Me Made May '14: Week Three Round Up

Time again for another weekly round up. I got four more two-or-more-makes days in this time around, which takes me up to seven in total so far. Our glorious weather is continuing, so no need for winter woolies just yet. Which is lovely, but it does mean I haven't been able to wear the cosy cardigan I finished just in time for MMM (not panicked knitting, just highly motivated...) There's still a week and a bit to go though, so we may sneak it in yet...

Here's the week:

15th May

Top: Style Arc Rowe Top
Shorts: Pattern Runway's Scalloped Shorts.
Yes, the shorts are too big. But I'm finding them just about perfect for a warm day at home. Comfy, forgiving, and welt-pocketed: too big be damned - they stay :)


 16th May:

Top: Pattern hack of Style Arc's Annie's Cami
Pants: Style Arc's Willow Pant (Not Yet Blogged But Will Soon Because...)
I MADE PANTS! That I'm happy to wear out and about! Very excited. :)


17th May:

Top: Deer and Doe's Plantain Tee.
Trackies: Style Arc's Sunday Walking Pants.
I intended to make more of an effort today, I swear. But I went on a morning beach walk with my daughter, a friend and her daughter (cheerfully wearing Plantain) which started off idyllic and ended with the tide coming in, much rock-climbing, and the occasional hip-deep wave. Was very happy to just pull on me-made comfiness afterward. Besides - this counts as a multi-make wear day now ;)


18th May:

Dress: Refashioned from sari, using Simplicity 4072 as a starting point.
I actually like this better in the photo here than I did wearing it! I'm a bit ambivalent about this dress now. Truth be told, mustard really isn't my colour - though I can just about get away with it with the watermelon red by my face. I didn't pre-wash the cotton lining before sewing it and it pulls uncomfortably over the bust now. Plus, I don't love gathered skirts on me. I was tempted to maybe shorten it into a top, but perhaps I'll let it sit till next summer and see how I feel then. Funny thing is, this got more appreciation than any other of my Flickr photos - go figure!

19th May:

Refashioned blouse.

Love this. Love even more that it's seeing me comfortably through autumn as well as summer. It's one of my most worn makes so far this year.

20th May

Top: Deer and Doe's Plantain Tee (NYB)
Leggings: Style Arc's Wallis Ponte Pant (Still NYB)
A rare impulse buy this, but after the success of my first Plantain, I was wanting to see how it would work in a drapier fabric in more of a tunic length. So when I saw this knit last week I pounced. Very glad I did!


21st May:

Pants: Style Arc's Willow Pant (NYB)
I was so excited by the success of the first pair, that this pair did a queue jump. Finished them last night and wore them today :) Will discuss along with the black pair above in a later post. The top is RTW, but I'm going to try and draft a pattern from it, now that I'm a bit more confident with knit sewing.


So there we are! I think I can pull together three more two-me-makes outfits over the next ten days, so we're on track there. And I've realised a few things this past week, namely:

• Future (winter) sewing needs to focus on separates rather than dresses. In particular, jackets, cardigans, knit tops and pants. I'm so much more inclined towards dresses in summer than winter.
• I'm happiest wearing the the things I sew that fall within my preferred colour palette (yes it sounds obvious, but who hasn't been swayed in a fabric store before??)
• I can stop reproaching myself for buying too many Style Arc patterns. I actually went through my me-makes to check - I was positive I'd made more of a range of designers/pattern companies! I had, but almost exclusively those things were either for summer or formal wear. For everyday wear, the Style Arc designs just suit me in fit and style. So when you're on a good thing... 

How are you finding MMM? Have you been making any helpful discoveries?

Me Made May '14: Week Two Round Up

Well, it's been quite a different week to the first one - over the last few days the cold has been receding and the sun's been out in force! So I've been reevaluating all planned outfits and digging out all the summery makes I didn't think I'd get a chance to wear. I got a couple more days of two-makes-together notched up, but I think I'll still have to up the ante on that front next week.

Here we go:

8th May:

Dress: Style Arc Jacinta Maxi Dress. (Not Yet Blogged)
A bit hard to tell here, but this is a sleeveless dress with a cardi over the top. I wore this to a funeral, and it made me realise (later on) that my me-made wardrobe has become much more functional than it was this time last year; I would have really struggled to find something to wear for any unexpected event like this a year ago.


9th May:

Top: Modified version of No.7 Dress (I think) in Drape Drape 2.
Leggings: Style Arc's Wallis Pant
Cowl: Grey Loop Cowl by Helen G.
Red Letter Day - an entire me made outfit! And three, not two items! I reserve the right to count this as two of my ten days if need be...


10th May:

Shirt: Style Arc Safari Sam Shirt.
Tee: Style Arc's Riva Tee (NYB)
I know you can't really see the tee, but it's there. That gives me three days of the hoped-for ten :) This shirt is growing on me. I still find it a bit voluminous, and somewhat shapeless, but wearing it is like the garment version of comfort food.


11th May

Top: Refashioned blouse.
It was all about the scarf today, which was a Mothers' Day gift from my ten year old (he told his dad in a kind of puzzled resignation, "I don't what it is with women and scarves...") He chose it because it was handmade and a fundraiser for a school in the Philippines, and he thought I'd appreciate that. :) It's much more wearable than the big diamante earrings I remember getting for my mother one year...


12th May:

Top: Deer and Doe's Plantain Top. (NYB)
My new favourite pattern. I foresee many of these...


13th May:

Jumper: Mesh Jumper from Patons Book 8007 in Sorrento yarn.
I do love this. I must remember to make some white shorts to wear with it in summer. But, oh! how cotton grows with being worn! SO glad I accidentally knitted the smaller size. I'm hoping it'll behave like every other cotton jumper I've owned and shrink back when washed. Oh, and after seeing this photo I went back and measured the stripes. They are the same size in real life.


14th May:

Dress: Pattern Runway's Gathered Sundress.

Very excited by warmer weather and the chance to pull this out again. Some clothes just make you feel happy... Might just take it up slightly though; 5cm should do it.

I was looking through my Flickr photos from last year's MMM. I think my outfits then were probably a good deal dressier or more "impressive" than this year, but I definitely remember looking forward to being able to wear comfy clothes again. I think that's the major difference between '13 and '14 so far - I'm completely happy in what I'm wearing each day. In terms of my goal to sew a wardrobe rather than random garments, I think that's a definite sign of progress!

Has MMM revealed anything to you so far? Any realisations/ discoveries/epiphanies? Do share!

Me Made May '14 - Week One Roundup

Doesn't a week go by quickly! I'd intended to post each weekend, but this last one got away from me. So here's the first week's roundup, and I'll probably continue on that way for the rest of the month. Unless I change my mind...

This is already a very different experience to last year's MMM, which had  really summery weather for the first ten days or so. No sundresses this time around!

Day 1:

Pants: Style Arc Sunday Walking Pants. Most comfortable and best fitting tracksuit pants ever!
Everything else: RTW

Had a bit of a giggle to myself at this - it's hardly starting out the month on a glamorous note! But I was in dire need of comfy stuff for home days last MMM, so these are definitely filling a gap. Will post on these at some stage, if only to show a comparative shot of my RTW ones - proof positive of why self-made is superior!


Day 2:

Leggings:  Style Arc Wallis Pant
Everything else:  RTW

Another home day, and more comfiness (aka Lack of Glamour). Sewing with ponte is the best, and largely why I continued to persevere with knit sewing. I don't wear these as much as the charcoal ones I made, but they're useful for emergencies.


Day 3:

Cowl: Dovetail Cowl, by Carina Spencer
Everything else: RTW.

Quick phone shot, I'm afraid. A sole accessory isn't cheating, is it?


Day 4:

Jacket:  Style Arc Audrey Jacket.
Everything else: RTW.

I can't quite make up my mind about this. It's divinely warm without being heavy, and the wool and silk (lining) sewed up beautifully. But the neck really doesn't sit right, which irritates me when I wear it. Plus, I think I like the silhouette/style more on other people than I do on myself... I'll give it a few more chances to prove itself (especially since the fabric wasn't cheap...), but I don't think it'll ever be a true favourite.


Day 5:

Top: Style Arc Rowe Top.
Jeans: Refashioned. In this case, dyed. (first with turmeric, as an experiment, then with Rit dye, to even out the colour.)
Everything else RTW.

First of the hoped-for ten days of wearing more than one handmade/refashioned item :). Love this top pattern. The jeans I wear...a bit. I love the colour in theory, but they do feel quite bright on.  I really prefer to wear more muted colours, to be honest. But I guess when I get tired of these I can always just dye them black :)

I do sew patterns other than Style Arc, I promise!

Day 6:

Skirt: New Look 6107 (see!)
Everything else: RTW.

How many garments can you wear in 30+ degree summer heat and 13 degree autumn chill? Love it.
(Apologies for odd hand movement - this was the only in focus shot. Well, mostly anyhow...)


Day 7:

Jumper:  Beatnik, by Norah Gaughan
Everything else: RTW

You know that one me-made that just makes you happy every single time you put it on? This is mine. It took months of effort and perseverence, and I feel like I'm carrying around a little sense of satisfied achievement whenever I wear it. How many RTW garments can you say that about?

On that note, have any of you read Emma's (This Kind Choice) series on "Connecting with Our Clothes"? Her whole blog is really thought-provoking, but this series in particular is excellent - it examines the way clothes can be more than just a cheap, disposable fashion fix and rather be a visual history of our lives.

And that's the week that was. I really need to make sure I wear a few me made outfits next week if I'm going to reach my goal of ten days...it's harder than it sounds!

Are you participating in MMM '14? How are you finding it so far?

Complete: Stripey Jumper

Hello all! I'm back after a week of no internet access - having realised in that time just how much more I use it since I started reading sewing blogs! After this I plan to spend a very happy hour or two catching up on a week's worth of inspiration from all of you :)

Before that though, here's my latest make. It's bit of a departure for me - I usually like my knits chunky and cosy. But I really liked the look of this openwork sweater for warmer, or at least transitional, weather. I found it in a Patons pattern book - another departure actually. I don't usually make yarn-specific patterns either. But I was really drawn to the texture of this yarn, Sorrento. It's a cotton/viscose blend with a boucle kind of texture when it's knitted up. Here 'tis:

Once I got going it was a pretty easy knit; every row is yarn over, purl 2 together, and stripes are a nice way to feel like you're making good progress. But getting going was a pain. I think I started and unravelled this six times. I'd wanted to do it in the round, because in the book's photos the side seams looked a bit sticky-outy. But the pattern kept coming out wrong. Once I'd accepted it wasn't going to be a seamless project and started following directions it actually started working...

I think it's meant to be a bit slouchier in fit than it turned out here, but I'll chalk that up to the fact that I accidentally followed the instructions for one size smaller than I meant to knit. It turned out to be a happy accident though in the end, because after wearing it for a day I can report that this yarn/pattern relaxes quite a lot. I guess that's the cotton content - every cotton jumper I've ever had has done that.

Above is just one of the ways I discovered how not to knit the pattern...

It's not really warm enough for the weather we've been having to wear on its own (well, with singlet!) but I think it's going to lend itself well to layering. Which bodes well for my MMM pledge of trying to combine makes more often! 

I won't be posting daily during May - I'd never be able to keep it up! I think the weekly round up post and a few days at a time on Flickr will be enough to be going on with. 

But in the meantime, I'm off to visit Bloglovin'... 

Complete: Drape Drape 2 Dress (As Top)

Hello again! I'd planned a different post this week, but given that was on what may be the title holder for My Most Hated Make Ever it was hard to muster up enthusiasm. Next time, perhaps. Instead, this is the top I got started on in response to all of your help on twin needle stitching. Mind you, I realised about halfway into it that it didn't actually need any twin stitching, but my practice pieces worked a treat...

This is a reworked version of the No. 7 Batwing Dress from the Japanese book Drape Drape 2. I bought this striped knit about a year ago, against the day that I'd dare sewing with knits, and since it's a nice drapey one it seemed a good fit. The original had an asymmetric ruched skirt attached, but I know I'd get way more wear out of it as a top, so I used part of the back piece of my Rowe Top pattern and sailed on in. I admit, it doesn't have much hanger appeal...

The construction of this was really counter-intuitive. It's in two pieces (at least the original was), with the front, sleeves and most of the back as one piece. The lower back, or really, back skirt, joins at the waist and side seams. I had to go fairly slowly and read the instructions carefully; for a while there I thought the sleeve cuffs were the parts that formed the back neck!

I realised after I'd taken the photos that the singlet I was wearing underneath was bunched up on one side. One day I'll notice these things beforehand...

It's really hard to describe the way it went together - even now I have to keep running back to check it. That massive (a full 150cm wide) main piece wraps around to form the upper back and - happy surprise, this - when you use a striped knit it becomes a rather lovely chevron design.

 Given the number of recent less than stellar makes, I feel justified in being quite proud of my stripe matching here!

The neckline and sleeve cuffs are bound using narrow strips of the fabric. Being striped meant it was much easier to be accurate. :) 

I found I needed to change course partway through my alterations. I'd added a wide folded band to the lower front, so that it would be firm enough to hold the drape in place above, but the lower back piece, which I'd envisaged as a kind of high-low hem didn't work at all:

It was too flimsy, given that the lower front was more fitted and firm, and went a bit ripply at the edge. I ended up cutting it off and sewing a facing to it, to make it the same weight as the front band. It did mean the bands didn't match up exactly (see below), but since it bunches and drapes at just that point when it's worn it really doesn't bother me. Besides, I matched up the stripes... ;)

On reflection, I think I'm well on the way to achieving my 2014 goal of becoming more confident in sewing with knits!

I've also been doing some not very arduous costuming sewing. A local theatre group needed one of the dresses to be a bit more fancy for the final scene of their upcoming how, and they asked if I'd mind having a go. I didn't take a Before Shot, but it was just this sans beading:

I drew the flowers on, then just filled in the gaps as required. It was far, far easier to just keep the pattern width the same on both sides than it would have been to create a mirror image.

They wanted something on the overskirt as well, but chiffon doesn't take too much added weight well; beads get surprising heavy! I didn't want to interfere with the floaty drape so I just did a running stitch with the short bugle beads all the way around. It doesn't look like much here, but boy do those things sparkle under lights!

It was nice, relaxing, in-front-of-the-TV kind of work.  I'm starting to wonder whether I can't incorporate some beadwork somewhere in my own makes. I've been pinning lots of vintage 50s cardigans and musing...

In other costuming news, I've put my hand up for helping out with our school production, The Sound Of Music. I'm up to my ears in 1930s fashion inspiration...Happy days!

Pattern Hack: Colour-Blocked Annie Cami

Hello, and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to leave some twin needle advice or links after my last post. May I just paraphrase Julia Child and say that people who sew really are the best kind of people! I've been having all kinds of fun playing, and think I've got it happening now. Thank you all!

I mentioned last time that I've been having a run of Not-Quite-Right makes. The shorts issues were all about fit (obviously!). The ones coming up are all fabric-related. This week's post is to do with finishing. Alliteration aside, it's starting to sound like a fairly demoralising series!

You know what, though? Even though I made a hash of the finishing with this one, I actually really like it. And for perspective's sake I went through some of my RTW stuff - even the higher end stuff has plenty of mismatched stripes, not-quite-aligned seams, etc. So I'm not going to beat myself up over it. :)

The pattern is Style Arc's Annie's Cami, which I used for my broderie refashioned top (here). I mentioned then that the bust dart was a little high on me; this time I decided to make that work in my favour by using it to make a colour-blocked version. The darker brown fabric is a delectable silk remnant (only 40cm) I found at The Fabric Store in Melbourne about a year ago, and I found a similarly textured eggshell-coloured silk that matched some time later.

This is one of the very few successful impulse fabric buys I've made. (The others, for the record, are the sublime teal silk-cotton I used for my Gathered Sundress, and the feather print chiffon that I made my kimono-shruggy thing from.) An epiphany: Impulse buys only work for me when I genuinely love the fabric. Not when I've seen someone else do something amazing with something similar, not when someone else talks me into it, not even when it's an amazing bargain. Only when I have a genuine "yes!" moment - and I've come to realise that those are actually a lot rarer than I thought they were.

This fabric is one of the most beautiful fabrics to wear that I've ever owned. The lighter, upper one is slightly heavier than the darker one, but I think that works well here since the top hangs from the shoulders. (Note to self: looking at the photos, I think I'll make it an inch or two longer in front next time.)

 Changes to the previous version:

• Raising the neckline by 9cm. I wanted a larger fabric section for the upper block.
• Keyhole opening at the back, bound with self-binding. I haven't been happy with the hook and eye closure of my last one; it's a little heavy for the fabric and tends to sag. This, in comparison, sits nicely.
• High-low hem. I extended the back piece as far as the available fabric allowed. I like things to cover my backside. (Plus my favourite skinny jeans are almost fraying at the centre back seam and I'm not quite ready to tackle jeans sewing. Our little secret ;) )
• Including the front pocket. I re-positioned it slightly so that it sat flush with the front horizontal seam.

My second rate finishing was not, I'm happy to report, the topstitching. I'm actually very pleased with my 1/16" work there. No, the issue arose because I didn't think through the construction steps. Since it was silk I thought french seams would be lovely. And they were - mostly. What I didn't take into account was that the seam allowances at the side openings had to be folded back and sewed in place. Discovery: this absolutely does not work with french seams! So the insides are a real mess at the opening point - they're just kind of ironed into submission and sewed till they were flat... Plus silk is sneaky and slippery. After the first wash I discovered I hadn't completely caught all the edges of the mitred corners of the hems in my stitching. Do you think I could iron those corners back into place? I could not. They're now a slightly warped 60 degrees corner rather than the traditional 90.... Not sure I can get away with calling that a design feature!

I've since read a fantastic tutorial on sewing with silk by The Little Tailoress. It's fantastic, like everything she does, and I'll be referring back to it every time I'm tempted by silk in the future :)

Keyhole opening with shell button from stash and a thread loop.

Topstitching. Happy me!

I mentioned the high bust dart working in my favour here - that's because using it to mark the colour blocking gave the top some subtle shaping.

On tracing paper I marked both the upper dart seam and 1cm down from this, and also where the bust dart finished (small cross on pattern), and 1cm below this.

I traced around the top of the bodice, then used a ruler to draw the new seam line and allowance using my marks. (Apologies for truly dreadful picture.)

I did the same thing to the new lower front, and ended up with two pieces that looked like this. You can see how the bust shaping is formed by that "wedge" at the side. Worked a treat!

On a side note, may I trouble you for some advice please? (Since you were all so helpful last time!)  I raised the front neckline by drawing in a curve I liked freehand. I've since been told that that's what a french curve is for. I've seen these in my local sewing supplies store, but haven't been really convinced they were an essential tool. Do you own one of these? Are they useful? More to the point, are they indispensable or do they just gather dust in Sad and Lonely State? I'm curious :)

Finally, it being that time of year again:

'I, Danielle, of One Small Stitch (www.onesmallstitchtoday.blogspot.com), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear a handmade or refashioned item each day for the duration of May 2014. I will also attempt to wear two items for at least ten of these days.

I'm thinking that will help me gauge how I'm going in terms of wardrobe vs individual garment sewing. I think also in the weekly roundup posts I'll keep track of what I did / where I went each day, to give me a good idea of where the wardrobe gaps are. I know I really struggled last year on weekend home days!

Can't wait! Are you taking part in Me Made May this year?

Some Not-Quite-Right Shorts....and a Just-Right Rowe

It's been longer between posts than I planned, partly because life got busy for a while there, and partly because I've been a little unsatisfied with my recent makes. It's all very well calling the not-quite-right projects "learning experiences", but several in a row can be a bit disheartening, huh? And hard to get excited when it comes to posting about them...

The reason for this make's "not-quite-rightness" is entirely my own fault. The pattern is Pattern Runway's Sweet Scalloped Shorts . My measurements corresponded exactly to the ones listed for the S size, so since I was using the chambray left over from my shirt  I decided to forgo any muslin and just hope for the best. I told myself it would be good practice for making the "real" ones, and also for pants/trouser making....but secretly I was really hoping that they'd just magically work out fine. (Anyone else done that? I'm not the only one, surely??) And...they're ok. Probably more successful than I deserved, actually.

They're wearable, and that chambray is sublimely soft and comfortable. I just wish I'd put the effort into making them really good :(

First welt pockets in the back, there! I had a bit of trouble getting the corners perfectly squared, but maybe that's a matter of practice. They're not easy, after all!

I've been really struggling to pinpoint exactly what adjustments are needed. The fact is, apart from some comfy RTW jersey running shorts (which I do everything except run in), I almost never wear shorts - certainly not tailored-style ones - so I'm not entirely sure what constitutes a Good Fit. I'm fairly sure not this though:

 Apart from that, the rise feels a bit long, evidenced by the massive amount of excess fabric when I sit down:

Perhaps they're just too big all over. I'm wondering about just going down a size, or even two...it'd be so nice to have an easy solution! 

I'm wearing them around the house, but I'd rather they were a bit more versatile than that. On the plus side, I got to squeeze out the pocket lining pieces from my carefully hoarded scraps of my giveaway dress. I love this fabric...

The pocket bags for the back welt pockets were completely humbling. I still have no idea how to do them. I tried following the Pattern Runway tutorial, but it was like reading Swahili. I can't tell you how much better I felt after reading Sew Busy Lizzy  had the same trouble... In the end I made it up as I went along, and while they may be technically incorrect, they are doing the job they need to. So all's well that ends well, I guess.

As for the top (see first photo), that there is my fourth Rowe top. Oh, how I love this pattern. I took out the 4cm or so from the width of the sleeve this time around, and it's now exactly right. I want to play around with the neckline next time and see if I can make it a rounded scoop one, rather than the V. I attempted hemming with a twin needle - I saw somewhere that you can use a bobbin of thread up against the usual spool and thread the needle with both strands, but this didn't work at all. The threads kept tangling above the needle eye and snapping.

Can you use a twin needle on a normal machine? How?? Any suggestions gratefully received!