Me Made May week 5

The final week of Me Made May! I even actually made (and wore) something new!

This is a shirt - my favourite shirt pattern - that I started eons ago and never finished. Getting the idea to zhuzh it up a bit with a contrast running stitch got me inspired to get it done. 

Monday got cold again. Old cardigan in Knitpicks Gloss, corduroy wrap skirt that i never wore because it was teal, removed colour and over-dyed (might over-dye again to get a better red?)

I saw a cut top on Instagram recently and then realized it was near identical to this one I made out of old sheets three years ago (self-drafted, inspired by this dress), but with an extra flounce (now I'm tempted to add an extra flounce). Polka dot skirt is one i made in 2018 or so.

Me trying to dress like a capitalist for a peace mission. Same favourite shirt pattern (you can see this fabric in that post from 2013), this time in a really nice black pinstripe, and pencil skirt in a fine wool windowpane check.

I love this dress so much. Black cotton broderie with white collar. I have had it (and the shoes) since 2016 or 2017?

Yellow gingham circle skirt (to match the top from last week) and a black silk halter top that was another pandemic project (ugly print remnant bought at discount, colour removed, over-dyed). Note bike shorts and helmet! I cycle in all these outfits; I don't usually bother with shorts but this in particular was for a ride to a gallery about 30km outside of town.

Me Made May week 4

Gardening season has arrived! I am loving the summery weather and I hope my seedlings are, too.

This sundress is one I made last year, after finding the cutest cherry-print cotton. It ties at the neck, and ties up the back, and has ruffles! (n.b. this dress was sadly not cute enough to solve all of life’s problems...

Sundress with cherry print

This butterfly-wing top was inspired by a Ravelry poster who is no longer with us. Bittersweet to wear in her memory, but she’d want us all to be twirling.

Polka dot butterfly top with denim pencil skirt 

Pulled out this gingham top from almost exactly 12 years ago - originally inspired by Bye Bye Birdie, interesting to compare my garden then to my garden now!

Yellow gingham sleeveless shirt 

This dress was a very pandemic project: cotton baptiste bought in a colour I didn’t care for, but was on sale for next to nothing. I de-coloured it, and then hand painted all the  polka dots. Lined the skirt with an old bedsheet. Buttons from stash. Really everything was stuff I had on hand already, except the vintage buckle which you can’t even see in this photo, from Agnes Vintage Buttons. Because during a pandemic, why not wait for something shipped from Spain?

Polka dot cotton baptiste dress with pussybow 

This linen-cotton top is from yeeeears ago... matching pencil skirt as well, although it got worn more, and washed more, so it’s faded more. I keep thinking I will over-dye them both. One day. Skirt is a simple wrap, cotton print from a Fabricland haul a couple of years ago.

Linen bateau neck top, wrap skirt with bicycle print 

Currently raining, hope my sprouts enjoy!

Me Made May week 2

It's Me Made May week 2! Summer dress season! 

Copying the summer dress manifesto I posted on socials:

You might see someone wearing a summer dress and think 😍 and feel compelled to express your feelings! Here are 2 tips on how to do that in a way that will be appreciated:

1. Wear a summer dress 💃

People wearing cute summer dresses almost always appreciate seeing other cute summer dresses. Be part of summer dress season by wearing one yourself!

Not a dress person? Try other grownup clothes, anything made of woven fabric with button closures is a good place to start.

2. Compliment the dress! 

Comments like "OMG that dress is adorbs" or "that colour is amazing on you" are 👍 

One caveat: the *only* people allowed to comment on summer dresses are people who are themselves wearing summer dresses.

So: wear a summer dress, see a dress, say "I love your dress!" And maybe they'll say "no I love YOUR dress!!" This is the ideal summer dress season interaction.

V-back Fit-and-flare in polka dot cotton poplin 

Gingham ruched and ruffled with handknit cardigan 

Black and white V-neck 

Ruched V-neck in black knit 

Vintage party dress with handknit cardigan 

channeling my inner liberace

today's me-made outfit consists of the recon jeans (again) plus an old favourite: the purple ruffled tux shirt:



i had looked for a vintage one for ages that was roughly my size before giving up and diy-ing it. i don't think i'll ever do this kind of ruffle again: they were annoying! but, years later, still love the shirt.

hmm

if my pics are blurry normally, they are much worse with the participation of the kiddo!



i think this dress is my favourite thing i own that i've made. and on the subway tonight a stranger stopped to say "i love your dress!"

breakthrough!

i finally committed the lace trim for my bed jacket to memory! woo hoo! did 4 repeats on the morning commute; at this rate it will just take... 10 or so more business days to finish this thing? at any rate it will certainly be done well in advance of my end-of-july deadline, and i think i'll enter into the fenelon fair as well!

in me-made news, i'm wearing one of my favourite me-made dresses today! will post a photo later. it's made of the cutest fabric ever, a pink and orange gingham printed with butterflies and dragonflies!

graduation day!

a quick snap of the family on graduation day! the skirt is from this tutorial. the top is a linen/cotton blend; i made a pencil skirt out of the same fabric, too (still haven't finished the hem though). tg's shirt is also one i made from scratch. sadly, the kiddo had taken off his vintage bowtie by this point.

a quick and easy me-made tutorial

here's a terrible photo of today's me-made outfit:



the jeans are actually a recon job from a couple of summers ago. the top is probably the easiest-ever thing i have made: two identical pieces of fabric, stiched up the sides and shoulders, with turned-under edges at the neck, armholes, and hem. here's a quick diagram showing how - n.b. the fabric must be stretchy!



tomorrow i'm planning on wearing my flowered half-circle skirt along with a top i made on the weekend, but i don't know if i'll have time for photographs/blogging it till the end of the day - the kiddo is graduating pre-school! kind of ridiculous, really, but we're having fun with it. his bowtie is ready to go!

elvis lives

most kids' clothing in the stores is crap, i think. if i had my way, the kiddo would be dressed like the beav. well, actually something a bit more rockabilly. but certainly '50s-inspired.

so i was very excited to find elvis fabric!



i dithered for a while, but ended up deciding on a classic short-sleeved shirt, with a yoke (the pattern is simplicity 3852). i did the yoke on the bias, because those elvises (elvii?) are tricky to line up. i did a pretty good job on the front patch pocket though!



sadly i had to give up on getting a good smiling face shot of my young model, he was being too silly! the candid is almost as good though.

yellow!

i'm a little in love with yellow lately. there was an episode of mad men - i've no idea which, as i watched almost all of them in a marathon a number of months back when i was sick or something - in which betty draper had a gorgeous dress printed with yellow roses and with a black band around the bateau neckline. and after a bout of fits and starts interrupted by the rest of everyday life, it's finally finished!



it took me a while to find the fabric, but i did (thank you king textiles)!



i am very happy with it. the basic pattern is one i drafted from a princess-seamed shift i have; i cut & basted it together and made some alterations before cutting the lining and sewing it all up. the black at the neckline is simply an overlay which i basted in place carefully, before sewing from behind. no visible stitches on this baby.



the hem was fun - i had to gather the edge to take in the extra fabric (the skirt is roughly a half-circle) and used a lace binding. two-and-a-half metres of it! and then all hand-stitched!



the black border at the bottom is actually attached to the lining of the skirt, and cut to be just a bit longer than the skirt itself so it shows a little.




but i still wish i could remember which episode this is from.

i need to sleep

did a whole ton of sewing today, and finally finished a mad men-inspired dress i started ages ago. and i've wasted an age now trying to find a pic of it online, to no avail! i don't even remember which season it was let alone which ep - maybe season 3 sometime? who knows! anyway i'll post a pic of my dress tomorrow when the sun is up. it's chintz with yellow roses, and i'm pretty pleased with it.

also did a two-piece dress in black linen/cotton blend; pencil skirt and boat-neck top. it feels like ages since i have done any real sewing so i am excited at progress! it almost makes up for missing maine. and, so much more prepared for the rest of me-made june.

skirt!

it's been a little chilly here lately (boooo) but today i decided to wear a skirt anyway!



i made may of last year (and fixed may of this year) from fabric i ordered from runner girl. i am hoping that by this afternoon the weather will be more suited to the clothing!

oh em gee.

so, i'm going to maine this week for the hands & voices leadership conference, and i thought "maybe i'll hit up a few yarn stores on the way there and back." so i got directions thanks to google and headed over to knitmap to see what was on or near my route.

well, wowsers!

they have an awesome new crawl feature where you can create a map with driving directions of all the stores you want to hit. which i obviously did. and no, i probably (definitely) won't have time to hit all of them, but i will definitely hit a few!



meanwhile, i have to start packing, and sorting out what me-made stuff i can pack my suitcase with that will suit the weather - it's going to be on the cool side, looks like. may have to dig out some stuff i packed away for the season! i'm thinking this sweater could definitely make a reappearance:

summer dress weather

it's me-made month!



today i'm wearing an all-time favourite - polkadots and bows! so comfortable and girlish. the dress is lined with the same blue cotton the bows are made of.



i've also been busy with my knitting despite two needle crises - one circ that vanished, and one circ that broke. replaced both at knitomatic last night, where i also picked up some mission falls for $3.50 a ball! i'm sad there will be no more mission falls, but boy was i glad to get some for that price!

so this morning i got my spring dreams dress off the broken needle and onto the new one (knitpicks harmony - have't tried them before, but i'm kind of excited that i can get them at my lys!), while waiting for the bus:



and last night i moved my swooner bed jacket from a too-short circ to a right-sized one. this is my "sweater" for the knitomatic sweater-along:



i will try to be more consistent with posting for the rest of me-made june 2011...

what i want for christmas

whoops! i started this post last week and it somehow got lost in the "drafts" folder... found it because i am home sick today!

this. and more realistically, this book! all about saul bass, the amazing graphic designer who did the credit sequences for so many brilliant films in the 1950s and truly created the aesthetic.

in other news, it's me-made month!



i will confess this morning i completely forgot until i was already on the road. did not sleep well last night is my only excuse. but yesterday i wore my new favourite skirt, a high-waisted half-circle in a floral print!




(note to self: hands too shaky, drink less coffee. or, get a tripod.)

i think the fabric was actually meant to be for upholstery, but the weight means it drapes nicely instead of flying up in the air all of the time. love this skirt! and was easy to make, too. here's a brief diagram of what i did:



n.b. all sides need seam allowance added!

make sense? one quarter-circle is the front of the skirt, the other is the back; the rectangles are for the waistband, one front and one back, and the line down the middle is to show that it's folded in half. first, sew one long side of each waistband to the smaller curved edge of the skirt piece, right sides together. then place the two combined pieces right sides together, lining up the waistband seam. sew the entire side seam (waistband and skirt) on one side, and on the other, sew the side seam only from about 5" from the waistband down to the bottom (to leave room for the zipper). fold the waistband down in half on the inside of the skirt, and sew through all layers "in the ditch" of the waistband seam. insert zipper, hem, and you're done!

i got a little fancy with mine; since it's a fairly wide waistband, i through in a couple of darts like this:



sorry i wish i was better at tutorials!