This is a challenge I’m giving myself but the world, I feel, also has a part in it. There is so much stuff around – in my studio especially it sometimes feels! – and I’m issuing myself a ticket for holding onto things too long without making them useful. In all fairness, I often have lots of stuff to do and I do have to wait until I come up with the right ideas for things.
There are shelves full of fabric on rolls and notions in bins and I’ve had enough of looking at it and thinking about all of the things I want to do and haven’t done yet. Some of the things I bought and can remember why; some of it I bought and not only can’t remember what my plan was, I can’t even imagine why I chose it – but it’s mine now and I must figure it out!
Sometimes folks give things to me from their mothers’ and grandmothers’ houses when sewing is no longer a regular habit for one reason or another. There have been so many coffee cans full of buttons and one of my favourite things to do while I’m watching a show is to sort them. In and amongst the regular, plain old buttons there are always some real gems from the olden days and that’s always something to look forward to.
I also do some work in film and television making costumes and props and am often left with chunks of fabric – from random chunks to rolls of yardage. More often than not it’s stuff that I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen but that’s part of the fun in trying to figure out what the heck to do with it!
This is the challenge I’m presenting to myself:
I am to use only materials I already have to make the majority of Oona styles for the coming year. Unless I absolutely have to purchase fabric or notions for a specific design (or if I absolutely cannot resist something I see Dressew post on Instagram!), I will be sourcing from my own collection.
There’s so much amazing stuff to use in the Oona Studio and I know for sure that I can come up with all sorts of cool things to make (I actually already have!)!
Along the same vein, I’ve been making “Post-Production” styles for the last bunch of years and these are often made of bits and pieces of fabric leftover from runs of other things. Sometimes I sew chunks of fabric back together to make yardage and then recut it into garments so each one has unique “scars” and sometimes I take the approach where I cut different pattern pieces from different fabrics and the result is more of a colour -blocked garment.
Some of the things given to me are actual items that are not commonly used anymore such as doilies, table runners, table cloths and garments that nobody would likely wear for various reasons.
Let’s see how it goes! I’d love for folks to follow me as I take on this endeavor and I know there will be lots of amazing Oona products coming this year (I already have lots of fantastic ideas)!
It’s all one of a kind or one of a few so it’s all the way special.
X’s and O’s
Tina
