MMM'14 Week 5

The last week! Sorry that it's a bit of an anti-climax...

Day 28: Colette Jasmine blouse in vintage cotton voile
Deer & Doe Anemone skirt in navy linen (again)

This blouse is the second new make for May 2014. It's been a long time coming... I think it's been languishing since January 2013. The voile is a lovely floral print that Mum picked up for me in a second hand shop in Glasgow, we think it must be vintage because it was quite narrow. The tie is silk chiffon.

I wasn't super happy with this pattern... It came out looking huge and sack-like and I had to take a lot out of the front and back seams, then the sleeves ended up sitting oddly because I should have taken it in more evenly. I suspect Mum may not have believed me about which size to trace though, so I should check that before I attempt it again. The fact that I took the front in a lot really changed the shape of the neckline as well. It looks quite nice but feels like it might slip off my shoulders at times.

And my new Anenome skirt again... It's lovely.

Day 30: Self-drafted dirndl skirt in cotton poplin

As I discussed with a colleague, on Friday I decided to go with the Austrian milkmaid look and run with it (I love that I have a colleague who thinks this is a valid choice). The skirt is self-drafted, it's just lots of rectangles - gathered front and back in to a narrow waistband, zip in one side and pocket in another, then the hem bound with strips cut the other way. The fabric is cotton poplin printed with flowers and stripes which Mum bought for me at Mandors in Glasgow.

I also wore it with my lazy petticoat, which I've worn with other outfits (teal circle skirt, balloon skirt) but so far neglected to mention. It's made from polyester lining fabric, with a yoke gently gathered in to an elastic waistband, then a wide rectangle more heavily gathered in to that and the hem backed with horsehair braid. Does that make sense? I really should have taken a photo. Anyway, it was pretty quick to make and didn't have netting (which is never fun to sew). It doesn't give me the full vintage bell shape but makes sure my skirts don't stick to my legs and gives them a bit of swing. 

Also, check out my hair! I was so proud of learning to do milkmaid braids, except that obviously after practising successfully at home, as soon as I had to leave the house it didn't work properly and kept falling out. But I'm going to keep at this self-improvement thing and learn more fancy hair things (and do them better).

Day 31: Beignet skirt (again again)

So the final day was such an anti-climax... I knew I'd be busy so planned to be lazy and wear a new scarf, but it just didn't cooperate with me so I didn't finish it and I had to fall back on my trusty Beignet. This scarf is kind of a me-made, in that I bought some beautiful merino wool jersey from The Fabric Store and then I... neatened the edges so that I could wrap a square of fabric around my neck. Meh, it's warm.

Also, since I didn't show off any impressive me-made clothing on the final weekend I'm going to take credit for another me-made... new flooring laid in our lounge room! So tired.

MMM'14 Week 3

Week 3...

Day 13: Colette Macaron dress in black cotton poplin and teal check

Better view of the bodice detail

 This is my version of the Colette Macaron dress. I really liked this pattern but had trouble coming up with a fabric combination that felt wearable. I had this lovely teal check left over from a skirt. I left the waistband black and I usually wear my teal belt to pick up the colour from the yoke. I'm still not 100% happy with the dress though, the skirt sits a bit awkwardly on me (though since it's plain black it's not very obvious). If I make this pattern again I'll try adding some length to the bodice to see if the skirt sits better if it falls from the waist. 

Day 14: Deer & Doe Belladone in navy taslon (again)

This dress had to make another appearance. It's great (my posture could do with improving though).

Day 16: Sewaholic Cambie in polka dot seersucker

Hmm my Cambie dress. I kind of don't love this as much as I expected to, but I do enjoy wearing it when I get around to it. I think its shortcomings are more to do with me than the pattern,I need to make another version to decide how I feel about it. 

But I do have one tip from making this dress: don't use a fabric with spots AND stripes! It will drive you crazy (though give you a warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction when they do all line up).

Day 17: By Hand London Anna dress in Nani Iro double gauze

My Anna dress. This is absolutely my favourite thing I've ever made (doesn't everyone say that about their Anna?). It's flattering but modest (perfect for work, engagement parties, lunch on windy mountaintops etc etc) and so comfortable. I made two modifications: added some extra length to the bodice (instructions here) and used a half-circle skirt instead of the 7(?) gore skirt. I think the look of the skirt ended up being pretty similar to the pattern, I just couldn't bear to cut up my beautiful fabric more than I needed to.

Which brings me to the fabric. In case being addicted to Liberty fabric was dangerous enough, I'm now a thorough convert to Nani Iro. I bought a few pieces when I was in Japan last year and this is the first thing I've made with it. I love it! The designs are so gorgeous, detailed and textured! The fabric feels soft but has beautiful body and the double gauze construction means it basically has lining built in. It's been holding up well to my regular wearing and washing, too. 

I need more Annas in my life. And more Nani Iro. More Nani Iro Annas? Perhaps.

MMM'14 Week 2

Here's week 2:

Day 6: Self-drafted pleated skirt in red cotton sateen

The pattern for this skirt is basically the same as last week's balloon skirt (though I made this one first). The colour blocking is based on a skirt I found in a shop, though when I went back to the shop after I'd finished this one I realised it turned out quite different... Never mind, it's bright and cheerful.

Day 9:  Colette Ceylon dress in navy pin-spot cotton

I got this fabric for free after it got used by being stapled to a table. It came pretty good in the wash, but I really need to make another Ceylon in nicer fabric. For a pattern with quite a lot of pieces it came together really nicely.

Day 11: Colette Beignet skirt in navy cotton sateen (again)
Sashiko-style circle scarf

 I spent most of the weekend wearing jeans with holes and a hoodie with a broken zip while we painted our ceiling so on Sunday night I fell back on my comfy option of Beignet with ugg boots (and new octopus leggings!). Then I added a scarf which was based on this tutorial to make up for the other me-made I wore this week and forgot to photograph. Oh well, I'll save that for another week! The scarf fabric is a silk/cotton blend with a sashiko style print that I loved but couldn't figure out what to do with. Sorry about the terrible lighting in this photo but I had limited time/energy before the very important task of WATCHING EUROVISION!

Still sad Sweden didn't win. Or Switzerland.

MMM'14 Week 1

It's the end of my first week of Me Made May! Here's what I wore...

Day 1: Deer & Doe Belladone dress in navy taslon

Shirt: Uniqlo, Cardigan: Portmans, Belt: Alannah Hill, Shoes: Jigsaw

Not much to say about this dress, it's pretty much as it comes from the packet. I love it!

Day 2: Deer & Doe Airelle blouse in white hailspot voile with navy voile collar & cuffs

Colette Beignet skirt in navy cotton stretch sateen

Cardigan: Nunie, Belt: Topshop, Shoes: Hush Puppies

This is the first Deer & Doe pattern I made. It fits perfectly with no adjustment, the darts are beautifully drafted. I have to iron it though, so it's not on high rotation.

And the Beignet skirt. This is probably my favourite piece of clothing. It took me ages to make because I cut it out at size 10 then took in every single seam to make it size 8 then pinned the waist seam about 5 times before realising I was actually pinning the front seam and then the lining ended up longer than the skirt... I don't think there were any problems with the pattern, just my brain. So it sat in a basket while I worked up the energy to finish it. And once I finished it I started wearing almost every week! It's so comfy and flattering and goes with everything. For more photos of my beloved Beignet check out my Japan album on Flickr.

Day 4: Self-drafted Hot Air Balloon skirt

Merino top & cardigan: Portmans, Ugg boots because I'm classy

I self-drafted this skirt, I'd like to say I was clever but it's really just 1 rectangle for the front, 2 for the back and 1 for the waistband.  Oh and some little ones for belt loops! It's very similar to the Deer & Doe Chardon pattern (which is probably a little more sophisticated than my pattern!). I found the hot air balloon fabric at Spotlight, I think it's a 50s reproduction made in Japan. Somehow my mum didn't agree that it was the most amazing fabric ever, but luckily the rest of the world agrees with me and I get nice comments every time I wear it. There are better photos on Flickr.

Sorry about the terrible photos, I kept taking them late at night and on a phone. A new camera is on my shopping list and I think it might be a more urgent than I thought.

Adventures in Patterns

This post was originally published on 24 May 2012.

I've only just started venturing into independent modern pattern companies.  I'd seen the Colette patterns at the local fabric shop but wasn't sure how good they'd look from looking at the illustrations.  Then I saw some pictures online and decided to give them a go.  I even found some perfect fabric (on sale!) to do a Rooibos, but I when went to to the shop the only dress pattern they had was Ceylon.  I decided to try it anyway, which was possibly not the best idea, given how many pieces it has - it probably wasn't going to be that quick to whip up just to see how I like the pattern company.

Ceylon by Colette Patterns

However! All went well.  I love the cute booklet and the clear instructions. The slightly unusual construction of the yoke went together beautifully and the finished product is comfortable and flattering.  I now know which sizes fit me and that I can probably get away with less fabric than the pattern says.

So now I want more! But where to start?

• I already have the fabric for Rooibos

• I have fabric which could be cute for a Chantilly or Parfait

• Macaron looks really  sweet, though it seems like finding a perfect mix of fabrics is hard

• The Beignet skirt looks really versatile and a good change from dresses

• I want some high-waisted shorts like Iris (though I don't need them, having bought 3 pairs of shorts last summer...)

I wasn't that inspired by the Sewaholic patterns - Lonsdale is a bit angular for me, and I'm not that enthused by sewing tops.  But the other day I saw the Cambie dress and I LOVE it, so I'm very willing to be converted.

And on top of those...

I want some lightweight pants for our trip to Turkey, so I should start that.

I also have some Liberty fabric to do a skirt, plus a couple more pieces I haven't decided what to do with.

Plus I love this patttern.

And this dress, which could work with the Burda pattern I've used a few times.

Oh, and this dress.

Not enough time! So many patterns to buy, and make!

Making it Work: Fabric

I was taught to sew by my mother and grandmother, who, to varying degrees, belong to a generation for whom sewing your own clothes was cheaper than buying them.  That has certainly never been the case for me, though the two are becoming more comparable thanks to the advent of internet shopping.  Still, their thrifty habits taught me a couple of things:

1. You never need as much fabric as the pattern says
2. If you don't have quite as much fabric as you need, or it's not quite right, you can always make it work.

Working in a fabric shop, I always find it hilarious when people say "The patterns says I need 1.5m.  I'll get 2.5m just in case".  I guess it's good if you're not confident - I'm so paranoid cutting things out I rarely get it wrong.

This attitude has certainly saved me money, but it's also got me into some tricky situations. Usually I'd get 0.1 or 0.2m less than the pattern says.  But on one occasion a couple of years ago, I went a bit overboard with a Regency day dress. The pattern said something like 4.5m, I decided 4 was OK (having used the pattern before), then they unrolled the fabric I chose... and there was only 3m left.  So I said "we can make it work!".  And, eventually, we did, after a lot of fiddling.  Of course, I'd also managed to chose a fabric with stripes.

But the fabric was so pretty...

When I decided to try out Colette's Ceylon pattern, I couldn't find any fabric I was happy with in the shop and I couldn't quite believe I needed 3.5m.  Although, not having used Colette before, I didn't know how much leeway I had.  In the end, I dug out a piece of cotton poplin I'd got from work which had come out OK after a turn in the washing machine.  So it turned out I had 2.6m of 115cm wide fabric and it had some holes along one side where it had been stapled to a table, just to make things more interesting.

In the end, it worked.  I avoided the holes and the only pieces I had to put across- rather than length-wise were the front facings.  The moral of the story is: you can make a Ceylon from 2.6m of fabric, but only if you want to muck around for hours and cut it out piece by piece.  I think I'll be getting at least 3m for my next Ceylon!