Me-Made-May week four

There was slighty schzophrenic weather this week with glorious sunshine and crazy rainstorms this next so it made it difficult to decide what to wear - I plumped for positive weather combinations with a selection of skirts / trousers and tees with a back-up cardigan in the bag just in case!

Day 19

• Colette Ginger skirt in multi-coloured striped cotton
• Black American Apparel tee
• Gold Clarks sandals

It was my first outing in this skirt having finished it the day before. It was lovely and cool to wear which was perfect because the temperatures shot up in London.

Day 20

• Me-modified white American Apparel tee this is what happens when you channel Jackson Pollock with fabric paints onto an un-suspecting t-shirt!
• Gap khakis
• Black Gap cardigan
• Gold Clarks sandals

Super comfy out-fit today and a very fitting t-shirt for an Art teacher!

Day 21

• By Hand London Polly Top in cotton from Samuel Taylors and a section from the Designers Guild Ikat collection
• Burgeundy Gap trousers
• Black Gap cardigan
• Gold Clarks sandals

I wasn't 100% comfortable with the fit of the BHL Polly top becuae it hangs a little low at the front and gapes open a bit so if I make another one will need to think about altering the neckline slightly.

Day 22

• Self-drafted bustle skirt in a blue tweed suiting fabric with red zip and orange ribbon detailing
• Blue and white striped Gap shirt
• Gold Clarks sandals

I don't really wear this skirt anymore - I made a couple of them years ago and I think I've moved on... not sure whether to get rid of them though because lots of people commented on my outfit with positivity. What do you think? Should I re-use the fabric to re-fashion them into something new?

Day 23

• Self-drafted 'Hirst skirt' in multi-colored polka dot Ikea fabric 
• Blue American Apparel tee
• Green Gap cardign
• Gold Clarks sandals

I love this skirt that I drafted from an old 1990's skater skirt. I need to create a pattern for myself so I can make more variations. It works really well because it has pockets (although they could be deeper) and the fabric is one of my all-time favourites.

Overall a great week and NO ME-MADE REPEATS YET!!

Things will change next week - I have only a few more me-made items left that I haven't worn - and there's a good reason because they are either badly made or they are not really my style anymore! I have half-term holiday which means I will be doing a lot of house renovations; so I'm not sure if I will get to wear many me-made outfits next week ; ( I will endevour to do my me-made best!

Bustle skirts

About five years ago bustle skirts were being sold in Top Shop made by a company called Lulu and Red for about £90. Now I love fashion as much as the next girl but that little voice in my head was saying "I could make that" crept in and I spent a good ten minutes scrutinising how it had been constructed - does anybody else do that or is it just me?

Well, I made quite a few of these skirts - some of them made their way into my wardrobe and others (an over the top tartan version inspired by Vivienne Westwood) didn't!

The two skirts that I have still got are made in more wearable everyday fabrics and they were quite easy to make involving no pattern. All you need is a rectangle of fabric and a long and strong zip. I customised with buttons and ribbons, but its up to you what to do.

Grey stripe

The placement of the zip is crucial for holding the whole skirt together leaving the remainder of the rectangle of fabric falling in a cascade - hence the bustle.

I left the edges of the fabric raw at the hemline of the skirt - just did some pulled thread work to create a finish that replicates the white selvedges at the back bustle.

Blue stripe

On the second skirt I folded the rectangle so about two thirds of the folded fabric created a second layer of drape at the back. I used a friends overlocker in contrasting red thread to finish the edge of the hemline and folded section of the skirt to match the bright red zip. I finished the orange ribbon detail with some hand stitching in red thread to complete the look.