Mini Wardrobe Contest plans

FIRST, thanks so much for all your wonderful comments on my Vogue 1150 dress. This is the first time I've ever received over 50 comments on a post. I'm blown away by all the feedback!

The Mini Wardrobe Contest over at Patternreview.com is set to kick off March 16th and run through April 15th. I am determined to enter and finish this one, even though I'll be out of town for part of one week. But it's only 4 garments. I should be able to do that easily, and hopefully won't get tired of my color pallet in that short amount of time.

Here are the fabrics I've chosen. I'm usually more of a vibrant color lover and pink is not my favorite. Especially this pale color pink. But somehow I've amassed a small array of coordinating fabrics and I do love pink and gray together.

As you can see I have 5 fabrics chosen and only need to make 4 garments. The three in the middle are definites and the outer two I can't decide between.

On the left is a black tweed suiting weight polyester with flecks of gray and white in it. I've got Burda's skirt 120 from the November 2009 issue paired with it.
The pink crinkled silky-type-polyester-something-or-another (augh! I never know the names of fabrics!) is going to be made from NewLook 6831, view D (top right drawing). It is low cut and I plan to wear either a black cami or white cami underneath, depending on what it's paired with.

For the middle pink printed silk - my favorite from the bunch - I'm planning to make a simple knee-length bias skirt using Simplicity 4881. BUT, I don't do elastic waisted anything, so will be drafting a waistband for it.

For the gray wool suiting I'm planning a fitted jacket. I love jacket 129 from Burda's September 2008 issue, and have been saving it for the perfect fabric. I plan to do the topstitching in thick black thread. It'll pop just a little off the gray color, but not enough to distract from what I'll be wearing underneath. Although the bow from the pink blouse and the ends of the jacket lapels might make too much fabric in one area. I'll probably make the blouse first and then decide on the jacket design.

The pink on the far right is actually a thin textured knit. Thin and see-through and delicate. I've had this fabric in my stash for several years and have struggled with what to make out of it. A church friend of mine has the cutest tiered knit skirt that I've been thinking about replicating for awhile now. Then I found a similarly spaced tiered dress on Kwik Sew's website. You may think - Oh Horror! - unflattering ruffles and no body definition!!! But I think if I make this out of the thin pink knit in a figure-hugging smaller size and sew the ruffles in the back as well as the front that it just might turn out super cute and flattering too. I think. And it would look nice under a fitted gray jacket as well.

So, do I make the black tweed skirt to pair with the pink blouse? It might look kind of bland from behind when wearing with the gray jacket. Or do I take my chances with the pink tiered dress that might go horribly wrong but would look better with the gray jacket?

***Where to find the contests at Patternreview.com***

I totally understand any confusion about upcoming contests. I found that site a bit hard to navigate at first as well. Okay, click on the "Message Board" tab at the top of the site. Sometimes you have to click it twice because the first click only shows new pattern releases and such. Click on "Contest Discussions" under the "Contests" bar. There you can find a complete list of all the contests for the year under "2010 Contests" as well as all the discussion threads for each contest. HTH!