Self drafted skirt

During the recent Me-Made-May challenge I had pledged to address the eternal sewists problem of the half-finished item otherwise known as the UFO (unfinished object) or the WIP (work in progress). I have several 'bags' of these incomplete items and wanted to tackle them in May. This is the first of a few completed garments I have been working on.

This self-drafted skirt was started about two years ago with some stash fabric. It is a beautiful heavyweight viscose I treated myself to from Stoff and Stil way back in 2017 when I made the Sew Over It Alex Shirtdress with it.

Calling it 'self-drafted' feels a little over-stated as it is a basic gathered rectangle of fabric with two pockets. I wanted the insides to be pretty so I bound all the seams with self-made bias tape (this is the point where the skirt was abandoned for 2 years). This part of the process took the most time to sew.

The elasticated waistband was originally one large folded over channel for the elastic but when I only found thinner elastic in my stash I decided to sew through the middle and created two channels. I threaded the thinner elastic through both sections and it looks like an intentional 'design feature'.

I really enjoyed finishing off sewing and wearing this skirt. I am glad it has been released from the UFO limbo that it has been residing in for the past two years!

Me-Made Rejects #2

I try to regularly edit my wardrobe. I have noticed the more confident I have become at sewing the easier it is to pass on any home-made garments to the charity shop. My first few hand-made garments, despite their imperfections were saved from the charity shop bag on several occasions for sentimental reasons.

As I am getting better at fitting clothes for my body shape I feel happy to pass on my hand-made garments for somebody else to enjoy or at the very least get re-cycled. Also, having a blog means I have an electronic record of my achievements / learnings / disasters which makes the process much easier.

Here are the hand-made garments that hit the Cancer Research Charity shop last week:

Free-style Circle Skirt

Previously un-blogged on account of the fact I never wore it. I made it in a splurge of industrious sewing in April 2016 before this years Me-Made-May. I pretty much just free-styled the cutting of the circle skirt by folding the fabric down the centre and re-folding from the corner and cut out a circle. I then guestimated the waist-line cut too and attached to an elastic waistband.

The elastic waistband was re-claimed from a circle skirt I made in 2007 for a school pantomime performance and the fabric was a stash-bust polyester affair I bought from Goldhawk Road. The remainder of the fabric (about 1.2 metres) made it to the fabric swap on the 4th June and was picked up by Tamsin from Pimp my Curtains so watch that space for another make from this abstract fabric.

Hand-sewing the full-circle hem was a nightmare, even though I left it for two days to drop. It's a bit wonky in places! Hopefully somebody will find it and have a bit of fun wearing it this summer.

Black & White Scout Tee

As you know I LOVE the Grainline Scout Woven Tee but this version was made without really thinking about the weight of the cotton I was using. I think when you first start making your own clothes some of the most obvious things (like comfort) get over-looked when we fall hard for an amazing printed fabric. I adore this abstract monochrome print but as mentioned earlier it is much too stiff (even after lots of washes) and restrictive as a comfortable top. I had to say adieu.

Matisse Dolores Pocket Skirt

This was lovingly made as part of my art-work for a course at the Tate Modern during the Matisse: Cutting into Colour exhibition. I was inspired by his bold lines, architectural shapes and colour. I wore this on the final evening of the course when we had a group exhibition showcasing our art-work inspired by Matisse. 

You can read more about the construction here. The pattern was machine appliquéd with hand embroidered elements to pick out delicate details. It was such fun to make but I have not worn it for two years so it was time to share the love!

Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde Blouse

My Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde was a hard one to give away. This blouse was a result of a weekend workshop at Ray Stitch taught by Tilly herself not long after her debut on the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee in May 2013. It symbolises my renewed interest into garment sewing after a 20-year hiatus after art college.

Last year I re-fashioned the sleeves to make it more versatile as I did't wear it with the original blouson sleeves. Even that didn't help!

The main reason this lovely little top didn't get worn was again, due to poor fabric selection. The rather heavy-weight cotton just didn't drape and was too heavy for a blouse. A lesson learnt! I really should re-make this top in some lovely light voile or viscose.

I have passed on my me-made garments to the Charity Shop with a hope they may be re-worn or re-cycled into something more useful. Previous me-made rejects blogged about here. To date I have passed on or refashioned 16 me-made garments.

Have you given away or re-fashioned any of your me-made clothes?

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?

Self-drafted Japanese Tree skirt

In the lead up to Me-Made-May I had a creative sense of urgency to complete any unfinished projects and start those ideas that have been knocking around in my head for a while.
One such garment started way back in 2013 when I purchased this lovely piece of Japanese Cotton from Ray Stitch that was in the sale for £10 - yeah!

A funky bold Japanese print from Ray Stitch.

With the bold and brilliant print I wanted to keep as much of it as possible so decided to make a classic gathered skirt with a straight waistband.

I cut a long rectangle section for the waistband first, then cut the fabric in half so I could match the pattern around the width of the skirt. I sewed these two sections together after inserting two side seam pockets - I love a pocket!

Pockets pinned ready for sewing.

I stitched the waistband together to make a loop then folded it over.

I chose to keep the front section of the waistband flat and strengthened it with interfacing. The back section houses the elastic - you can see how I finished the elastic in the photo below.

The next step was to run gathering stitches around the top of the skirt section and pull them to create even gathers around the skirt.

Finally I pinned the gathered skirt onto the waistband and top stitched it all into place. Oh, forgot to mention its also lined with a simple white poly-cotton because the Japanese cotton is a little see-through. 

The inside of the waistband with interfaced front section and reinforced sections to stitch the elastic onto.

The completed skirt!

I wore it in the first week of May when I attended a Tatty Devine workshop in Brick Lane. I made a fab necklace as a birthday present for my friend Mel who has recently moved to San Francisco - I hope she likes it!

Fan workshop at Tatty Devine Brick Lane in May

I am still not sure if a full gathered skirt suits me - I usually prefer silhouettes with less fabric volume, I just couldn't face cutting into this lush print even though it was a bargain £10!

What do you think?

Have you sewn something that you are not sure suits you?

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!