Me Made May 2014 Recap

 

I participated in my first Me Made May this year and documented my outfits on Instagram.  I made a fatal mistake by wearing all of my makes in the first 15 days of May leaving nothing but repeats. This led to an eventual lack of posting at all.  But I am pleasantly surprised that I even have 15 me-mades! The hardest thing was photographing my outfits - selfies can get tiresome and my husband isn't the greatest photographer. Here is a breakdown of what I wore (in no particular order).

 

A couple of revelations:

• All of my dress/shirts are sleeveless.  Not one has sleeves!
• I need to make more shorts - they are fun and easy.
• I need to attempt pants.
• I need to sew more with knits.
• I have a lot of unblogged makes! 

 

Burda blouse in Thai Silk (old pic)

 Cynthia Rowley dress in navy knit

 

Cake Tiramisu in rayon knit from San Diego Swap Meet (unblogged)

Skirt in Suriname cotton border print (unblogged)

Maiden voyage dress in linen

Colette Iris shorts in cotton print (unblogged)

Colette Sorbeto in linen (unblogged)

Dress in 80s print

 

Burda top in IKEA cotton print (unblogged)

 

Peplum dress in black embossed print from Yellow Bird Fabrics (unblogged)

Colette Iris shorts (again)

 

Cynthia Rowley blouse in gingham

Self drafted wrap skirt in linen

The "Surinam" Skirt

Fabric:  1.25 yards of lightweight border print from Surinam, South America and lining

Pattern:  McCalls 3341, View D, Size 14

Year:  2007

Notions:  7" invisible zipper, thread

Time to complete:  4 hours 

First worn:  To work today!

Total price:  $0.99 for the pattern, fabric was a gift

Wear again?  Yes!


My husband was is Surinam, South America three years ago for my MIL's 60th birthday.  I couldn't go because I was eight months pregnant at the time.  When he came home he presented me with about four yards of a red/brown border print as a peace offering for leaving me and my daughter in the very pregnant state I was.  He's been hounding me since then to make something with the fabric.  Until now, I haven't been confident enough in my sewing abilities not to f@#$ it up.  This pattern was really easy and I didn't even make a muslin since my changes to Butterick B5466 were very minimal.  Although, in hindsight I need to remember to make adjustments for my long torso!

I even learned my lesson and inserted a lining right off the bat.  Except that the skirt still bunches/catches with tights.  I think it is because the lining I bought is cheap/manmade.  I am such a cheap ass sometimes with regards to fabric and I need to learn that sometimes its worth spending the money for a quality garment.  I think it will be better in the summer when I can wear it without tights.

The "Sew Easy" Skirt

Fabric:  About 1.5 yards of a stretch gabardine from Joanns.

Pattern:  Butterick B5466, View E, Size 14

Year:  2010

Notions:  7" zipper, hook and eye closure, thread

Time to complete:  Maybe 4 hours over many days 

First worn:  To work a couple of weeks ago 

Total price:  $0.99 for the pattern, fabric was maybe $5

Wear again?  Yes after inserting a lining

I bought like 3 yards of this magenta, stretch gabardine fabric from Joanns last year - it has a bit of stretch in it and I thought it would be a nice candidate for a fall/winter skirt.  I don't know when I picked up this pattern but it must have been during one of the $0.99 sales since that is the only way I buy patterns.  I chose view E in a size 14 to sew and KNEW that I should put in a lining but I didn't listen to reason/intution and forged on.  The photo below shows a lot of puckering in the fabric on the back that doesn't really show when worn.  Also the zipper is a bit low but with a hook and eye this is kinda fixed.

I made a muslin and adjusted the front darts longer by 1.5 inches to mitigate the bagginess in the front.  I didn't know if I was doing the right thing but it seemed to work so I guess I'll be doing more of that in the future until someone tells me otherwise.  I recall having a serger malfunction at some point, but my mind has forgotten all about that horror and I won't be repeating the story here.  I hand stitched the hem and am very proud of the way it looks!

I love the skirt - just love it.  Except.  One.  Thing.  It needs a lining.  So before I wear it again, I'll need to insert a lining.  Should be easy enough - I just have to get over that hump of going back to a "finished" project.

Revenge of the Serger!

Stay tuned for a post about a skirt I made!  OMG - I actually made something.  You/I only had to wait a year.