How to sew a capsule wardrobe you’ll love to wear

Curious about capsule wardrobes and what that has to do with you as a person who sews? This post is all about how to sew a capsule wardrobe.

In the world of the KonMari method, capsule wardrobes have been gaining popularity.

It’s easy to see the appeal: a few key wardrobe staples that you can combine into endless outfits. Way to press the easy button on getting dressed.

But if you’ve ever wanted to know how to sew a capsule wardrobe, you run into a few problems.

Sameness. Anybody else bored to heavens with the idea of neutral colored everyt…..? Sorry, I just dozed off typing there for a sec.

So here’s my ideas for how to make a capsule wardrobe with color that’s all your style and something you can get excited about. Because making endless garments that don’t go together or that you don’t wear is no good people!

Let’s revamp your closet with some handmade power!

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What is a capsule wardrobe?

From Wikipedia: “A capsule wardrobe is a collection of clothing that is composed of interchangeable items only, to maximise the number of outfits that can be created. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing. “

Capsule wardrobes are popular in minimalism circles with people like Marie Kondo and among fashion stylists. There’s several variations of the idea of the capsule wardrobe including the French capsule wardrobe which focuses on creating a wardrobe from a handful of essential wardrobe staples that are well-constructed with long-wearing fabrics and timeless designs.

Personally, I think the popularity of a capsule wardrobe comes from the simplicity. Few of us are natural fashion stylists by nature. Capsule wardrobes provide people a simple, easy to follow formula for getting dressed and combining a few items to get the most out of their money.

Who should make a capsule wardrobe?

I’m assuming that you are a person that makes a reasonable amount of her own clothes.

But maybe you’re stuck in a rut because you got into the habit of making, making, making and not actually using what you’ve made.

Here’s how to know if you should make a capsule wardrobe:

1. If you struggle with putting outfits together despite having a full closet, making a capsule wardrobe might be for you.
2. You might think about creating a capsule wardrobe too if you have a particular aesthetic that’s difficult to find in ready-to-wear clothes.
3. Making a capsule wardrobe also lets you dive deep into where your clothes are made. If you’re concerned about sustainability or the waste of fast fashion bothers your conscience, making a capsule wardrobe might be for you.

What are the benefits of creating a capsule wardrobe?

Capsule wardrobes, whether they’re small like a French capsule wardrobe or larger can allow a certain sense of freedom when you get dressed everyday. And shoot, when YOU are the one putting all the colors and textures together, you hold all the cards! Your DIY handmade capsule wardrobe has the potential to 100% reflect your personality and style.

A capsule wardrobe can allow you to:

• Make your wardrobe more wearable by increasing the number of combinations any given piece of clothing can be mixed with.
• Create a wardrobe with a clear color palette so all the pieces look harmonious together.
• Lessen your “getting ready” stress in the morning.

How to start making a capsule wardrobe: Research first!

First, get some ideas.

• Go onto Pinterest and search “capsule wardrobe” with whatever season you’re in. Give yourself 30 minutes. What grabs your eye? Save any pics that jump out to you. At the end of your time, see if you can find any common ideas in what you’ve picked in terms of color, certain styles etc.
• Read style sights like Who What Wear or Inside Out Style. There’s a ton of helpful information on both of those that’ll help you start planning.
• Check out your favorite pattern company’s website. Many of them have patterns that can be combined into wardrobes, and many have wardrobe patterns available.

This tool will make planning a capsule wardrobe easy

I’ve been a fan of Frump Fighters for years. They put together detailed style guides for women, kids, and men.

Their style guides are an absolute treasure trove of ideas. Sometimes it’s overwhelming trying to put together everything on your own. What I love about Frump Fighters’ products is that all of the heavy idea work is already done for you. I often use my What-to Wear Outfit Calendar as a starting point when I’m putting together small capsule wardrobes and in my daily handmade wardrobe wearing. I’m a busy Mom with not a lot of time for primping and fussing, so this calendar makes it so easy to plan my outfits.

A lot of times I’ll pick up the calendar for the week and tweak each day based on what I have in my closet and what I like. I did that here with Outfit #156a, taking the idea of a neutral dress, hat, necklace, and print flats. For my version, I used one of my favorite handmade linen dresses (a Burda pattern), textured suede booties, a favorite lace necklace and print fedora. Definitely fun for Spring and not something I’d put together without a little inspiration.

That’s the fun of this calendar–it gives you countless ideas that make planning a wardrobe fun.

You can pick up the What-to-Wear Outfit Calendar and any of Frump Fighters excellent products by clicking here. My readers get an automatic 15% discount with the code: EMADETHIS.

How to sew a capsule wardrobe: pick your fabrics

The first thing to consider when you’re thinking about how to sew a capsule wardrobe is your fabric.

Pick a collection of fabrics that you love. Here’s a couple things to consider when you’re choosing fabric for a capsule wardrobe.

Quality first!

If you don’t love the fabric, and they’re not that great of quality, you’re not going to wear the end result. Ever.

I’ve been guilty myself of making things that I’ve never worn, and it’s a bad feeling! Sewing for yourself is too much of a time investment to not end up wearing what you make.

In fact, go through and purge your fabric stash of anything that’s not good quality. You know what I’m talking about: those mystery knits and scratchy poly/cotton blends. If it’s hanging out in your stash, it’s taking the place of fabric that you’re actually going to love sewing.

If you don’t want to trash or donate icky fabrics, you can always still keep them around for muslins.

Check out this post on organizing your fabric stash for some fabric organization ideas.

Pick a color palette

Another way to ensure that all the pieces in your handmade capsule wardrobe go together is to keep them in a similar color palette. In fact, color just might be the best weapon in creating a wardrobe that works.  You’ll be amazed at how seemingly disparate silhouettes and styles can suddenly make sense together with a similar color palette.

This is where I’m going to steer you away from neutrals.

Bring out the color. Go for colors that make you feel happy and alive when you wear them. A mix of prints and solids is good and aim to mix 2-4 main colors.

Keep a couple solids in there or mix up your solids with texture. A good jacquard is a great example of a solid that acts as a print too. It’s subtle pattern that can liven up a handmade capsule wardrobe.

If you’re not sure how to pick a color palette that really works for you, here’s an article from Seamwork I wrote a few years back.

Think about your weather

The last thing to think about as you consider your fabrics for a handmade capsule wardrobe is your local weather.

If you live in a colder climate with unpredictable weather, layers are going to be a helpful thing. Think merino wools, cashmere, and sweater knits you can add to an outfit to add an extra layer of warmth when its needed.

If you’re in a warmer environment, look for lighter weight, breathable fabrics like linen, rayon and cotton.

You can even sit in your fabric stash and pile up all the fabrics together to see how they’re going to layer with each other.

Now that you have some fabrics in mind, let’s move on to getting some ideas for your capsule wardrobe.

Check out sewing books for inspiration

Another place you might find some inspiration for your handmade capsule wardrobe is in sewing books. There’s been a few books of late that have patterns that combine into a wardrobe. You may or may not love the patterns, but definitely these kinds of books can give you some ideas. Here’s a few to check out:

• House of Pinheiro’s Work to Weekend Wardrobe: a collection of patterns from popular sewing blogger Rachel Pinheiro. I love that there’s variations and ideas for styling each piece for your life.
• Sewing Your Perfect Capsule Wardrobe: this book by Arianna Cadwallader and Cathy McKinnon walks you through making a mix and match wardrobe with 5 cornerstone pieces. This book is meant for advanced beginners. It’s a good spot to start when you’re ready to move past the basics!
• Breaking the Pattern: from the people behind Named Patterns, this book offers patterns to help you make 10 pieces for a great capsule wardrobe.

What do you like to wear?

Think about what kinds of clothes you LIKE to wear. If you’re not a button-down shirt kind of person, that thing has no place in your wardrobe! Likewise, if you wear a lot of skirts, definitely keep that in mind.

If wardrobe basics like slacks, blazers and neutral anything bore you, see if you can find a similar idea of a style with added details that’ll be a step up from basic. Think a jean jacket in a fun color instead of a traditional denim jacket or a t-shirt with puff sleeves over a basic crew neck.

Write down the big categories of things you wear the most. I’ll do me to give you an example:

• Knit tops
• Skirts with personality
• Creative jeans
• Awesome jackets
• Scarves, always scarves

And here’s an example capsule wardrobe from this list:

The players in this yellow and pinks capsule? (FYI, the links take you to the tutorials here so you can make these looks yourself!)

• Yellow ruffle sweatshirt
• Ivory wool scrap scarf
• Burda 2-2007-113 skirt in striped wool
• Basic tee henley hack with snaps in rayon blend mottled coral
• Chevron refashioned cashmere sweater
• Burda 1-2011-126 cardigan in rose gold sweater knit
• Neck warmer scarf in cotton french terry stripe and pink chenille knit
• Ombre dyed corduroy Jalie 2908 jeans with extra flare

Keep it mini!: a simple formula for how to sew a capsule wardrobe

Now that you’ve thought about what kinds of clothes you like to wear and you’ve gathered some ideas, you’re ready for the next step.

I’m going to advocate for you to keep it crazy simple and plan to make just 6-8 things. These little mini capsule wardrobes will still mix and match to make a lot of variety in your everyday, but you’ll still have enough variety to keep it interesting.

Another benefit of mini capsule wardrobes, is that you can make several for various parts of your life. Give me examples, Elizabeth!

• Activewear capsule: 2 workout tops, 2 leggings, 1 layering top, 1 jacket
• Momiform capsule: 1 knit top, 1 dress, 2 pants, 1 jacket, 1 cardigan
• Mini work wardrobe: 1 awesome skirt, 1 pair of slacks, 1 blazer, 1 cardigan, 2 tops

You see what I’m getting at here? With just a couple things to choose from, you’re not going to run into wardrobe fatigue. Keep it simple! So here’s your formula for a handmade capsule wardrobe:

Handmade capsule wardrobe = 2 tops + 2 bottoms + 2 toppers + (optional) 2 accessories

What qualifies as a topper?

Knit tops, button down shirts, dress, woven tees, tank tops, breezy woven tees etc.

What qualifies as a bottom?

Pants, leggings, shorts, skirts, dresses (double duty those dresses!), etc.

What makes a topper?

A topper can be a cardigan, jacket, vest, shrug, bolero, denim jacket, coat, or sweater. In the activewear example, it could be another layering top you throw over your regular workout top.

A topper can be a cardigan, jacket, vest, shrug, bolero, denim jacket, coat, or sweater. In the activewear example, it could be another layering top you throw over your regular workout top.

Don’t overthink your accessories

I threw accessories in there too because sometimes you want to add something else. Simple necklaces or a vintage brooch can add texture and interest to a plain outfit. If you wear earrings, mix in your favorite pair.

Scarves are great in fall and winter, and they’re typically really quick and easy DIY projects. Check out these winter sewing projects for several different DIY scarves to make.

Now that you have your ideas, you’re ready to get going on this handmade capsule wardrobe thing!

Pick your patterns and sew!

The last thing to do when you’re planning how to sew a capsule wardrobe is to pick your patterns.

For mini capsules, I like to stick to a couple of basic patterns I’ve used. From there, I like to add something different to them. Some ideas for mixing up basic patterns:

• Add a back keyhole neckline to a basic knit top
• Change up a sleeve with an extra sleeve flounce or make a jacket sleeveless for a different look
• Use a really wild fabric. A showstopper fabric can add instant flair to a basic.
• Add some pleated trim to add a focal point to a basic button down

Give yourself a timeline to get your wardrobe completed by. You might think about batch sewing to get things done efficiently. Check out these batch sewing tips to streamline your process.

So that’s how you can create your own capsule wardrobe with your own two hands, color and a sewing machine. Once you get through finding good fabrics, getting ideas, and picking your patterns, you’ll be ready to make a capsule wardrobe that you will love to wear.

How about you?  Are you a capsule wardrobe believer, or do you approach outfit making more casually?