Project 333: Summer

I finally got everything photographed and collaged, so without further ado, here is my summer rotation!  I'm only a week late.  Better late than never!

Left column, top to bottom:

Red twill skirt, Railroad denim skirt, Turquoise twill skirt, Chambray skirt

Red cotton cardigan, coral rayon cardigan, aqua-teal cotton cardigan

Deco lawn dress, White florals dress, Bandana dress

Second column:

Nike dress, Vintage rayon dress, Buttercup dress, Liberty #3 dress

Third column, top to bottom:

Feedsack blouse, vintage lawn floral blouse, Strawberry fields blouse, Liberty blouse

White linen blouse, Bunny blouse, Music notes rayon challis blouse, green knit tee

White knit tee, red knit tee, turquoise knit tee, fuchsia knit tee

Right column:

Blue gingham dress, Cherry blossom dress, Pincushion dress

I've shown a few of the new things already this week (the White Florals dress, the Blue gingham dress, and the Bandana dress), and some stuff is from last summer or the summer before (the Nike dress, almost all the woven blouses, the Pincushion dress, and the Libery #3 dress), but I still have a few new things to show in the coming weeks.

This rotation is a bit "heavier" than some of my other rotations.  I have 10 dresses, 12 blouses, and 4 skirts, plus 3 light cardigans that probably won't get much wear.  That makes 29 total garments and 4 pairs of sandals for the summer, but I realized this week that I need the extra pieces for the summer because I sweat so much  in the humidity that I can't count on wearing something more than once before I have to wash it.  

I do a darks load about twice a week, but I can go a week and a half between lights loads, so I don't want to run out of clothes!  I also line-dry most of my clothing, and with the humidity in the summer around here, sometimes it takes a day for stuff to dry on the line in the basement.  I also know that I go through periods in each rotation when I'm all about the dresses and other times when I just want separates, so I wanted to be sure I had enough options.  I remember last year that I thought two knit tee shirts wasn't really enough.  I think I have enough this year!  I'm not sure that the white tee shirt was a fabulous idea, but it is a brand that I like, it was $5 second hand, and it is VERY hard to find tee shirts that meet my criteria, so I bought it and will hope for the best.

~A small tee shirt rant~

I had a TERRIBLE time finding solid-colored tee shirts that met my criteria this summer, and I was super frustrated about it.  My criteria were as follows: 

• short enough to be worn tucked in or untucked without looking weird or awkward (so about 22" long)--it seems like many retailers are making their tee shirts 25-26" long these days.
• a scoop neckline that was high enough to clear my bra line, but lower than a crew neck--why does every retailer want to cut their scoops to hit in the middle of the chest or, conversely, has a crew neckline that chokes you above the collarbone? 
• 100% cotton or linen/cotton blend
• substantial enough to maintain shape through the day (i.e. not tissue thin)
• not too boxy

You'd think this wouldn't be that hard, but it really was.  The stuff that is cut in a flattering way is often made of synthetic material and also cut too long and low for my taste, and the stuff that is 100% cotton is often kind of frumpy and boxy, and it is really hard to find the intersection of the two.  I had good luck with the Rafaella brand (three of my tees are from that line, found second hand on ebay and ThredUp).

So at least I was able to find some tee shirts for this year.  Unfortunately, I find most tee shirts last a season if I'm lucky, so I'll probably have to do this all over again next year. At least now I have a brand to look for!

~end rant~

I will say, now that I'm almost a full year into Project 333, that I'm finding it hugely informs my sewing, and that my sewing needs are gradually getting less over time.  I think I can count that as a win for the Project!  I find that I'm mostly sewing from need rather than for novelty.  I'm pickier about the fabric I buy, and have a good idea of what fabric brands I'm happy with over time, and which types of fabric and prints suit me.

I did more sewing for this rotation because I had the least amount of garments carry over from last summer.  I've lost enough weight that almost none of my dresses from last summer fit any longer, and I was never very happy with the skirts I wore last year (and I shrunk out of them by the end of last summer anyway).  My woven blouses all fit better this year, as they were mostly sewn when I was smaller.  All to the good.

I've planned my fall and winter rotations already, and my sewing needs for both are dramatically reduced from last year.  I'm still losing weight, so I'll probably have to alter some skirts, or make new, depending on the shape I end up, and I have a couple of dresses planned, but I was able to carry over a lot of items from last year.  I also have knitting projects in the works for my winter rotation, which ended up being a little thin on pullover sweaters.  I'm not particularly speedy on the needles, so we'll see how much I can finish in time to wear!!

I am pretty happy with this rotation and I think I will get a lot of good use out of everything this summer.