Afi Ruel Whether you’re a beginner or veteran sewist, you know that making a garment takes time, money and skill. Even the “easy” designs are not so easy sometimes. But before you start cutting your fabric…in fact, before you even buy the pattern…there are two things you must do before you make a garment. These two things are crucial, because there’s nothing worse than spending time, money and effort on a garment just to be disappointed because of two things that you had absolute control over.
These two things are foundational, so make sure you take the time to do them:
First, you need to know what you are on what I call the fashion color wheel. This wheel is similar to a color wheel that artists use when creating color sketches and painting. Except in this color wheel, there are 4 quadrants that describe where you fit (as determined by your hair, skin and eye color): winter, spring, summer and fall. That’s right! You need to know what season you are so that you know what colors look the best on you. I am a winter. One of my best colors is a true yellow. But if I pick mustard or gold, they can make me look washed out as those are colors that are found in another season on the color wheel..
Second, you need to know what your body type is. Your body type will determine what silhouette of garment looks best on you. For example, if you are an inverted triangle or an apple, you want something that will help create the illusion of an hour glass figure on the bottom half of your body. This is important as I’ve seen many women who wear clothes that are absolutely fabulous but that do nothing to flatter their body type. When this happens, it causes the observer to notice why the garment doesn’t work for you rather than notice how fabulous you really are and how great you look in that get up!.
For details on how to know what season you are and to discover your body type, try the Wear What You Make Community (click below):
