Me Made May 2018 Week Three

Me-Made-May week three was a rather hectic affair after a phone call from Ofsted (UK school inspectors). On Monday I didn't leave work until after 9pm hence a rather blurry dark photo at the bus stop. Needless to say, I felt exhausted for the rest of the week but my me-made clothing game was still strong!

Day 14

Top: Old Navy hot-dog print shirt (from the boy's section)

Skirt: Simplicity 2154 Fabric: poly-cotton twill, Samuel Taylors. Made: 2013.

Jacket: Levis denim 

Necklace: Tatty Devine hot dog

Watch: Red G Shock 

Trainers: Nike

Five years later and my red Simplicity 2154 pencil skirt is working hard. It is an easy skirt to make and has a spilt at the back to make it very comfy too. Welcome to my slightly deranged face after working for 16 hours straight in preparation for the Ofsted visit.

Day 15

Top: Simplicity 1634 Fabric: Liberty Tana Lawn. Made: 2015

Trousers: Gap 

Necklace: Tatty Devine me-designed 'Untitled'

Watch: Black G Shock

Shoes: Paul Smith blue suede Miller brogues

The Simplicity 1634 pattern has a vintage vibe with the slash neckline and 3/4 length sleeves and I think it works really well with the colouring of the Liberty Tana Lawn print. The facings have a tendency to flip about so I have sewn some very tiny stitches at the shoulder seams to hold it in position.

Top: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Top. Fabric: John Lewis Viscose. Made: 2016 

Trousers: Gap

Watch: Black G Shock

Necklace: Tatty Devine sewing machine A/W 2017

Socks: Gap

Shoes: Paul Smith red Miller brogues

I wore pretty much the exact same outfit last May. On the left, we have 2018 and on the right 2017. The viscose top has slightly shrunk and my trusty Gap chinos have faded a little, but if it ain't broke.....

Day 17

Top: Sew Over It Ultimate shirt. Fabric: Liberty Plastic Fantastic. Made: 2015

Trousers: Gap

Watch: Black G Shock

Necklace: Tatty Devine stars A/W 2017

Shoes: Paul Smith purple Miller brogues

This was the first shirt I ever made and it is still going strong. I really should make another version in a plain viscose or cotton because the fit is good and it has classic styling.

Day 18

Top: Tilly and the Buttons hacked Bettine top. Fabric: Gingham, Samuel Taylors. Hacked: 2017  

Skirt: Sew Over It Tulip Skirt. Made: 2014

Necklace: Tatty Devine scissors

Watch: Black G Shock

Trainers: Nike

My tiredness and general mental state at the end of the week can be summed up by the twisted skirt and fixed grin in this photo. As a post-Ofsted treat, I called into Ray Stitch in Islington to pick up a zip and some bias binding for a work in progress item which I will hopefully be blogging about soon! The blue Sew Over It Tulip skirt gets lots of wear and my hacked Bettine top is also much more wearable since chopping it into a top.

Day 19 & Day 20

The weekend was spent doing some DIY, hence the fetching attire above. The t-shirts are about 15 years old and are now customised with a variety of household paints. As for the green trousers, I inherited them from my Dad. They used to be his gardening pants and they fit me amazingly well. I keep thinking I should trace the pattern. They are a high-waisted original 1970's trousers with deep pockets and a pin-tucked crease down the front. They would make the perfect work trousers in a smart suiting fabric. 

Are you stuck in a me-made rut with your outfit selections?

Have you noticed any repeat combinations you like to wear again and again?

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?

Me Made May 2016 Week Four

The fourth week of Me-Made-May has been great. I started the week on a mono-chrome kick and ended on one of my favourite colours of bright emerald green.

A high point was wearing the new Camber top I made last week and after wearing my Bettine dress in black and white gingham on Saturday morning I came to the conclusion that it definitely needs a re-fashion as it's way too short. My idea would be to add an extra 10cm band along the base of the skirt using the bias of the fabric to create a feature!? I might get around to it over the half term. On to the outfits:

Day Twenty One

Top: Tilly and the Buttons Bettine Dress in gingham from Goldhawk Road, London. Made 2015

Leggings: Top Shop

Necklace: Tatty Devine (sample sale 2016) Red Gem Cut Statement necklace A/W 2013

Watch: Red G Shock 

Trainers: New Balance 

I met my friend Alex at John Lewis on Saturday morning for  catch up and also to see lovely sewing bloggers like Tilly (Tilly and the Buttons), Jane (Handmade Jane), Maria (A Stitching Odyssey) who were spending their day making Tilly's Bettine Dress in the haberdashery department. It happened to be a bit of a coincidence that I was wearing the exact dress the girls were making!

I took a quick photo although you can't really make out any of them as they are deeply involved in pattern cutting and sewing. Left to right: Tilly, Maria and Jane!

Day Twenty Three

Top: Merchant and Mills Camber Set T-Shirt in ikat viscose from Samuel Taylors, Leeds. Made 2016

Trousers: Gap

Watch: Olive G Shock 

Trainers: New Balance

Day Twenty Four

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

Trousers: Gap

Necklace: Tatty Devine (sample sale 2016) Red Gem Cut Statement necklace A/W 2013

Cardigan: Gap

Watch: Red G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith red Miller brogues

Day Twenty Five

Top: 1960's hand-made vintage dress bought from a stall in Camden Passage, Islington. Mended 2015

Leggings: Top Shop

Necklace: Tatty Devine (Sample Sale 2016) Jewel Print Triple necklace A/W 2013

Cardigan: Gap

Watch: Olive G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith blue suede Miller brogues

Day Twenty Six

Top: Gap

Cardigan: Gap

Skirt: Self-drafted in Ikea furnishing fabric Made 2009

Necklace: Wooden necklace by Materia CA bought from London Print Studios

Watch: Red G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent Marcello loafers

Day Twenty Seven

Top: Gap

Jacket: Levis

Skirt: Sew Over It Tulip skirt made in Medium weight cotton from Ray Stitch. Made 2014.

Necklace: Tatty Devine 'Untitled' necklace designed by me

Watch: Clear G Shock 

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent Marcello loafers

Have you enjoyed Me-Made-May so far this year?

Have you noticed any me-made 'holes' in your wardrobe?

Me-Made-May 2015 Week 4

A great collection of colours this week. As my original pledge was to wear me-mades from Monday to Friday I 'over-achieved' with 6 days this week!

I included last Sunday's Everyday skirt in the round-up as the weather was pretty sunny in London. I stupidly sewed through the end of my thumb whilst finishing this skirt in a rush to wear it hence the rather attractive white plaster on my thumb in many of the photos this week.

Needless to say the rest of the week was considerably cooler weather wise hence the mega-layering going on.

Day 17

Vest top: Gap

Skirt: Liesl & co Everyday skirt - me-made 2015

Shoes: White Birkenstock

Day 18

Top: Colette Sorbetto - me-made 2015

Top: Gap long sleeved tee

Trousers: Gap

Cardigan: Gap

Necklace: Marimekko

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent Marcello loafers

Day 19

Top: Silk tee David David

Skirt: Sew Over It Tulip skirt - me-made 2014

Leggings: Warehouse

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent Marcello loafers

Day 20

Top: Gap long sleeved tee

Cardigan: Gap

Skirt: Sew Over It Tulip skirt - me-made 2014

Necklace: Tatty Devine 2013 sample sale

Leggings: Warehouse

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent Marcello loafers

Day 21

Top: Grainline Scout Woven tee - me-made 2014

Top: Gap long sleeved tee

Trousers: Gap

Cardigan: Gap

Scarf: Marimekko

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent Marcello loafers

Day 22 - Animal Theme

Top: Top Shop silk dress cut into top after shrinking in the wash - me-modified 2015

Cardigan: Gap

Skirt: Marimekko sale 2014

Necklace: Tatty Devine Parakeet workshop - me-made 2015

Shoes: Paul Smith purple Dante brogues

When I compare this year's MMM with last year I am finding the daily challenge of choosing outfits so much easier because I have more to choose from. I have noticed that I have worn 100% separates so far this month which is interesting especially considering I seem to have lots of dress pattern in my stash that I never get around to making like the BHL Flora, BHL Anna, Deer & Doe Belladone... the list goes on!

I recently read Sophie from Ada Spragg's post 'Love to sew v love to wear' which totally resonated with me after realising how much I lust after dress patterns but in reality (as evidenced so far in MMM) ONLY  wear separates. Maybe it's because I haven't got round to busting out those gorgeous dress patterns and actually made one that is skewing the results?! To be realistic I have only got three me-made dresses to choose from anyway!

How is your Me-Made May coming along?
Have you noticed any similarities / gaps in your me-made wardrobe?

Are you fed up of asking other people to take your daily photo or had enough of selfies?

Or are you still enjoying the challenge?

Tulip skirts sew completed!

Yahoooo, I completed my 'Sew Over It' Tulip skirts this weekend. I attended the second workshop session on the 4th June and this weekend was the first chance I have had to finish them!
As I mentioned in my first 'Sew Over It' post I decided to cut out and sew two skirts at the same time - which I pretty much managed to do over the two evening sewing sessions. All I needed to do was to hem both the blue and green skirts and atttach the blue skirt to the lining and hand sew the lining to the zip.

Here are the finished garments:

Enjoying the John Lewis rooftop garden in my newly completed Tulip Skirt

Checking out the lovely fabrics at Liberty's Haberdashery department  

The fit of the skirts are good - although I will need to get used to the fullness on the hip area. I was very happy with the concealed zip on both of the skirts and used some contrasting stash fabrics for the waistband linings.

What do you think?

Sew Over Tulips

I had already made a conscious decision earlier in the year to take part in Me-Made May and realised the limitations of my me-made wardrobe so I booked myself onto a two-part Tulip Skirt workshop at Sew Over It.

Because of quite extensive house renovations at the moment I haven't really got anywhere that is a) dust free or b) any available space to plug in my sewing machine.
After a hard day pulling down a wall and generally being as dusty as anything I was so glad to venture into Sew Over It a delightful crafty mecca of awesome proportions.

We were skillfuly guided by our tutor Julie, who was an experienced sewer who has worked in theatrical costume. She was an absolute superstar. There were three other lovely ladies taking part in the workshop, Carla from NZ, Jo from Cumbria (a fellow blogger) and another lady whose name escapes me (will have to find out next week). The atmoshpere was great and Julie provided us with regular tea and cake - always good in my book!

I am really looking forward to part two of the workshop next week. Here is a sneak peak of the Tulip skirt in progress. I decided that if I was going to spend the time making one skirt I may as well buy some more fabric and cut out a second colour version as well!

We have homework for next week which is to sew up the lining, bond the interfacing onto the waistband and attach the waistband! Something I will need to squeeze in this weekend ; )