When Sheona of Sewisfaction announced that she’ll be hosting the #owop18 challenge again this year, I jumped up with joy! I took part in the challenge last year and it was a great chance to get my creative juices flowing. I couldn’t stay out of it this time, no matter how busy I am.
In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me give you a few information. The #owop18 stands for One week, One pattern and you basically wear garments made out of the same pattern for an entire week. It doesn’t have to be 7 different garments nor all the same versions. You can hack the pattern you chose or simply use 1 garment and style it differently.
Last year I played around with the Ultimate Shift dress by Sew Over It, mostly because I had a few fit issues with it that I wanted to correct. You can see my 7 versions HERE. For 2018 though I decided to use one of my own patterns. Well, I basically used this challenge as an excuse to sew more clothes and show you some hacks -but don’t tell anyone, ok?
The pattern I chose is no other than the Rachel jumpsuit and trousers. Not only do I think it’s very versatile, but even if you used only 1 garment for the entire week, you could easily wear it 7 different ways. In fact, I like this idea so much that I’m gonna take up this challenge soon and show you how. Because I am a freak, I happened to have 7 versions of the Rachel (mostly due to the fact that these were samples for the pattern launch) so I didn’t have to wear the same one twice.
Day 1 -November 26th
Nothing can beat a dull Monday morning than a rainbow top. I felt miserable that day and really wanted something to pick me up! So I wore my denim Rachel jumpsuit but instead of pairing it with a top underneath, I put my TATB Nora over it. Super cosy and snyggly -until you have to go pee… (don’t even ask!)
Day 2 – November 27th
I love wearing jumpers in the winter (who doesn’t?) so on Tuesday I paired my gingham trousers with a batwing jumper that I bought years ago and still enjoy! These Rachel trousers were made out of a suiting fabric from Minerva Crafts, which has some slight stretch to it. I was afraid I’d be out of this outfit and back in my pajamas by noon but it was in fact very nice to wear all day. Thumbs up for this combo!
Oh, as you can see I had to stand in the rain that morning to take these photos, haha! I also felt extra Christmassy so I put on my reindeer ring, which is handmade by a Greek small business and I wear it every holiday season 🙂 The earrings are a million years old, I don’t even remember when or where I bought them :/
Day 3 – November 28th
You can’t really tell by the photos, but I was almost crying when we took them. It was the COLDEST day of the year on Wednesday and I had to stay in our yard with no coat and wearing only a 3/4 length jersey top. Worst outfit pick ever! Nevertheless, I put on a cardigan when we went back inside so it was fine for the rest of the day.
This is a hack of the Rachel trousers. I sewed on a pair of suspenders to create this funky, corduroy dungarees and I adore the overall look! I got a few side eyes at the super marker, but who cares? The top I am wearing is the Sheona top, which I hacked into a slash neckline top (full tutorial on how to do that is available HERE). The eagled-eyed amongst you will notice that I am wearing my reindeer-themed accessories again that day, this time I also have the matching necklace on haha!
Day 4 – October 29th
I didn’t have the chance to take a photo that day, so I cheated a bit and photographed my outfit the next morning. Anyway, I know you’ll forgive me! I wore my black Rachel jumpsuit, which we sewed together at the pattern’s sewalong video. I managed to actually hem it two days ago (oh Lord!), just in time for the challenge. It’s such a versatile piece to have in my wardrobe. Perfect color, easy to style up or down, what more can I ask for?
This time I paired it with another Sheona top hack, the one where I modified the sleeves to turn them into bishop style (you can find the tutorial for that HERE). The coat I am wearing is not handmade -sadly- but it’s a very special piece in my wardrobe. It’s a wool coat that I bought years ago, when I was in university, with the first money I’ve ever earned! The earrings are new and I got them from H&M last week.
Day 5 – November 30th
It’s Friday!!! Finally! I decided to go semi-formal that day and was surprised one more time with how comfortable these trousers actually are. They may convince me to wear clothes more often in the morning (#self-employment= I stay in my pajamas more often than I want to admit!)
This is actually a new make. I used a very weird fabric from a Greek store, Tsagrinos.gr . There wasn’t any description on their website and it kind of feels like a soft wool with some stretch to it. Definitely synthetic, but still very nice to the touch. Nothing too fancy here, just the trousers version of the Rachel pattern. I paired it with a RTW top from H&M and my burgundy Nikki cardigan. The earrings and head scarf are also from H&M. In all transparency I didn’t wear those black heels inside the house, but I wore my burgundy slippers. It does count as fashionable. Doesn’t it?
Day 6 – December 1st
It’s officially the beginning of winter and since this Saturday was a bit relaxed, I decided to keep it casual. My denim Rachel jumpsuit made its appearance again but this time I styled it with a striped top from H&M and my new white sneakers, again from H&M.
Day 7 -December 2nd
Sundays are usually spent with family and we all eat at my parents’. Jim and I like to dress up sometimes, mostly because we go out for coffee after lunch and it’s nice to have a nice ourfit on. So my choice for the last day of this challenge was my Rachel/Kimberly mash-up. I’ve used the waistband and panels of the Rachel jumpsuit and the half circle skirt of the Kimberly dress to create a pinafore style dress. You can read all about this hack HERE.
As for styling, I opted to wear the dress with a broderie anglaise shirt underneath to give it a more polished look. I love its bishop style sleeves and how cute it looks! I pulled my hair up into a semi-messy bun and finished the outfit with my trusty black heels from H&M.
And that’s it! These were all my 7 entries for the #owop18 challenge. I hope you enjoyed seeing them all and that I managed to showcase the versatility of the Rachel sewing pattern.
If you do like the pattern, you can get your own copy HERE.
Until the next time, happy sewing!
Athina
Leave a Reply