5 Steps for Sewing Fashion

Fashion sewing, in my eyes, is basic garment sewing with a little extra thought and inspiration involved. Your clothes are the first thing people see before they get to know you so why not make your style choices fashionable and memorable! Anyone can sew basic wardrobe pieces, and this is definitely a priority, but when you take the extra time to brainstorm and sew high end looks successfully it is SO full-filing. Follow my 5 steps for sewing fashion below and put them into action the next time you want to bring a piece of fabric to life! 🙌🏽

Step #1

BRAINSTORM – Similar to essays written in school, the first and most important step in successful fashion sewing is brainstorming. You need a plan. So this is the time to identify what fashion means to you and how you’re going to implement that into your finished look. I usually like to draw my inspiration from a single muse (a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist). Where will you draw inspiration from? The gorgeous model on the cover of Vogue, the exciting architecture you see in the New York fashion district? Wherever you are sourcing inspiration you want to make it very clear and hold that image or images in your mind. Make a moodboard to help you with the vision. Pin your ideas, colors and fabric swatches onto it. Anything placed in plain sight that relates to your current idea will encourage creativity and most importantly action. So be sure to position your moodboard somewhere easily visible in your creative space. Sometimes you may need to take a few days or even weeks to let all the ideas settle, It’s all part of the process.  

Step #2

MODIFY – Tweak your ideas to the “simplest” form and eliminate any unnecessary features. Often times we have so much going on and we try to throw it all into one garment. The truth is these sort of creations are left for the runway where clothes are exaggerated for the “awe” factor and not practical for daily life. I’m not telling you to hold back I’m telling you this is one garment that doesn’t need all the bells and whistles. This step may fall into a minimalist aesthetic, so by all means if you want to skip this process, I will not judge! We all have our own style and that’s what makes us each so special.  

Step #3

SKETCH – Get the ideas out on paper. I’m personally a terrible artist but luckily there are tons of resources for pre made fashion croquis (ready to go bare illustrations of the body) available and ready to sketch our ideas on. Like this bonus project planning sheet included with any Rosy Peña Patterns purchase (see image below). This is the actual resource I use anytime I’m planning a new project, and it saves me a ton of time on trying to draw my own. If you are an artist and love to draw this is your moment to shine, get the garment illustrated in as much detail as possible down to the texture of the fabric. Even scribble down small notes on where the person is going. What’s the occasion, fabric names, etc. This is the image/sheet that holds all the condensed down thoughts and ultimately the creation that what we want to bring to life!

Step #4

CREATE – Finally! Creating is often the most exciting part for many. You have your ideas finalized and committed to paper so now it’s time to grab your sloper or a pattern in your stash similar to the design you want and manipulate it to your vision. Always sew a muslin, or two or three and don’t be afraid to tweak the design to your liking. Often times the initial look envisioned can still benefit from a few minor changes, this ensures we are left with a finished piece we are happy with instead of a mess we made because we wanted to “stick to our guns”. Lastly, grab the fashion fabric you planned for the look you want and CREATE!

Step #5

STYLE – There are truly no finished fashion makes until you add your own unique touch and styling to it. You want your final look to be an extension of your persona and how you want to be seen. Style away! Utilize accessories such as rings, scarves, bracelets, studs, pins etc. and go rock your finished garment! 😍

I hope you found these 5 steps for sewing fashion helpful and will use them the next time you have a creative vision you want to bring to life. Utilize and tweak all available resources to be the most beneficial for you and I’m confident you’ll be sewing successful fashion in no time! Embrace your creativity, I can’t wait to see all your stylish makes!

All my love,

Rosy Peña

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