I’ve completed one full week of Me-Made-May (okay, plus a couple by the time I’ve gotten to write this up…)
Honestly, finding something I’ve sewn to wear each day isn’t so difficult. I am trying to repeat as little as possible so I can wear all the items I’ve made. I’m also working on cleaning out my closet and ridding myself of those items I’m just not in love with anymore.
This is also probably an appropriate time to say a little about my sewing style/philosophy. I love to sew. Love it. It’s my zen and my therapy. I love designing what I’m going to sew, I love sewing it, I love having clothes that fit (maybe not perfectly but certainly better than anything off the peg), I love having clothes with unique or quirky details. I mean, just look at the dress I kicked this month off with: where would you buy a dress like that?!
Having said that, I’m not someone who aspires to have an entirely me-made wardrobe. I have no desire to sew undergarments–beyond the odd costuming corset. I have no desire to sew basic tees and tanks. My sewing time is pretty limited so I’m not going to spend it on something plain, basic and easy to come by.
So what have I noticed thus far? I need more layering garments (but I knew that). I have one cardi-wrap I’ve made and nothing else. I only have a handful of tops. These are holes I knew already. I’m trying to get myself motivated to sew some of those. I have very little me-made casual or bum-around wear. But I’m not sure how much I’ll seek to correct that. I certainly have a lot of that style clothing…I just haven’t bothered to make it. 😉
So just what have I worn so far?
Starting from the top left, going clockwise:
1. The “summer in a dress,” Collette Laurel in watermelon print cotton with gingham pockets and bias binding. I actually made a muslin up before sewing this. All told I lowered the bust point at least an inch, made a narrow chest and narrow back adjustment and an erect back adjustment. I should probably go back and add a small swayback adjustment. Oh and I omitted the zipper. This dress will go into major rotation once the height of summer hits.
2. Simplicity 2886 in Country Classic cotton with floral quilting cotton accents. This was one of my first attempts at an FBA.
3. McCall’s 6035 in white with red plaid shirting with silver snap closure. This is a multi-cup pattern so I didn’t do an FBA but I believe I did an erect back adjustment. I need to pull the sleeve tabs off and shorten them.
4. This skirt is my very favorite. It’s Vogue 8603 in denim with cream top stitching. The interior seams are entirely bound. The top is a wearable muslin of Butterick 5857. It fits mostly fine but the back cross-over needs to be narrowed a little. The jacket makes me smile: it was Dad’s from his days in the service. It (very faintly) still shows my (maiden) name–a very uncommon name. 🙂 Truth time: I spent most of the day in the garden getting covered in dirt but that outfit fell under my exception.
5. This shirt started out life as a men’s XL tee shirt. I recut it using Simplicity 4878. The sleeves are made from some black stretch lace I had laying around. Un-ruched, it’s about tunic length. Second truth time: I only had this outfit on for about 3 hours while we went to see Iron Man 3 (highly recommend it!!). The rest of the day I spent finishing up the garden.
6. These camo gaucho pants (Kwik Sew 3443) aren’t long for this world. They’re faded and stretched out and really weren’t quality to begin with. I could have pulled my exception since I didn’t really leave the house that day, but I pulled these out to wear to dance class. They suffice. I wore the outfit from day 5 for my quick trip to the grocery store early in the day.
7. Yup, there’s that skirt again. This time with an office outfit.