One of our most requested contests is our CAPSULE contest! We have previously done 3, first in the spring of 2017, the fall of 2017, and again in the spring of 2018. We get asked constantly to host more, so we’re bringing another fun one to you along with Patterns for Pirates this coming month. We love sewing mini capsules here at Made for Mermaids! It’s so fun and a great way to challenge yourself to create a wearable handmade wardrobe. Plus it’s also perfect to get ready for the upcoming Me Made May (yay!).

This year instead of choosing a specific season to create a capsule for, YOU get to choose what kind of capsule you want to create! A few examples would be a vacation, work out, lounge, lingerie, professional, swimsuit, or a more general spring or summer capsule. The beauty of this contest is you can look at your handmade wardrobe and see where you may be lacking and what you might need. You can choose to create the capsule for yourself, your child, your partner, or even a friend (you’d be a really really amazing friend if you did so 😉  ).

This blog post will quickly run over the contest information. This week both Made for Mermaids and Patterns for Pirates will be running SITEWIDE SALES!! So make sure to grab any patterns you may need to sew up your capsule. Use the coupon code

CAPSULE

for 35% off your total purchase now thru Sunday, April 4th, midnight cst. The code is good on both M4M and P4P sites. It won’t work on patterns already on sale or with other coupon codes.

 

WHAT IS A CAPSULE?

Well, a true capsule wardrobe isn’t specific to a season. The goal is really to reduce the quantity in your wardrobe, and instead replace it with quality staples and accessories to create outfits that can be worn multiple ways. Our capsule contest borrows the general concept of a capsule wardrobe, with the goal of creating multiple outfits and looks using only a small number of pieces.

Here are some of our very own Queen of Capsules, Colleen’s past capsules to give you an idea of what I mean:

WAIT HOW MANY THINGS DO I HAVE TO SEW?

This year you will choose 9 pieces created from either Made for Mermaids or Patterns for Pirates patterns. You have to sew at least 5 new pieces you create for the contest and the other 4 or fewer can be previously made M4M or P4P garments.

 

CAN I MASH PATTERNS?

Sure! The finished pieces just must be made from Made for Mermaids or Patterns for Pirates. Any combination or a mash-up will work.

 

WHERE DO I START?

This week you’ll want to start loosely planning your capsule. Decide first what type of capsule you’d like to sew and make a list of patterns you may need. Purchase any patterns you may need this week while they’re on sale! You can start looking for inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest, different retailers, TikTok, and Facebook.  Additionally, begin to look at your fabric stash to see what you can put together to coordinate into your capsule. Check to see if you have any M4M or P4P pieces you already wear often that can be incorporated into your capsule. If you need to purchase any fabric to complete your capsule, you want to do so soon, so you get it in time!

I really love creating a digital mood board for capsule planning. I like to put the patterns I may use, fabric, colors, and inspiration photos together to make sure everything will coordinate. I just use Canva or another collage-making app on my phone to do this. A few examples are below.

 

HOW DO I ENTER THE CONTEST?

Really easy, just post your progress each week in the Made for Mermaids FB Group or in the Patterns for Pirates FB Group with the hashtag:

#sewminicapsule

You can also tag us on Instagram (@madeformermaids and @patternsforpirates) with the same hashtags

#sewminicapsule

#madeformermaids

#patternsforpirates

Additionally, you can tag @madeformermaids on TikTok as well!

We’ll be choosing winners via all the above platforms, so the more you post with the hashtags and tags, the more chances you have to win. For the weekly prizes, you can post your ‘mood board’ for your capsule inspiration (see photo below and more on this later!), photos of your patterns cut out, your fabric choices, a selfie of what you’ve sewn, etc.

For the FINAL prizes, you must post your final 9 pieces sewn by April 30th midnight cst, on any of the above platforms with those hashtags/tags. You can post them in a collage format or as individual photos. They can be modeled or flat lays or your capsule.

 

HOW DO I WIN?

We’ll be choosing 4 weekly winners on April 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd from the above entries.

You have until the end of the month, April 30th midnight cst, to post your final capsule for your chance to win the final prizes. There will be 2 runner-ups and 2 grand prize winners.

All winners will be chosen randomly. Note only one prize may be won per household (you can’t win on both Instagram and Facebook for the same prize).

 

WHAT WILL I WIN?

16 weekly giveaway winners will win:

• One pattern of choice from each M4M and P4P
• $20 gift card to a fabric store of choice OR $20 PayPal (winner’s choice)

2 final runner-up winners will win:

• A $20 store credit from each M4M and P4P
• $50 gift card to a fabric store of choice OR $50 PayPal (winner’s choice)

2 final Grand Prize winners will win:

• A $20 store credit from each M4M and P4P
• A Brother 1034D Serger OR $200 PayPal (winner’s choice)

 

We are so excited about this contest and hope you are too! I know this year has been a little chaotic for us all and if you need a push to start sewing again, I really hope this is it 🙂  It will be so fun to get inspiration from eachother and create this together. If you have any questions, leave them below or simply ask in our Facebook groups for help!