bodice and flared-out waist. The dress was made from cotton vintage deadstock fabric that I was gifted from my Grandma Schlachter’s fabric stash.

1990’s Inspired Princess Seam Dress

When we were living in Meadville in 2019 and I was getting into thrifting, I found a lovely 1990s dark purple velvet princess seam dress. It was longsleeved and midi length with a scoop neck and stretchy velvet knit that draped lovely from the waist. I could tell from the label it was vintage. It had a different attitude. The dress reminded me of dresses I wore as a kid that were so special yet accessible.

I was thrilled. It was a comfy dress that I would style with lace-up boots, tights or leggings, and a moto jacket. It made me feel special during a period of my life where nothing felt that special. In 2019, I was bored, stuck in a dead-end job, looking for a new purpose, navigating some drama with my dysfunctional family, and getting used to a new city. It was a weird time.

Over the years my body changed and I donated it back but it continued to live in my head, wishing that I had kept it, so much so that the first dress I ever designed was a recreation of the piece which I talked about in #3 – First Sewing Project. Comparing the pieces I made side by side, I can see the growth in my skills and understanding of fabric which makes me pleased to see.

October 2020
March 2024

The left dress nailed the color but everything else about it was jacked up. The sleeves were poofy, and the skirt and bodice were draped well but I know the construction was questionable because it was the second item I sewed ever. I think if I can find this fabric again I’d like to recreate it with my current skill set. The dress on the right I cut out with my own drafted pattern piece based on my measurements. I cut it out in two pieces and sewed it with a zig-zag stitch with medium to low tension and tapered the waist with four princess seam darts. I also reinforced the shoulder with a second layer of fabric that anchored the shoulder seam.

I think I’m going to get a lot of wear out of out of my new princess seam dress. I’ve worn this dress over a few days when my local weather shifted from a warm stretch of 70 degrees Fahrenheit to a rainy, cool 50s and 40s. Because this dress is a polyester stretch knit jersey yet is lightweight, it was comfortable on a warm day. Yet when it cooled down I was able to pop on a sweater and found it easy to style with a pair of boots.

With a sweater, this dress looked like a skirt and it has transformed my approach to how I want to wear my clothing. It may seem elemental, but I’ve usually been a pants and top girl in the winter reserving dresses for the summer, but as my style evolves I’m finding that layering and pattern clashing is something I feel most like myself in.

Long story short, my new me-made dress has surpassed my love for the original, thrifted dress. I love the animal print and the fact that this was a remnant fabric from Walmart yet I believe looks like it came from a higher-end fabric store.

I’m excited to continue designing items in this silhouette and utilizing my own paper patterns which has been a huge step in achieving my vision for the garments I make. I’ve also been working in a lot of stretch fabric this year to gain more knowledge and improve my skills to keep growing as a designer. Without the practice and determination to keep going, not to mention patience because mastering any skill takes so much longer than the internet wants us to believe, this would be a different dress. It would not fit me well, it would not be constructed well, it may not have even made it through the sewing process, and would have been scrapped.

That is why practice is so important. And you know what the real big moments are? Not just your successes but being able to look back at the failures, and the mistakes, and see how far you have come. Such as this dress that I made in 2021, which although the design was cute, fell apart because I didn’t understand how to properly construct stretch fabric nor did I understand how to choose the right fabric for a garment for it to be successful. But now I get it and now I understand how to fix it and if I decide to remake it, I could! And that brings me a whole lot of joy!

The Striped Cat Ear Beanie

The Inspiration

Stray Kids. More specifically, Felix’s hat on stage at the Music Bank Paris performance in 2023 and Hyunjin’s striped crochet beanie during a video in 2023.

The Plan

It seemed simple at first glance but then again, new knitting patterns can be a bit confusing so I did research, to be safe. The cat ear is a corner and the point or drape, depending on the structure of your beanie is created by the length of the hat horizontally across. Once I understood that the shape would be determined by these top corners it was easy to jump in!

So I cast on 50 stitches on size 8 needles with worsted-weight acrylic yarn (I’m allergic to wool) and alternated between olive green and teal every three rows. After 55 rows, I cast off and sewed the two panels together to form this lovely cat-ear beanie. Honestly, such a fun and easy project once the ear structure clicked. 🙂 I’d say if you are an intermediate knitter you could make this over a weekend for sure, potentially in 24 hours if you were in a super rush. As a beginner, I’d say give yourself a week and take your time to keep the stitches even across. Sew up the sides and top with a tapestry needle.

I think the trickiest part was choosing what colors of yarn to use for the striped pattern. I didn’t want to make an exact copy this time, well I couldn’t anyway because I don’t currently crochet, but I wanted to use a unique color palette from my existing stash. These colors are some of my favorites in my stash. I’ve found the color story versatile to style with both cool and warm-toned accessories. I think the earth tones help keep it neutral. I love it and reach for it the most out of all the hats I’ve made in 2023.

The Marguerite Jacket

When I put this jacket top on for the first time, the finished piece, I felt this sense of completeness. What I used to sketch, what I would aspire to be, the aesthetics I was drawn to during those formative years of finding my personal style in the late 2000s and early 2010s before life got a bit weird, this was the type of fashion I wanted to be a part of. It’s the kind of thing I’ve been waiting for my skills to develop to reach the imagination held inside. Waiting for the chance to express itself in more than paper and pen, in thread and fabric and form!

My early projects were a product of the times, a year spent online instead of in the world, historical fashion, cottage core, and dark academia, but not the personal style I had cultivated. Big projects were hard, blazers seemed impossible. But they are so iconic. I crave structured pieces like that in my wardrobe, I mean I wrote an entire essay on the jackets and structured fashion that is the Don’t Stop Music Video by Ateez. That is 4 minutes of glorious outerwear inspiration!

This project at times seemed borderline cursed. I cut this jacket out the day I screwed up my tweed coat and notched lapel pattern by forgetting to mirror the pieces. Not the best start to a day of design work, but perseverance and clear-headedness prevailed to keep this pattern on track. But then, it sat in my stash waiting for me to get started. I hid from it in case I failed it.

One day, I put the pieces on the form and began to pin. The lines of a jacket, structured shoulders, and excess fabric hang around the collar, waiting for the traditional form to take shape. I pinned it exactly how I thought I wanted it, and the sewing process made a few edits for me and my plan. My machine took the lead and created the happy accident, the darts around the neckline. The collar was inserted with more attitude than my intention but I prefer the edge, the little twist on the blazer that has become the Marguerite Jacket.

With the wide lapels, I pinned them back against the jacket to create these triangle shapes on the body of the jacket top. I decided to lean into the attitude of the silhouette to add an exposed zipper and black buttons for a bit of a British punk little spice. I anchored the collar down in the front, balancing the chaos and structure into a garment that walks the line between blouse and blazer. It’s comfy, it’s fun, it’s versatile. I’ve styled it with flare, baggy jeans as pictured. I’ve styled it as a blazer over a cocktail-style dress. I know it will be fun to try it out over cargo pants, skirts, shorts, etc. I look forward to it! I also look forward to wear my designs evolve from here as moving forward I plan to become more cohesive in my aesthetics and collections.

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