Monday 18 June 2018

When things don’t work out the way you planned

Todays makes were ‘made’ a couple of months ago but somehow took another couple to actually feel properly wearable and be photographed.  However, you're getting a bumper set of makes!  For this Sew crafty design team project I had a really clear vision of a Nettie dress in this gorgeous monochrome jersey with a mustard Coppelia cover up in this jersey. However, the even the best laid plans don’t always go as planned.  


First up is the Nettie dress. This pattern has got to be one of my most used patterns. I reckon this is at least version 10, I’ve made it, I’ve hacked it, it’s great. However, in some fabrics, I really need to go up a size in the hips/lower stomach as I could do with some more wiggle room. I’ve become a lot more self conscious about my stomach recently and sadly when I wore this dress during me Made May I just felt too uncomfortable. I knew I just wasn’t going to wear it after that and so started to think about what to do to rescue the fabric which I loved!  It really wasn’t the biggest leap to cut it shorter into a top.
 

This top works really well tucked into trousers or skirts and I’m glad I was able to rescue the fabric as I just love the print.  It’s also made me realise that the one version of the Nettie that I’ve never made is the body suit! One to go on the list! 
 

The coppelia cardigan has been on my to make list for the longest time. However, when I was making it up I really struggled with instructions. I’ve gotten so used to indie pattern instructions being super clear that I was really disappointed by these ones. At times they really had me scratching my head.  I've had so many people tell me recently that the instructions for papercut patterns are so good that I was starting to feel particularly dim, however, on reading through some more blog posts about this pattern, others seem to have struggled in the same areas. 
 
 
I made the cropped version but lengthened it a little as I have a long torso-turns out that was a mistake! I should have left it alone as it’s now slightly too long. I’m also really bothered by the seam line right in the middle of the ties. It feels like a sloppy design but I don’t know if I put it on incorrectly as I've been stalking other people's versions and they don't seem to have this issue, or if it's a design or instruction fail.  I feel like this join should be at the side and I'm trying to decide if I can bother taking it off and reattaching where I think it should be.  

 
I’m not sure what the fabric content of this jersey is as it’s not stated on the site but it’s really drapey and feels lovely. I’m not sure if it was the greatest choice for this top. It may be a little too drapey, it may have worked better in something with a bit more structure. I'm still undecided about this cardigan, I may make the adjustments and I may even make another to fully decide but at the moment it's not love!
 
 The sew crafty shop has recently started stocking all the rainbow colours of fold over elastic which got me a little bit excited as I could then make knickers out of the jersey scraps I've got knocking around!  I used the Jennifer Lauren Nixie pattern and they were so quick to knock up.  The fact that I have a matching pair for my new Nettie top gives me a geeky thrill! 
 
This was my first foray into underwear and it was a really nice one to get started with, some fancier bits and pieces may hit the blog at some point!  

Thursday 14 June 2018

Time passes so much faster than you think!


It feels like today’s make should have happened so much earlier than it did. I love my first Sallie jumpsuit and wear it a lot and each time I wear it I think it’s time to make a new one and yet it’s taken me almost 3 years since my first one to make this one. However I’m glad I did. 
Each year I make myself a new birthday dress and I decided to mix it up this year with a birthday jumpsuit. The closet case files Sallie jumpsuit is a pattern that gets less airtime than some of Heather's other patterns which I think is a shame as it's such a lovely pattern.

I used this petrol blue viscose jersey that’s been in my stash for years. I think it came from fabricsforsale. I didn’t quite have enough of the fabric for the jumpsuit so the lining is pieced together from some other jersey scraps. It’s a party on the inside of this jumpsuit!  I've worn this jumpsuit in pretty solid rotation since I made it and the only negative point is that the fabric still leaks colour really badly, I have ruined a few other items by putting them in a washing cycle with it.
 

I made a couple of alterations to this version from the last one. Instead of using elastic to stabilise the neckline and shoulder seams, I just used strips of a woven fabric. The neckline on my first version stretch out a little and doesn’t sit completely flat. While using a woven to stabilise the neckline made it easier to get a flat neckline, there is no give to it while pulling it on which feels a bit wierd when the rest of the jumpsuit is so stretchy. The other alteration I made was to use a slightly wider elastic than recommended as I only had wider elastic in my stash and I wanted to get this done. It’s worked fine. Apart from that, I followed the instructions entirely.  I think I probably need to take it up a bit though as here I'm wearing it with heels and it's still pooling around my feet, the pattern is clearly designed for Amazons!
 

This is the ultimate secret pjs outfit. It looks pretty elegant but is so easy and comfy to wear.  Perfect for summer events! I may have taken this to the limit by essentially having a nap in it in the park!
 



Sunday 3 June 2018

Me Made May Days 17-31 and reflections

Me Made May is the sewing challenge I love the most but I'm always glad when it’s over. I get so sick of taking photos. I know Zoe explicitly states the photos are not obligatory but I love having that documentation for my records, but it gets old over a month! However, I think I only missed one day this year which is a personal best for me! This is was really thanks to my sister who took most of my photos (the good ones) and was good at pushing me to do it even when I didn’t feel like it.  I inevitably fell behind with my blogging though but if you're interested, sit back and prepare for one super long post.   

Day 17: My African wax print Sew Over It Vintage shirt dress.  This is my favourite dress so I'm surprised it took until this point in the month for me to wear it.

Day 18: Tulip Megan Neilsen circle skirt and black Mathilde blouse.  Again another outfit that I love.  

Day 19: Sew Over It Mia jeans and a Sew over it silk Cami in a liberty tana lawn.  The fit of this top is way off but I love the fabric so it continues to be worn, I like the shape of the top though so I need to do some work to get the pattern to fit better.  On the other hand, the jeans fit great but were made from a really cheap denim which is wearing poorly which makes me sad. 

Day 20: Sew over it ultimate trousers (I think my obsession with Sew Over It patterns is becoming super obvious by now!) and a hacked belladone top in a liberty tana lawn.  

Day 21: A By Hand London Charlotte skirt in a stretch cotton with a RTW top, another outfit I love.  It makes me happy when I feel like my wardrobe is rocking in the way that I want.

  

Day 23: 1960s jersey dress another dress that I love, I made this almost 2 years ago and it has been in consistent rotation since, I'm not sure how I haven't gotten round to making another one yet.

Day 24: Alex shirt dress.  I like this dress and wear it regularly but it doesn't entirely fit my usual aesthetic and so sometimes I struggle to work out how to wear it.  Luckily the warm weather meant no coordinating items were required.  

Day 25: I made this dress for my graduation in January. It’s the Sew over it 1940s wrap dress in a liberty wool. However the bodice sits funny, I don’t know if it’s the pattern or the fact that I made some alterations to it which I then tried to undo and I interfaced the collar with too stiff an interfacing. Whatever the reason I do not feel comfortable in this dress. I’m considering taking the bodice off and using the skirt as a stand alone wrap around skirt. I think that could be cute. 

Day 26: I wore my new Nettie dress seen on Day 13 but I didn't get a photo and I've decided that I don't feel comfortable in it and I'm going to refashion.


Day 28: Hacked lady skater dress.  This is an old one but still in regular rotation.

Day 29: top from vintage pattern and new ultimate trousers



I'm surprised as I document at how few of the clothes that I love and wear a lot, have not made it to the blog at other times.  I'm a bad blogger.  As I write these posts I think it's a shame that I don't do it more as I enjoy writing them but I really struggle to take pictures.  

This year, as quite often, wanted to use Me Made May to help me to think about how to achieve a cohesive wardrobe that works together and I feel matches my style. I feel like this year I have actually managed to achieve this, which is great. I’m not entirely sure why this was, it may be that actually this is not a process that I could do in a month and this month is actually just part of a journey I’ve been on for years. I’ve now been sewing for long enough to have a selection of clothes that I really like and I’ve been considering for a while how to balance my making desires with what goes with my wardrobe. This second part is really the thing I’ve struggled with the most and this year I was more ruthless and pulled out all of clothes and worked out what had matching items and what were the lone wolves in my wardrobe! Also realistically it helped that we had a crazily warm May so I didn’t need as many layers as normal as I’ve always struggled with cardigans and jackets that worked with the rest of my wardrobe. That’s still a problem for me but I’m pushing achieving some workable top layers to the top of my agenda, even if they’re not ones that I make. For me the process was about achieving a wardrobe I feel and look good in, not necessarily about making all of it. 

Thanks Zoe for hosting, it was great as ever.