Sewing

Me Made May 2020

31st May 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

Me Made May is an annual challenge where makers make individual pledges for the month of May. It’s the brain child of Sozoblog and I’ve made a pledge for four years in a row. This year, I pledged to wear at least one item of me-made every day for the whole month. Most importantly, I enjoy wearing my me-mades but this year was an additional motivator for me to wear something other than joggers or pjs in the continuing lockdown! Reading posts on Instagram and chatting with fellow makers, I wasn’t the only one who had this thought.

As well as wearing my me-mades, I chose to document on Instagram stories, which I’ve saved in my highlights. This was partly for accountability, but it also helped keep track of what day it was…something I got wrong a few times. Don’t judge me, life had been one long Skype call for nearly 5 weeks by the start of May!

Weeks 1 & 2

Looking back through the first two weeks reminded me that I had a constant battle between style and sense. I think I got over-excited and kept putting dresses or thin tops on, then ended up adding a jumper.

I had a low point on 14th when I seriously considered staying in some me-made pjs for the day…or the rest of lockdown. I have a lot of me-made pjs so I could have made it through with a few well-timed laundry days.

My takeaway thought from the first fortnight was that I needed to make another pair of Marigold trousers, which helpfully leads me into the second half of the month.

Weeks 3 & 4

I wore a combination of old favourites and newer makes, including some new Marigolds that I whipped up in the last week. My two existing pairs are serving me well, but I still haven’t got the calf width right on them – dancers’ calves!

Week 4 was gloriously hot in the North of England so I enjoyed wearing my light summer dresses minus the jumpers in the final week.

31st May saw us out on the bikes in a ‘fresh off the machine’ power sports bra, but that’s a story for another day.

Final thoughts

I was concerned in the final few days of April that I would find this year hard. I usually wear a lot of dresses in the office that I didn’t feel like wearing to sit at home in. In actual fact, I found it easier than previous years to create ..

Another unexpected joy was that I had far fewer repeats than in previous years, which showed me how far my me-made wardrobe has come. I have never set a ‘goal’ to have a totally me-made wardrobe and I have some rtw items that I love (and actually missed during May!) but this challenge helped me realised how much of what I wear has been stitched by me. As May went on, I added in an additional element and started trying not to repeat in an attempt to wear lesser-worn makes.

Huge thanks to Zoe for organising #memademay2020 and motivating me to think about what to wear each day, and enjoy that process. I may just keep going and do memadejune…not as catchy but just as fun.

Thanks for reading :o)

Sewing

Stellan hack

24th May 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

Hello all! Years ago, I bought a t-shirt dress that I wear every summer even though it is terribly mis-shapen. I find that most ready-to-wear jersey goes oddly shaped after a while, which I think is because it isn’t cut on the grain.

For a while, I’ve thought that it wouldn’t be impossible to copy it, but haven’t had the confidence of the pattern. A few weeks ago, I saw that redwsews had made a new Stellan Tee, which is a free pattern by French Navy, and I started to investigate the hashtag.

After downloading the pattern, I decided to make the t-shirt first to check the size. I made a small in thislovely lilac jersey from Sew Hayley Jane and was happy with the fit. I thought I might need to shorten it slightly but it was perfect.

I bought three jersey fabrics from Guthrie Ghani to make two more t-shirts and a dress. The yellow and neon pick tulips is a light-weight jersey which has a great drape to it. The turquoise jersey with flowers on it is a heavier weight. Both sewed up really well in this pattern.

Next came the hacking. I lengthened the pattern at the lengthen/shorten line by 14″ because I wanted to keep the curved hem at the bottom. Unfortunately I forgot about my thighs and neglected to grade out! I ended up putting some triangles as side panels to widen at the thigh. I thought it might look a bit odd but I actually really like the look.

I also put some belt loops at the waist and created a belt to match the rtw dress that I love so much.

Additional “thigh panel”, belt loop and belt

My dress is so comfy – hello, secret pjs – I’ve made sure that I altered the pattern pieces to accommodate my thighs so that I can re-make the dress if I want to. The t-shirts are a great addition to my wardrobe, particularly with all this working from home.

Thanks for reading :o)

Isewlation part 2 – tops edition

11th May 202011th May 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

I’m back with isewlation part 2…tops! Thanks for the love for my last post, which reassured me that a series wasn’t too bold this early in my blogging career. Today I’m talking about a few tops that I’ve made during lockdown. Two are old favourites, one is a newbie (to me).

I Am Joy

I’m opening with a bit of Joy, I Am Joy to be specific. I’ve made this pattern twice before and it’s a great top for work, not that I can remember what it’s like to be in the office, but let’s breeze past that fact.

The fabric was from Sew Me Sunshine. I wanted a plain fabric and was in a “purple phase” so got this rich violet twill. This fabric has the longest description that I’ve ever seen and made me chuckle ever time I saw it in my Trello list – “Modal, Bamboo Viscose & Lyocell Twill”. As well as having an environmentally friendly aspect, it’s got an amazing drape and feels great to wear.

I’ve made a lot of adjustments to my Joy pattern pieces and am happy with the fit now. I cut a size 40 and shortened the bodice by 3″. The raw pattern neckline shows my bra straps as it’s so wide, which I’m not a fan of, so I brought it in by an inch or so.

Due to my “purple phase”, I bought some matching variegated overlocker thread, which I love. It has quite a subtle finish and makes my clothes so pretty inside.

Fleet by Nina Lee

The Nina Lee Fleet top is a summer staple in my wardrobe and such a bargain. I found the pattern last year when I was looking for a basic t-shirt/top pattern that I could make in bulk for summer. I probably wear a Fleet top at least twice a week from about April – September.

I have adjusted it slightly, lengthening the bodice and extending the sleeve cap for more coverage on the shoulders. Other than that, it’s a top that I can whip up quickly with a very small amount of fabric, and is a great one for batch-sewing.

Speaking of which…the fabric! My sister and brother-in-law bought this cotton from Guthrie & Ghani a while ago and I wanted to sew it up this year, so included it in my Make Nine 2020. It’s quite a stiff cotton (e.g. it’s not like a Lawn) but it’s already softened with a few washes and it’s so jolly with a pair of denim shorts.

Somerset by Maven Patterns

I’m finishing off with a new-to-me pattern. The Somerset top seemed to take the sewing community by storm a few months ago. The billowy sleeves and deep cuff told us that this pattern was for people who wanted a statement sleeve. I made Version D for maximum sleeve impact.

I had seen lots of versions of this popping up on ‘the gram’ and wanted one for myself. A word of advice, Mrs Maven has helpfully done “quick instructions” at the beginning of the instruction booklet. I made the whole top using the quick guide before realising that the full instructions were later on. On one level, it shows how easy the top is to construct. On another level, it proves my Dad’s theory that I answered the questions before fully reading them in school exams! Note to self: read the whole instruction booklet before starting!!

The fabric was is my Sew Me Sunshine order when I bought the above violet twill. This modal tencel jersey is something else. I don’t think I’ve stroked a jersey this soft. I am sensing a theme that anything with “modal” in the composition seems to be super soft and I plan to seek it out for my wardrobe more often. I was so keen to use every scrap that I squeezed a simple Agnes top out of the remnants, as well as toiling a Hyacinth bralette from it.

I made some fairly standard minor adjustments for me – shortened the sleeves by 1″, shortened the bodice by 1.5″ and graded out at the hip. I also omitted the shirring elastic – who has that to hand in the midst of a lockdown?! I used gathering stitches around the cuffs and it worked fine, although I would like to try the shirring elastic for a new technique.

Hope this gives you some top inspiration. Thanks for reading :o)

MakeNine2020 · Sewing

Mouse’s Ear

3rd May 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

Do you ever see a popular pattern and think “meh, not for me”? The Myosotis dress from Deer & Doe was that pattern for me. I couldn’t even say or spell it! On researching for this blog, I learnt that Myosotis comes from the Ancient Greek for “mouse’s ear” so it feels more appropriate that I’ve fallen in love with the pattern, given my nickname.

I felt like there was too much going on for me and wondered if all that ruffle, flounce and gathering would swamp my small frame. What I hadn’t realised was there was another, less ruffly version.

Given my apathy towards this pattern, how did I come to own it? My whole dress is a combination of goodies from the mind of Sew Hayley Jane. The pattern, fabric and buttons are all from boxes that I had purchased from Hayley over the past year or so.

When I got the Myosotis, I was slightly more interested when I saw the line drawing of the simpler version and had a more detailed look at the hashtag. In the back of my mind, I thought that waist ties might make it a dress that I would be more comfortable with. It had a collar though and I wasn’t ready for that level of complication in my life! And so, it went into my stash and was forgotten for a while.

Fabric

Make Nine 2020 was the reminder that I needed to release it from the archives. Whilst perusing my fabric stash, I came across a double-gauze with dandelions on it and wondered if it would make a good Myosotis. Spoiler alert: it did. By coincidence, this was also from one of Hayley’s boxes.

I hadn’t made anything with double gauze before. It’s light, soft and I enjoyed sewing with it. I had seen posts online about double gauze misbehaving during sewing, but I didn’t experience that at all.

Hacking some waist ties

I had my mind set on additional waist ties to cinch the dress in. Rather than look up a tutorial online, I decided to “wing it”, which is a very rare approach for me. I cut two rectangles of fabric and folded them in on themselves then stitched closed (sort of like bias binding). As I predicted I would, I forgot to secure them into the bodice, so ended unpicking a bit of the sides to add them in! The waist ties allow me to pull the dress in at the waist a bit, which I prefer as a silhouette than it hanging loose.

I cut a size 38 on the collar and bust, then graded to a 40 on the waist and hip. I shortened the skirt by about an inch and did a full bicep adjustment to give myself a bit more space on the arm.

Buttons

These buttons are from Whim Wham Buttons and I think they’re called “Joy”. I was undecided on whether to use the pink or yellow ones and even did an Instagram poll (my followers couldn’t make their mind up either). In the end I went with yellow, partly because my husband preferred them and partly because the yellow were from a SHJ box, whereas the pink weren’t!

Verdict

I’ve badged this as a ‘surprising make’ as love it and wasn’t sure through the whole sewing process. I definitely prefer the simpler version and added waist ties. It’s so comfortable to wear that I’m considering another one in the other double-gauze that I have in my stash and Make Nine!

Thanks for reading :o)