Rounding up Me-Made-May 14

It has been a busy month for garment sewing in Me Made May.  I made a dress, skirt, two tops and two lingerie sets.  Sewing underwear successfully was a demon I wanted to slay and thanks to Gertie's sew along, pattern and kit, I truly did.  But first, these are the outfits from days 21-30. 

Left to right in each row (pattern links will be found via these links:

Carme/Betsey Johnson wrap skirt (snap Roo!), Tova/Lonsdale skirt, vintage tunic

Tova, Belcara, Airelle/vintage Simplicity wrap skirt

Darling Ranges shirt/Betsey Johnson wrap skirt, cami vest and PJ pants, Cami dress and Sew-Ichigo Kitchen classics bag

Even today I have still worn  Me Made.  I wore Me Made every day in May- on some days just PJ pants but every day there was at least one garment and some days more. See here for mid May and early May me-mades.  I have learnt that I need to continue making more knit casual items- yoga pants would be very useful, and a few sweatshirts.  When I come home from work and change out of my work t shirt  I am more likely to wear something slouchy to walk the dog and sit and sew rather than a dress for the rest of the day.  Dresses are more of a weekend thing.  The lack of sustained hot weather did mean that some more summer dresses from my wardrobe have yet to be worn.  I'll save the lingerie report for my next post as there are quite a few pics and there is construction details and techniques to mention .  Here's a preview:

I'll end with  a shout out to all those sewists who took selfless selifes on Instagram, flickr and elsewhere (turns out that there is little fun in that beyond the age of 14) all to share their dressmaking with the wider online sewing community.  I loved seeing the patterns that popped up time an time again and finding new patterns and more importantly new people to follow and get to know a little better.  And a thank you to SoZo for being the powerhouse behind the whole concept.  See you this time next year and with a bigger  me-made wardrobe (albeit in a tiny cupboard) with more me-made knickers in it.

Me Made May Days 11-20

The better weather in May certainly opens up my wardrobe for Me Made May 2014.  

Days 11-13.  From left to right, Megan Nielsen Briar (this version not blogged) with  Grains de Couture Nautique skirt  (yet to be blogged, get on with it lady), Tova in Martha Negley feathers, Megan Nielsen Darling Ranges Dress (one of my favourites).

 Days 14-17: Grains de Couture Maxi Opale skirt as before, Simplicity 6329 vintage dress in Denyse Schmidt fabric, a partially successful floaty vest style top from Grains de Couture.

 Days 18-20: Wiksten tank with a few tweaks (not blogged), Deer and Doe Bleuet in Melody Miller fabric, Jim jams made last summer for Fat Quarterly retreat classes.

This week I realised that I need to go through my existing patterns more and make the tweaks and changes and new hacks and combinations.  I've just ordered a Fashionary to organise my clothes making a little better.  I also realised that test garments are a total pain in the backside but they are necessary- you can rarely expect the first time to be perfect.  I have made a tester cami and shorty knicks for the Gertie slip sew along, and I was so glad I did!  Pics coming soon- some already on IG (@verykerryberry)  My wardrobe is growing, this time next year, I hope to have crossed over further to a world of me-made.

Me Made May 14 : Days 1-10

A third of the way through Me Made May, two garments made- Calluna Cami and Nautical Opale Maxi- more details on the latter soon.   As last year, it is a really interesting exercise looking at what other people make and reflecting on what I make for myself.   The only drawback is the selfie pic thing- it does seem a little narcissitic but that's the nature of the beast Kerry, embrace it and move on.

Top Row - Gabriola skirt, Chardon Corduroy maxi, Burda blouse

Second Row- Calluna Cami dress, Burda bat wing Dec 2013 issue (Unblogged), PJ pants

Third Row- Briar (unblogged)/Betsey Johnson chambray skirt, Meg Mcelwee long sleeve T/ Lonsdale Maxi, Opale Maxi- info to come.

I lost a day somewhere- I wore the Calluna Cami over two spilt days and some days I have work followed by an evening exercise class so spend the whole day in dance leggings and a t shirt.  I would really like to make more yoga/pilates suitable clothes now that knit fabrics are more available- note for the future.  This is a typical week of clothes for me- I like to be quite covered up and wear layers as I feel the cold easily.  I don't like wearing tights/panty hose- hence so many long skirts but I do enjoy a dress and the Cami was a joy to wear- definitely planning future repeats.

A lot of the enjoyment of Me Made May is not all about what I am wearing, but looking at what others have made and finding new and ingenious sewists.  I have seen so many Grainline Archer shirts!  It did make me reflect that although many Indie pattern releases are dresses, what we wear day to day is separates and a well designed shirt is hard to beat.  Each Archer I have seen has looked good on its maker.  I tend to wear a more fitted style of shirt as I wear my shirts mainly with long skirts but I am tempted by the great results on others.  I am just plotting my next makes- a Jade variant from Grains de Couture Hommes et Femmes, the Amethyst coat variant from the same book and the Gertie sew along slip.  Busy busy busy x