Showing posts with label #memademay2017. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #memademay2017. Show all posts

Tuesday, 13 June 2017

Me-Made-May 2017 Review

It's the second week of June and I have only just got around to my Me-Made-May 2017 review. I really enjoyed the whole process although I ran out of people I could pester for a photo towards the end of the month. Again, a huge thank you goes out to the lovely Zoe of SoZo blog who created this awesome event eight years ago.

It would not feel right to continue with a full review until I had documented the last remaining outfits of May.


Day Twenty Nine
Dressing Gown: Gather's The Buchanan. Made 2017
Top: Vest by Gap
PJ Bottoms: Paul Frank
Shoes: White Birkenstocks

May Day Bank Holiday was spent happily pottering around the house in my PJ's and newly finished Buchanan dressing gown. I love it and have worn it every day since making it! I think I need another one.


Day Thirty
Trousers: Abercrombie and Fitch
Jacket: Levi's denim
Watch: White G Shock
Trainers: Nike Blue Pegasus


Day Thirty One
Dress: Dixie DIY Bonnell Dress in viscose, Chapel Street Market. Made 2017
Watch: Red G Shock
Trainers: Nike Blue Pegasus

After 2016's Me-Made-May I created a list of plans / quests for the year ahead which were:

Re-fashion or donation to charity:
  • Bettine dress - Attach a bias section on the skirt to make it more wearable - NOT achieved
  • Simplicity 9620 dress - not worn this MMM because it's too short. As above - NOT achieved
  • Mathilde blouse - Give to charity as I never choose to wear it - Achieved!
  • Grainine Scout in B&W - Give to charity as I never choose to wear it - Achieved!
Future Projects:
  • Finish Navy Simplicity 2154 pencil skirt  - Achieved!
  • Complete black and white By Hand London Flora  - Achieved!
  • Finish Liberty print Colette Laurel dress  - Achieved!
  • Re-work the By Hand London Charlie Dress - NOT achieved
  • Make another pair of SOI Cigarette Pants - black and white print / Navy / Grey - NOT achieved
  • Make a Grainline Moss skirt - NOT achieved
  • Make a pair of Grainline Maritime shorts - NOT achieved
  • Make more dresses - I have lots of BHL and Christine Haynes patterns in my stash - Half Achieved

So it looks like my sewing plans were half completed with still plenty more to keep me out of mischief, namely making another pair of trousers and perhaps some shorts?

For the coming year it would be great to replace my worn out RTW trousers with some hand-made versions. I have even carefully unpicked a favourite pair of chinos to compare the waistband, crotch rise and leg lengths to my existing trouser patterns (SOI Cigarette Pants and Named Alpi Chinos). Hopefully by May 2018 I might have managed to make another pair of trousers!

Conclusions:

As I have a lot more me-made garments to wear compared to previous Me-Made-May's I found the whole process much easier. I have been able to identify that I love wearing tops that are made in viscose as the drape is softer, more comfortable and forgiving.

I still enjoy bright colourful clothes combined with monochrome but have branched out this year into a few floral prints too. I am also very happy to supplement my me-made wardrobe with quality RTW clothes that I already have in my wardrobe.

One of the most enjoyable and inspirational aspects of MMM is connecting up with fellow sewists.
I have greatly appreciated the lovely comments from fellow bloggers in particular a big thank you to; 
Kat, Louise, Alex, Jo, Tamsin, Anna, Julie, Crafty Clyde, Paulina, Rosemary, Ginx Craft and Let's Get Sewing! Who have all been equal parts encouraging and inspirational with their own amazing makes. See you all for MMM 2018!


Friday, 26 May 2017

Me-Made-May 2017 Week Four


Yahoo. The week the weather got it's act together and it felt like summer! As you can see three days of skirts with bare legs and a general sense of not-caring if my pasty white legs may blind somebody as it is too warm to be bothered!

I wore my new BHL Charlotte pencil skirt on Tuesday and loved the fit of it but it is a tighter silhouette than the red Simplicity 2154 I wore on Friday. Overall a really enjoyable week because it felt like summer had arrived.


Day Twenty Two
Top: Grainline Scout Tee in John Lewis Viscose. Made 2014
Trousers: Gap
Necklace: Tatty Devine Brushstroke S/S 2015
Watch: Red G Shock
Shoes: Red Paul Smith Miller Brogues


Day Twenty Three
Skirt: By Hand London Charlotte Pencil Skirt in fabric gifted to me by my friend Sophie. Made 2017
T-Shirt: American Apparel
Necklace: Tatty Devine Watermelon necklace. S/S 2012
Watch: White G Shock
Shoes: Blue suede Paul Smith Miller Brogues



Day Twenty Four
Top: Grainline Scout Tee 100% cotton from Sophie, Hong Kong (underlined with cotton batiste). Made 2016
Trousers: Gap
Jacket: Levi's denim
Watch: White G Shock
Trainers: Blue Nike Air Pegasus


Day Twenty Five
Top: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Top in viscose from John Lewis sale, London. Made 2017. 
Skirt: Liesl & Co Everyday Skirt in viscose from John Lewis sale, London. Made 2016.
Watch: White G Shock
Bird Brooch: Hand-made 
Shoes: Paul Smith black patent loafers



Day Twenty Six
Top: Zara bought from Traid charity shop in Camden for £4!
Skirt: Simplicity 2154 in poly-cotton twill from Samuel Taylors, Leeds. Made 2013.
Brooch: Tatty Devine
Watch: Red G Shock 
Trainers: Nike blue Pegasus





This year's Me-Made-May is drawing to a close and I have enjoyed it as much as I have for the past three years. It is more fun now that I have a wider range of me-made garments to choose from and interesting to which ones get selected to wear again and again. I will be doing a bit of analysis about my most popular and / or comfortable items next week.

In the meantime enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend as it's supposed to be scorchio!

Check out lots of other cool crafty blogs at #handmademonday organised by Julia of Sum of their Stories.

Friday, 19 May 2017

Me-Made-May 2017 Week Three

Week three of Me-Made-May felt like a loooong week due to a lot of work related things which I won't go into here. Needless to say it was such a crazy week I had to plan my outfits and lay them out the night before so I had less to think about with many early morning starts.

The weather featured quite heavily in garment decision making this week as it started on Monday quite warm and sunny only to turn cold - this was particularly annoying as I had decided to unleash my milky white legs to the world and I ended up feeling a little under-dressed and chilly.

The remainder of the week was all about layering and I showcased my Liberty Laurel shift dress on Thursday which was a very comfortable wear.



Day Fifteen
Top: Merchant & Mills Camber Set top. Cotton seersucker. Made 2017
Skirt: Dolores Pocket Skirt. Made 2014.
Cardigan: Gap
Necklace: Tatty Devine Atomic Necklace A/W 2015
Watch: White G Shock 
Shoes: Paul Smith blue suede Miller brogues


Day Sixteen
Top: Sew Over It Ultimate shirt in Liberty Plastic Fantastic print. Made 2015
Trousers: Gap
Watch: Black G Shock
Socks: Paul Smith
Shoes: Paul Smith purple Marcello loafers



Day Seventeen

Top: Sew Over It Ultimate Shift Dress in SOI linen. Made 2015
Watch: Olive G Shock
Jacket: Benetton
Corsage: Me-made with black felt and beads. Made 2004
Shoes: Paul Smith purple Marcello loafers

This is fast becoming one of my favourite me-made dresses as I just love the fit and the fabric. I also made the corsage from felt and some beads back when corsages were the rage after Sex and the City. I really should do a tutorial on how to make them!


Day Eighteen
Top: Colette Laurel Shift Dress in Liberty Tana Lawn. Made 2017
Watch: Black G Shock
Cardigan: Gap
Belt: Top Shop
Necklace: Tatty Devine Telephone Wire Necklace S/S 2015
Shoes: Paul Smith grey Dante Brogues


Day Nineteen
Trousers: Gap
Leather Jacket: Gap 
Watch: Black G Shock
Necklace: Tatty Devine Frida Kahlo
Trainers: Blue Nike Air Pegasus

How was your third week of Me-Made-May?

Friday, 12 May 2017

Me-Made-May 2017 Week Two


Week two of Me-Made-May flew by. I started at the weekend wearing a very short shift dress Simplicity 9620 that I don't wear for work anymore since it shrunk in the wash. In my MMM2016 review I identified this dress as something I should modify by lengthening it with a section of fabric but I haven't got around to it yet. I think I should definitely do it so I can wear it more often!

The first half of the week was cold and I still needed layers of clothing (including my well-worn black Gap cardigan) but luckily it warmed up towards Thursday and Friday and you could feel spring was in the air!


Day Seven
Dress: Simplicity 9620 black and white plaid shift dress. Made 2014
Top: Gap
Tights: M&S
Necklace: Tatty Devine me-made at Brick lane workshop. Made 2017
Watch: Red G Shock
Bag: Pink Top Shop
Trainers: Liberty print Vans

Day Eight
Top: Grainline Scout Tee 100% cotton from Sophie, Hong Kong (underlined with cotton batiste). Made 2016
Trousers: Gap
Cardigan: Gap
Watch: Black G Shock
Trainers: Blue Nike Air Pegasus

Day Nine
Top: Merchant & Mills Camber Set top. Cotton seersucker. Made 2017
Skirt: Simplicity 2154 in poly-cotton twill from Samuel Taylors, Leeds. Made 2013.
Cardigan: Gap
Necklace: Tatty Devine A/W 2016
Watch: Red G Shock 
Shoes: Paul Smith black patent loafers

Day Ten
Top: Grainline Scout Tee 100% cotton from Sophie, Hong Kong (underlined with cotton batiste). Made 2016
Trousers: Gap
Cardigan: Gap
Necklace: Tatty Devine Bubbles S/S 2017
Watch: White G Shock
Shoes: Blue suede Paul Smith Miller Brogues

Day Eleven
Top: Colette Laurel Top. Made 2015
Trousers: Paul Smith
Necklace: Tatty Devine Haberdashery Floral A/W 2016
Watch: Olive G Shock
Shoes: Purple Paul Smith Dante Brogues

The length of my spotty Laurel top works really well with most of my skirts because they tend to sit at my natural waistline but with my Paul Smith trousers which fit at the hipline it meant if I tucked it in to look a little neater it soon wiggled out and bunched around. Maybe I should lengthen the body of the Laurel slightly on my next version?

Day Twelve
Top: Gap
Skirt: Sew Over It Tulip Skirt. Made 2014
Necklace: Tatty Devine Brushstrokes
Watch: White G Shock
Shoes: Red Paul Smith Miller Brogues

Another fun week of Me-Made-May. I am hoping the warmer weather is here for a little longer so I can wear more skirts and maybe some of the dresses I have made this year.

Has the weather affected your Me-Made wardrobe this week?

Saturday, 6 May 2017

Me-Made-May 2017 Week One

May is that time of year that fellow sewists, knitters, bloggers and crafters alike sign a pledge to wear their hand-made / up-cycled clothes for the month.

This fabulous idea was set up eight years ago by Zo from So Zo What Do You Know?  blog a pattern designer, sewer, teacher and super mum. It gets you thinking about your relationship with your hand-made wardrobe to identify any strengths and areas for development. Also a good time to cull any unworn items or fall in love with some long-forgotten makes that have not seen the light of day since last summer.

This is my fourth year participating and I am looking forward to analysing my hand-made wardrobe to see how I can refine and improve it further. My pledge went a little something like this....




Day Two
Trousers: Gap
Cardigan: Gap 
Watch: White G Shock
Socks: Gap
Shoes: Paul Smith Black Patent Loafers


Day Three
Top: Oliver Bonas
Brooch: Tatty Devine Atomic necklace A/W 2015
Shoes: Paul Smith blue suede Miller brogues


Day Four
Trousers: Gap
Cardigan: Gap
Necklace: Oliver Bonas
Watch: White G Shock
Socks: Paul Smith
Shoes: Paul Smith Purple Loafers


Day Five
Leggings: Gap
Cardigan: Gap
Scarf: V&A Revolution scarf
Watch: Black G Shock
Belt:Top Shop
Shoes: Paul Smith Chelsea Boots


Day Six
Leggings: Abercrombie & Fitch
Socks: Gap
Shoes: Birkenstocks

I've been a bit of a Merchant and Mills fan-girl during the first week of Me-Made-May. The Camber Set Top may replace my love for the Grainline Scout Tee and is fast approaching my TNT top pattern!!
I missed photographing my outfit on Bank Holiday Monday but it was just a Linden sweatshirt and joggers to help facilitate serious sofa time.

How are you getting on with Me-Made-May?

Check out lots of other cool crafty blogs at #handmademonday organised by Julia of Sum of their Stories.