Another Tote Bag

A quick post to share another tote bag that I put together as a welcome gift for my Mum. The previous London Bag has got great use and is now very shabby, so a replacement was in order.

I wanted to use this tan/brown twill from my stash. I had it earmarked for a skirt, but the colour is not good. I'm not really sure why I bought it actually, probably carried away by new making in 2013/14.

I really loved Erin's applique on her plain sweatshirt and I used that idea to jazz up Mum's bag. I almost bought the same pink blossom, but went for the gold in the end. It arrived fast from eBay and the quality was great: no dud stitches or mistakes in the design.

I cut out a rectangle for the bag, 88cm by 35cm. The overall dimensions are good, but I went too high with the applique and didn't leave quite enough space at the top for a good facing. 90cm would have been a better height. Straps are 7cm wide by 35cm long.

I sewed on the applique before I made up the bag. I used couching to attach the stems, then machine sewed the leaves on, then ironed it on, then went over the flowers by hand. It took many evenings, but I found it so relaxing! There is something so meditative about sitting and making hundreds of tiny stitches in a piece of cloth. I listened to podcasts and sewed away. I wasn't under huge time pressure, and the work feels productive too. You can see the work growing, but slowly.

I do worry about the durability of the applique on something as hard wearing as a bag. I didn't stitch the flowers on to the edges of the petals, these will probably curl with use, but hopefully won't look too awful. Machine sewing them down didn't really work, the threads got tangled and they didn't look nice. It will work well enough for the bag, it's pretty at the moment, and I can start thinking about the next one in two year's time!

Costs: 
  Fabric: twill cotton, eBay, £2.87
  Decoration: applique, eBay, £3.98 
  Thread: stash, £0.00
Total: £6.85

Victorian Corset

As I embark on a new sewing adventure, I have made a Victorian Corset to fit under a Victorian Bustle Dress. Yes, I have decided to create something completely frivolous that I may never wear out in public. But it is a lot of fun to plan. 

A proper Victorian outfit needs the proper foundations. It is probably a good thing that the most daunting garment needs to be tackled first, kind of like eating your vegetables. Such a challenging construction almost put me off the whole endeavour, but it has been far less challenging than I expected, and I am pretty pleased with myself for how well it turned out.

I bought Truly Victorian's TV110 Corset as an e-pattern and made the first toile from a cotton business shirt. I cut a size D with a B cup. I shortened the waist by an inch, at the waistline. I made this without bones and I laced the back with knitting yarn by punching holes in the back with a knitting needle - because I didn't even have an awl yet. I sewed the front shut - no busk. Based on this try on, I decided to size down the cup and size up the waist area. I was pleased enough with this to go ahead and order the proper supplies from Sew Curvy.

For the real version, I cut a size D and graded out at the waist to a size E. I did the cup size A. 

While I was putting it together, I lost my nerve and started reducing the size of the seam allowances. It was coming up so small! When I put the first three pieces together and held them up to myself, what was meant to be the side seam was about 1/8 of the way around my body. I kept going, deciding that it was better to finish it as a toile and decide what should be done differently afterwards. I was determined not to abandon it half way through. I didn't actually have a proper idea of what I should change anyway. 

So I sewed it up and closed off the back edges. Then I sewed the boning channels and inserted the bones. Sewing the boning channels was actually really fun. I decided to put them beside the seam where the seam allowance was not. The pattern calls for topstitching the seam allowance down and adding the boning channel beside that. My machine was struggling with four layers of coutil, so I didn't want to finish it off by making it sew through six layers. Putting the boning on the other side gives it less bulk and the seam allowances balance out the boning plus give a modicum of strength opposite each bone. 

Making a two layer corset seems like a bit of a faff at the time, but I can fully appreciate how much easier it is than adding boning channels. Especially if you have to make your channels out of self fabric. All I had to do was run a seam beside the existing one and push the bone in. So easy.

I decided to add the laces without grommets to check the fit first. I put one straight bone in the back, but didn't place it very well. I could see an issue with my sway back in the fit of the lacing over the back waist area. It was very puckered, even with the bone. I wasn't exactly sure how to fix a sway back in a corset, but it definitely needed less fabric in this area. I pinched out a wedge but then straightened up the back edges from top to bottom. It added quite a bit of fabric back into the waist circumference.

I was truly surprised, when I tried it on, at how well it fitted. I was delighted because where I thought I was going to have to re-make the entire thing, with new coutil and a shorter busk, I now only had to re-do the back piece and buy one pair of shorter spiral bones.

I had also realised that the bottom edge was too low, and would dig into the top of my legs when I sat down. This was pretty disappointing, since I had bought pre-cut bones, based on the measurements from my first toile.

But I ordered more supplies and put the too-long bones to good use. I re-positioned them on the centre line of the corset pieces. Each piece is boned twice, once at the side seam and once in the centre. There are also flat steel bones at either side of the busk and on both sides of the eyelets. 18 spiral steels, 6 flat steels, the busk and 12 eyelets. The whole thing is very heavy but I love the armoured plate effect that the three bones in the first panel give where they meet at the bottom.

The fit seems to be pretty good. I have a about 1 to 1.5 inches of lacing gap, but the back is even throughout the laces. The fit in the front of the bust seems pretty good. It is not particularly supportive, and there is not a proper amount of "spillage" at the top. Unfortunately, all the spillage is at the back, not the front. I think that is more a problem of my body than the fault of the corset. I am not sure what to do about the back fat spillage though. The tight areas have to press the flesh somewhere but this will show with a fitted bodice over the top. I'll probably have to make a corset cover but I think it might not be enough.  Not very pretty, but look at that that straight lacing gap!

The waist fits really well. I think I shortened it by the right amount and the fit is snug but not uncomfortable. There is no pressing on my hips, which is what my short waist usually leads to. I love how the corset makes me look the right shape and flattens my tummy! I got a 3 inch reduction. Now, how to wear this in real life...

The fit at the bottom of the hip is not quite as perfect but I am not going to fuss with it. I am so pleased with the overall general fit and it has come out a lot better than I expected, especially with my usual short waist issues.

I flossed the bottom of the bones before adding the edge tapes. These were done with linen thread because I had it with no real use for it and I really like the pale taupe colour against the white. All the stitches are different, I couldn't get it perfectly even. One of them is done backwards (as is one of the eyelets), but who's looking? The edges are trimmed with cotton twill fabric, also from the stash. I only broke one needle in the process of adding it - although there were some close calls. I didn't do a great job of matching the points at the bottom front. These parts of the tape were very thick and I was having an epic battle with my sewing machine just to get them folded under. They will be under the skirts and the whole thing will be under the dress, so it is only for Instagram that I even need to think about it.

I added the lace by hand at the end. Partly because it is very narrow and I would have struggled to catch it into the edges, but mostly because I forgot until I was halfway through. It is polyester, but I had plenty of it, harvested from the nightgown.

I'm actually pretty surprised that it has turned out as nice as it has. It's a lovely pattern to start with and it looks fab all made up. The coutil got a bit dirty in my iron, and with all the handling, but if you squint, you can pretend that it is due to age. As a very first corset, from an amateur maker, I'd say it's pretty amazing.

Now on to the petticoats!

Costs:
 Fabric: Sew Curvy; £10.50
 Pattern: Truly Victorian; £7.87
 Notions: busk, flat steels, spiral steels, eyelets, lacing cord, teflon tape, thread, shipping; £39.96
 Tools: eyelet setter, awl, machine needle; £3.24
Total: £61.57

The dress that wasn't

Sometimes a fabric that speaks loudly about what it wants to be doesn't work out at all. The dress-that -became-a-shirt was wanting to be a long sleeve shirt dress from the second I saw this rayon in Spotlight earlier this year.

I wanted to make more dark background florals, figuring they would be easier to wear. I loved the muted pinks, greens and blues in the foliage and then I spotted that there are two tiny birds hiding in there and I feel in love with it all over again! It is identical fabric to my Alex Birds Shirt, which seems to be a polycotton blend. Despite this, the fabric drapes nicely and is cool to wear.

I decided that a summer dress with long sleeves would be just the thing, our English summers typically being mild but not hot.

I really admired Sewaholic's Nicola Dress with it's soft drape and feminine lines, and decided that I could get pretty close with Simplicity 2447. I really like wearing my sleeveless version and wanted to try adding the sleeves for the look I wanted.

I cut View A in a size 8, without the bib, and lengthened it by 6 inches. I tapered the skirt sides out and removed the scooped hem. This is almost exactly what I did with the linen version, but I changed the construction order a bit. I added a double yoke and used the "burrito method" for attaching the yoke. (I forgot to put the right side facing outward for the lining, so I only got pretty seams, not a pretty facing.) I tried an inward double box pleat, but there wasn't enough fabric in the pleat to make it truly noticeable. I attached the sleeves so that I could flat fell them. Then I sewed up the sides and sleeves with flat felled seams too. I regretted not adding side seam pockets, but this was serendipitous because I would have had to remove them for the shirt.

One element of the construction that I didn't pay attention to, but has affected the finished garment are the two different weights of interfacing that I used. I chose lightweight for the collar but I had some ready cut strips of "waistband interfacing" that I used for the long lengths of button bands. This was much heavier, almost equivalent to my heavyweight interfacing and because the button bands meet the collar stand, it is noticeable. I was sorry that I did this, the collar could have handled a heavier weight. It does, however, seem to lie evenly, something which my other two versions have not done.

I lost a bit of motivation to finish this. I cut it out in June, went away in July, sewed the button bands to the side seams, unpicked them, added the sleeves, decided it looked like a kimono, started another project, and finally made myself finish it - one step at a time, and a sprint to the finish.

Then I tried it on.

It was OK, but not great. Far too frumpy and Granny-like. I tucked it into my jeans and liked it three times more. So the next day, I cut off 34cm and created a faced hem on my new shirt. 

I really like the feel of the fabric, and I love the way it drapes into the cuffs. I didn't make cuff fastenings, I just measured a distance as small as possible that I could still get my hand into. I pleated two knife pleats to fit the sleeve into each cuff. 

Costs:
 Fabric: Spotlight, £20.00
 Pattern: Minerva Crafts, used previously, £0.00
 Notions: 
   Black thread, £1.90
   Interfacing: scraps, £0.00
   Buttons: old shirt, £0.00
Total: £21.90

Sorbet Stripe T-shirt Skirt

Why do I not have a whole wardrobe of skirts made with t-shirt material? It is sooo comfortable! Oh yes, because it is a bit sheer, and a bit lumpy. Oh well, I don't care! So comfortable! And swishy!

I had an idea that I might like to make a skirt out of some blush pink bamboo that I have been hoarding, so I thought I would try out the idea with the remains of my Sorbet Stripe Maxi Dress. I had about 85cm left over, in the full 150cm width.

To make a pattern, I measured my high hip, the area between my actual hip and my waist, and divided that number by 6. I also measured the remaining fabric width and divided that number by 6. Then I cut out 6 pattern pieces from newspaper with those measurements at the top and bottom of each wedge. Because I could turn the pieces upside down against one another, I could increase the bottom edge of each piece by another 4cm.

I squared off the top edge of each wedge to allow for a waistband and then I started cutting out. I added 1 1/2 eighths to each edge for a seam allowance. I sewed the pieces together as I went along, and after 5 pieces I found that I could join them into the skirt. I was a bit confused, surely my maths could not have been as bad as all that? I think the weight of the pieces was making them stretch out to take up the space that the final panel would have taken. (I still need to measure this to check). I didn't want a gathered waist so I went ahead and joined the 5 panels.

I used the elastic from an old pair of boxer shorts and overlocked this to the edge of the fabric, then I zig zagged it down to form a waistband. I didn't have quite enough clearance on my waistband allowance so there are a few puckers in the stitching.

Hemming also done by hand. I have no luck with fine knits on my machine so I always hand finish the hems.

Will I make this pattern for my blush bamboo? I'm not sure. It's a fun skirt to wear, moves nicely and is very comfortable. Blush pink doesn't suit me, so wearing it away from my face is a good idea, but the lumps and bumps show, especially in a plain colour. I might continue to hoard it for a little while longer. At least until it goes out of fashion.

Costs:
 Fabric: leftover from Maxi Dress, £0
 Pattern: self drafted, £0 
 Notions: 
   Overlocker thread: started new spool: £1.89
Total: £1.89

Sorbet Stripe Maxi Dress

I snapped up this striped knit from Fabricana in July. I remember admiring it a 2-3 years ago, so I was  delighted when I saw it on the markdown table for 30% off. At just over £5 per meter, I got 2m.

I had my wish list to make a cardigan with this pink stripe, but when I got it home, I decided that a maxi dress would be just the thing. It must be all that hot weather we were having, Londoners wearing their holiday wardrobes. It's not always pretty, but it's fun!

Being the wrong side of 40 (or 30 for that matter), I didn't want my maxi dress to be figure hugging. I used an existing dress I have for the width, and the Karen Drape Dress for the shoulders and high bust. I laid out the Karen Dress pattern flat, and laid my maxi dress over the top. I didn't worry too much about exact cutting, or seam allowances because my overlocker seams are pretty small.

I kept the neckline of the Karen Dress, it could have gone lower by a stripe or two, but this creates height and I didn't want to fiddle about with drafting a new curve. I finished the neckline and armholes with bands of self fabric.

My RTW maxi dress has side splits to above the knee, which I really like, and is also not floor length, so I copied these features in my dress. I hand stitched the edges of the splits and the hem, giving them a tiny hem in whip stitch. I didn't need to bother with a stretch stitch because the hem does not need to stretch.

I'm really happy with the fit. It honestly seems to skim and not hug, which is exactly what I wanted. The fabric is a little on the sheer side but, whatever, I'm on holiday. Unfortunately, the weight of the dress has pulled the hem down in the first washing. I'll have to figure out a fix for this. Maybe some clear elastic through the armholes.

Costs: 
 Fabric: 2m, Fabricana, £10.20 
 Pattern: Maria Denmark, used previously, £0 
 Notions: 
   Thread, started one new spool: £1.89
Total: £12.09

Rayon Birds Sorbetto

I made this Sorbetto out of the remnants of a current WIP. The weather is hot, so I decided to finish this first and get myself a new summer top.

The fabric is a rayon that I got in Australia. I am trying to buy florals on a black background as they are more wearable as dresses than my usual choices. In a top this is more unusual.

For the Sorbetto pattern, I traced out the full size pattern pieces so that I can lay them flat and get the most out of the fabric. I left out the centre pleat as this is meant to be a scrap buster, and the pleat is very distinctive, and completely lost on a print. I think I need to raise the shoulders by half an inch, and I also need to add a centimetre to the hips.

With a small amount of fabric to work with, I had to cut the back piece upside down, and the length is as much as I could manage. The birdies are very secretive, so I don't think anyone will notice the odd one upside down, and I tried to compensate for the length by doing a faced hem, which gained me an extra cm. I actually think this is the perfect length for me.

I did french seams, but then I unpicked the bottom to create a side split so I had to cut the seam allowance. This isn't very tidy, but it will do. I had to hem around the split and create a bar tack over the cut edges. Without a short waist adjustment, I need the extra space at the top of the hip.

I hand stitched the neckline facing down. I was on holiday, so I took it with me as a hand sewing project. I stared on attaching the hem facing by hand, but didn't bother to finish it, and completed it by machine back at home.

I still don't utterly love this pattern. It is too boxy to be truly flattering on my, but in a drapey fabric, it works out very nicely, and as a free pattern, it's pretty amazing.

Girl's Summer PJs Refashion

With sincere apologies to my mother's lovely, gorgeous and talented friend, who made this nightie for her: I have refashioned it into girls' summer pyjamas.

The original nightie was super-fun to wear for the "before" photos: floor length and billowing fabric, but not so fun to sleep in. There was just too much fabric, and the underarms were a little too tight so the lace scratched my arms.

When I opened it up, I could see that it was just two straight rectangles, sewn selvedge to selvedge. It was very nicely done, and yielded about 2.5m of fabric, plus a lot of lovely lace and ribbon. I used almost all the fabric for these pyjamas, with none to spare. Partly because I had to work around a few stains as this nightie is quite a few years old.

For my pattern, I used Simplicity 1504 in the Child/Teen size M. There are a few printing mistakes on the pattern pieces, some of the child ones say teen/adult and are in fact child/teen. The sizing on this pattern is also a little funny in that the adult XS fits in between the sizing for the child M and L and then the child L fits between adult XS and S. They shouldn't bother with the whole child / adult sizing and just carry on up the chart, but I suppose customers are used to picking a certain size.

I shortened the sleeve to 28cm, to include a cuff detail. The legs, I shortened to the lengthen/shorten lines and then removed another 1 1/2 inches. I should have flared out for the cuff piece, the legs taper to the cuff and I lost some width when I turned them up.

I spent a long time adding piping to the front facings, the collar and the pocket pieces, plus the hem and sleeve cuffs. All told, it needed 3.4m of piping cord. I used one of M's old work shirts for the piping fabric. It was nice and stiff, which I needed since I was pulling apart a 3mm piping cord to make 1mm and the bumps show through if the fabric is not made of stern stuff. Plus, free fabric! All I had to put in to this whole project was the interfacing, piping cord and waistband elastic.

I made two breast pockets - the fabric is very sheer - and did a top hem, rather than piping around the bottom. I stitched a line of stitches around the fold lines of the pockets, and a row of gathering stitches around the corners to draw them up more neatly. Still didn't get rounded corners 'though.

I tried to start tracking my hours of work on a project. Not that I am trying to put a value on my labour - this is a hobby - but I thought it would be interesting to see how much time I do invest in these things. But I sew in bits and pieces of stolen time and if I record when I start, I usually forget to note when I finish.

After piping, a huge chunk of time was spent doing flat felled seams on every single seam. I stitched the seam allowance to the underside for the top, because this looks neater, and to the outside for the shorts, because I think this is more comfortable to wear. I used Carolyn's tutorial for sewing a flat felled seam on a curve. These meant that I had to set the sleeves in flat, and then sew up the side seams and underarm seams.

I added a back facing too, as I did for my adult version. I had forgotten that I'd done that. I think the collar is too heavy to just sit there on the back piece all by itself, and it neatens up the whole back neckline easily.

I made the cuffs by turning up the sleeves and leg cuffs. By sewing the piping to the bottom edge of the wrong side, I could fold it up, right sides together and flip it to the inside of the cuff piece. So the cuff is an additional single thickness, plus seam allowance. I made the separate casing for the waistband, thinking it was slightly smaller than the top of the shorts, meaning a few less gathers on the elastic itself. But it turned out to be the same size, so a higher rise would have been easier. I used 71cm of 20mm elastic. Since I can't at all tell the front from the back, I'll add a ribbon tie at the front.

The pockets would have looked better at hip height, but I wanted a bit of additional modesty at the front. You can see a pattern of her swimsuit through the sheerness of this fabric. Which my iron told me was polycotton.

Costs: 
 Fabric: upcycled, £0 
 Pattern: used previously, £0
 Notions: 
   Lightweight Interfacing, 50cm: £2.26
   Piping Cord, 112cm: 49p
   20mm white elastic, 71cm: 49p
   Buttons, from school uniform: £0
Total: £3.24

Birds / Alex / Rayon / Navy Shirt

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this pattern, the Alex Shirt from Sew Over It's e-book, My Capsule Wardrobe City Break.

I love that it is a super easy shirt pattern, it's extremely quick, and it eliminates all the fiddly bits of shirt making. What I don't like is the very large sizing, and the casual dropped shoulder. I am wondering if I should put on my big girl pants and get a proper shirt pattern. But I don't wear a lot of shirts, so I don't feel like slaving away over making complex details in my sewing time.

That's why, when this rayon wanted to be a shirt, I reached for Alex once again. I got the fabric at Spotlight in Australia in April. It was on sale for just under $12 a metre, so I got 1.5m for a shirt. I also got 2.5m of a black with pink/green/silver florals.

Learning from my previous Alex Shirt,  I sized down from a 10 to an 8, leaving the collar and neckline as a 10 (this because the 8 was cut away in places when I cut the 10). I also added interfacing to the under collar. Next time I would interface the tips of the sleeve tabs too. The final change I made was to skip the pockets. They would have spoiled the drape and the pattern of the fabric.

I found the instructions for enclosing the yoke seams very confusing. It says to twist the edges, but doesn't say in which direction, or how many times. I used the "burrito method", detailed beautifully in Grainline's Archer sewalong. I'll be using that for all yokes from now on. In such a thin fabric as this, I didn't even have to roll it up, it just sat nicely inside the yoke, and it was fun to have it spill out afterwards.

This pattern doesn't work so well in a fabric that has an obvious wrong side. The lapels aren't faced, and the one piece collar means that the wrong side shows where the neckline opens. I fortunately/accidentally managed to have a bird at each point of the lapel, so the lighter colour saved the look of the neckline, but if it had been the navy background, it would have showed the wrong side badly.

The rolled up sleeves also need a fabric that doesn't have an obvious wrong side. I added cuffs to the sleeves, so I can turn these up and then fasten with the sleeve tabs. I didn't gather the sleeves into the cuffs, nor did I make button plackets for them. They are just the same width as the sleeves and are 5 inches, folded over. I like wearing the shirt with the cuffs rolled up once and then gathered into the sleeve tabs.

I set the tabs much higher than the pattern calls for. I can't understand why the pattern has them so low. It would roll them to about bracelet length, which is a bit pointless since they could be rolled to this length and not need fastening. I noticed this before I did the buttons for my white shirt, so I sewed the buttons higher up the sleeve. They are not on the anchor point of the tab, just floating on the shirt. For this one, I placed them much higher up, and the buttons are sewn on the re-inforced part of the tab.

I had four small navy buttons in my stash so I spaced them through the front. Five would have been better, there is a bit of gape between them. I didn't make buttonholes, since I will never wear this shirt open. So much faster! I had two larger, non-matching buttons that were close enough to each other that I could use for the sleeves. 

I shortened the hem by 7-8cm, so I can still tuck it in, but also wear it untucked if I want. I find the City Break hems much too long. This photo shows the shortened hem. Imagine if that was 8cm longer.

Will I make another Alex? My head says no, but if I get another drapey patterned fabric, it might be too much to resist. 

Costs: 

  Fabric: 1.5m £10

  Pattern: used previously £0

  Notions: 

    lightweight interfacing, stash £1.13

    navy thread, used previously £0

    buttons, stash £0

Total: £11.13

Me-Made-May 18 - Week 5

I, Cathy of Cathy Makes, pledge to wear a different item of me-made clothing each day of May 2018.

Saturday 26th May 2018
Clothing: Navy Linen Shirt Dress (2015)
Weather: Warm, sunny, 24C
Activity: Lunch in a box at Lords
Thoughts: This dress was perfect for attending sporting hospitality in the summer. But now I think I might need to let the hem down to it's original length.

Sunday 27th May
Clothing: Mustard Cardigan (2014)
Weather: Warm, sunny, 22C
Activity: Brunch
Thoughts: The weather was too warm for the rest of the day, so I changed into last weekend's outfit.

Monday 28th May
Clothing: Yellow Spot Top (2015)
Weather: Hot, sunny, 25C
Activity: Hosting BBQ
Thoughts: I didn't take a photo of this outfit on the day, so I had to re-create it.

Tuesday 29th May
Clothing: Martini Mustard Skirt (2013), Mustard Cardigan (2014)
Weather: Cold, stormy, 14C
Activity: Nothing, do you think I'm going out if I don't have to?
Thoughts: It's nice to wear this skirt, but I don't love it.

Wednesday 30th May
Clothing: Navy Birds Shirt (2018)
Weather: Cool, humid
Activity: Hanging at a friend's house
Thoughts: I finished two things in May! This one just in time to wear for MMM! Plus, I'll actually wear it again.

Thursday 31st May
Clothing: White Alex Shirt (2017)
Weather: Humid, unsettled, 22C
Activity: Friends to play for half term
Thoughts: This is quite a massive departure from my normal look, but I have to say, I do think it suits me. Working on being more "stylish Mom" and less on being "bag lady dressed as lamb".

Me-Made-May 2018 - Week 4

I, Cathy of Cathy's Makes, pledge to wear a different item of me-made clothing each day of May 2018.

This is where MMM gets tricky! Final full week, last week of work before half term next week. Running out of clothes, scraping the barrel, wearing stuff I only wear once a year - in May. Never mind, it is almost over and the end is in sight.

Sunday 20th May
Clothing: Burda Cowl Neck Top (2013)
Weather: Sunny, 20C
Activity: Oiling the deck furniture, Bike riding in Regent's Park
Thoughts: Despite hardly ever wearing it, this top is a bit of a keeper. It's comfortable, cool and goes with a lot of what I have.

Monday 21st May
Clothing: Hibiscus Dress (2016)
Weather: Sunny, 20C
Activity: Work, School meetings
Thoughts: I wore this outfit in April already, but I liked it so much, I had to wear it for a photograph and check if it was all that I hoped it was.

Tuesday 22nd May
Clothing: Silk Poppy Top (2017)
Weather: Sunny, 20C
Activity: Work, Picnic in Regent's Park
Thoughts: I like this top a lot, and find it very versatile. I wore it on holiday this year and wear it to work semi-often. I only wear these trousers during Me Made May and it was fun to come home and throw on my denim shorts to head to the park after work.

Wednesday 23rd May
Clothing: Black Karen Dress (2016)
Weather: Cool, 22C
Activity: Work
Thoughts: I still love this dress. The fabric is on the cheap side (ie, a bit synthetic), but it is a marvellous staple in my wardrobe.

Thursday 23rd May
Clothing: Silver Maria Denmark Tee (2014)
Weather: Cool, 23C
Activity: Work
Thoughts: I don't wear this shirt very often, even though I do like it. I don't wear t-shirts very often and this one is a Wintery colour, even with the sparkle. Maria has released a new version of this pattern, but I don't think I'll download and print again. I like this one well enough, and I'm planning on using this pattern for a stripe version very soon.

Friday 24th May
Clothing: Tilly and The Buttons Coco Sweatshirt (2016)
Weather: Chilly, 18C
Activity: Yoga
Thoughts: I don't usually have an opportunity to wear this in May, so I wore it on a chilly morning walk to yoga.

Floral Scuba Dress

Blegh! It looks nice, but remind me never to wear scuba. I'm afraid that it is the worst fabric! It is pure plastic and it behaves as though you are wearing a plastic bag. It makes you feel cold if the weather is cold and sweaty if the weather is hot. Also sweaty if the weather is cold. Sweaty no matter what the weather.

Sorry scuba. I wanted to love you. You print such beautiful pictures onto yourself. You sew nicely, don't fray and don't need pressing as you go. All wonderful qualities, but I can't buy a knitted plastic fibre again. There is lots coming out in the fabric stores and the blogosphere is producing a lot of test garments.

Shall I talk a little bit about the dress? I wanted a pattern with a cap sleeve and a full-ish skirt, so I decided on Simplicity K1699. It is a pretty good outfit-maker pattern, with a dress, a top, a jacket and trousers in one. I got it with a sewing magazine a few years ago. The top and dress have raglan sleeves and princess seams. The skirt has a centre front seam, but I cut mine on the fold to remove this. 1.5m of fabric would have been plenty for this dress.

I cut a size 12 and did not make my usual short waist, sway back or small shoulder adjustments. It should be higher at the sides of the waist, but I didn't adjust it. You can see the puckers at the side of the bodice when I move:

I sewed almost the whole dress in March, and then put it aside for almost two months. There were two reasons for this:

Firstly, trying it on, it looked incredibly dressy. Like, wedding guest dressy. Since I am not invited to any weddings, nor Chelsea Flower Show, I felt like I was wasting my time on something I would probably never wear.

Secondly, the scuba fabric wasn't handing a facing well, so I was going to have to work out different neckline finishes. I thought I might have to experiment with a binding, or just a hem. Neither of which were making me feel the love for the dress. In the end, I just turned it under and top stitched it down. It looks fine as a finish and the spongy fabric creates quite an attractive rolled edge. I should have done this for the sleeves and the hem. These edges don't look that good, puffing out as they do.

The neckline on this pattern is extremely high. Way too high. It is because of the collar on the top, the bottom of the collar is about the right level for the dress neckline. I didn't lower it because I was going to experiment with the aforementioned different neckline finishes. But in this instance, I didn't change it - again, because this is not a dress that is going to be worn.

I broke one of my Sacred Rules of Sewing - I put it aside and worked on something else. I have never done this before! I was terrified of getting on a slippery slope of starting new projects and leaving them aside every time I get into a little bit of difficulty. I would never finish anything! I always make myself keep going until the bitter end. But this dress was truly a waste of time, and I needed something new to wear while Me Made May was still in full swing.

In the end, it was Me Made May that made me finish this at all. Since I pledged to wear something different each day, I have been a bit stuck on some of the days. I decided to finish this to wear while I was watching the royal wedding on TV so that I would have something to photograph that day. Then I could change back into my leggings afterwards. I finished it remarkably quickly, helped along by the fact that I was finishing it to wear in front of the TV, rather than out and about.

Cheating a bit on the whole Me Made May concept, but hey-ho, it's my challenge. And the pictures do look very nice.

Costs: 
 Fabric: £10.99 
 Pattern: £5.99 
 Notions: 
  Zip: £0.60
Total: £17.58

Me-Made-May 2018 - Week 3

I, Cathy of Cathy's Makes, pledge to wear a different item of me-made clothing each day of May 2018. 

Monday 14th May
Clothing: Megan Dress (2015)
Weather: Sunny 20C
Activity: Work
Thoughts: This dress is too small. It was on the small side when I made it, it has shrunk in the wash, and I have gained a little bit of weight. I am wondering if an exposed zip at the back would add enough ease to improve matters, or if the sleeves would still be too much of a problem.

Tuesday 15th May
Clothing: Red Dress (2015)
Weather: Sunny 23C
Activity: Work
Thoughts: I suppose I wear this dress only once a year. Good thing we have MMM. I love the pattern, but the fabric is not great. It is looking a little worn, and creases a lot. I put a lot of work into this dress, all the seams are bound with a Hong Kong finish.

Wednesday 16th May
Clothing: Suit Refashion Dress (2017)
Weather: Light cloud and breezy 16C
Activity: Work
Thoughts: This dress is in regular rotation in my work wardrobe. I am gutted that I messed up the neckline, but I hope it is not too noticeable when worn with something underneath. If making it again, I would raise the neckline by about 2 inches.

Thursday 17th May
Clothing: Bamboo Scarf (2015), Vogue Coat (2016)
Weather: Cold, Sunny 13C
Activity: Work
Thoughts: Two weeks in and two weeks to go. This is where MMM gets tough. I am running out of work clothes. I just don't feel like wearing separates but they will have to come out soon. Only 4 more work days to dress for.

Friday 18th May
Clothing: Bamboo Birds Molly Top (2018)
Weather: Sunny, Cool 15C
Activity: Exercise, Guiding
Thoughts: I love wearing this knit bamboo, it has such a lovely feel to it. It is so comfortable. I am glad I shortened the length of the pattern too.

Saturday 19th May
Clothing: Scuba Dress (2018)
Weather: Sunny 17C
Activity: Watching the Wedding
Thoughts: I got this dress finished so I could wear it in front of the TV today, and have something new for Me Made May. Otherwise: #fail

Me-Made-May 2018 - Week 2

I, Cathy of Cathy's Makes, pledge to wear a different item of me-made clothing during each day of May 2018.

Monday 7th May
Wore: 70s Beach Dress (2013)
Weather, Activity: Hot, sunny, 26C; Gardening, still oiling the deck
Thoughts: This was about the only choice I had today for very warm weather clothing: dress, sleeveless, lighweight. It fitted the bill, but I have RTW stuff that I like better.

Tuesday 8th May
Wore: Navy Pin Dot Peony Dress (2015)
Weather, Activity: Warm, 24C; Work
Thoughts: I could get away with this today because London still has a weekend hangover and people are not ready to forgo their summer clothing. I like this better than I did when I first made it. Waistband is getting a bit tight tho.

Wednesday 9th May
Wore: B&W Stripe Skirt (2014)
Weather, Activity: Pleasant, 23C; Work, Art Club
Thoughts: I enjoy wearing this skirt a great deal and it usually gets a couple of outings a year. Always with a black top. It works particularly well in Spring and Autumn. I do wish I had made the pleats smaller though - it hangs too heavy in the front.

Thursday 10th May
Wore: Chiffon Top (2013)
Weather, Activity: Mild, 17C; Work
Thoughts: Hurrah! I finally wore this top during Me Made May! For years I have been making excuses and it is so nice to get out some different clothing for a change.

Friday 11th May
Wore: Bamboo Cardigan (2016)
Weather, Activity: Windy, 19C; Exercise, MyGuide, school run, finished oiling the deck.
Thoughts: I didn't get changed after exercise today, but actually I think this photo is one of my favourites

Saturday 12th May
Wore: Vogue Coat (2016)
Weather, Activity: Rainy, 15C; Brunch.
Thoughts: I still really enjoy wearing this coat.
Wore:  Eurovision Skirt (2017)
Activity: Watching Eurovision
Thoughts: I tried to go for the Buck's Fizz look by repurposing this skirt with a primary coloured top. It would be fun to make the full version of this costume. (But it's never going to happen!)

Sunday 13th May
Wore: Molly Dress (2018)
Weather, Activity: Chilly, 17C; Tidying up.
Thoughts: I don't like this dress. I only wore it because I was staying home and it was Me Made May. What I actually wanted to wear was my pyjamas and Stride Socks!