Silk dreams

In my mind this was all sorts of browns, but getting it out
again it's prettier than I remembered.

When Mr Robot and I went to India, one of our souvenirs was two metres of incredible block-printed silk. And this stuff was pricy. I decided I wasn’t going to do anything with it till I had the skills to do it justice, but have been keeping my eye open for the right pattern. Well, now I've found one! It’s exactly the sort of thing I like. While not a 60s pattern, the simple shape and scarf collar definitely have that sort of vibe, though it probably needs to be a couple of inches shorter. (An easy pattern tweak.)

And that's got me thinking about what I'm making again. I’ve started reading Jasika Nicole’s ‘Try Curious’ blog after seeing a post she did on Instagram. She’s been sorting out her wardrobe and looking again at colours and styles that suit her, because sometimes what we make and what we wear are very different things. I think I really need to do that. I'm pretty good at choosing things I like and will wear nowadays, but still get distracted from time to time, especially now I'm not limited to the choices in the shops. My dresses are fine – there’s not too much mixing and matching to do with a dress – but I’m seriously considering yanking out all my separates and going through them.

That silk, this top!

A lot of the bloggers I read are very good at getting rid of things they no longer wear; that’s very difficult for me. Part of me longs to be ruthless and say “THAT’S NOT ME!” about things I don’t know if I still want to wear. But there’s another part that says “YOU MIGHT NEED THAT!” and also “YOU’RE THROWING YOURSELF AWAY”. Not sure I need to listen to the latter voice; we all change sometimes gradually, sometimes dramatically. So I think I need to look especially hard at the pieces I possibly no longer want to wear and ask myself what might make the difference, what will make me want to wear them again. A new top? The pieces that spring immediately to mind are my classic wool skirts, pleated tweeds and tartans. I loved those skirts. And the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced the answer is not to get rid of them, but to make new tops to go with them.

I’m not a fan of modern jersey fabrics. They’re so flimsy. Seriously, take a T-shirt from the 1990s and compare it to a modern one. And a lot of knit-fabric tops sold by womenswear departments are even worse. They show every lump and bump, every bra strap. I can’t be doing with them. So I’m looking at my beloved me-made sleeveless shirts and thinking “The pattern is perfected; why don’t I just make these in several colours?” And aside from “lack of time” there’s no good answer to that. I’ve already got emerald green linen in my stash. Turquoise, navy, mustard, white… a few more would make a massive difference. And they’ll be good for pinning brooches to which is always a massive bonus.

To be honest I'm not sure what I'd wear the silk top with, beside my beige tweed trousers. But won't it be pretty?