Wardrobe Wednesday: All Time Favorites

Two of my most worn (as well
as much loved) accessories.

Instead of showing you an outfit incorporating another of my finished designs, I’m going back in the archives to show you two of my much loved and most worn pieces for slow fashion October. This week’s prompt actually made me go and take a look at what I’ve worn most from the things I’ve made, and one of two that made the cut was a surprise even to me.

Can you see how the button holes/band has
stretched (in the upper left of the photo) from
so much wear?

Anyone who has followed this blog or my design career knows how much I love neckware – any and all neckware – so seeing a shawl-cum-cowl make my most worn list should be no surprise. The one I’ve chosen here is the prototype that led to my Rustically Elegant Shoulder Warmer, the first design to make a paid print publication (and not merely an individual pattern for download), so it has a special place in my heart … as well as, obviously, my neck. In fact, I’ve worn it so much that I need to reinforce and/or otherwise take care of the button band on it; I’ve still got a small amount of one of the fibers I originally used, so I’m good to go on the repair. I might also swap out the buttons, I’ll see.

The second item to make my most-worn/loved items is my Woolly Mammoth mittens. This design is not mine, but from a fellow hooker/occasional designer who has played a pivotal role in my design career. This Friendship Mittens design is a real favorite of mine. I love the post stitch cable running up the front of the mitten and the easily customizable yet well-functioning design. While last winter was incredibly mild here in the Pacific Northwest (which is usually fairly temperate even in the worst of winter seasons), we’ve had a few past cold and snowy winters and these mittens absolutely came in handy. I crafted them with a combination of worsted weight mohair and Noro Kureyon and their warmth factor is off the chart.

I made these finished pieces back in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and I can’t believe how much I’ve learned about fiber and grown as a designer since then. While I have no desire to use a sewing machine (sorry, no offense to the sewers out there, but la machine is not for moi), I am amazed at how much I really like my ability to be able to make, as well as repair, things for myself. I have a fair amount of mechanical and spatial abilities, and knowing how to engineer things that fit me and are functional as well as fashionable feeds into that ability. There’s also no better sense of accomplishment than seeing a design come to life from one’s own hands.

Just color me one of the poster children for slow fashion.