The beginning of the hygge collection

 We have had that day this week- the day when you get up to walk the dog in the morning and think "it's changed, I can feel fall."

This year will be a little different. 

For reasons we all know about we are not going to do our regular winter trip to the US. We have been doing that for the last ten years, saving up our vacation when we were both working. It will be weird to be at home for the winter this year, all winter.

Because of our annual trips I always see my fall/winter sewing as half warm weather clothes making. 

This year I will be at home and either in the house or out in the cold, for 5-6 months.

Getting your head into this space requires considering the Danish term hygge very seriously. Canadians don't have an equivalent term, unless you call it hockey season, but we do have an equivalent climate.

Pretty much everyone has heard of hygge these days. It is that sort of cozy, snuggly, comfortable holed up securely at home situation that seems to me to particularly relevant to the times ahead. Workers at home will even be hygge in the office this year.

So with these weighty issues in my mind right now I have decided to do a full on hygge winter wardrobe.

To me this will involve sewing some new clothes that hopefully should feel like old clothes.

I have been thinking about a book these days my kids and I used to read "Need a house call Miss Mouse." Miss Mouse was an architect and she made homes for various animals. We used to look at the pictures and everyone would decide what was our favourite house. I learned a lot about my kids by seeing what house they chose.

This was my favourite, the fox's den. I could totally live there and live like that. Just add a sewing machine.

These are the homes my daughter liked best and they seem to me to be very pandemic relevant. 

First Bear's house, for hibernation:

And Worm's house, well-stocked:

I am pretty sure my winter is going to look like one of the above and I intend to be dressed for it.

To start this I pulled out my favourite old Jalie sweatshirt pattern. I have tried other sweatshirt type patterns but this one is my favourite - I like the high ribbed neckline, the loose but not too loose body, and the fact the sleeves aren't sloppy -a lot of the other ones I have sew had wide necklines too that didn't feel this cozy.

Here is the pattern envelope:

The trick to update this pattern I have decided is to not do the waistband ribbing too tight- just slightly smaller than the bottom of the top is fine and avoids the bloused in look.

I made my version in a french terry with sort of embossed dots on it. I picked this up at Joann's in my travels in the kids fabric section.

Now this, like a few other pictures, was taken in front of my husband's motorcycle. He bought the bike out of nostalgia a few years ago and uses it primarily to run down to the store for ingredients when he is cooking. He is definitely not a biker unless there is a group somewhere called " We are out of cilantro."

However the bike is vintage and shiny and if I want to interrupt him to get a picture taken I have found saying "why don't we do a picture of the bike?" generally works pretty well.

So here I am in the first of many holed-up-for-the-winter tops and my neon turquoise glasses which I guess suit both my top and the prop.