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

Top: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Top made in Samuel Taylors Ikat Viscose. Made 2016 

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?

Liberty Laurel Dress

I finished this pretty summer dress yesterday after hanging around in an almost finished state for nearly a year. I started in May 2016 and have only just got around to finishing the bias bound neck and fastening at the back in April 2017! If you are not familiar with the silhouette it is the ever-popular beginners shift dress the Colette Laurel.

I remember cutting out and making the majority of this dress last year but luckily I gleaned a bit more information via my 'project' section of the Foldline sewing enthusiast platform. Foldline is a great online community of sewists where you can create a profile and interact with other sewing enthusiasts. You can also write pattern reviews, create an online visual of your stash fabric and contribute to a forum.

Above is an example of my laurel project as seen on my Foldline profile. I added a few notes about the changes I made. Apparently I have added 6cm to the length of the dress (I had forgotten that detail which is bound to happen if you take 11 months to finish a dress!) and the Liberty cotton was purchased in a 30% off online sale. The Liberty print is called Kinetic from the Spring / Summer 2016 collection. You can get it from Sharkut for £14.99 per metre.

Not much else to report other than I used the same closing technique as my Sew Over It Ultimate Shift dress with a hair-band cheat rouleau loop and a lovely button I had in my stash. I used the reverse side of the button as it had pretty flecks of grey, pink and white in it that picked up on the colours of the Liberty print.

I hand stitched the self-made bias binding into position including around the opening at the back.

It fits well on the upper body but is probably a little wider than I'd like at the hip area as I did my usual grading between two sizes from bust to hips. Perhaps I don't need to do this on my next version as it is a fairly loose fitting shift dress. It does however look nice worn with a belt. When I get a chance I will post some photos of me wearing it.

Pattern: Colette Laurel Dress (I made the top here) = £12 (second make from pattern) = £6

Fabric: 1.1 metre of Liberty Kinetic Tana Lawn = £15

Gutterman Thread: Pink from stash = free

Rouleau Loop: Hairband from stash = free

Buttton: From stash = free

Total: £23

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

Out of Control

Help! My WIP (work-in-progress) or UFO (unfinished object) pile has got a little out of hand. As is the case with many sewing enthusiasts, we optimistically cut out projects thinking that we will find an hour here or there to sew them together. This summer I got waylaid with my house renovation. Instead of sewing my WIP's I was re-painting the garage floor or sanding and painting balcony railings... the list of DIY jobs I had was endless (and I still need to finish a few before Christmas).

The mad thing is that I now have a huge pile of seasonally inappropriate garments cut out.

First up is my 'summer' dressing gown...

The Buchanan pattern was gifted to me by my friend Sophie. I imported the blue Paul Frank fabric from Hong Kong a couple of years ago and the red cotton contrast collar and cuff also comes from my stash. I don't think it will take too long to sew up, but I won't really wear it until the spring.

Next up is a summer dress. The Dixie DIY Bonnell dress was enthusiastically cut out in July. I had high hopes of sauntering around London in this lovely red viscose beauty but alas it didn't happen. The fabric was a bargain £2.00 a metre from a stall on Chapel Street Market in Islington.

Onto a fun summery seperate, the Liesl & Co Everyday Skirt. This is my second version and I am really looking forward to wearing this black and white one (whenever that will be!). The viscose fabric was from the spring sale at John Lewis at £7 per metre.

This next garment is about 90% completed. It is the Colette Laurel shift dress. Despite the beautiful Liberty Tana Lawn fabric called Kinetic, I lost my sew-jo with the back fastening and the neckline. I am sure I could finish this in about half an hour but as its a lightweight cotton dress, it won't really be worn until the spring!

My last WIP is something that I could wear this season. I cut it out at the end of the summer after rediscovering this awesome vintage fabric I've had for about ten years. I strongly suspect it was probably some curtains in its previous life but with just over a metre I was limited to what garment I could make with this crazy print.

The added complication of the missing corner restricted the choice of garment even more. As luck would have it the Ready Ruthie Dolores Pocket Skirt fitted quite well!

Not enough fabric for perfect pattern matching. Instead I chose selection of the main motifs found on the skirt to balance out the pattern. What pockets? 

Some organic cotton from my stash worked perfectly for the pocket linings and hem facing. I didn't stop there. The darker autumnal colours matched perfectly with a metre of olive green silk I have had in my stash since my Textiles Degree (over 20 years ago) so I splashed out and cut the lining in silk!

That makes five part completed works in progress. I hope to get some of these sewn up soon, especially the vintage fabric Dolores Pocket Skirt as I can see myself wearing this for work.

Have you got any WIP's or UFO's that are hanging around too long?

Me Made May 2016 Review

First of all, thanks to Zoe at So-Zo for organising this fabulous event. After taking part in Me-Made-May for the the third year in a row I wanted to do some analysis of the clothes I have enjoyed wearing, the patterns I am attracted to and the quality of the fabric. My pledge was to wear one or more me-made or me-mended garments during week days which I managed to achieve without too much of a stretch.

In completing this analysis I want to identify how I could streamline my wardrobe and identify what clothes should be my next challenge / project to make.

Me-Made Wardrobe Colour Palette:

Creating a visual representation of all the me-made garment fabrics I have worn this month really helped me identify my preferences.

This is what was revealed......

a) I am partial to an abstract print

b) I love monochrome

c) I also like bold blues, pinks, reds and greens!

Types of Clothing worn during May:

Further analysis highlighted I chose to wear more me-made tops than any other garment with skirts a close second during the month of May.

Pattern Companies worn in May:

I already knew I was a major Grainline Studio fan-girl when it comes to pattern companies. The results speak for themselves. I am definitely drawn to independent pattern companies much more than the big 4 (Simplicity / McCalls / Butterick / Vogue).

Year of Construction:

Another aspect I thought would be interesting to observe was the date I made the clothes I had worn during May. As suspected, I don't have many clothes before 2009 and a lot of garments made between 2010 - 2012 have been re-fashioned or given to charity as the quality of both the construction and fabric were not great.

My best year for making was 2015 and with half a year left of 2016 I think it will be my best year yet!

2009	4%
2013	8%
2014	21%
2015	42%
2016	25%

In conclusion to MMM in 2015, I highlighted a number of garments that were missing from my wardrobe that I wanted to make before MMM 2016. I am happy to report I managed to make a pair of trousers, a shirt (which incidentally I didn't wear this May) and a fully lined jacket (which I also didn't wear).

Plans for 2016 after analysing Me-Made-May.

Re-fashion or donation to charity:

• Bettine dress - Attach a bias section on the skirt to make it longer and therefore more wearable
• Simplicity 9620 dress - not worn this MMM because it's too short. As above.
• Mathilde blouse - Give to charity as I never choose to wear it!
• Grainine Scout in B&W (I didn't wear this version in May) - The cotton is too heavyweight for a top - should I cut up for patchwork?

Future Projects:

• Finish Navy Simplicity 2154 pencil skirt (currently half made)
• Complete black and white By Hand London Flora (currently half made)
• Finish Liberty print Colette Laurel dress (currently 3/4 made)
• Re-work the By Hand London Charlie Dress - the bodice is still not 100% right
• Make another pair of SOI Cigarette Pants - black and white print / Navy / Grey
• Make a Grainline Moss skirt - now I know how to do a fly zip
• Make a pair of Grainline Maritime shorts
• Make more dresses - I have lots of BHL and Christine Haynes patterns in my stash

Overall I have really enjoyed Me-Made-May this year and look forward to seeing how my me-made wardrobe will have evolved by May 2017. Maybe I need to pledge to wear me-made clothes for the full seven days of the week next year?

How did you get on?

Me Made May 2016 Week One

This is my third year taking part in Me-Made-May the brainchild of the lovely Zoe of SoZo Blog.
I pledged to wear something me-made or me-mended / up-cycled every weekday.

I also mentioned I would blog a weekly progress report and share my outfits on Instagram (I have subsequently quit IG due to the overwhelming desire to update my own IG or check other peoples updates in an alarmingly addictive manner). I have scrapped the IG bit of my pledge and will stick to my blog!

My first foray into MMM in 2014 was a rather repetitive and sparse affair.  Since then I have been refining my makes and have taken quite a number of me-makes to the charity shop or am in the process of re-fashioning them. This leaves me with a much more usable wardrobe in 2016 but there is still work to be done....

Day Two

Top: Colette Laurel Top in 100% cotton from Samuel Taylors, Leeds. Made 2015

Jacket: Top Shop 2009

Trousers: Gap

Bangles: Marimekko

Watch: White G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith purple Dante Oxfords

Day Three

Shirt: Gap

Skirt: Simplicity 2154 in poly-cotton twill from Samuel Taylors, Leeds. Made 2013.

Cardigan: Gap

Necklace: Marimekko

Watch: Red G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent loafers

Day Four

Top: Grainline Scout Tee 100% cotton from Sophie, Hong Kong (underlined with cotton batiste). Made 2016

Trousers: Gap

Cardigan: Gap

Watch: Clear solar G Shock

Shoes: Paul Smith brown loafers

Day Five

Top: Gap

Trousers: Sew Over It Cigarette Pants in linen / cotton blend from SOI Clapham. Made 2016

Cardigan: Gap

Watch: White G Shock

Shoes: Paul Smith brown loafers

Day Six

Dress: Vintage hand-made 1960's dress purchased at Pop Boutique, Leeds. Mended 2015

Watch: Olive green G Shock

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent loafers