Me-Made-May 2019 Week Two

A Bank Holiday Monday in the UK always cheers you up! What a great way to start the week not having to go to work (unless you work in retail or hospitality of course).  My boyfriend and I visited the Grand Design Live show at the Excel Centre in London to get some inspiration for house related DIY stuff which was great fun. You can see me here looking very happy at the thought of bumping into Kevin McCloud. We did, but only in cardboard form!

Monday 6th May

Top: Superlover sweatshirt

Top: Camber Set top. Made: 2018

Jacket: Belstaff Roadmaster 2012

Jeans: Diesel

It wasn't warm enough to remove my sweatshirt for the photo, you are just going to have to trust me there is a black Merchant and Mills Camber Set top on underneath the layers!

Tuesday 7th May
Top: Grainline Scout tee. Made: 2016
Trousers: Sew Over It Cigarette Pants. Made: September 2018
Socks: Gap
Shoes: Paul Smith loafers
Cardigan: Abercrombie and Fitch sale
Watch: Red G Shock

A combination of me-made trousers AND top today. Both well used and worn. The Scout tee in this version is made in double gauze and it needed pulling down before taking a photo - but hey - I'm not bothered!

Wednesday 8th May
Top: Simplicity 1364. Liberty print. Made: 2015
Trousers: Sew Over It Cigarette Pants. Made: September 2018
Socks: Gap
Shoes: Paul Smith blue suede Miller brogues
Watch: White G Shock

Every time I wear this top I wonder why I haven't made any more of them. It is a flattering silhouette and a fairly straight forward make. I would change the inner facings to a sewn-in version as they always flap about!

Thursday 9th May

Top: Uniqlo merino wool polo neck sweater

Skirt: Simplicity 2154. Made: 2016

Shoes: Paul Smith burgundy loafers

Watch: Clear G Shock

The inclement weather had me wearing a warm merino sweater and a smart navy pencil skirt which was re-made from a previous skirt (read about it here).

Friday 10th May
Dress: Sew Over It Ultimate Shift Dress. Made: 2017
Jacket: Benneton sale
Shoes: Paul Smith purple Miller brogues

I love this dress but the fabric has really faded over the two years I have made it (you can see it in its original glory here). The silk lining has also shrunk so that it doesn't really serve the purpose of stopping my tights from sticking to my dress as it now only covers about an inch below my butt! I may just cut out the lining altogether or re-line it? Is that too much effort?

Saturday 11th May

Jacket: Belstaff

Top: Grainline Linden sweatshirt. Liberty jersey. Made: 2016

Trousers: Lululemon 'On the Fly' pants

Trainers: Nike

Me and Kurt Cobain in East London conversing about the crazy UK weather. One minute it is hot and sunny, the next minute, HAIL!

How has your week been?

Camber Set Top #3

My sewing friend Sophie currently lives in Hong Kong and she sends me lovely little packages of beautiful fabric for birthday and Christmas presents. Previous garments I've made from Sophie's amazing fabric choices can be found here and here.

I received this cool white cotton seersucker with a black grid pattern for my birthday last year and have waited a while to use it. After sewing a couple of successful Merchant and Mills Camber Set tops (here and here) I felt it would work really well with this fabric.

I happily cut out all the pattern pieces and decided to be really careful with pattern matching and cut all pieces flat (rather than folded over) to ensure the grid pattern matched. Unfortunately, I totally forgot to reverse the sleeve pattern when cutting the second sleeve out and ended up with two left sleeves. Ooops!

The only remaining scrap of fabric left forced me to be creative with pattern placement. I managed to eek out the sleeve on the bias. With no remaining fabric left I had to just go with the idea of a 'design feature' sleeve with one cut on the grainline and the second on the bias!

When I finished the top the odd sleeves didn't turn out quite the way I envisioned. It is partly because the pattern matching on the grainline sleeve doesn't match with the gridlines of the body of the top due to limited fabric amounts. BUT, after a little internet research of ready-to-wear black and white grid tops I felt a LOT better about my own version. Here is a little selection of not-so-perfect commercial pattern matching (or non-matching).

Here is the final top. I didn't make any changes to the pattern from my previous versions but I am planning to cut it a little shorter than my usual hem-line for a cropped top similar to the image fourth from left. I haven't hemmed it yet until I make a final decision on how cropped it should be.

To co-ordinate with this top, I am going to make another Colette Mabel pencil skirt in the last remaining Girl Charlee UK fabric win from SewBrum 2015 in a black terry sweat fabric. My idea is to hack the waistband to create a high-waisted version of the pencil skirt. I will keep you posted about that when I make it!

Have any of your makes had to change mid-way through due to sewing / cutting  / human error?

I am pretty happy how this version of the M&M Camber Set top turned out in the end. What do you think?

Pattern: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Pattern = Original price £13 but as it is 4th make = £3.50

Fabric: 1 metre of Japanese seersucker = free

Gutterman Thread: White = free

Total: £3.50

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 Three

In May the spring weather always plays a big part in what you decide to wear in terms of practicality. On most mornings this week it was fairly cool, changing throughout the day to a sticky humid warmth. Hence my rather chaotic range of spring-like then autumn-inspired outfits.

I am looking forward to doing a geeky bit of stats analysis at the end of this Me-Made-May. It will be interesting to see what things I am naturally drawn to wearing again and again and those items that I am digging out of the pile having last been worn during MMM2015. A cursory observation at this mid-way point is my most recent makes are getting more wear because they are well constructed with better quality fabrics compared to those garments made a couple of years ago.  

Day Sixteen

Top: American Apparel

Skirt: Dolores Pocket Skirt in Lucienne Day reproduction print from John Lewis, London. Made 2015
Cardigan: Gap

Necklace: Tatty Devine Atomic necklace A/W 2015

Watch: Red G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith blue suede Miller brogues

Day Seventeen

Top: Grainline Scout Tee in knit from Girl Charlee UK. Made 2015

Trousers: Gap 

Necklace: Tatty Devine me-made at Brick Lane workshop March 2016

Watch: Olive G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent Marcello loafers

Day Eighteen - photo taken at the end of a long day, hence major creases!

Top: Gap

Trousers: Sew Over It Cigarette Pants in Herringbone Linen blend from SOI, Clapham. Made 2016

Necklace: Wooden pendant hand-made by my Dad for my Mum when they were dating in the late 1960's

Watch: White G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith tan Marcello loafers

Day Seventeen

Top: Grainline Scout Tee in David David silk. Made 2014

Trousers: Gap 

Watch: Red G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith blue suede Miller brogues

Day Nineteen - Evening - A quick change from work clothes for a mid-week theatre trip

Top: Grainline Linden in Liberty knit. Made 2016

Trousers: Diesel jeans
Jacket: Levis

Watch: Olive G Shock 

Trainers: New Balance

Day Twenty

Dress: Simplicity 9620, cotton sateen Samuel Taylors, Leeds. Made 2014.

Cardigan: Gap

Belt: Vintage 80's from Pop Boutique, Leeds

Watch: Clear G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith purple Dante

How has your Me-Made-May been this week?

Have you found it difficult to get the right outfit due to crazy weather?

Liberty Linden

Of course I finished making a sweatshirt on the hottest day of the year!
Having tackled my first Linden a month ago I knew I wanted to make one in a Liberty sweatshirt fabric. As luck would have it last week Liberty's had a 30% off any fabric sale and I jumped at the chance to buy one metre of Liberty loopback fleece.

As you can see this fabric is a pricey affair even with 30% off it was £34 for one metre.  I have cut out the Linden and there is still enough for some Liberty sleeves on Linden number three?! - I will get my moneys worth. The black knit ribbing is from Ray Stitch and I used about 1/4 metre for the neckband, cuff and hem-band.

Read my post here about the construction / changes I made to the pattern.

Compared to the Girl Charlee UK terry knit fabric on my first Linden the Liberty fleece has very little width-ways stretch so the sleeves are a little snug around the cuff area - nothing that needs changing just an observation.

It is at this point in my journey of making my own clothes that I wonder about purchasing an overlocker.... the seams would look so much prettier.

Overall, I am really happy with my second Linden and can see a few more in my wardrobe.

Pattern: Grainline Linden (Initial purchase price £14 as it's been used for a second time = free)

Shell Fabric: One metre of Liberty Speckled Clouds Murray A = £34.00

Gutterman Thread: Black and white from stash

Total: £34.00

Sophie Scout Tees

My friend Sophie lives in Hong Kong and pops back to the UK every 6 months or so. She usually stays at our house for a day or two and on the past two occasions she has kindly gifted me two metres of soft cotton printed fabric that she bought all the way from Hong Kong.

The first metre of fabric is a fabulous 1950's style print. The base colour is a dark blush rose with highlights of black, navy and burnt orange.

The second fabric is an awesome print of a famous Andy Warhol Campbell's soup can print which has been in my stash since Sophie's previous visit in the summer of 2015.

With a metre of each fabulous fabric I turned to my favourite simple top - the Grainline Scout Woven tee.

I know exactly how to make these now without referring to the instructions. I needed to interline the garment with some white cotton batiste which I got from Fabric World on Goldhawk Road for £3.50 a metre. I used just under a metre for each top - so in theory these Scout tees only cost me £1.75 each discounting the gifted fabric, time and thread to make them! Bonus.

In terms of construction, they were French Seamed throughout. Self-bias tape on the neckline. Simple rolled hems on the sleeves and main body. I lengthened the sleeves by about 40cm on the 50's print version and by 20cm on the Campbell's print version. I really love them both and look forward to wearing them in the spring.

A big thanks to Sophie who had such a good eye for these fabulous prints in the first place!

Pattern: Grainline Scout Woven Tee = Free (used so many times now)

Shell Fabric: Two metres of Cotton Lawn gifted by Sophie = Free 

Lining Fabric: Two metres of Batiste from Goldhawk Road = £3.50

Gutterman Thread: White and pink from stash

Total for two tees: £3.50

Olive Grainline Linden Sweatshirt

2016 is the year of the knit for me. After winning the stash of Girl Charlee UK knit fabrics at SewBrum in October 2015 it has been my mission to overcome my rather irrational fear of this comfortable to wear stretchy fabric.

The Grainline Linden sweatshirt has been in my PDF patterns inbox on my laptop for a good while so I knew that the olive terry sweatshirt fabric would make a fantastic sweatshirt. I purchased a walking foot in January from Weaver Dee in the 25% off sale on sewing machine accessories. In addition I bought some ribbed knit and some stretch needles from Ray Stitch in Islington.... all this preparation for a basic sweatshirt! Seems crazy doesn't it?

With my new walking foot this was lovely to sew. I set my machine to stitch length 3 and stitch width 3 which created a small stretchy zig-zag stitch that worked well for this weight of fabric. The only issues I had with construction was when sewing the cuff and neckline on - ideally I always like to match the seams but to avoid dodgy sewing I offset the cuff and sleeve seam / neckline seams to reduce the bulk of 6 lots of knit fabric going through my machine.
Normally my Bernina would be able to deal with this amount of bulk but since coming back from her service last summer the handwheel / bobbin-winder has been slipping and then cutting off power to the needle (something I will have to look into at a later date). Overall I now feel much more confident tackling knit fabrics!

Well judge for yourself. I am very happy with the final Linden. It is not 100% perfect but I am not going to point out any of the slight mistakes as they are pretty minor.

Here are some close up shots.

Here she is out in the wild today when I visited the fantastic Newport Street Gallery at Vauxhall, South London. It is a free art gallery owned by Damien Hirst to exhibit his vast personal collection of art. The current exhibition is by the painter John Hoyland whose saturated canvases were the perfect backdrop for the Linden! Thanks to my friend Nao who took the photos for me. 

Pattern: Grainline Linden = £14.00

Fabric: One metre of olive knit from Girl Charlee UK won in SewBrum raffle = free

Ribbing: 1/2 metre from Ray Stitch = £6.00

Gutterman Thread: Grey from stash

Total: £20.00