Me Made May - Week 1 Round Up

This is my first time participating in Me Made May and I'm really enjoying the challenge so far! It's got me thinking about what I wear everyday and even making some more clothes already to fill the gaps in my wardrobe.

 

I got off to a pretty good start wearing my Colette Patterns Ginger Skirt and Sewaholic Fraser Sweatshirt on the first day. The neckline of the sweatshirt doesn't look great in photos, that's definitely something I need to improve on next time! I actually get lots of compliments about the sweatshirt when I wear it, so I think overall it's a success!

 

 

Next up was the skirt again (don't judge me - if my clothes manage to avoid baby food / snot then they get a second outing before the wash) worn with my favourite ever cardigan, the MIY Collection Longley Cardi, by Wendy Ward. I absolutely love Wendy's patterns, they are so well drafted and thought through, plus excellent everyday clothes that fit easily into my wardrobe.

 

Day 3 I decided to wear my Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers. This was the first pair of trousers I ever made and the fit is not perfect yet. They are made from a cotton twill and they bag out over the course of the day. This picture was taken at the end of the day so you can see they are a little baggy. I don't have many pairs of trousers that are me-made and definitely need some more as they are perfect for being out and about with the baby!

Day 4 was lovely and sunny, so I wore my recently finished Seamwork Magazine Seneca Skirt. I love Seamwork for their quick patterns and have been a subscriber for a while now. This skirt is midi length and cool and floaty. The elastic waistband makes this a comfy and easy to wear skirt. I think I'll be wearing a lot more of this over the summer!

 

I was pretty busy on Day 5 with play groups so wore some very old RTW jeans with my first t shirt, the Sewaholic Renfrew. The neckline band is horribly stretched out on this, I really need to make another one with a better neckline. This is really a toile as the fabric is a bit cheap and thin. I realised on this day that I need to think about making some skinny jeans, they are quite a well worn item of clothing!

 

Day 6 we travelled to York to spend the weekend with my mum (and allow me a day out in Leeds for a hen do!) so I wore my very comfy skirt from The Beginners Guide To Dressmaking by Wendy Ward. This skirt gets a lot of wear as it is comfy and easy, in a dark grey ponte roma, it goes with everything. I'm wearing it with a RTW Gap nursing top and my favourite yellow Converse. I need something bright with an all grey outfit!

Day 7 was my first ever baby-free day. I went across to Leeds to do a room escape game and assault course. I realised before hand that I didn't have any me-made jogging bottoms so I quickly made some Papercut Patterns Anima Pants to wear. I got very muddy on the assault course and water slide and I made these trousers out of a very thick grey ponte, so it took AGES for me to dry out! They are great though and I want to make some more. I'm top right in the group photo by the way, and you can just about make out the trousers!

 

Over the course of the week I've realised that nearly everything I've worn has been stretchy! I think comfort is a major factor in how I dress at the moment. Plus, its easy to throw on stretchy clothes and they generally don't need much ironing.

I want to make some more t shirts for summer and some skinny jeans to have more basic wearable items!

 

 

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Me Made May 2016 - My Pledge

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I am undertaking Me Made May this year for several reasons:

1 - To uncover gaps in my hand made wardrobe
2 - To engage with the wonderful sewing community
3 - To take part in a challenge (I love a challenge)

I am pledging to wear at least one item of me-made clothing everyday throughout May. I am also hoping that this will encourage me to make more over the course of the month as I start to realise where the holes in my handmade wardrobe are.

I have a hen do to attend at the beginning of the month, as well as days out for the Bank holidays and days at work, so a wide range of things to accommodate.

I will be aiming to post daily photos on Instagram using #mmmay16 so that I have a log and can assess my most and least successful outfits. All of this will help me to tailor my handmade wardrobe to my needs.

I'm really looking forward to the challenge and to reflecting on my success again at the end of the month!

#MIYmarch16 thoughts

I took part in Wendy's MIY March challenge this year on Instagram for the first time. This was also the first month-long challenge that I undertook and I really enjoyed it. I found lots of new people to follow and received some lovely comments on my photos.

 

It did flag up some points that I need to address though:

 

1 - Take better pictures!

My photo taking skills are shockingly poor. I didn't really notice until I looked through some profiles of other sewing bloggers and realised that their photos are much much better. My main issue is lighting, I struggle to get enough natural light on the subject/me to take a bright photo. I should really take photos outside, but that's tricky with a 9 month old and a messy garden.

 

2 - Engage with other people more!

Whilst I received some lovely comments on some of my photos, I wasn't very good at returning the compliments. It doesn't even take very long and it's so lovely to hear when other people like your makes. I have found the sewing community online to be so helpful and friendly. Definitely need to try harder with this.

 

3 - Be more creative!

There were some great takes on some of the themes, really witty and interesting. Also, lots of the photos were interestingly composed and stylish. I got lots of inspiration throughout the month on how I can be more creative with thinking, making and documenting.

 

Emma from @dressmakerssocial is organising #dressmakers52 which is now one week in. The idea is that a different theme is posted each week for a year. This is such a good idea, as I sometimes struggled to get a picture done during #MIYmarch16 if I was having a difficult day. I'm going to try to apply the points above to how I join in with #dressmakers52 and hopefully I will see an improvement in my photos over the course of the year!

 

Saying that, my first picture of #dressmakers52 is another terrible one! The next one will be better...

If you have any tips for how to photograph better inside please do share! I really struggle to do flat garment photos too, they always look so amateurish!

Are you joining in with #dressmakers52? What do you think to it running for a whole year?

 

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Pattern Testing - sew DIY Nita Wrap Skirt

A few weeks ago I was chosen to test the new Sew DIY pattern: the Nita Wrap Skirt. I love the style of wrap skirts, they are easy to wear, simple to style and flattering. The pattern has 3 versions, mini, midi and maxi and includes 3 different fastening options too. I chose to make up View A, mini, with the View C tie fastening.

 

I chose some beautiful linen/silk mix fabric that drapes really well. As it is quite a flimsy fabric I decided to line it too. The pattern includes thorough instructions on lining the skirt and it produces a lovely neat inside and also means the front facing doesn't need top stitching down. My lining was bought online and luckily matches the fabric really well.

 

I cut the straight size 12, even though I knew I should probably grade out to a 14 at the hips. As I was testing the pattern I wanted to check the fit with no alterations. Next time I will definitely grade out at the hips though, as it is too tight and pulls open slightly.

 

I found the instructions very thorough and easy to understand. This pattern is targeted at adventurous beginners and I would say that is fair (that's what I class myself as). I love the tie closure, lining and shaping at the front. I can see myself making more of these, I'm planning some midi versions for work in some lightweight linen for the summer!

 

The pattern has been released now, so if you head over to the Sew DIY store here: http://www.sewdiy.com/shop/nita-wrap-skirt-pdf-pattern you can get your own copy. There is also a 20% discount code on the Sew DIY blog if you act fast!

 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed making this skirt and would really recommend it.

 

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The Refashioners 2015 - Part 2

After the success of my first shirt refashion, I decided to have a go at another one.

 

I bought this very soft red shirt from The British Heart Foundation. It is really big so I thought it would give me a lot of options.

 

This week my parcel arrived from Megan Nielsen for her Darling Ranges, so I decided to try to use the blouse pattern as a starting point for this refashion.

 

I have realised that whilst many people just start cutting up their shirts and are then struck with inspiration, I have to have a plan and a reasonable idea that it will work before I can make a start. This is probably the architect in me!

 

I deconstructed the shirt as a starting point and placed my pattern pieces on the flat fabric. I tried to keep the front pocket but the positioning of it was all wrong once I had cut the pieces, so it had to be unpicked. Luckily the fabric steams like a dream, so the marks from the pocket are not very noticeable and should disappear more after a wash. I had to pleat the front pattern piece a little to reduce its width and enable it to fit on the shirt front. I also folded the pattern at the front button placket and lined up the edge with the existing button placket on the shirt fronts. I overlayed the buttonhole markings on the actual buttons and buttonholes. This was partly due to not having enough width across the shirt front and partly to save time and reuse as many of the existing shirt features as possible.

 

With the sleeves, I decided to reuse the existing hems. This allowed me to cut the sleeves to the length shown in the pattern and not have to shorten them.

 

I used the Megan Nielsen app when constructing this and found it really useful. The pattern instructions are the same as the printed ones, but the direct links to extra tutorials saves time when trying to get extra help on a technique.

 

This was the first time I had ever set in sleeves, and Megan's clear explanation made it easy to understand the process. I'm quite pleased with how they worked out. There are a couple of little puckers at the top, but overall not too shabby for a first attempt I don't think!

 

I had to improvise a little for the neck facing, as the button placket was pre-completed so I couldn't follow the instructions here. I used a pre-made bias tape as there was it enough fabric left for self-made. After sewing it on I folded the ends over and top stitched down from the right side. It is not as neat as I would hope, but I just didn't have time to redo it. I swapped the original beige buttons for some white ones to brighten it up, but I retained the original buttonholes.

This is the finished article and I'm pretty chuffed with the end result. It is the first blouse I have made and the colour is great for the turning weather here. We have had to put the heating on this week because it has been so chilly, so this soft red blouse is very cheering.

 

I absolutely loved my first experience using a Megan Nielsen pattern. I found it easy and straightforward and think it was perfect for me to learn a couple of new techniques. I have already chosen some actual fabric (not a previous garment!) to make another so that I can do the proper button placket. It is this drapey floral fabric, I think it will work well for my next version. I also want to have a go at the dress option, so I am going hunting for the perfect winter fabric... Any ideas?

 

 

 

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The Refashioners 2015 - Part 1

So, I'm taking a short break from my analysis of constructing the perfect capsule wardrobe to get involved with this years Refashioners project.

There has been a lot of involvement this year, with so many great sewists joining in and blogging their refashions.

 

I thought I would start out with something simple. This is the first time my sewing machine has been out since Stanley was born (he's only 3 months old so I don't think I'm doing too badly). It has been a bit of a challenge finding the time to get this completed, as he is not one for napping during the day (or for being put down!)

 

I bought this great shirt from my local British Heart Foundation shop. This is a charity that I regularly support, having lost both grandmothers this year to heart problems.

The fabric is a blue and white striped cotton. The great thing about using existing clothes as a starting point is that the fabric is already pre washed and is soft and manageable.

 

The pattern I decided to use is Marilla Walker's Ilsley Skirt. This pattern is offered for free on Marilla's blog. It is the first time I had used one of Marilla's patterns and overall I thought it was excellent. In fact, I've already planned my next one!

 

I had to make some slight adjustments to the pattern to get the pieces to fit within the fabric available. I slightly curved the side seams at the back as there wasn't enough width at the top due to the armholes. Unfortunately this means that I can no longer get the skirt over my hips and it has to be put on over my head! I also removed the front pocket of the shirt so there are some slight markings on the front of the skirt where the pocket sat, but I think this is a nice reminder of the origin of the garment.

 

 

The waistband is cut against the grain, as there wasn't enough fabric to cut it on grain, and I still needed to create a centre back seam and it is a little slimmer than the pattern suggests.

 

I stitched down the button placket to prevent any unwanted gaping and help the skirt to hang better.

 

I thought that the pattern was well drafted with clear instructions. However, unless you already have an understanding of garment construction and sewing techniques, this pattern would not be suitable as there are no diagrams or illustrations. The construction sequence is great, the insides are very clean and I didn't need to do any hand sewing!

 

If you download the pattern and like it, make sure to donate to Marilla's chosen charity here. This refashion has turned into a charitable double whammy, with ecological upcycling and economical fabric choice. Overall a win-win combination!

 

Apologies for there being no photos of me wearing this, I will add them as soon as we get some decent weather and I can go outside to take photos!

 

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Defining a Core Style

I think it is very hard to define a core style, so taking queues from the second exercise of Colette's wardrobe architect series, I am gathering a range of images that attempt to summarise my core style.

I have chosen some celebrities who's style I like. This isn't to say I want to dress just like them, but I can take elements of the way they put themselves together and think about these things when creating a wardrobe for myself.

Emma stone has a nice casual style, she always looks well turned out. Skinny jeans with shirts and jumpers seem to be her wardrobe staples. This look is young and slightly preppy, which I like.

 

Alexa Chung is an international style icon for a good reason, she mixes feminine style with practicality and wearability.



Carey Mulligan dresses very simply, using good fabrics and shapes.



Taylor Swift has a casual style that is very polished. She accentuates her best features very well (her endless legs) and dresses to show them off.



All of these celebrities dress in a simple way, without added bling, patterns, accessories. They mix practicality with style and do not dress too girly, even though their style is elegant and feminine. The style that I would like from my wardrobe is relaxed, smart, elegant, simple and comfortable.

Things I have noticed from studying the style of these celebrities:

- they are all wearing collars

- there is not much printed fabric used

- they look comfortable

- the clothing suits their body shapes

- blue and black are key wardrobe staples

This is just a small part of the exercise, but felt like the easiest place to start. The next step will be gathering a range of images and words that summarise my style.