STYLE

WORKSHOP
10 Exercises to Focus Your Style
 CONTENTS

Style Workshop

INTRODUCTION 03

INVESTIGATE 07

EXAMINE 14

DEFINE 20

ABOUT SEAMWORK 28

APPENDIX 29

HAVE FUN WITH IT

• Print it out or fill it out digitally

• Use colored markers, pens,
or pencils
• Draw in the margins
• Save photos of pages on your
phone for reference
• Do it with a friend
• Share your learnings in the
community

2
 INTRODUCTION
Focus & Fun

There’s a common trait that seems to run You might struggle at times with approaching
through nearly every person who becomes your sewing with thoughtfulness, you might
a part of Seamwork: you are intentional. get distracted or frustrated sometimes, but you
have a real desire to make sewing meaningful.
Each time someone new joins the Seamwork
community, we ask them to share their goals for And you can get there. If you’re willing to
the next year. We’ve heard from thousands of put a bit of time and thought into it, you can
you, and these are the types of things you say : cut through all the noise. You can make a
wardrobe that gives you confidence, because it
I want to create a wardrobe that fits me
truly expresses you when you’re at your best.
inside and out. Getting dressed can feel like an energizing start
to your day, where you begin each morning by
I want to sew a wardrobe that makes me
expressing who you really are. And because
feel confident.
you sew, this is available to you in a way that
I want to have fun as I develop sewing it’s not for most people!
skills (oh, and also... a new wardrobe).
That’s why we’ve put together this workshop—
I want to focus my sewing instead of to get you started immediately on your path to
being distracted by the sea of sewing a handmade wardrobe. Of course, crafting a
patterns out there. handmade wardrobe takes time. But you can
do a few quick exercises that will put you on the
All of that sounds pretty intentional. You don’t right track today.
just want to acquire more stuff. You want to
make things in a thoughtful way. You want to use
sewing as a creative way to explore and express
who you are. And in the end, you want a beautiful
wardrobe that reflects that.

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 3 Steps to a
Handmade Wardrobe

This workshop is designed to help you define your

style in a way that’s meaningful to you. But what
comes next?

Here are the 3 steps we recommend for creating a

handmade wardrobe you love:

1. Define Your Style: This workshop helps you do

exactly that. When you’re done, you’ll come away with
a few keywords that help you do focus your decisions
around what you make and wear.

2. Design Your Wardrobe: Use your style words from

this workshop to design a seasonal mini-wardrobe.
Our program to help you with this is free to all
Seamwork members, and you can learn more here.

3. Sew Your Wardrobe: Once you have a plan in place,

get accountability and support from the Seamwork
community, along with all the resources and patterns
you need.

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 How to Use These Exercises

Each exercise is designed to take between DESCRIPTORS AND FEELINGS

5 and 20 minutes. Each is labeled with an
approximate time, so you can plan accordingly. At the bottom of most of the exercises, you’ll

Of course, the time it takes will vary from notice areas to write down descriptors and

person to person, depending on how much you feelings. After running through the exercise,

have to think about. write down any descriptive or feeling words

that came to mind or felt important to you as
Begin with the starter exercise. This is a very you went through the process.
simple exercise that should take between 2 and
5 minutes, and will help you begin the thinking Descriptors are words like “classic,” “neutrals,”

process. Even if you do nothing else, just this or “bright.” Feeling words might be something

one quick thought exercise can help you start like “serene,” “energetic,” or “confident.” These

to shift your thinking. words will help you build a foundation for the
final exercises, in which you’ll choose your top
style words.
THE REMAINING EXERCISES
ARE DIVIDED INTO 3 AREAS:

1. Investigate: Take a look at the deeper

aspects of personal style and who you are.

2. Examine: Process your thoughts and

feelings about your clothing to better
understand what you value.

3. Define: Create a core style from what

you’ve learned and define it with words
and visuals.

ENJOY THE PROCESS

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Starter Exercise T I M E : 2-5 minutes

The Precious Few M I S S I O N : Connect your

clothing to your feelings.

We’re going to begin with a very simple, quick exercise In the areas below, write down any descriptive words that
that will help you begin to think critically about what you come to mind, and any feelings that came up. These could
want to add to your life through sewing. be physical feelings, or emotions. You’ll be collecting words
like this at the end of each exercise in this workshop.
First, ask yourself this question: What are 3 items
currently in my wardrobe that make me feel that I’m at
my best? These could be everyday items like a good pair
of jeans, or they could include something only worn for
special occasions. Whatever they are, they show you at
your best in some way.

Once you have these 3 items in mind, close your eyes

and visualize the last time you wore each of them. How
did you feel when you wore them? How did you feel
physically? How did you feel about yourself?

DESCRIPTORS FEELINGS

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Investigate

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 The first three exercises will help you
investigate your own identity and how it
might be reflected through what you wear.
We’ll quickly get beyond the surface level
in order to explore what personal style
really means to you, right now, in your life.

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Exercise T I M E : 15 minutes

Dig Deep M I S S I O N : Explore your identity.

Many times, style is seen as a matter of personal preference. But where do those
preferences really come from? In this exercise, you’ll explore some of the key
aspects of who you are. These parts of your identity will give you greater insight
into how you might choose to express yourself.

We’ll look at 4 key areas: your history, values, culture, and body.

HISTORY:

1. What objects in your life have significance for you? What do they represent?

2. In what ways has your personal history informed the way you dress?

3. At what age did your tastes crystallize? Have they changed since then?

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VA LU E S:

1. What makes a person beautiful to you?

2. What makes a person unattractive to you (think beyond the physical)?

3. What would you like more of in your life?

4. What values that you hold would you like to see reflected back to you each day?

C U LT U R E :

1. How has your cultural background shaped the way you look?

2. How did the aesthetics and values you grew up with shape your tastes as
you got older?

3. How would you describe your friends? What draws you to them?

4. What are your pet peeves in others?

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BODY:

1. What do you like best about your body?

2. What clothes make you feel good about inhabiting your body?

3. What physical aspects do you find difficult to dress? Are there types of
clothing that make you feel uncomfortable or alienated from your body?

4. What is your favorite form of exercise? How does it make you feel?

DESCRIPTORS FEELINGS

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Exercise T I M E : 5 minutes

My Ideal Self M I S S I O N : Identify the best parts of

who you are, so you can express them.

Who are you when you are at your best? Think back to a moment when you felt that you
were at your best. Perhaps it was when you
Psychologists describe the “ideal self” as the took a big risk, accomplished something great,
image in our minds of how we want to be. overcame an obstacle, or lived by your values.
The “real self”, on the other hand, is the way Try to recall how you felt and what qualities you
we actually are. It’s how other people see us, exhibited that made you choose this moment.
and how we form our self-image. The greater
the perceived disconnect between the ideal self Finish by writing down the descriptive and feeling
and the real self, the more anxiety it creates. words that came to your mind.

By recognizing the best parts of ourselves, we

can bring them forth more often. Of course,
clothing and creative acts like sewing are only
one small part of how we do this, but why not
engage all parts of our lives in bringing our best
selves forward?

DESCRIPTORS FEELINGS

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Exercise T I M E : 5 minutes

Get Real M I S S I O N : Explore your

lifestyle and context.

Your style should be rooted in the particular reality of your 2. Is climate a factor? How do seasons affect the way
life, the things that make you truly comfortable and that fit you dress?
the context of your world. This helps to ground your style,
so you're not simply projecting a fantasy self that has no
relation to your real life.

Clothing should celebrate who you are, right now, as a person.

3. In a typical week, what are the main situations you

Today, our questions focus on your lifestyle and who you need to dress for? (e.g. work, gym, gardening, etc.)

are at this moment. We're going to explore the things you

do and don't wear and what sort of circumstances you
need to dress for.

1. How does the place you live inform the way you dress? 4. How do you relax? Do you dress differently in your
free time?

DESCRIPTORS FEELINGS

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Examine

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 In this part of the workshop, we’ll examine
some of the clothing you wear right now in
order to find out what you value the most.
Rather than sorting through your entire
wardrobe, we’ll get to the heart of it by looking
at what you wear most, and what you love.

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Exercise T I M E : 10 minutes

The Staples M I S S I O N : Identify the clothing you wear the

most and why, to help uncover what you value.

In this exercise, you’ll seek out the items in your Look through your wardrobe and choose the 5-7 items that
wardrobe that you wear the most often. This is best you believe you wear most often. Write a brief description
performed when you’re at home, so you can go of each item. Next to each, write why you believe you wear
through your actual wardrobe. it often. What function does it serve for you?

S TA P L E I T E M S I WEAR THIS OFTEN BECAUSE...

DESCRIPTORS FEELINGS

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Exercise T I M E : 10 minutes

Beloved M I S S I O N : Identify the clothing you love the

most and why, to help uncover what you value.

Now that you’ve uncovered what you wear most, let’s dig Next to each, write down why you love this piece so much.
into the items that you love the most. What are the 5-7 And, as usual, write any descriptors or feelings that feel
clothing items you have that you absolutely love to wear? important to you below.
You may want to refer back to the starter exercise to begin.

BELOVED ITEMS I LOVE TO WEAR THIS BECAUSE...

DESCRIPTORS FEELINGS

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Exercise T I M E : 5 minutes

What I Value M I S S I O N : Explore what you truly value in your

wardrobe, and what is less important to you.

In the context of your wardrobe, you may believe that you Putting your finger on exactly what's important to you about
have the same goals everyone else has. You want to look your own clothing and how these kinds of needs balance
good, be fairly comfortable, feel like yourself, probably not for you personally goes a long way toward expressing who
spend too much time getting dressed. you are as an individual.

In fact, we all have different needs and requirements when Fill in the scale below to rate how important each of
it comes to our clothing. Some of us value having an these dimensions are to you, on a scale from 1 (not at all
immaculate self-presentation at work because it makes important) to 7 (extremely important).
us feel confident and powerful. Some of us prefer total
comfort, no matter what. Some of us put a high value on
feeling attractive, and others on looking crisp and smart
and capable.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 - not at all important

C O M F O RT 2 - somewhat unimportant

3 - moderately unimportant
MOBILITY
4 - neither important nor unimportant

FIT 5 - somewhat important

6 - moderately important
SELF-EXPRESSION
7 - extremely important

A P P R O P R I AT E N E S S

VA R I E T Y

OTHER:

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DESCRIPTORS FEELINGS

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Define

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The last part of the workshop will help you to
define your style. We’ll process all the words
you’ve collected throughout these exercises
and distill it down into something you can use:
a small set of style words and a mood board to
visualize them that you can add to over time.

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Exercise T I M E : 15 minutes

Style Words M I S S I O N : Sort through all the words you’ve

evoked to define your style.

You’ve finally arrived at the final act. We’re going to collect Give yourself some time with this
together all the words you’ve come up with so far, add to exercise. It may be helpful to come back
them, and then distill them down to the essentials. to it after a few hours to give the words
a chance to percolate. You can always
You may have many, many descriptive words and feelings revise it later as well.
that have come up through these exercises. By simplifying
these down to the most important few, you will have a
north star for your wardrobe that can guide you in making
decisions about what you buy and how you spend your time.
And best of all, you will feel a sense of coherence, because
your wardrobe is telling a true story about who you are.

1. On the next page, list out all the words you came up with at the end of each of the previous
exercises. You don’t need to separate descriptors and feelings; just list them all.

2. Add in any other words that you think represent your answers, if they didn't come up naturally.
You can open a thesaurus if you wish, or browse some sample words in the appendix.

3. Choose up to 10 words from this list that feel most important and meaningful to you. Circle these.

4. From these 10 words, are there any that can be condensed together? Is there another word that
encompasses a few of them in a way that makes sense to you? Is there a synonym for a word
you've used that you like better?

5. Finally, narrow your list to 3-5 words that you feel are most in alignment with you. List your 3-5
words here on page 23.

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My Words

23
 My Core
Style Words

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Exercise T I M E : 20 minutes - 1 hour

Visualize M I S S I O N : Create a visual representation of

your core style that you can add to over time.

Because it’s easy to interpret language in multiple 1. Collect 20-30 images into a core style mood board that
ways, the combination of words and images together helps define the words you chose. Your images do not
is a powerful way to tell a visual story. The images need to all be fashion-related. For example, you might
create an accessible portrait of a particular style, while
choose to add images of textures, colors, artwork such
the words pull the meaning and value out of them.
as paintings, photographs of places, or anything else

Your next mission is to create a visual representation that evokes the style you are trying to shape.
of your style words. For the sake of ease, and because
2. Add the words you chose to the mood board. If you’re
you may already use it, we recommend creating a
Pinterest board. If you already use Pinterest to collect using Pinterest, you could add these in the name of the
inspiration, it should be easy to pull some images board, or the description.
together from these into a new board.
3. Continue adding to and evolving this board over time! This
If you don’t want to use Pinterest, feel free to create will help you keep your core style fresh in your mind, and
a physical mood board, or use another tool. Adapt the maybe even show you when your style has evolved.
exercise to your own preferences.

Some might prefer to begin with a digital tool like

Pinterest, but eventually move into the physical world.
There is something about creating a physical mood
board that gets your brain thinking in a new way,
and helps you to retain ideas better than a digital
representation does. After all, you're inundated with
digital text and images constantly. Playing with photos
and scissors and tape will be novel to your brainand
it’s a great way to decorate your sewing space too.

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Exercise
T I M E : 5 minutes

Reflect M I S S I O N : Reflect on your Learnings.

In this last exercise, it’s time to reflect. What have you uncovered
through these style exercises?

If you’re a Seamwork member, share your learnings with us and the

rest of the Seamwork community.

1. What came up in this process that was unexpected?

2. What is the main thing you learned through these exercises?

3. How do you see yourself using your core style words and board
as you move toward creating your handmade wardrobe?

If you’re not a member, learn more about our community and all
the benefits of being a Seamwork member, including access to
hundreds of sewing patterns.

Share with the

Seamwork Community

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

community.seamwork.com

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 Your Next Step

If you want to continue your journey towards a personal,

meaningful handmade wardrobe, we’d like to invite you to
the Design Your Wardrobe program.

Design Your Wardrobe is a step-by-step process that

helps you to design a seasonal wardrobe for yourself that
you can actually sew. Best of all, it’s completely free with
your Seamwork membership.

Design Your Wardrobe is available as either a self-guided

program you can do any time, or a three-week live course
we teach twice a year.

You’ll learn the creative process thousands of other sewists

have used to design a small collection that can be made in
a season, and get the support of your fellow sewists along
the way in the private Seamwork community.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DESIGN YOUR WARDROBE

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 About Seamwork

Seamwork is here to help you create your

handmade wardrobe.

As a Seamwork member, you get:

• Access to over 200 modern sewing

patterns, so you can make exactly what
you want to wear at any time.

• Two new patterns each month, so there’s

always something to inspire you.

• Exclusive bonus variations, so you can

take your patterns further.

• Dozens of video sewalongs, to help guide

you through tricky projects (or just a
tricky step).

• A vibrant, private community of

thousands of other sewists, so you
always have a place to turn with
questions, challenges, and successes.

• Discounts at your favorite indie fabric

stores, so you save money on the
beautiful fabrics we recommend, from
trusted sources.

Not a member yet? Learn more about all that

you get with a membership and become part
of our community.

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 APPENDIX
Sample Style Words

These are some sample words others have come up with when defining
their core style. Riff off of these and use them to spark ideas.

Alluring Crisp Quirky

Androgynous Dramatic Refined

Architectural Ease Relaxed

Artistic Eclectic Retro

Athletic Effortless Romantic

Bohemian / Boho Elegant Sexy

Bold Fresh Simple

Casual Fun Sleek

Chic Glamorous Smart

Classic Laid back Sophisticated

Clean Minimal Sultry

Colorful Modern Tailored

Comfortable Natural Timeless

Cool Polished Trendy

Conservative Preppy Understated

Cozy Professional Vintage

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