Shoulder Season

Top (L-R): Cypress sweater/Free Range skirt; rtw cotton sweater/Zwei Leben II denim skirt/Chinook scarf; Garnet Boneyard scarf/Arctic drop shoulder linen shirt/Free Range skirt; Bottom (L-R): Cypress sweater/Chinook scarf/blue terry Elemental skirt; Beet linen drop shoulder shirt/Beet Free Range skirt (unblogged); Evendoon sweater/Hunter terry Elemental skirt

Rae recently did a fall outfits post, and I thought it might be fun to do the same.  I like seeing older makes on other sewists, and seeing how they put outfits together from new and old pieces, so the following is a series of outfits I wore in the past month or so.  It should be said that the weather has been all over the place this fall.  

Top (L-R): Spruce Carbeth/Marigold linen skirt; Teal knit Coco top/Chinook scarf/Free Range skirt; Dawn linen drop shoulder top/Free Range skirt; Bottom (L-R): Pine Remy Raglan/Rust cord skirt; Seafoam Remy Raglan (unblogged)/Oregano cord skirt/rtw plaid wrap; Pine Remy Raglan/Mustard cord skirt

It was early October before I could even think about tights, and then there was a week of sweater weather in the middle of the month, followed by milder temps again.  Mostly we are into legit fall weather, although the temps are supposed to continue to drop (thank the Lord) this coming week. 

The new linen drop shoulder tops have gotten a lot of wear, as they don't make me sweat and don't have to be tucked in so I get air movement underneath.  Ditto the Free Range skirt hack, and my newly elasticated Rose skirt hack which are my new favorite skirts.  I used the last bit of teal knit from the dress I made this summer to make a 3/4 sleeve Coco top that I intend to replicate.

Just a basic top, but at a length I don't have to tuck in to look nice.  Short-waisted people of the world represent!  I used Tilly and the Buttons' Coco dress and cut it at the lengthen/shorten line, which seems about right.  I cut a size 5 for the top, although I grade to a 6 at the bottom for a dress.  I faced the neckline, cuffs, and hem with 1" wide fabric strips, which I like, but I might try a simple turn under on a future iteration.  The seam allowances are generous, and I could possibly use a smidge more room across the chest and back, so I'll probably sew the side seams at 1/2" next time.

 

My yellow Chinook scarf gets a lot of wear around this time of year, and the yellow goes with a lot of my clothes by virtue of being one of those strange neutrals.  It is a linen-cotton blend, so the perfect fiber/weight for this time of year.  

 

I do have more trouble wearing scarves since I started having hot flashes--anything close around my neck can bring them on--but I'm learning to wear an interesting necklace under the scarf so that when I inevitably have to ditch it, I still look like I put together an intentional outfit. 

Katie Kortman does a lot of color challenges and one time she challenged analogous color combos (colors that are next to each other on the color wheel).  I've always wanted to try it, but couldn't quite pull off the right combination until I hit upon this one.  I really like the Cypress with the Elemental and the pop of yellow from the scarf.   I'd like to crack a monochrome combo as well (otherwise known as #dresslikeacrayon) but still haven't found the right combination. 

On to flannels!