A Stitching Odyssey: One Week, One Pattern – Renfrew

I’ve been quietly playing along with Tilly’s One Week, One Pattern (OWOP), but couldn’t commit to posting about it each day because of my surprisingly time-consuming, yet incredibly fun Mad Men style files. Instead, I’ve gone for the overkill approach of posting a week’s worth of Renfrew outfits in one go - don’t worry, I washed the repeats mid-week! It's the first time I’ve taken part in anything like this and it’s been a really interesting experience.

Before bombarding you with my photos I must admit that on the Monday and Tuesday I had to change out of my cowl Renfrews due to the freakishly warm weather we’ve been having in the UK. Oh, and I couldn’t resist including a snippet of my boyfriend’s thoughts for each outfit because they were so amusing...you’ll see what I mean as the week progressed! Just to clarify, he’s pretty awesome - as long as I’m happy with what I’m wearing he’s happy - but it was so entertaining to force his honest opinion out of him.

Day 1: Saturday 24 March 

Top – Floral Renfrew 

Jeans – ASOS

Shoes – Office

Necklace – Primark

Boyfriend's opinion: This is his favourite of my Renfrews, so the outfit got a big thumbs up.

Day 2: Sunday 25 March

Top – Purple Renfrew 

Cardigan – Primark

Jeans – Topshop

Shoes - Office

Boyfriend's opinion: Another thumbs up! He's a fan of colourful outfits.

Day 3: Monday 26 March

Top – Tiger print Renfrew 

Skirt – Aubergine Ginger 

Tights – Primark

Shoes – Miss Selfridge

Boyfriend's opinion: Not his favourite outfit ever, but not for any specific reason.

Day 4: Tuesday 27 March

Top – Grey cowl-neck Renfrew 

Dress – Topshop

Tights – H&M

Shoes – Office

Belt - Primark

Boyfriend's opinion: He was unsure of the summery dress layered over the wintry top.

Day 5: Wednesday 28 March

Top – Floral Renfrew

Cardigan - Primark

Skirt – Western Ginger 

Tights – Primark

Shoes – Topshop

Boyfriend's opinion: “It's like you're a 50 year old in the 1940s about to call the kids in for dinner.”

Day 6: Thursday 29 March

Top – Purple Renfrew

Skirt – Primark

Tights – Primark

Shoes – Primark

Necklace – Primark

Boyfriend's opinion: “It looks like you're wearing a fat girl's school skirt high up on your waist.”

Day 7: Friday 30 March

Top – Stripey V-neck Renfrew

Cardigan – Primark

Jeans – ASOS

Shoes – River Island

Boyfriend's opinion: “Hmm, it looks like you're off to the gym, but not when you've got your cardigan on.”

Six things I learned from taking part in OWOP:

• I adore the Renfrew pattern and my mind is overflowing with future versions. I’m not so keen on the cowl detail for myself though, so these are likely to be scoop and V-neck from now on.

• Sewing with jersey has been an absolute joy – so much so that I decided to make my Mad Men dress out of it. There’s really nothing to be afraid of - put your mind at ease by checking out Lauren’s post on conquering knits.

• I would love to have more me-made clothes that match. Instead of always being drawn to prints, it would be good to sew with some plainer fabrics now and again or to even sew a capsule wardrobe...although I wouldn’t know where to begin with the latter! 

• I like to ‘pose’ with my hand on my hip...a lot! Maybe it’s an insecurity thing, but I don’t have a quick remedy for this I’m afraid, so you’ll have to learn to deal with it ;o)

• I’m lazy when it comes to accessorising – I must work on this.

• I really, really need to do more with my hair! I’ve been growing it out for that precise reason, but I’m still as rubbish with it as ever. 

Did you take part in OWOP and if so, was it as fun and educational for you too? 

If you're joining Karen for end-of-OWOP-cocktails tonight, I hope you have a blast!