#MMM'15 - Part II

I, Cathy of Cathy Makes, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to wear an item of me-made clothing:
- five days a week
- one of the days each week to be entirely me-made
- one of the weeks to be seven days of something me-made
for the duration of May 2015.

Here is my second installment of Me-Made-May 2015.

Week 3

Day 1: Saturday 16th May
Me Mades: Miette II Cardigan, Cowl Neck Top
Worn to: take children to horse riding party

Day 2: Sunday 17th May
MM: Red Dress
Worn to: drinks and dinner

Day 3: Monday 18th May
MM: Dahlia Dress, Florence Scarf
Worn to: work

Day 4: Tuesday 19th May
MM: Green Sprig Top
Worn to: work

Day 5: Wednesday 20th May
MM: Red Dress
Worn to: the races

Week 4

Day 1: Saturday 23rd May
MM: Sorbetto Dress
Worn to: take kids to weekend activities

Day 2: Sunday 24th May
MM: Cambie Birds Dress
Worn to: lunch with friends

Day 3: Monday 25th May
MM: Liberty Mimi Blouse, Miette II Cardigan
Worn to: Hampton Court Palace outing

Day 4: Tuesday 26th May
MM: Wild Red Skirt, Mustard Cardigan
Worn to: friends house for coffee

Day 5: Wednesday 27th May
MM: Silver Pin Dot T-shirt
Worn to: kids birthday party

Day 6: Thursday 28th May
MM: Broderie Dress, Miette Cardigan
Worn to: have friends to play at home

Day 7: Friday 29th May
MM: Mustard T-shirt and Cardigan
Worn to: Odds Farm outing

And finally, Week 5, Day 1: Saturday 30th May
MM: Mustard Cardigan



Post MMM Analysis

Most worn garment: Tie between Mustard and Miette II Cardigans. Four times each. They are both great neutral basics that I can throw on over almost anything in my wardrobe. I'm also aware that these are pretty close to something I might buy RTW.

I do enjoy getting out and about in my Me-Mades, but it also makes me feel more self-conscious about my clothing choices. I am well aware that they are extremely colourful and not always my signature style. That said, the whole point of the exercise is to get them out and about to help decide what to make more of and what to make less of.

Here is a list of me-mades that didn't get worn this month, and why:

Icelandic Jumper: pure Icelandic wool knit in seasonal colours, need I say more?
Gold Cable Cashmere Jumper: Ditto, definitely not Spring garb.
Clara Knit Vest: Gone out of style due to the length and sleevelessness. I still love this yarn though. Consider frogging.
Red Spot Sorbetto: Let's face it, I'm never going to wear this. Time to turn it into a sewing machine cover.
Navy Spot Sundress: I completely love this dress, but the fabric really has faded so much it is not wearable any more (sniff). I must remove the zip to make sure I am not tempted.
Chiffon top: Not warm enough, not enough days at the office. I promise to wear this on my first sunny June day back in the office. Update: worn on 2nd June.
70's dress: this one is a bit iffy. I've worn it twice since I made it but it doesn't really get much of an outing
Garden Skirt: Planned to wear it on the last weekend in May, but the weather has been terrible. I do wear this quite a bit in nice weather. Update: worn on 5th June.

20 items worn. 7 of them more than once.
8 items not worn: 3 knitwear, 5 summer cottons.
Not bad!

#MMM'15 - Weeks 1 & 2

I, Cathy of Cathy Makes, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to wear an item of me-made clothing:
- five days a week
- one of the days each week to be entirely me-made
- one of the weeks to be seven days of something me-made
for the duration of May 2015.

Week 1

#1: Friday 1st May
Me-Made: Miette II Cardigan
Weather: Cold, sunny
Activities: Day off, coffee morning, dentist, school run.
Chances I would have worn this outfit if it was not MMM: 100%. I practically live in this cardigan and wear it all the time.

#2: Saturday 2nd May
Me-Made: Miette Cardigan
Weather: Cold
Activities: Errands, swimming lessons, kids appointments.
Chances I would have worn this outfit if it was not MMM: 99%. I wear this cardigan a lot.


#3: Sunday 3rd May
Me-Made: Miette II Cardigan
Weather: Rain, then sun
Activities: Friends for lunch.
Chances I would have worn this outfit if it was not MMM: 100%. Told you I live in this cardigan!

#4: Monday 4th May
Me-Made: Ruby Tuesday Cardigan, Mustard T-shirt, Martini Mustard Skirt
Weather: Pleasant
Activities: Picnic.
Chances I would have worn this outfit if it was not MMM: 2%. I put this together only because it was MMM. That said, I was pleased with the result, and that is the whole point.

#5: Wednesday 6th May
Me-Made: Wool Pinstripe Pencil Skirt
Weather: Rainy
Activities: Work.
Chances I would have worn this outfit if it was not MMM: 5%. I want to wear spring clothing, this is very winter-y. But, again, I was glad I chose it. I'm still pondering shortening the length to a mini. I like the variety of this, but because it is not very pegged, it seems a bit frumpy to me.

Week 2

#1: Friday 8th May
MM: Liberty Mimi Blouse
Activities: School Run

#2: Sunday 10th May
MM: Mustard T-shirt and Cardigan
Activities: Home Stuff

#3: Monday 11th May
MM: Liberty Mimi Blouse
Activity: Work

#4: Tuesday 15th May
MM: Black and White Skirt
Activity: Work

#5: Wednesday 16th May
MM: Ruby Tuesday Cardigan
Activity: After school classes

#6: Thursday 17th May
MM: Grey Flannel Dress
Activity: Work

It took me a few days to get into wearing my me-mades. Once I got there, I quite enjoyed it. Having new stuff to wear helps too. I decided to give myself the freedom to choose whatever I wanted from my whole wardrobe, not just my handmade wardrobe, but I still pulled on my cardigans willingly. I suspect that, like many home sewers, I am making a lot of things from eye catching fabric, but are not very "me". 

Looking at the photos, it is good to discover what actually looks good on me.

Liberty Mimi Blouse

Love at First Stitch, by Tilly Walnes, breaks the mould of typical sewing books and gives a bunch of great patterns instead of the usual home furnishings and tote bags. The book had me wanting to make most of the garments in it and I have a long to-sew queue from it.

I started with the Mimi Blouse, a perfect match for Liberty Tana Lawn. I have been wanting to sew with this fabric ever since I first went to Liberty and fondled the lovely bolts of fabric. I finally got around to buying some at the Knitting and Stitching Show in March.

Mimi is a cute, button front blouse with lots of lovely design features. I particularly love the Chelsea collar swooping down along the v-neckline, just deep enough to be interesting, without being revealing.

The pattern is really easy to trace, (thanks to House of Pinhero for the baking paper tip!) the pieces are all on the same sheet and there is no crazy overlapping like you get with Burda Style.

I traced a size 3, and - completely unheard of, for me - made a toile. It turns out the blouse is very roomy, the gathers at the back yoke look lovely at the top, but they do add a lot of volume through the rest of the blouse. I took a large wedge off the hips and graded it down to the size 2 through the side seams. The sleeves were a bit small at the cuff, something I had also read from other bloggers who have made this. I changed the seam allowance at the cuff of the sleeve to be 1cm, instead of 1.5cm.

I didn't interface the topside of the collar, I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it is the underside that is interfaced, so I did that. I wondered whether it was really worth interfacing the full facings, but I did. I added another small patch of interfacing underneath each buttonhole to help stabilise them.

I remembered to make a tiny sway back adjustment, I just pulled up the centre section at the gathered yoke, it helps a bit.

My buttons are vintage, from my grandmother's stash. I am so pleased with how perfect they are for this blouse.

I've also changed how I wear it. The longer sleeve length looked a bit frumpy to me, so I have cuffed the sleeve so that the facing is on show. It's a shame because it covers up the cute pleats, but the smaller puffed sleeve suits me better.

I like it better tucked in, but from these photos, I can see I look better with it untucked.

The Tana Lawn was lovely to sew with and is great to wear. It really is a marvellous fabric. I chose this greenish grey because I wanted something a bit neutral and not too ditsy. Since I made it, I have worn it at the weekend, and to work, and got compliments!

Costs:
 Fabric, Liberty: £28.00
 Interfacing, Clothspot: £2.00
 Thread, used previously: £0.00
 Buttons, from Granny's stash: £0.00
 Pattern, Tilly Walnes: £4.50 (1/3 of book price)
 Toile fabric, salvaged: £0.00
Total: £34.50

Crochet Cotton Scarf - Happy Mother's Day, Mum!

I found this lovely variegated cotton yarn in a dollar store in Australia. Dollar stores have some great craft ingredients. Mum offered to buy it for me and I have loved being able to make it up into a scarf for her!

From the first, I wanted to make a crochet scarf from it, and I really wanted to do it as a zig zag crochet project. The colours came out beautifully, but the fabric was very dense, way too firm for a scarf. It made me think of a placemat!

So I needed something looser, a pattern that would make a fabric with drape.  One of my favourite qualities of cotton yarn is its drape, and it would be a shame not to show that off.

Crocheting into the foundation chain is tedious work! I made it harder still by making the scarf too wide. I really like the way that the variegated yarn pools in the wider section, but I had to switch to adding to the side of the scarf so that I would not run out of yarn, and to make it a better width for a summer scarf. You can see the change in direction in the picture below. It looks a bit like I meant it when it is worn. Two different patterns for the two tails of the scarf.

I think crochet is the perfect technique for a scarf. Being uniform produces fabric with no wrong or right side, so it does not matter which side shows when the scarf is worn.

Happy Mother's Day, Mum! I love you! X